Humble Beginner Seeks Advice

[TryingMyBest]

I am an adult yellow belt who has been studying TKD for about 10 months. Although I show up regularly and try very hard in class, I just don't seem to "get it". It takes me a long time to learn patterns, whether it be my form, ho shins or gi chos. We have a test coming up and it seems like I just get more anxious with each practice and my mind goes blank. Our Master is getting frustrated with me - today he admonished me for not paying attention. I was but couldn't keep up with the pace of the drills so it was very embarassing. I've never been much of an athlete, in fact, I was always the kid picked last during gym class. I'm starting to feel that way again and remind myself that I'm doing this for fun and fitness but still, I feel discouraged. I want to learn and improve - does anyone have any advice? Are there any good books or videos I could study from outside of class? Are there such things as martial arts tutors? I don't want to quit but I am getting stressed over the whole thing. Help!

[tufrthanu]

Well I dont know what hoshins or gichos are so I can't help with that, however, there are plenty of books and internet resources out there for learning your form. Perhaps you could tell us what the names of them are so we could give you more specific advice? As to how athletic you are and how much you pay attention they should not be a big issue. You are there to learn, just listen to what the instructor says and try to do it...if you are trying and just cant do it thats not your fault...and if the instructor tries to make it your fault he's wrong.

[Jiffy]

Hi There,

I'm guessing by your name and the fact that this is either your first time, or more likely, you are usually from this site, but want to remain anonymous, either way, I don't suppose it matters.

The first thing is, don't be embarrassed. You are who you are and you can't change that. Be proud of it. Just because you may struggle with some things does not mean you don't excel with others.

Remember that fear is the biggest thing that will prevent us from learning and embarrassment produces fear. So, when practising, just try your best, try to remain happy and as you said, remember you are doing this for fun.

Make sure that you are concentrating as hard as you can. Don't slacken off. If you are training as well as you can, but the instructor feels that you are slackening off, then he has a misunderstanding of what you are going through. Instructors are not perfect, nor are they mind readers. Speak to him. Explain the situation and explain your feelings. For most instructors, if you mention your are feeling rather discouraged, this will ring a few alarm bells. Be open and honest with your instructor.

When you do this, make sure it is a good time to talk to him. Better still, before class, just ask him if you can speak to him briefly after class. This means that when you do go to speak to him, he will know it's important and will go into effective listening mode straight away.

As for books, don't worry about them. I really think the best thing you can do is speak with your instructor. Another way to try and help you along is that when you finish training, go out to your car as you normally would, but before you drive home, make some notes on your training. Write down forms, techniques, hints and tips, mistakes and feelings. This will help you to remember your training better and increase your memory of everything.

Most instructors will offer private lessons if you request them. They will not be cheap, but if you feel that you will get your through then it's well worth the investment.

Most of all, just remember that it's a hobby. The worst thing for your progress is to stress because stress will take away from productive thinking and then it's just one big visous cicle. Just relax and have fun.

Hope this helps.

[Zorbasan]

thats the biggest thing with MA. if your not enjoying it then you really shouldnt do it.

Jiffy mentioned private lessons. these are fantastic to help out people that are struggling, kind of like a tutor for school. 1 on 1 learning is always going to be more effective than 1 on many learning.

the other thing to consider is is that school right for you? maybe the pace of the school is too quick, or the instructors methods arent working for you.

have a look at some other schools around, or ask your instructor if they have seperate classes for the lower grades. some schools have beginers classes or white and yellow classes. my old school even had "grading" classes for grading specific stuff.

[bushido_man96]

First of all, welcome to the forums!

Like Jiffy mentioned, talk to your instructor, and let him know that you are trying hard. Just keep with it, and practice hard. It will come in time. If you are worried about the testing that is coming up, just don't test. Wait until the next testing, and see if you feel more comfortable by then.

Martial arts should be learned at your pace, not anyone else's. Take your time, and don't rush anything.

Best of luck to you!

[TryingMyBest]

Thanks, Everyone for taking the time to reply - you've given me some good points to ponder. I especially liked the suggestion to jot down some notes after class - I have often wished I could do it during class, but it never occurred to me to do it soon after - duh! I think the part of the problem is that although I take the Beginner classes, there are very few actual beginners with me - the majority of the other students are red belts and above and the instructor probably doesn't want to hold them back for me. I think I may have to adjust my schedule to join another section in the evenings that seems to have more lower-ranking people.

As for speaking with the Master - whew - that's a tough one because as you can imagine, after this week, I do feel rather intimidated. But hey - there's no crying in TKD, so I guess I'll just suck it up and have a chat.

In the longer term (my contract is up in Feb) I am considering finding a different school, esp. one that's closer to home which would allow me to take more classes as well. Now that I know I need a slower pace, I will check out different places to find one where I might feel more comfortable.

In the meantime - I'll try to remember that this is for FUN. Thanks so much for your support!

[tufrthanu]

Actually Jiffy books are very important. Most instructors have several in their offices. Look around some time you will see them. They are very good for keeping and retaining information and getting different perspectives on how forms should be done.

[bushido_man96]

Thanks, Everyone for taking the time to reply - you've given me some good points to ponder. I especially liked the suggestion to jot down some notes after class - I have often wished I could do it during class, but it never occurred to me to do it soon after - duh! I think the part of the problem is that although I take the Beginner classes, there are very few actual beginners with me - the majority of the other students are red belts and above and the instructor probably doesn't want to hold them back for me. I think I may have to adjust my schedule to join another section in the evenings that seems to have more lower-ranking people.

As for speaking with the Master - whew - that's a tough one because as you can imagine, after this week, I do feel rather intimidated. But hey - there's no crying in TKD, so I guess I'll just suck it up and have a chat.

In the longer term (my contract is up in Feb) I am considering finding a different school, esp. one that's closer to home which would allow me to take more classes as well. Now that I know I need a slower pace, I will check out different places to find one where I might feel more comfortable.

In the meantime - I'll try to remember that this is for FUN. Thanks so much for your support!

I think that you will find your instructor easier to talk with than you realize. (Boy, I hope I'm not wrong!) And good luck finding another location. Hopefully, the instructor will understand this as well.

Best of luck!

[aefibird]

I hope that you have a chat with your instructor - tell him you're stuggling and embarrased that you can't seem to keep up in class. BTW, it isn't something you should be embarrased about, everyone learns at a different pace to everyone else.

It isn't helping you training with red belts (what on earth are they doing training in a "beginners" class anyway, where are all the beginners/low grades?) so you either need to move to another class or move to another TKD school.

If you do move to another club then check out plenty before you join. Watch a couple of lessons and join in with a couple of lessons too before you decide to sign up. Short term contracts or no contracts might be a better option - if you're tied to your present school until February then that seems an awful long time to me, especially if you're getting stick off the instructor for supposedly not paying attention. He should be aware of the fact you can't keep up with the pace, not that you're slacking! His lessons are too fast, sounds to me like this beginners class isn't great and isn't really suited to beginners. :-/

Good luck with your training, I hope it all works out for you!

[tufrthanu]

Aefi i know at my current school higher belts can attend any lower belt class. So that doesnt really surprise me but the instructor should still not expect a yellow belt to keep up with the red belts in any event.