Tips For Going To Seminars

By Corey Kuropas, September 27, 2016

For us Jiu Jitsu fanatics, going to seminars can be an awesome experience. You can learn from world champions, specialists of a given area, and meet some great people that are involved with the Jiu Jitsu community. But some of you may have never attended a true Jiu Jitsu seminar. It can be a positive, but daunting task. How do you get through a seminar with being able to take away as much as you can from it. There are some tips to follow so you can make a seminar work best for you and your skills.

Show Up Early

One of the best things you can do is show up early. I have seen too many people show up late, and miss key warm up drills that will lead to the techniques you will encounter from the host of the seminar. You have to treat a seminar just like any other important appointment. Show up early, change, get hydrated and grab a spot on the mat. The seminar host will appreciate this as well, as it shows that you are ready to learn. Also you never know if the seminar will be packed. If it is, you will be happy that you showed up early to get a spot.

If You Can, Bring A Familiar Partner

One of the best pieces of advice I can give you is to bring a training partner that you are familiar with. If you show up solo to a seminar, most people will bring a partner, so you might have to join some people that you have never worked with. While this isn’t necessarily a bad thing, sometimes it can backfire. For one, you will get less drill time on the techniques you will be learning. Also, you never know if the person you will work with will resist while you are just learning something new. By bringing a partner that you train with and are familiar with, you’ll be able to get the most out of what is being taught.

Bring A Notebook

This is such a very important thing to remember. A seminar is just like a college class. You need to take notes so you can look back on the material you learned that day, and be able to troubleshoot it later. You may think you can remember all the small details, but trust me when I say that rarely works. Take good notes while the host tells you how to perform the techniques so you can use them to the best of your ability later on.

Take Advantage Of The Q&A

After the seminar material is over, most hosts will host a small Q&A to address any possible questions that the students might have. Take advantage of this. If you are confused about anything that was shown, or want to go a little further in an idea that you might have around what you have learned, then this is the time for you. Don’t be afraid to voice your question or concern. The host will nine times out of ten, be happy to answer your question.

I love going to seminars. Whenever any world class competitor or teacher comes to town, I take full advantage of that fact, and go to their seminar. I always learn a lot, and my game always improves after a seminar. I am able to take away some great knowledge that I might have not had beforehand. Seminars are a treat. Go to as many as your budget allows.