Remembering instructions

[Gadfly]

Hello all,

I recently began a martial art called Aikido. When the instructor teaches us something by the time I get up onto the mat, I've forgotten it.

Has anyone any tips or advice how to help me with this as it's getting me down.

Thanks in advance.

[MrDavidAlan]

Yes. However Medication helped me a lot...

Now if I could just get Dr. to stop prescribing these crazy low dosages...

[Ipsofacto]

Are you getting good visual demonstrations? Does the instructor recap after the demonstration with a few key points to remember, or does he recap with a long rambling discussion? Some sports don't place much emphasis on instruction/teaching theory, and it's more of a problem if you have ADHD. If that's the problem here, you may need to find an instructor who you can learn from.

Assuming the instructor is good, you could try taking the key points and mentally talk your self through the exercise as soon as the instructor finishes talking. Use your internal voice and imagine yourself doing it.

You might also ask the instructor if you can go first

[SquarePeg]

My son competes in taekwondo and sometimes had this problem in the begining Because you have only just started you need to get used to the terminology. (my son had to learn the steps and numbers in Korean).

It has been great for his self confidence.

Because he loves it his motivation has helped him overcome this.

It´s because everything is new. Hopefully you will find as classes progress that you will recognise the visual clues and gestures your instructor is giving out, along with oral instructions and hopefully you will find it easier to follow.

Give yourself some time, stick with it and enjoy it.

[Zoom Dude]

Interesting. Thanks for bringing this up - I never made a connection between Aikido and ADHD, but now I see it. I've never taken Aikido, but many years ago I took a form of karate that was a mix of Aikido and karate. I've always felt that training was a cornerstone in how I deal with the world.

It's not like I'm getting attacked on the street all the time. I see Aikido as a state of mind and an approach the external world. The physical activity is only an expression of it. State of mind is key.

The fundamental concept is that you approach life with a completely relaxed, receptive and peaceful mind. You respond much more quickly and correctly from a state of peace. When faced with adversity, whether it's an attacker on the street or an emergency situation at work, you respond by accepting it, joining it, re-directing it and thereby neutralizing it. Aikido is considered a martial art, but you can't attack using it. There are no competitions. It's all about response.

It sounds to me like you have not mastered the first part, putting your mind at peace. Having a typical ADHD crazy-brain in an Aikido class is not helping. If I was in your shoes I'd try every day to quiet my mind. Set aside a few minutes, find a quiet place, close your eyes and let your mind coast down to a stop. Think of simply existing in a peaceful place. Whenever your mental reverie zips off in an interesting direction, drain the energy out of that diversion and bring it back.

It's hard to do. I've never been able to make my mind completely quiet. But you can learn to quiet the chaos to a dull roar for a while. Once you get the hang of it, arrive a little early to your Aikido class and get comfortable in your quiet place before you go in. If you have problems following along, don't get wound up about it. Get relaxed about it - so you can be more receptive.

It's probably a good idea to discuss this with your instructor. Let him know it's much more about mindset than technique for you. Get the mindset and the technique will follow. I hope your instructor is open to that. Some of them are really more into the hard arts and only teach Aikido as a sideline. They're all about hands, feet, physical training and next month's competition - so not what Aikido is about.

Disclaimer: Meds have never worked for me, so I don't take them. I have no idea if my suggestions will work if you're on stimulants, but it's worth a try.

Good luck,

ZD

P.S. Different topic, but I couldn't help noticing your signature line. I learned about my ADHD through my son's diagnosis too. I figured I had coped sort of OK, so I'd help get my son straightened out first and then start working on myself. DON'T DO THIS!! I found it only slowed the process of helping my son. As the stewardess always says, "Put your own oxygen mask in place before helping others."

[anonymouslyadd]

We have poor working memories, which is why you can't hold on to the information.

You might need some extra instruction or maybe he'll give you a "cheat sheet" before the session so that you can be more prepared? Do you think he's willing to give you extra time?

[Gadfly]

Thank to all of you for your kind posts, especially Zoom Dude for a very helpful post.

I actually mediate every morning for an hour, but yes, I get anxious before class because I know I am going to have difficulty again remembering instructions once again. I should say that some experienced members are very helpful and patient with my 'slowness'.

He's not a bad instructor but he can be very quick when showing us what to do.

What gets me too is that complete beginners on their first night know what to do even though I've been practicing for three months now. I feel like an idiot when that happens and it really gets me depressed.

What do you mean by the mindset?

I wish he'd explain but he mainly just shows the 'moves' That would help a lot.

I love Aikido and researched it well before I joined the club.

You are spot on ZD about what Aikido actually is.

I am a Buddhist myself.

[Slapstick]

Originally Posted by Ipsofacto

Are you getting good visual demonstrations? Does the instructor recap after the demonstration with a few key points to remember, or does he recap with a long rambling discussion? Some sports don't place much emphasis on instruction/teaching theory, and it's more of a problem if you have ADHD. If that's the problem here, you may need to find an instructor who you can learn from.

Assuming the instructor is good, you could try taking the key points and mentally talk your self through the exercise as soon as the instructor finishes talking. Use your internal voice and imagine yourself doing it.

You might also ask the instructor if you can go first

I work with a personal trainer, in a group of about 10 or 12 people. On a select day, he'll assign us a routine with a variety of moves, combinations and such. He demonstrates all of them, in order. I can only remember how to do them if he assigns me in a group where I do everything in the same order he demonstrated them (while I have never discussed ADHD with him, he has caught onto this, so he usually does put me in a group where I can follow the routine in the same order he did).

[Gadfly]

Originally Posted by Ipsofacto

Assuming the instructor is good, you could try taking the key points and mentally talk your self through the exercise as soon as the instructor finishes talking. Use your internal voice and imagine yourself doing it.

This is good advice Ipso and I'll definitely will try it out. I know I can learn from him but I need a 'method' so to speak.

[Zoom Dude]

Originally Posted by Gadfly

What do you mean by the mindset?

Sorry, that must be more US English than Irish or UK. Mindset means state of mind, mental perspective or philosophical approach to a task.

ZD

[Clayjar]

When I took Tang Soo Do many years ago, I was pretty excited and motivated to learn. I wasn't nervous and anxious. I think you are putting too much pressure on yourself. It is supposed to be fun. Once you get past that, it will come to you naturally. Everything will just snap into place if you just relax, have fun, and don't expect to be the best.

I also had a active imagination and loved martial arts movies so I wanted to be like them. I would imagine myself doing the moves in my mind like an expert. The reality was I wasn't as good, but I did remember the moves. Eventually I became good after practice. I attained my black belt. But I had moved out of the area and have been unable financially to get back into it.

[Zevispaz]

I take Wado (it's primarily an offensive martial art, not really defense) and I had the same problem when I first started out. The instructor would go through the step by step, and I would get lost at step 3. Luckily he's a pretty patient guy, and the class mates were helpful. But he would explain why we were doing each step which really helped so it wasn't just remembering random movement. Warm up at the beginning of each class helps get rid of any restless feelings (so if I space out, I at least look like I'm listening. ).

I also mix up my lefts and rights, it's actually kind of embarrassing, I'm guessing every time I go into a fighting stance. He caught onto that one right away and just raises his hand that he means when he says right or left. Somehow I ended up with my left side being my dominant fighting side instead of my right. I don't think either of us understand how that one happened.

I've recently switched to XR which means my meds last through class, but honestly I don't think they really do anything, besides make me articulate questions/answers better. Actually, I think they probably do more harm than good, I feel like I have less energy, but I need them to drive. I still mix up my sides and am just as uncoordinated.

Since I first started either he switched something up, or I managed to somehow get the hang of it, because I got better at memorizing the steps and sequences. I'm just not sure what he did to switch it up, but it certainly feels much different than when I first started.

Just keep at it, you'll get the hang of it.

[Kasi]

I took Kajukenbo, and I swear every last one of those instructors were probably ADHD themselves because they did demos that made me weep for joy internally. They'd do a slow demo two or three times, depending on the complexity. Then they'd do a fast demo to show how it should be done in "real time" then there we'd line up and do the slow demo with them. Then fast. Did that a couple times. Then we'd face up with a partner to give it a shot if it was something that required that.

However, the question was how can you help yourself remember. A lot of times after practice, I looked like a complete moron, because I'd do the moves just after we'd get out of practice, outside the building, waiting for my dad to get there. Then a couple hours later, after dinner or such, I'd practice in my room, in front of a mirror. Would do the 'practice in front of a mirror' thing everyday.

If you couldn't tell, I'm also incredibly bad at memorizing moves but once I got them, they were there.

During the practice, try taking a few seconds to close your eyes and mentally 'seeing' yourself do the move. It's what I used to do during dance practice. Helped me a bit.

[stef]

um, I get confused with the "easy "level on a yoga application....had to keep replaying it.

so definitely Yes for me!

[Lisa_Mac]

I used to have the same problem when I was young and did ballet and dancing. The only thing that helped me was to just do the sequences over and over and over again. In practice and also in my head. I was actually quite a good dancer but only once I'd mastered the steps, and that took a while. But once I had them in my head I was ok. I realised then that I could never be a professional dancer because they need to be able to pick up dance sequences quickly.

My advice would be to tell your instructor that you struggle with working memory, and then just persevere. Some people just take longer than others.