The Art of Learning

It's 5:30AM, it's freezing cold, and I can barely see the knuckles that are driving at my face. My sensei, who has the patience of a saint, is beginning to get frustrated. Even though we have reviewed our block / counter sequence 100x, I am still having trouble executing the movement.

If this were a real street fight, people would be pulling my unconscious body off the pavement within a few seconds.

With each failed movement, I become more and more disappointed in myself.

How can this be happening?

My sensei is an excellent teacher.

I am a skilled athlete. (I played football and a little baseball at Columbia University.)

I spend a huge portion of my time training high level athletes on how to control their bodies and their minds in competition.

How could I not immediately pick up this block / counter sequence?

As I drive home hating myself, it finally hits me ...

I am a horrible learner.

The Art of Learning

Just as teaching is an art, so is learning.

It is what separates natural talent from skill. You are born with natural talent, but you develop skill. 

And you develop skill by becoming an effective learner and methodically applying what you learned.

Unfortunately, there are many personality types that are detrimental to effective learning.

As you read the descriptions below, identify which one relates to you most and map out a game plan to ensure your learning roadblocks are removed.

1. The Scared Hermit Crab

As hermit crabs grow, they must temporarily leave the comfort of their old shell in order to enter a new (larger) one. As they move from the small shell to the larger one, their soft bodies are exposed to danger.

The scared hermit crab never leaves his shell.

He would rather stay in his comfortable little world than risk the exposure required to grow.

In the gym, the scared hermit crab is someone like the guy who refuses to retract his shoulder blades as he benches.

Will this technique eventually improve his bench press?

Absolutely!

But it may also force him to use some lighter weight as his body learns the new movement.

The scared hermit crab would never do that. He deems any step back as a sign of vulnerability and weakness. 

To him, the long term gains are not worth the short term exposure.

2. The Twig

To the naked eye, twigs appear strong and sturdy.

But what happens when you apply just a little pressure?

They snap!

In the gym, the twig is the guy who believes anger and rage outweigh technique and form.

At the first sign of a threat, he tenses up and forgets all of his training.

He decides to "muscle through" workouts, rather than use the technique he has been developing over the past few years.

The most common place a twig will reveal himself is during a PR attempt on a deadlift.

The twig will try to rip the bar off the floor with his arms, rather than simply push his feet through the ground and use his arms as levers.

Even arms this big won't bail you out ...

Twigs are very susceptible to injuries, especially when the stakes are high.

They are hard to change, because they view rage as a sign of their "intensity" and injuries as necessary "battle wounds".

Unfortunately for them, they keep forgetting that broken twigs no longer grow.

3. Danielson

In The Karate Kid, Mr. Miyagi teaches Daniel LaRusso the arm movements necessary to block punches by making him wax his car.

At the time, "Danielson" has no idea the valuable lesson he is learning. He even thinks he is the victim of some elaborate prank to simply do chores for Mr. Miyagi.

He doesn't want to wax cars.

He wants to learn the "Crouching Tiger Hidden Dragon Death Choke" on Day 1.

Which athletes are the "Danielsons"?

They are the ones who have no interest in breaking down complex movements into smaller, more manageable pieces.

Good examples are those who want to jump before they know how to land and those who want to clean before they know how to power shrug.

The hardest part of dealing with a "Danielson" is that they are always comparing themselves to another athlete.

If the athlete next to them is doing a hang clean, then they take it as a personal offense if they are doing a high pull.

From what I can tell, they would rather fail miserably at a more complex movement than master a much simpler one.

And you know how I feel about failure ....

4. Mr Perfect

Mr. Perfect is a guy who's number one priority is his image.

He cannot and will not allow the people around him to see him make a mistake.

Mr. Perfect takes very few risks, including learning new techniques in public or competing against others who may beat him.

He is very similar to the hermit crab, except he is more concerned with losing his reputation than he is with losing gains.

Unlike the hermit crab, Mr. Perfect will eventually learn new techniques. He just has to do so at his own pace and away from everyone else.

While this is not the worst thing in the world, he could have much quicker gains if he wasn't so worried about what everyone else thought of him.


5. The Oracle


The Oracle knows everything (especially when they don't).

The easiest way to spot an Oracle is if you hear him say "I Know" AS he is being instructed.

The key word is "AS".

He doesn't wait until after the movement is over. He actually says it in mid-rep. 

A good example would be an athlete that you have spotted looking down during a back squat. As you say "Look Up", he immediately says "I know".

An Oracle will always confuse me the most. 

He is either really mad at himself for making the mistake or he is mad that you are correcting him. Either way, he puts more effort into cutting you off than he actually does at perfecting his movement.

For the most part, Oracles are terrible learners. They are so concerned with not being wrong, that they never focus on how to be "right".

In rare instances, Oracles are really fast learners. They hate screwing up so much that they very seldom make the same mistake twice.

In those instances, the biggest risk is frustrating the teacher so much that he no longer wants to give instruction.

I have the luxury of dealing with both types of Oracles.

When dealing with the latter, I stare at this picture to help me relax for about twenty minutes before and after our session.

Wrap-Up

Even the best learners portray some of the personality traits above. The key is to recognize when those traits are being exhibited and to understand they are stifling your growth ... physically, mentally, and emotionally.

Remember ...

• Don't be afraid to make mistakes ... they are part of the learning process.
• When faced with adversity, bend like the blade of grass ... don't break like the twig.
• A short term setback is often a worthy investment for a long term goal.

Note: The contents of this article are 100% inspired by a book titled "The Art of Learning" by Josh Waitzkin. Anyone who is both a National Champion in chess and a World Champion at Tai Chi Chuan has my utmost respect.

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