The Notebook

I wish I was better at taking notes. I wish that I had thought to take notes from the beginning of my martial art career. My first Kuk Sool Won seminar I was still a white belt, and Kuk Sa Nim gave a lecture and said things that I’ve never heard him say since. I wish I had written it down.

Anyway, this isn’t about me. This article is about you and why you should bring a notebook to every class, seminar, and workshop. Here are my reasons in convenient list form.

1. Memory: Kuk Sa Nim really wants us to work on our memory and not have to rely on notes. However, it is a fact that writing things down (especially the old-fashioned way with pen and paper rather than electronically) helps lock things in our memory better than simply repeating them over and over.
2. Quotes: Sometimes you want to remember exactly how something was said and not just the general idea. I need pen and paper for this. One of my favorite uses for my notebooks is to go back and look at my quotes from various masters.
3. Change: When you find out that you’ve been doing something incorrectly for a long time, you need to write the change down. This has happened to me over and over, and my mind keeps wanting to go back to the old way, even to the point of remembering the old way as the “new” way. In other words, my mind hates change so much that it lies to me about what the correct way is. If you’ve got it written down, this won’t happen to you.
4. Questions: When you are studying, questions will come up. Write them in your notebook so that you’ll have them in class and can remember to ask them.
5. A Thousand Words: Sometimes you need to make a note of stances or patterns. I find simple line drawings very helpful for cataloging this information quickly and easily. Many of the notes in my textbooks are of this sort.
6. Pen and Ink: Notes in my textbook are almost always done in pencil. This might be a holdover from my days in High School band when changes were frequently revised. Pencil is messier, but it is easier to go back and revise as your understanding improves. Notes in notebooks are best done in ink. Revisions can be referenced and expanded upon in new pages.
7. Sharing: If a classmate is ill or unable to attend a class, it’s nice to be able to share the drills and lecture highlights that they missed. I frequently post my seminar and workshop notes on Facebook for classmates and students.
8. Comparing: One of my favorite training times is after a hard seminar or workshop. I enjoy sitting down to a great meal and comparing notes and memories with classmates and students. I am always reminded of points that I missed, phrases that I misunderstood, and drills that I want to keep. This is usually when I make notes in my textbooks.
9. Nostalgia: There might come a time when you can no longer train. Having training logs to look back on might be a comfort.

I encourage you to invest a few dollars in a nice notebook and pen. Be diligent about recording your thoughts and ideas. Be a real student of Kuk Sool, and not just someone who “takes karate lessons”. I think you’ll be a better student for it.