When I was studying for my 3rd degree black belt written test, I was told questions would be pulled from any and all volumes of the training texts, as well as any black belt manuals or additional journals. I had read over the books a few times over the years, but admittedly didn’t remember as much as I should’ve, so I took to studying as much as I could. I ended up using a technique I used early on in my training when I was trying to remember my one step techniques in order: writing it all down.
One of my instructors encouraged us to keep a journal throughout our training, and to write down our techniques in our own words. She explained that the act of physically writing something down helps embed it in your memory; for example, that’s why we take notes in school. I wasn’t the best at keeping a continuous journal throughout the years of my training, but I felt that I knew my one steps in the correct order for the most part. However, when I was getting ready for my first degree black belt test I wanted to know them as second nature, being able to demonstrate them in any random order. I wrote out all my one steps, color coated and as detailed as I could, and used that to study off of. I actually didn’t need it for very long, as I should’ve known from the wisdom taught to me, the act of writing them down helped me remember them more than I thought and I was able to execute them correctly from memory without having to rely on my notes, even when just practicing.
Fast forward to when I have to study the material found across 8 or so books for the Sam Dan test, and I decided to rewrite sections of the books I had trouble remembering. I created a mini hyung manual of my own; dedicating an entire notebook page for each form, noting the history, technical details, pretty much any important facts I could find. I didn’t need to go overboard and know every little detail for the test, but honestly I was enjoying it. I often still read it when I can’t recall a minor detail! It made my studying more interesting to me, and it stuck in my head way easier.
If you’re having trouble remembering or studying something, try writing it down! It’ll help stick in your head, and if it doesn’t, then at least you have a page of notes to reference in case you forget. 🙂
