Gaining and retaining: Imagine you met a man who told you that his annual income was one million dollars a year. Would you not be impressed by his wealth? I believe that most of us certainly would. What if that man then revealed that his annual expenses were $975,000 a year? Would you still be impressed by his wealth? Probably much less so. When it comes to accruing wealth, the amount of money coming in is not nearly as important as the amount you retain. EXACTLY THE SAME IS TRUE OF KNOWLEDGE. so often I see students chasing after knowledge. This is a good and desirable trait. Never forget however, that important issue is not how much knowledge you learn – BUT HOW MUCH YOU RETAIN – for it is only the knowledge you can access and remember that will prove useful to you in future action. It is critical therefore, THAT YOUR ATTEMPTS AT GAINING KNOWLEDGE FOCUS AS MUCH ON KNOWLEDGE RETENTION AS THEY DO ON KNOWLEDGE ACQUISITION. You must have a program set out that solidifies the knowledge you have gained in a way that enables you to access it on demand in a way that leads to effective action on the mat. In the case of a group of professional athletes like the squad, this is relatively easy, as we spend large amounts of time together and begin and end each training session with discussion of the central concepts and problems we work on – along with vast amounts of repetition to cement knowledge in place. In your case this may not be possible, as most people have busy lives, professional and family commitments etc. in these cases I always recommend the same methods we used successfully(well, partially successful ) in school and college – note taking, periodic reviews, occasional informal tests etc etc. By shifting focus from acquisition to retention of knowledge you will quickly find the knowledge you have translating into more effective action. Here, squad members discuss technique and strategy before stepping out onto the mat in competition (shiai). This helps to ensure the themes we want to express in the match are at the forefront of the athletes mind as steps out to face his opponent.
