Seminars, are they worth it?

by Meredith

Four things I generally look at when I see a posting for a seminar at my school:

1. Does this look like something I'd be interested in? (Particularly for X number of hours?)
2. Can I afford it?
3. Have I heard anything about the person leading the seminar and was it good stuff?
4. Do I have time?

The last question for me applies because of theatre, thus sometimes my nights and weekends are otherwise occupied, which knocks out more seminars for me than the other three, but if all of the above questions are positive, then I generally will take the seminar. I'll explore this a bit more deeply however.

If you're learning something that you don't normally see, is it going to be worth your time to learn?

Personally, I say definitely yes. Unless it's something you know a little bit about and know you will be miserable and resisting it the entire time, I think something new is always worth learning. You'll learn a lot of different techniques at a seminar, and one or two of them are likely to become personal favorites. Who knows when you will be able to incorporate them into your normal practice? It will be something different than your opponent will have experienced, or maybe something you can teach your partner. At any rate, it will start you thinking differently, and that's never a bad thing.

As a beginner, are you going to get as much out of it as someone who is more experienced?

There are certain things that won't come as easy to a beginner as they would to someone who has been doing martial arts for a while. That's not to say you wouldn't learn anything, but do pay attention to what the notices say. If they say a certain session is for advanced students only, then pay attention to that. It's also a good idea to ask your instructors what they think. They'll generally have a better idea of how advance the seminar will get, presumably having participated in the like before, and be able to better advise you. Generally, if the seminar is broken out into sections, there is at least one section of basics, and that is worth attending at any level. Presuming you can pay by section.

Will you actually use the stuff you learn?

There's no telling if you will use ANY of the stuff you learn in ANY class really. My own belief is that it's always helpful to get a different perspective on things. If only to learn what DOESN'T work for you. Different people adapt to different things with varying successes, which is one reason there are so many different kinds of martial arts. If you didn't at least check it out, you would only be doing yourself a disservice. Even if you don't find the entire seminar appeals to you, it's unlikely that there won't be at least one thing you take away from it that's of a value to you.

If the seminar is run by someone that you occasionally see, would your money be better spent doing a private lesson?

This depends. Is the seminar specific to something this person specializes in that perhaps you haven't covered before? If you are training with someone who is honest, they should be able to tell you if the seminar is different or you should be able to tell by the way in which they say 'oh you should come, there's always something to learn' that perhaps it IS all the same. But many of the people we train with every day in kickboxing have kali talents we never imagined.

My personal belief is, if you have the money and the time and it's someone you know is a good teacher who you will learn from, is there something else you would rather be spending your money and time on? If so, do that.