Seminar Checklist

by Mike

Seminars are an awesome way to progress and grow as a martial artist. We've previously covered seminars and how/why they may be useful for your training, but there are practical matters related to the seminar - logistics if you will.

Whether your do all your training on the seminar circuit with Rorce Gracie and Dan Severn,* or you have the opportunity to take a one-off with one of your idols, you best make sure you're prepared to take full advantage of the situation.

Things to bring:

• Proper equipment. If the seminar is going to be Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu or Judo make sure you have an appropriate gi. If it's going to be Muay Thai drills, make sure you bring your tombstone pads. If you'll be sparring, bring your sparring gear. If it's not clear from the seminar agenda, ask the hosting school.
  
  
• More equipment than called for. Few seminars have any structure to them, let alone a rigid agenda, so it's entirely possible that you'll end up doing some fun stuff, like rolling with the instructor or sparring. You don't need to bring your whole gym bag, but some "just in case" items might prove to be worth the extra weight.
  
  
• Your notebook and several pens. You are keeping a notebook aren't you?
  
  The notebook is by far the most important thing you'll need during the seminar. You're paying good money for access to a great teacher that you likely won't see again for another year, if at all, so you want to make sure that you not only learn a lot while you're in the seminar, but that you remember it after the seminar's over.
  
  You should take any spare moment you get to start writing down notes - drills you like, things you need to work on, new techniques, etc. I have fond memories of Renzo Gracie teaching a very high-percentage kneebar when stuck in someone's half-guard that I only wrote down, "kneebar from inside half-guard" and every time I get caught in someone's half-guard, I curse myself for not remembering it.
  
  
• Camera. If you're that type that likes to get shots of you and famous people. I'm not particularly, but somewhere a dude from my gym has a great shot of Matt Lindland choking me out that he keeps promising to email me and never does. Shoulda thought to bring my own camera.
  
  
• Cash money. Most, if not all, seminar instructors will have something extra to sell after the seminar. Books, t-shirts, videos, knives, etc. They probably won't take credit cards or checks, but definitely will take cash.
  
  Also useful for having if there's an unexpected break in the seminar and you want to go out and grab a snack, or otherwise go out to dinner/the bar with other attendees after the seminar's over.
  
  
• Water bottle and snacks. Most seminars are going to bring out many more students than the space they're held in normally hold. Thus, when there is a break, there will be a line of nerds waiting for the drinking fountain. While they're holding up the show, you can take the opportunity to take some notes.
  
  If there are going to be multiple sessions or the seminar is particularly long, having some well thought-out snacks is going to serve you much better than heading out with everyone to the 7-Eleven to get some crap to fill up on. Nothing funnier than watching people come back to an afternoon session of an all-day seminar (which are traditionally harder than the morning sessions), full of burritos and spend the rest of the day looking like they're going to puke.
  
  Unless they're your partner.
  

Other considerations:

• Make sure you arrive early... Traffic and/or your sense of direction are often worse than you thought they were. Showing up to a seminar late is bad for two reasons 1: you miss out on some learning that you're paying good money for and 2: it pisses off the instructor.
  
  Case in point, I attended a Maurice Smith seminar at the ComicCon of all places (see Bas Rutten vs. Dracula) and, due to there being a surprising amount of traffic at 9am on a Sunday, I got in about five minutes late. My hopes of being able to sneak in the back were dashed when I walked in the room and saw everyone was spread out and starting to work on drills. Big Mo was kind of annoyed as I kicked off my shoes. I bowed and said, "I apologize for being late, sir.** Can I still jump in?"
  
  He softened a bit, "No problem, just line up and we'll get started."
  
  About five minutes after that, another guy walked in, looking like he just got out of bed, kicked off his sandals and said, "uh, I'm here for the Maurice Smith seminar."
  
  Maurice looked at him and said, "You're late. Hurry up, you're wasting time."
  
  
• ...but don't expect the seminar to start on time. It's entirely likely that the seminar teacher will be in town visiting his friends the host and therefore was out all night with them, catching up and/or crunked.
  

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* This is a joke, please don't email me about how I misspelled Hoyce.***

** In case you ever have occasion to meet the man, don't call him "sir." I'm pretty sure it's also a bad idea to call him anything other than what he tells you you can call him.

*** That was also a joke.