I am at the airport about to head off interstate to run a Judo seminar with my good friend and Olympian, Ivo dos Santos.

I really enjoy hanging out at airports. I love grabbing a coffee as well as browsing the bookshop and finding something to read on the plane. Today I downloaded Brad Pilon’s controversial book on fasting called “Eat, Stop, Eat.” I’m not super into fasting but I’ll give it a read and see what all the fuss is about. I’m not too convinced that eating whatever you want a few days a week and then eating nothing for a few days will helpin losing weight

In today’s email I thought I would share with you the top 5 things you should do when attending a martial arts seminar.

#1 Take a partner:
Take someone who you can work well with in the seminar. There is nothing worse than going to a seminar and you get stuck with a person who is an uncooperative partner. This can make practicing the techniques almost impossible and leave you frustrated and annoyed and you leave the seminar on a low rather than a high.

#2 A Camera:
Film as much as you can. Film everything. Although make sure you ask beforehand as some seminar hosts don’t like being filmed and posted online. Ask first.

#3 A note pad:
Always make notes (especially if you cannot film).

#4 All your protective equipment
Make sure you tape up, wear your knee guards, mouth guard or whatever else you wear when you train. This is due to the fact that there are times in a seminar where the instructor will ask you to do some Randori and you want to make sure you are prepared.

#5 An open mind:
There is nothing worse when you are running a seminar and showing a technique only to find that someone in the seminar ‘knows way more than you’ and learnt nothing new.
You WILL ALWAYS learn something at a seminar. So keep an open mind and go in there wanting to learn opposed to letting your ego get in the way with a “I know it all attitude.”

If there are any seminars near you in your town or near your club then I urge you to pay the money and attend the seminar.

Even if you are a very experienced fighter seminars help you learn a tweak of a technique that could result in you getting it more often.

Have a great weekend ahead and have fun at Judo training.
Talk soon,
Matt