Master of Memory: Accelerated learning, education, memorization - MMem 0464: Jiu-Jitsu moves in a memory palace

Episode Date: December 17, 2015

Andy wants to memorize Jiu-Jitsu moves, but he’s concerned that storing them in a memory palace might make the access process take too long. Is it possible to store combat skills in a memory palace without worrying that the “journey” to the memory palace will take too long? What do you want to learn? Leave your […]

Master of Memory 464. Welcome to Master of Memory. I'm Timothy, and I'm here to answer your accelerated learning questions every day and to inspire and empower you to learn anything you want to learn faster than ever. Andy submitted a written question at masterofmemory.com slash question about how to remember jujitsu moves. Andy says, there's no time to go to a memory palace during combat. I need a quick way to access the memory. I think the story method or linking them to a body part might serve a fast

clue, but I'm not sure if that's the best way. Also, if I'm watching a jujitsu video, do you think it's better to watch in third-person mode or to translate to first-person mode? Watching in first-person mode is harder as I need to flip the images, but it's similar to live combat mode. So a quick comment about that last part of the question there, Andy, or that second question, I guess, is it's probably best to focus when you're watching on exactly what is going to result in real results when you are in combat. So when you're watching, you're not trying to absorb everything, you're trying to absorb specifically the things that are going to improve you. And so when you see a particular move that you like, or that you'd like to replicate for yourself, that's when I would suggest that you pause the video, if possible, and switch to first person

mode in your mind, and then memorize the move with a kinesthetic mnemonic. So you're going to watch from third person and not just exhaust yourself with trying to remember everything, which doesn't really result in any good results. But then when you have something that you want to remember, you then switch to first-person mode in your mind and absorb it with a mnemonic. Now, as far as those mnemonics do go, I would recommend still, and I would argue for a memory palace, I would discourage you from trying to use, you know, different body parts as pegs or memory palaces because then you're thinking about your body in two different ways, the ways you're actually using And I mean, you'd have to store an action that you do with your hands, with your foot, you know, storing the peg that way. I don't think that that would be the best way to do it. You want your access, and this is kind of the point, you want your access to the thing

that you're trying to do, the move that you have to make. You want that access to be linked to what you're directly doing in combat. You're going to move your arms. You want that mnemonic linked to your arms directly. Then why do I argue for using a memory palace? Because the purpose of the memory palace is not to go there and be in a different world when you're in combat. It's just that you're using the palace as a method of learning more quickly and of

categorizing the different types of moves. So you're going to organize the moves that you do in a memory palace, like what I talked about in episode 361 about organizing, let's say, submission holds from other types of moves. And then you have joint locks versus chokes within the submission holds area. But the thing is, you're going to use this memory palace largely for study in between sessions. You could even use it as a review method. So when you're thinking about submission holds, you can practice the different submission holds

just by going through your memory palace in your head while you're not in combat, you're just practicing on your own. And that's a really efficient way to tie the different types of submission holds together. But then when you're actually in combat, you're going to know that you need a submission hold. And because of the work that you did in between those sessions, or in between, you know, combat, when you're just practicing on your own, while you're in combat, you're going to know how to do a submission hold really quickly. And you'll have those different

submission holds to choose between because they're close together in your mind, in your memory palace. And you don't have to go and explore your memory palace to find them. You've already practiced them in sort of close proximity on your own. So those are my suggestions,

kind of going off of what I talked about in episode 361. But the big thing, Andy, is I think you just need to try this for yourself and you'll see that you don't have to go to a memory palace. You know, people talk about going into your memory palace and walking around in it. That's really not what it's about. If you've tried this out yourself and done it effectively, you don't have to spend time going there. You'll have these moves, even though you know where they are in your memory palace, you'll have them in your head and ready to use immediately while you're in combat. Thanks for the question, Andy. And for everyone listening,

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