Memorizing courses...please help!

My first question is "how do you learn best? visual? muscle memory? verbal? etc" That'll help you figure out what works best for you.

I learn best by visual and muscle memory (meaning I learn by doing).
So, with that, onto my response.

OMG, I totally understand. My first day of agility included tunnelers (only tunnels), jumpers (only jumps) and weavers (thank gawd, a variety of obstacles). I got sooo lost on jumpers and tunnelers and had to kinda think more about color combinations versus where they are. Because once I was off course, I was sooo screwed.

So, how did I overcome this?

Let me preface this by saying I read Susan's article on how to memorize a course. And if Susan's way makes you crazy, you're not alone. I just read that and thought, oh hell no! No way would that help me in ANY way. If anything, it'd make it worse, much much worse. (but that's me)

Okay, so this was my way of remembering.
1. use a course map to figure out crosses.
2. verbalize what I'm doing (one, two, three, front cross, four, five, rear cross, six, etc).
3. visualize what it'd look like before walking the course.
4. walk the course. THREE times. Do not stop, do not do any part over again, walk it all the way through at least twice. If I need to think about a part, I'll work on it, then walk the entire thing one last time.
5. outside of the ring (or away from ppl walking), I will visualize the course while looking at it, and doing the motions of my crosses while taking myself through it.
6. and lastly....watch either the group before me run it, or watch the people before me

In the very beginning, I would do 1 and part of 4. I'd walk it straight through 3 times and that's it. At times, I still couldn't remember what I was doing, especially if I got thrown off, or Koji went off course and I had to move out of position. I realized some big things that helped me. Watching other people run it and visualizing it at least once.

If the course is all jumpers for instance. When I walk, I use colors of the jumps to find points that standout. I also started thinking about places Koji may run off/out, are the places I'd be sure to know what to look for. ie. if 5 looked like he'd take it then run off, I'd make sure I knew 6 was the white jump with wings.

I will say this, after awhile, you'll get used to it. The first time I took a class where the instructor just walked the course, no numbers whatsoever, I almost had a heart attack. But I was pleasantly surprised that I remembered easily enough. I also remembered how I tend to learn (visually and by doing), because the time I missed my walk through, ran to get my dog cuz I was up "next", I learned the course from watching 2 people run it and I did good and Q'd.

Things like that made me realize what help me learn it and remember it the easiest.

I will say this. If I walk a course 1-12, but then I want to repeat obstacles 8-12, because the handling is tricky right there. If I don't walk the entire thing at the end, one last time, or finish 12-18, I'll have issues with remembering the course correctly.

So, ask yourself how you learn, and how you remember things generally. I think that'll help you figure out how to remember a course. My main thing is watching people run it. If that's all I do, then I know a course. I especially get dizzy when you have 50+ 16" people trying to walk all at the same time. lol.

Good luck!
 
Sharon said:
First quit beating yourself up!!You don't suck.Sounds like you are nervous and we all know what that can do to the brain.Do you ever go off by yourself after you have walked it and "Visualize " it? Visualize yourself running the course in your mind.I will walk it a few times then go off and work it in my mind.I also like to volunteer working as ring crew and watching the other jump heights run it before we run and that helps also.
Click to expand...

Visualizing how I will run the course the best advice I ever received. I use the same routine both in class/practice and trials.

The first time I walk the course to orient myself to the flow and placement of the jumps.

Then I walk the course 2-3 more times, as I plan to run it with crosses, cues, etc.

My next step is stand back and look at the course as whole to remind myself of any potential trouble spots.

The final step is to go off in a corner by myself, close my eyes and mentally run the course rehearsing the side changes, cues, etc. I continue to do this step a few more times while I'm waiting with my dog.

With the exception of Snooker and Gamblers, I seldom look at course maps to plan my path or the dog's path. It works better for me to do that in my first walk-through when I can actually be 'in the space' to see where my dog will land after a jump or what they will see when they come off an obstacle.
 
Uhm I can't drink the night before, that is a rule I have decided to go with, LOL
Just signing up for my first trial, ever!

I am also a visual learner, course maps frustrate the hell out of me, UNTIL I have walked the course and after that I look at the map to find one or two obstacle to orient myself from...

I admire people from a horse background and dancers seem to do real well in agility I noticed, big ole' clodhoppers like me have to keep walking the course as often as they can ;)

Anyhow, yer not the only one, that is what I really wanted to say, LOL
 
i've gotten lost doing a sequence of three to four obstacles! (granted i'm still learning), but i can relate to "my dog does great; i just don't know where i'm sending him!" and getting frustrated.

i can't imagine how bad i'll do trying to memorize full courses! :eek2:
 
k9kreationz said:
Let me preface this by saying I read Susan's article on how to memorize a course. And if Susan's way makes you crazy, you're not alone. I just read that and thought, oh hell no! No way would that help me in ANY way. If anything, it'd make it worse, much much worse. (but that's me)
Click to expand...

I am not sure if this is a result of dyslexia but NOTHING that SG does in her training is accidental or at least seems that way:smile2:
So training backwards by grouping obstacles is what? Positive reinforcement of yourself by backchaining method. The finish- is your reward, it is your positive goal. You initially concentrate on that creating great reward for yourself, then you chain back logical groups of obstacles to that positive goal...
 
SheltieChe said:
I am not sure if this is a result of dyslexia but NOTHING that SG does in her training is accidental or at least seems that way:smile2:

So training backwards by grouping obstacles is what? Positive reinforcement of yourself by backchaining method. The finish- is your reward, it is your positive goal. You initially concentrate on that creating great reward for yourself, then you chain back logical groups of obstacles to that positive goal...
Click to expand...

I will say this. Susan G, like all the other big trainers out there do things with a purpose. But, what they do doesn't work for everyone and that's something you need to remember.

For myself, backchaining for memorization will not work in any sense of the word. I learn by doing and memorization comes by repeating (in order). So if I'm backchaining jumps, I will confuse myself since I'm not "starting" in the same place. The end may be the same, but the start and middle are not and that's where I don't learn well.

I hope that made sense. I feel that people, like dogs, learn differently and yes, we need to take that into consideration. Heck, even Rachel S. had to adjust her box training method with Koji because he wasn't "doing the norm".
 
It's true, one of my instructors pulls out the flip charts and powerpoints and clipboards for us to record keep during our seminars, even record keep for one another... I NEVER do it if I can help it, I hate it :D Doesn't work for me and just makes me anxious... I learn by observing and doing
If it is too theoretical and doesn't involve conversation and obervation it's torture for me :dead:

It's correct that people are different types of learners, good to know which one you are. I coach and mentor through work a lot, always tailoring my delivery to what type of learner I am dealing with.
 
3stars: Have you tried any of the recommendations? Just curious if you found anything that has helped you or worked for you yet.
 
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