Hi. I'm Courtney. I'm American and almost 18.
I have recently enrolled in a martial arts class, and I really want to do well and master what my Sensei(s) are trying to teach me.
I go two days a week, and since I'm one of the newest students and at the lowest rank (white belt), one of the senseis is assigned to teach me the basics. After I have mastered these basics, I can join the rest of the class and begin pairing off with other students to apply fighting techniques.
I want SO MUCH to make my parents and my teacher proud by doing well in this class, but I find it really difficult to memorize the steps to the movements we need to know. Usually, my sensei will give me 8-10 steps to learn. He goes over the movements many times with me, but sometimes I can only remember two or three out of eight or ten, and I sometimes make mistakes on the ones I already know. He will tell me "Do this block with your left fist, and keep your right fist touching your body". And I will do it correctly, but I can't switch to the opposite side and do the same thing. Either that, or I forget the move all together and freeze up while I rack my brain trying to remember. I understand that I'm new and I make more mistakes than people who have gone up a belt or more, but I still feel that students that are just as new as I am catch on more quickly than I do.
I also have difficulty remembering things such as "Point your fist to the center","Relax your shoulders", or "Keep your arm above your head."I forget them as soon as I am told a lot of the time, and I don't know how to train myself to remember. My mind just seems to go blank, even though I've been trying to pay attention.
Another thing is, he will tell me "Class is over. Now you can practice these skills at home," but if I can't memorize a lot of them (and they have to be in order), how am I supposed to practice?
How should I begin to conquer this?