Seminars and Coaching vs Solo Practice

[Nick1974]

There have been a lot of posts and announcements recently promoting and reviewing CST seminars and coaching.

The overriding impression I am getting from these threads is that for one to receive the full benefits of CST one must attend the seminars or receive personal coaching from a certified instructor.

That's fair enough and I wouldn't argue with that, but it begs the question... for those of us that are unable to attend a seminar or coaching (due to financial constraints or geographic location) just what can we hope to achieve from solo practice using the just the books, DVDs and online resources? Are we wasting our time? Are we kidding ourselves in believing we can achieve our health & fitness goals?

[Ryan Murdock]

Nick,

The video and print resources have been carefully crafted to allow dedicated athletes to learn the fundamentals of the CST system. I applied them dilligently for years before I decided to dedicate myself fully and attend my first seminar. I was well prepared and I had been making better gains than I ever had before in my life.

I figured that I was extremely well prepared, and I was confident that I had digested everything and had squeezed everything possible out of the resources. I expected to pick up a few things at the seminar, but nothing mind blowing. Was I wrong!

Live coaching is the way to take it to the next level. A certified CST Instructor or Coach can work magic and will transform your performance on the spot. It isn't something esoteric. It's just that they embody the system through their depth of dedicated personal practice, and their intuition has been honed by experience.

Attending a seminar allows you to experience the CST process in a visceral way that you're unable to replicate through home study. You'll make great progress with the videos and you can learn exercises, but it isn't quite the same as experiencing the responsive nature of CST in a live setting.

This goes for all of us. You saw the reports of a couple of our CST Instructors who booked private sessions with Coach Sonnon, and the progress that they made. Even certified Instructors or Coaches benefit from going that extra distance and getting time with a Staff coach.

We all need coaches. I get my time in several times per year when I see my brothers on Staff.

I hope others will chime in here with their thoughts and experiences. This is an excellent question, Nick. :)

[William J]

http://www.rmaxinternational.com/forum/showthread.php?t=13138

Never been but, from being coached in other endeavors, hands on expert help is far "better" than self taught.
However, I have gained miles on where I started just by watching the DVD's and "paying close attention to what I am doing."

My humble .02

(edit) Having just received the Clubbell encyclopedia, I can tell you that the first DVD is Worth the price of the entire set. The teaching is what we are all really after (if you're already physically inclined or athletic).

[Coach Flanagan]

Are we wasting our time? Are we kidding ourselves in believing we can achieve our health & fitness goals?

Definatly not wasting your time. I would even hypothesize that you can experience the same benefits from COMMITED solo practice that you could from attending a seminar.

That said, though the benefits are the same, its the rate of progress that changes. With each RMAX seminar I go to, my personal practice is improved by 500 percent. I gain a deeper understanding of what it is we are doing, and with that understanding, get results that much more faster. I can make improvements now in 2 weeks that a year ago and 5 days ago (the day before CST theta) would have taken 2 months. The lessons I learned then though were still valuable.

The coolest thing about CST is that all of its truths are self evident. You do the work, you internalize the principles, you deepen your understanding of the process, and you repeat the cycle.

The coolest thing about CST seminars is they carefully crafted to give you the precise experiences you need at the time to internalize a specific principle, to deepen your understanding of the process.

Nick, when you make it to a seminar, your training and your understanding of CST will change pretty dramatically. How much prep work you can put in now beforehand will affect how much results you get when you can make it to a seminar. There is no wasted time as you do the work to get CST in your bones.

[Cody Fielding]

I see this in terms of degree (rather than black and white) and speed of evolution. There has never been a video course which can substitute for personal instruction - that is a general truism.

To take it a step further, I recently began taking Muay Thai kickboxing classes (live). I decided to hire the primary trainer for some 1 on 1 time. I learned more in that one hour than I had in the previous 4 classes. This is just the way it is, but does not mean that over time I would not have been able to glean the same skills from the classes.

The basics of CST are there in book and video and DVD for everyone. In person work will speed the development and comprehension.

As another aside, I strongly encourage people to hire CST Instructors via on line video work. Most people can at least borrow a vid camera these days, create a relationship with an Instructor and send them some clips of your work, they can respond with clarity on your personal practice. This is a fairly inexpensive way to get coaching that will accelerate the dynamics of one's work.

C-

[Kathryn Woodall]

Nick,

I find this a very interesting question.

In my own experience, the resources offered via the books, dvds, equipment, and forum have been priceless. Even if I had never seen a coach or an instructor, exploring on my own with the RMAX materials this last year has significantly changed my life. Though I have not yet reached my big goal, I would certainly not call that practice a waste of time.

I look at the materials and seeking out personal/cert instruction like this. I have a library card and therefore have access to volumes of information. If I didn't have the finances to attend school or wanted material from another location, I could probably learn just about anything that I wanted to provided that I invested enough time and was willing to wait for the library loan process to go through. Depending on what it was I explored, it may or may not give me the legal status to practice or earn a living from what I learned, but I could explore as much as I was willing to. However, if I want to reach a higher level faster, then it is probably best that I go to school/seek out instruction and learn from others who have already spent time doing the trial and error that I would have to go through on my own. And if I want to earn a living with what I learn, I certainly want to seek out instruction because I won't want to make mistakes which are more costly than the instruction itself was. So in the end, it may depend on what your health and fitness goals are. Do you want to be an elite athlete, do you want to be pain free, to you want to be really good at your hobby...what is it that you want? I know that sounds like RMAX-ese, but until you know what you want, it is hard to define how to get it.

On another note, I have also sought some instruction both in person and via the forum. It may be possible, but would be much more challenging to get to where I want to be without having help from others. Each session shaved weeks to months if not longer off of my practice time. Honestly, just watching the way Scott moves changed my learning curve. Someone at a non-cst seminar I was at, and I don't remember who or where so please forgive if I'm not giving adequate credit to them, made the comment that if they knew what we knew, they would do what we do. For me, I want to know what they know becaues I really want to be able to do what they do. I'll get the basics from the dvd's and books and maybe even expand upon that a little with other knowledge I've gained throughout my life. However, because there is always more to know, I'm going to make a way to get to the coaches in person or on the forum each time I'm stuck or ready for more.

For me abandoning CST now that I know just how much is possible to gain from it would be like telling myself that sooner or later I'm going to stop breathing so I might as well just stop now...how much good could all those extra breaths really be? Rather or not it ends the way I want it to, if I make the journey good, my goal is great, but not the end all be all of my life.

[joelsey]

Hey Nick:

I think I hear what you are saying, and others have answered aspects of it. Again, there is no substitute for 1:1 training.

That being said, I run semi-monthly group classes, in addition to private lessons, with another Instructor, Brian Bentz. After the class, we alsways do a sitrep to see how it went, what we could do better, etc. Inevitably, it comes around to ,"Hey, show me that again" or "Can we go through that one more time". So, we are learning from each other. We also take 1:1 lessons with a Coach, to further improve our practice.

Given the fact that you stated some restraints, make every effort to exhaust all other avenues until the time when you can get individual attention. Coordinate an Informal Training class. Post videos up of your practice for critique.

Short answer long, you're not wasting your time. You can still gain lots of information from assorted media. Instruction and Coaching will take you to the next level more quickly, and provide instant and focused feedback.

I hope this helps.....

Smiling....

[peterng25]

Nick,

For me abandoning CST now that I know just how much is possible to gain from it would be like telling myself that sooner or later I'm going to stop breathing so I might as well just stop now...how much good could all those extra breaths really be? Rather or not it ends the way I want it to, if I make the journey good, my goal is great, but not the end all be all of my life.

That rings very loud bells for me!
I find myself thinking that way, only to chuckle and realize the only way I could think of abandoning is because all the discomforts, pains, stiffness accumulated are gone. It's only when we are very comfortable with our bodies (thanks to Scott and CST), that we can toy with the idea of slouching on the sofa and doze away. For 5 minutes!

[Scott Sonnon]

There have been a lot of posts and announcements recently promoting and reviewing CST seminars and coaching.

The overriding impression I am getting from these threads is that for one to receive the full benefits of CST one must attend the seminars or receive personal coaching from a certified instructor.

That's fair enough and I wouldn't argue with that, but it begs the question... for those of us that are unable to attend a seminar or coaching (due to financial constraints or geographic location) just what can we hope to achieve from solo practice using the just the books, DVDs and online resources? Are we wasting our time? Are we kidding ourselves in believing we can achieve our health & fitness goals?

Nick,

It sounds like there's a lot going on for you right now. I would guess that arranging with a Coach a private consultation by telephone, email or mailed video would help.

[Nick1974]

Thanks for the replies everyone. Plenty of food for thought.