mASF post by "Robson_5"
posted on: mASF forum: Reviews Discussion, November 11, 2004RSD Review: Sydney, Australia
Basic overview:
The first good thing about the seminar was the fact that there wasn't too many
students there, and quiet a number of Instructors. We ended up with basically a
1:1 ratio for most of the time. What I actually aimed to get out of the seminar
was not so much the content, but more seeing how the instructors, themselves,
actually act, look and talk. Having been on mASF for some time now, I’m up to
date on a lot of material and have had a fair bit of field experience, but
wanted to see their body language, in particular, for myself. The only real
disappointment(which is a personal thing for me, and makes no impact on the
quality of the program) was that TD was not present, despite RSD telling us,
specifically, he would be there. The reason I would have liked to have met him
is because he is a member who’s posts have taught me a lot of material. Keeping
in mind what I said I wanted out of the seminar, it would have been great to
meet the guy who I have learnt a lot from, to see how he presents himself and
comes across in comparison to what I’ve taken from his posts, as mentioned
above.
Having said all that:
The 2-day seminar began with a (VERY) brief introduction of the instructors, a
lot of which I had never heard of before. I guess they don’t all post of ASF
very often... and some gave their reasons why. The first part of day one
consisted of discussions on inner game» and inner psychology, which I actually
took a LOT from. 26 and Geoff did most commentary for that one, and I got a lot
of very helpful and meaningful insights in this section alone. I would like to
be able to sit around and talk to them about that stuff for hours if I had the
chance. They discussed aspects of your life and thought processes and a lot of
things that influence your inner game» and outlook (I’m being careful not to
give away any specific material out of respect for them, so if this sounds
vague and cliche-like, keep that fact in mind).
They gave some excellent examples of things that can aid your innergame
development and some great thought patterns to practise. It made me think a lot
about how I treat myself internally, and how in some cases I treat myself worse
than I would treat my worse enemy... not good. They discussed what drives
someone to want to be good at PU, and encouraged us to find what motivates us
(with a little input to get us started), and make us aware of things that can
and probably will hinder us. In this part of the day, there was a lot of
various facts and ideas and things to remember, so it’s difficult to generalise
what was being discussed.
The next segment was mostly about storytelling, and after seeing them run
examples and tell us their thoughts and experiences with storytelling, I have
really come to see the empowering effects it has. They taught us what makes a
great story, how to deliver it, and tore down examples we gave and told us
individually how to improve our delivery. This I found VERY helpful, and have
come even further since the seminar with my skills in this department.
Definitely one of the best parts of day 1.
The third part of Day 1 gave us hours and hours on end of fallback routines we
can use, and they were very clear on how/when to use stacked and rehearsed
routines. I have about 25 routines written in my note book. I’ll never have an
arkward silence again. What was most important in this part was WHEN to use the
routines, and why. Again, I’ll leave the details out but it was very good to
hear. One recurring theme throughout the first day (and the seminar for that
matter) was that of EXPERIENCE, and how it is the mother of improvement. This
has been said time and time again all over the place, and it’s even clearer to
me now than it ever has been. They way they put it into perspective was
excellent.
The next thing we did was fake approaching (eachother) to practice body
movements, ways of opening, and tonality etc. This was good, but doesn’t
campare to the real thing. That’s me talking, not them.
Also, present on day 1 was: Papa (who did very little in instructing - it would
have been nice to hear more from him), Tim (who I came to have a lot of respect
for.. he’s a great guy), Coolwater, Todd, Geoff (who did most of the
commentary), 26, Frank (who also didn’t give an awful lot of input). There may
have been more, but I didn’t know everybody’s name at the time I took the notes
down and some could have slipped my mind.
Day 2-
Present: Papa, Tim, Coolwater, Geoff, 26, Todd, Frank, Dr. Owl, and another guy
whos name I never got.
First part was more on storytelling. We got even more in-depth feedback this
time which, as mentioned earlier, is helping more and more as time goes on
after the seminar. They gave us more info on storytelling and creating stories
and ideas on when it’s best to use stories etc. I must also note: there were
some very fucking funny moments in the story-telling segments. It’s a great
atmosphere to be in.
Part 2 was something else I wanted to get out of the seminar: Fashion and
Style. For every attendee in the seminar, they tore apart (not literally)
everything we were wearing, told us what was good and what was (in most cases)
bad, and made plenty of suggestions for each person there. This was very very
helpful, and Geoff’s insight, in particular, was very valuable. Turns out he
knows a thing or two about style and fasion. 26 also gave excellent advice
here. They both were very good. They even went and told us places in Sydney
where we could go shopping. I’m not from Sydney, but they aren’t even from
Australia and knew the best places. Obviously they had some help there.
The next thing we did was amogging. This was a great way to learn becaue
they’re fucking good at it themselves. Practicing with them for a while makes
you feel pretty well equipped for taking on the vast majority of guys, if there
is a need. They have some great routines and I give a lot of credit to Todd, 26
and Geoff who I got the most from (Todd, in particular, who I was with most of
this segment).
The last part was day2 and phone game related. There was a MASSIVE amount of
information given here, which will be hard to generalise. Has some very
specific do’s and don’ts, a few good routines to use, and a big focus on RSD’s
infamous “vibe” factor. I’ve always considered it an important part of pickup
(in most cases), and hearing their discussions about it was really insightful.
Dr. Owl had a LOT to say on this, and I can see why. His ability to talk and
say the funniest shit with the best delivery was great to see in action. It was
very obvious that he has mastered vibing. I really enjoyed listening to him
speak. I felt like I could vibe with the queen-mother with the insight he gave
me on the subject. There was a bit on freeze-outs, lots more insightful quotes
from 26 (who gave them pretty consistently throughout the seminar), and some
more routines such as the cube (which I already knew, but seeing Coolwater do
it was pretty awesome).
To summarise the seminar, I definitely got out of it what I wanted. That’s what
was important to me. Everything else I learnt was a bonus. I’m not a newbie in
pickup, so I really was able to focus on what I wanted which helped a lot.
Considering the volume of useful info they dished out, anybody would be sure to
gain something significant from it.
What was great: The atmosphere was excellent. Very supportive, very FUN, and
made it feel like the journey truly is worthwhile. One thing I thought was
excellent was hearing all different perspectives from all different
instructors. They didn’t agree on everything. There was no “RSD way” of doing
something, it was all THEIR personal input. There was an instructor to
accomodate for every type of person; the tough-guy (yes, Todd, you), decent
looking guys, and a range of personality types. 26’s high-energy, always-funny
character is GREAT, but it’s not really ME. So seeing it was helpful and
insightful, but also seeing alternatives that STILL WORK was excellent too.
That way there is no conflict with issues like “but, I can’t do that.. that’s
not me” etc etc, because there is someone there for each type of person.
The input that each instructor gave on storytelling and fasion was good too,
going back to the different opinions thing. They gave their thoughts and
reasons for it, and you can take what you will and improve.
What could be improved:
I did not do the workshop, and I understand it happens a fair bit there, but
more socialising between instructors and students during breaks etc would have
been nice. I understand instructors NEED breaks, and don’t want to be
interacting and teaching non-stop, but getting to hang out with the person you
sit in front of for 8 hours a day for two days would have been good. I say this
also, because I wanted to see what they are like to interact with on a social
level, not just teacher/student interactions. I really think that a lot of
students would gain from this, not just me. It’s like a practical demonstration
of how THEY socialise.
The TD thing would have been good for me, too. I won’t dwell on it though,
cause its irrelevant to the quality of the program.
Less breaks. We have 3 or 4 breaks in a day. Maybe this is because instructors
need a few breaks, or whatever, but I know I would have preferred to miss one
of our 1 hr breaks to learn for one more hour a day.
A live demonstration for seminar-only students. Obviously part of the point of
the workshops is to see live demonstrations, but I still think the seminar
students should have SOME taste of what the instructors do in field. Even
talking to a chick in a bus stop for 10 mins would have been fine, watching how
they integrate the stuff we’d been learning all day into their interactions.
Overall, though, I’m glad I went. I flew to Sydney, and booked a hotel for 3 or
4 nights just to go to it, and I have no regrets. Anyone who isn’t a hard-core,
take-no-prisoners PUA just yet will definitely benifit from the seminar.
One final note to RSD: It would probably be in your best interest to make the
first of the 3 nights of the workshop on the same night that the seminar
begins. The fact of the matter is that I didn’t do the workshop because I
didn’t have the money when I booked the seminar and knew I’d gain more from the
seminar than the workshop. If I did the first day of the seminar and could
still sign up for the workshop that day, I definitely would have. You will get
more workshop students if you make this option possible, that I promise you.
Hope this gives people a decent insight as to what happens in the RSD
workshops, without giving too much away. Feel free to add anything to this
thread if you have comments or questions.
Robson5.
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