I took a MM bootcamp back in November of 2006. I finally wrote one last week and posted it on the new Seattle lair forum. I did it so I can contribute something to the community. I hope this will convince those out there to take a bootcamp whether it's MM, Charisma, PU101, or etc. Taking a bootcamp will help improve your game dramatically! It helped mines.
Background:
Prior to the bootcamp, I have A LOT of approach anxiety. In addition, I’m a very shy and quiet guy. The only knowledge I had was reading The Game and skimming over the VAH and some DVD’s. Thus, my game was very weak. I think a lot of the other guys had the same problem but by the end of the weekend you could tell that none of the students had that anxiety anymore.
Classroom session:
The classroom session covers the topics in the VAH and many more not discussed in the handbook. The theory and detail of the seminars went beyond anything you could ever read in a book or pickup in a DVD.
Both TenMagnet and Neo were very knowledgeable in what they were teaching. I don’t want to go into any detail about what was taught at the seminar but I will say that everything was covered in great detail. Both instructors explained everything very well and went into great detail of not only explaining the theory but also explaining why the theory worked.
Infield Session – Day 1 – Friday night:
The in-field portion was super beneficial. The goal of the first night was to practice opening and eliminating approach anxiety. At the beginning of the in-field session, the instructors were the first to open sets. We witnessed TenMagnet and Neo opening sets using canned material. The instructors eventually ejected from their sets as their goal is to teach and watch us.
There were about 2 students for 1 instructor ratio. The students were then pushed to open sets. The first couple sets were very hard because of the approach anxiety and the feeling of awkwardness when reciting the openers. After about the third set, it got a little easier and more fun. The instructors were always nearby to observe us and to give us valuable feedback. At the end of the night, we went to a venue for dinner and the instructors debriefed us on what our strengths and weaknesses were.
Infield Session – Day 2 – Saturday night:
The goal of the second night is to practice our attraction, qualification, and comfort skills. This time the instructors intervened more while we worked the sets, so we could make progress beyond opening (better body language, turning into more comfortable position, isolating, etc).
The instructor to student ratio for that night was better. MellowYellow was there as an approach coach. Sometimes the instructor to student was 1 to 1. Throughout the night, we were being pushed into opening sets by either TenMagnet, Neo or MellowYellow. Also, they did a good job winging us and explaining to us after the set what we did wrong and how we could improve in future sets. Similar to the previous night, at the end, we went to a venue for dinner and the instructors debriefed us on what our strengths and weaknesses were.
Conclusion:
The bootcamp is no cakewalk. It’s a grueling and exhausting three-day experience. There were times that I wanted to quit because of the stress from it. You have to be mentally tough to survive the bootcamp. The things that make the bootcamps tough are dealing with approach anxiety, dealing with sets that blow you out, dealing with constructive criticism, and etc. It will push you beyond your comfort zone and can take a toll on one’s ego. Once you can get beyond that, the experience from the bootcamp is very rewarding.
The great thing about the bootcamp is that the instructors were very invested in their students. They ensure that every student were learning and got their moneys worth. They would observe every one of us and provide constructive criticism. They don’t sugar-coat their words and tell you bs. That’s not to say that they’re not friendly. Far from that. They are very friendly and normal guys that enjoy teaching this stuff. They make the in-field sessions fun and worthwhile. It’s like hanging out with the coolest guys in the club. At the end of the bootcamp, you develop a comrade-like relationship with the students and instructors. I missed those guys and I'll never forget them.
This bootcamp is not perfect. One area that they could have improved is more role-playing exercises. On the first classroom session, we did some role-playing exercises where each student would practice opening each other. It would have been more helpful if we had done more exercises.
Another complaint that I have is that the bootcamp is too short. There is so much info to cram into 3 classroom sessions.
This bootcamp has helped me tremendously with pick-up and also with human interactions in general. The Instructors involved in this bootcamp totally abolished every fear I had about pickup. I left this bootcamp a new man and I would recommend anyone to take a Mystery Method bootcamp.
Miscellaneous stuff:
I was the only student in the bootcamp who came from the Seattle lair.
On our first night in the field, one of the students (let’s call him J) made a record in number of approaches for the night (according to the instructors). His was about 21 sets. All the other students including me opened about 12 sets.
On the second night, J had several number closes, makeouts, and he could have fclosed one of the girls.
At one venue, while J was walking across the room, a hot chick was checking him out. While walking, J was also checking her out. Seconds later, J physically bumped into another guy. The hot chick cracked up. J is a moron for not approaching her. :)
On the second night, I got blown out in every way: Girls turning their backs, Girls ignoring your openers, Girls walking away, Girls telling me to fuck off, Getting Amogged out of a set.
In one memorable 2-set where TenMagnet was winging for me, one of the girls (hbBlonde) was acting really bitchy towards us and trying to blow us out. TenMagnet then yelled “Neg Neg”. I then negged her and her reaction was priceless. Her friend (hbGerman) smiled and gave me the thumbs up. Ever since I negged her, hbBlonde was very friendly throughout the whole time. Later, hbBlonde's boyfriend showed up and TenMagnet kept him occupied while I practiced gaming the two girls. After several more minutes, we ejected. Thinking back, I should have number closed or isolated hbGerman. Someone please kick me.
The venues in Capitol Hill are louder than the ones in Belltown.
A fight between two girls occurred outside one of the venues in Capitol Hill. Later, TenMagnet opened a group of girls nearby with the “Did you see the fight opener”. Then Neo came in to wing for him and within minutes they were connecting with the girls...priceless!
Imho, the girls in Belltown are hotter than the ones in Capitol Hill.
-Stealth
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1 comment:
I like your review. You definitely changed, grew a big pair of cojones!
If you started at your current level now, what would you have learned from your bootcamp?
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