Kevlar

Field Report Date: 12/5/17 5:30pm 3 Day Bootcamp in Seoul, S.Korea 2017 August 25th, 26th, 27th Experience is the best teacher. That’s how I would describe RedpoleQ as an instructor and that’s how I would describe the most important lesson I learned from my bootcamp experience. If I want to learn something, I have to go through it. I need to have the experience. The learning will appear once I am on the other side of experience. Friday 8/25/17 Leading up to my bootcamp I had all kinds of mixed feelings—nervousness, excitement, fear, dread. I even took a 3 day bootcamp the month prior, in LA with a different company in an attempt to ease my nerves. Did it prepare me for the 3 day boot camp experience with RedpoleQ ? Uhh, kind of not really? Maybe? RedpoleQ’s boot camp is different. He is different. I was told by a past student of his that, “He is a social robot.” And after my bootcamp experience, I would say that yes, but only if you mean that by social he is a social animal—in fact, a highly evolved self-made social animal. And by robot you mean that he is a machine because make no mistake, RedpoleQ is a machine! In my past experience of picking up girls I would always drink alcohol and/or smoke weed to get into a “social,” state so that I could muster up enough courage to talk to girls. I could interact with girls and be funny and make them laugh, but I often got friend-zoned, or I would get a phone number and then not know what to do with it the next day when I was hungover. OR if I was lucky (unlucky?) I would hook up with a fat girl (humpty) or a cougar. I mean, a man’s gotta eat right?! Yeah, maybe...but now I know that eating junkfood is no way to eat! The first night of the bootcamp began in Itaewon, a bustling, night life center in Seoul. RedpoleQ and a good friend of mine Vision, who first introduced me to RedpoleQ and whom also took the bootcamp brought me to a coffee shop. When we arrived, there were already a couple of guys waiting, former students. We went over Opening and Attraction. During this time, other former students showed up to hang out and listen and chill. This struck me. This was my first real glimpse of the community. I could really feel the positive energy. It definitely had a family feel to it. Everyone seemed eager to learn and relearn. After the brief seminar portion, we walked outside and onto the streets. It was busy. There were crowds of people walking around, socializing, drinking, having fun and enjoying the evening. I was petrified. I was sober. And I had been told I would not be allowed to drink at all during the weekend boot camp. RedpoleQ had kicked away my crutch—a crutch I had carried with me my entire life. I was given an opener: “I like your hair. Do you like mine.” This worked quite well for me. Girls smiled and giggled when they saw that my head was shaved. I was definitely still nervous talking with the girls~~especially with RedpoleQ breathing down my neck. “What are you doing?” “Uhh talking to the girl.” “I mean, why are you standing so far away. Get closer. And why aren’t you touching her?” “Uhh, Uhh... I don’t know?” I had been told that RedpoleQ is a bit of a drill sergeant, and when I heard that, I knew deep inside that it was a good thing, but I still didn’t know how I would actually feel about it as it was happening. It was painful I have to admit. My body was stiff, it was hard to smile, and I didn’t want to continue talking to girls. I mean, lets be honest, having someone tell you what you’re doing is wrong, and then having them continue to tell you you’re doing it wrong, over and over again can be a bit deflating. But good news is RedpoleQ always showed me how to do it right! Sure, I felt like crap but I was learning something! Sidebar: This was a huge differentiator for me when comparing RedpoleQ’s approach versus the other instructors from the bootcamp I had taken before. Yes, there was one (count one) hands-on, drill-down teaching moment with one of the other instructors at the other bootcamp. But that was it. The rest of the time I was on my own during the in-field portion of that boot camp. I feel RedpoleQ’s boot camp is more of a boutique experience because the entire weekend is full of aha moments, thanks to all the hands-on coaching and on-the-fly explanations and demonstrations. It is obvious the “field,” as it is called, is a laboratory for RedpoleQ where he trains oblivious men like myself on how to pick up women. He is laser focused on teaching his material and I got the strong impression that the “field,” is truly a “matrix,” for him. He was completely unfazed and oblivious (in a good way) by the goings-on and social dynamics happening around him. This was RedpoleQ’s world and he was going to attempt to teach me to see the world like him. On the other end, for me, the “field,” seemed like a strange, foreign land that I had never seen before, even though I have been drinking at bars and clubs since as long as I can remember! I swear I had a moment (maybe it was a dream?) where I felt like I was Neo in the first Matrix movie in the beginning when Morpheus is teaching Neo how to rethink his reality and jump from the top of a building onto another. I was now looking at the “field,” from a completely different perspective. Back to the bootcamp: I felt I did okay approaching that night. I never questioned and I always approached a set when told. I knew that I had to walk through that experience and I made it a point to not question the teacher. I approached when told to. Period. My biggest takeaway of the night was kino-ing. My kino in the past usually began and ended with an abrupt pass at a girl for a makeout at the end of a binge drinking bender. On this night, I was taught to touch girls straight away and I got away with it! Turns out girls like being touched! My biggest sticking point on this night was the fact that I was too often in my head. I suppose you can say my ego or old-self was filled with self-doubt, judgment, and negativity. Stinkin’ thinkin’ as I learned many years ago at a sales training. Whenever I expressed doubt or showed trepidation RedpoleQ was quick to the punch. “What are you doing?” “Why did you leave?” “She didn’t seem interested that’s why I left.” “The interaction was going well. Did she walk away?” “No.” “Then carry on and keep talking!” “Oh, okay.” RedpoleQ pointed out to me what would soon become obvious to me, which is that because I was in my head, I was not accurately reading social cues. I was not experiencing the interaction in the present moment, and as a result I would misread and misinterpret and leave sets too soon. This was hands-on coaching and this was eye-opening. The veil of self-deception and self-sabotage, self-created or otherwise was slowly lifting! Did I mention earlier that RedpoleQ is a machine？ So as the night wore on I am pushed into many more sets, and I try to stay in sets as long as I can out of my comfort zone, and I’m getting tired and it’s 1am and I am half-hoping RedpoleQ is getting tired too so we can call the night. Didn’t happen. Like a lion sauntering through the savanna lookin for his prey (really...he walked like a lion with hunting eyes ready to pounce at any moment), he would lead me and say, “Let’s find a few more sets,”. And when we did find some sets and as I shrugged and reluctantly approached, RedpoleQ would grab my shoulder to stop me and say, “Hey, remember to smile!” That night while lying in bed I couldn’t sleep right away despite being exhausted. I was proud that I had finished day one. I had done it. This was a goal I had in mind and set a year earlier while vacationing in Thailand. I was proud of myself. I was excited and looking forward to the next two days. Saturday 8/26/17 We met at Paris baguette breakfast shop. Today there were more former students/friends/family present. It was clear to me that everyone was happy to hang out and everyone was truly enjoying each other’s company. Still, I was a bit nervous for the days challenges but hopeful. RedpoleQ went over Qualification. I was then released into the wild to experience day game. Day game was different. The girls were out and about doing things other than meeting guys so it was a bit challenging. But I enjoyed it! I approached mostly single sets, or lone wolves, and interacted with them pretty well. I learned the importance of leading, i.e, moving girls out of the way or leading them to sit down. In fact my biggest takeaway was how important leading is. It seems if you lead properly and lead well, girls will follow! The other big takeaway of the day for me was learning the importance of chasing down girls. Not necessarily because a particular girl is so important, but the larger meaning and metaphor of going after what you want. In day game, if I saw a girl, I had to act quick and chase her down or she could be lost to the crowd. This was kind of fun to tell you the truth. I felt like I was in a Hollywood movie, running after the girl. And when a girl actually did stop to talk with me, that was the best! I remember this girl at a busy crosswalk. The light was red and she was standing there and I approached and began talking with her. The light changed and I just continued to walk and talk beside her. We got to the other side of the street and she went into a department store and I went inside with her. All the while I was carrying on a conversation with her as if it was completely normal. Sure, it turns out she was in high school, and so I ran away but the point is this: The point is that most of the time you won’t get a second chance so why not go for what you want now? On this day I also learned the importance of learning how to do other mundane but critical things well, like finding a girls ID on KakaoTalk. There was a set that I opened that went well. I led her and sat her down with me on a bench at a bus stop. I ask for the girl’s KakaoTalk ID but she doesn’t know how to find it so she gives me her phone. I nervously stumble around with the app for a while but no luck. Suddenly, RedpoleQ appears out of nowhere, pretending to be an innocent pedestrian and sits down on the bench on the other side. I turn to RedpoleQ like he’s a kind stranger: “Hello sir, can you help me. Do you happen to know how to find someone’s ID on KakaoTalk?” “Oh, umm yeah, I think so. Let me see...okay yes, here you go.” Thank God for RedpoleQ! One of my sticking points on this day was approaching girls in a quiet, crowded place like a coffee shop. For some reason, I feel embarrassed or nervous that other people may be listening in to me and so I freeze. I know I have to focus on opening more of these types of sets to destroy this sticking point. The Saturday night in-field portion was fun. The community was out in full force. I winged RedpoleQ on a few sets and he winged me on a few. I was having fun. I was getting more comfortable. My big aha moment on this night was when RedpoleQ showed me the importance of plowing. We were at a club called Prost where there is an upstairs outdoor area. I was told to approach a two set that were standing on a terrace, while I was standing a few steps below. I opened with the “I like your hair,” opener. No response. I told her I guessed her favorite color was black. Nothing. I said that her purse was big and asked if she was going on vacation. Crickets. These girls were not having it. They ignored me and looked at me confused and tried to shoo me away. I wanted to eject but right when I was about to, a wingman appeared out of nowhere. The wing and I continued talking to the girls as if they were engaged even though they were completely ignoring us, occasionally giving us dirty looks. Your eyes are very big I said. Still nothing. It felt like the wing and I were having a conversation with ourselves and these girls were just props in the background. At one point one of the girls made a hand motion and tried to wave us away. I remember feeling a knot in my stomach. I turned to the wing and asked him if we should leave. He said, “No. We can’t.” He had done this before. So we continue talking to them and after a few more minutes, the girls turn and walked off. At which point I heard a round of applause from a nearby audience that included RedpoleQ and friends. Aha! That was the lesson! Plowing is key. That was a big push out of my comfort zone. I learned real quick with one powerful real-world exercise that it’s not about the girl. It’s about ME and my learning. It’s about doing what I want to do. And learning to do what I want to do. And be willing to do whatever it takes to get there. Even if that includes forcing a couple of random girls that aren’t interested in you to walk away from you! Sunday 8/27/17 We met again at Paris Baguette. We discussed Comfort today. And the most mind blowing thing about today was when RedpoleQ began talking about the importance of the hero story. RedpoleQ shared his hero story. I then shared a story to the group about my journey as a toddler refugee who fled the killing fields of Cambodia with my parents and our struggle to survive and make it in the U.S. RedpoleQ told me it was a good story but it lacked emotional content. He emphasized that I didn’t share how I felt about it, or what the experience meant to me, and how it changed me. RedpoleQ proceeded to give me an example of how I could tell my own story better. Kid you not, he was able to deconstruct and reconstruct my Hero story to me in such a way that it nearly brought me to tears. How’d he do that?? The Prestige. He recreated my version of my own experience and made it 100x more awesome. Hmmm. Aha! This is what pickup is. This is what we’re doing. We’re recreating ourselves and our experience of our own lives and making it 100x better. And by this very awareness that this is even possible it gives real meaning and power to the idea that anything is possible and dreams can and do come true! So after this awesome realization and moment sharing my story, we proceed to leave the cafe to do some street sets. Before exiting, RedpoleQ spots a couple of girls sitting down at a table in the corner with a cake. I am told to approach, which I do. I sit down and engage the two girls. A third girl shows up from the bathroom. It’s one of the girls birthdays. I BT spike and high 5 the girls. Then as I’m turning to leave the table, a wingman shows up. (How did they know I was about to eject?) I mention the birthday to the wing and he leads the group to a chorus of Happy Birthday! At some point in all the excitement, another wing appears and begins talking to the girl in the far corner. Picking up girls is fun! Footnote: Throughout my boot camp and my subsequent 7 days of seminars I met a lot of awesome people, approached and met a lot of girls, and got better at everything. I plowed through sets, I chased down girls, bounced to coffee shops and food, I had instadates, day2s and day3s and on the very last day of my Asia trip, the night before I flew back to he US, I had my first post-bootcamp close, not to mention giving a girl a squirting orgasm! Also, at the time of this writing I am currently on a plane over the Pacific heading back to Seoul to meet 2 scheduled girls in Korea, then spend 5 days with a Japanese girl (the one I closed) and hopefully meet and bang more girls! RedpoleQ’s bootcamp has been life changing and I have been forever transformed. I have never been happier. I am looking forward to continuing the purposeful journey that I am now on. Thanks for reading! Oh, and one more thing. I’ve since learned from being back in the states that everything positive I learned above can be forgotten in an instant! If not practiced, that is. I’ve had to play the mental game of Yes-I-Can, No-I -Can’t with myself over and over again like it was the first night of boot camp! It seems Old Habit is a tough opponent to defeat! Like Old Man Winter, he keeps coming back! ~Kevlar Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk