Hong Kong Bootcamp (17/08/2018) - FR

[Joker]

Its been a while since the bootcamp took place, but I've got the field report put down earlier so I can reference it. Took a brief hiatus to study for examination, but I am back now.

When I first decided to go for the bootcamp, my main priority was to get rid of my approach anxiety, something which plagued me since (I believed) my race was not as desirable in HK (I'm South Asian). However, as the bootcamp proceeded, I had several realizations regarding how most of the fears were just created in my head and not real. In fact, getting rejected didn't feel half as bad as not having the balls to approach. Among other things I learned: there was a whole path of self improvement and realization of purpose and direction that I had to explore so as to increase my self - confidence.

Day 1: Met @RedpoleQ with @Made You Look! and @raydiate and was briefed before the bootcamp. After the briefing, we first went to Levels in LKF where I was told to open a few as a warm up. Most of them were not as effective because it was loud, and being my first set, it was clear that I was nervous. Outside the club I continued to approach but with very poor openers (feminism lol!) but was given ways to improve. As my approaches continued, I went to Lily & Bloom where I opened sets but left them half way (rookie mistake, maybe too nervous). As the bootcamp continued, I was better able to hook a set, kino escalate and even # close, but there was some language barrier. I gradually progressed to a 2-set and called in the wing (Made You Look! - excellent wing) as he helped me to number close a few others. The night ended with RPQs briefing, where he noted several bad habits in my body language (angle of approach, posture, not smiling), basically how my nervousness reflected on my face. After realizing these things, I made sure to improve on it the next time - Open and Attraction. Number of sets opened were easily more than 15 - 20. Number closes were about 3 or 4.

Day 2: Started at the IFC mall for daygame. The openers were usually looking for directions and worked well, especially for 1-sets, but the angle of approach was not as good. Also, I was easily giving up a set (leaving) if I sensed a drop in interest instead of BT Spiking. Was able to get a girl hooked but could not # close because she was on her way to meet her boyfriend. I was also able to open 2-sets and started making the changes in body language as RPQ had suggested. All in all, the realizations regarding the demography got clearer - since my language of sarging was english, it worked better if the girl was from an English medium school and was good at it as well. Also started including qualification which helped with hooking a set better. 

The nightgame was back at LKF, where approach anxiety was visibly reduced and was able to open several 2-sets with the help of a wing (Made You Look!). Saw improvement in body language and more kino as well. Was able to bounce a couple sets, and openers got better. All in all, alot more improvement, but exhaustion was visible on my face. Most of the sarging was done on the street, which is tougher than inside a club. Few more number closes, and hooked more sets once realized the confidence and the 'BT Spike' had improved. 

Number of sets opened was somewhere between 40 to 50. At the final briefing for the day, RPQ had observed certain behavioral patterns I had and self-esteem issues that he asked me to address to help me with improving my confidence. He also noticed my demeanor and my lack of expressing intention, noticing that I hook for too long before trying to time-bridge or expressing intention. 

Day 3: The daygame started at Times Square and the openers became more and more audacious. Again few issues with leaving sets half way, but there was improvement in BT Spiking, and qualification. The hit rate for # closes was the highest since RPQ introduced comfort phase which greatly helped with the trust bond with the girls. After CWB, proceeded to Central (Mid-levels) on the street, but the number of times just blown out was very high (Street + Day game + wrong demography), however, it was the most audacious form of approach that I did. As we proceeded to the end of the bootcamp, tried opening a few more sets because it became easier (approach anxiety extremely low) but the persistence reduced on account of the exhaustion. The conclusive briefing was extremely informative, and RPQ was very honest in his judgement. He explained ways to improve enthusiasm (cut out porn) and expressed ways I could be more driven (writing down goals and having a direction). As a recovering drug addict, I was facing several mental withdrawal symptoms at the time, which led to anxiety and reflected in my behavior. He also suggested that I keep opening more and more sets - something that I did for a  couple weeks after but could not sustain since the workload (from my job) was ever increasing and could not find time or place for daygame. However, I continued to attempt a few approaches here and there and realized I had preferences, and was more blatant in expressing interest. 

 As I continue, I will be working on my approach anxiety, which has improved and keeps improving depending on how goal-oriented my professional and personal life is. Basically, if I put alot of pressure on myself to approach, I usually crash and burn, but when I am doing it for fun and lightheartedness, the results are better. Hopefully, I will run out of excuses to not approach as the year continues. 
Thank you for reading and happy new year!