Lion Seoul Bootcamp FR

[Leon]

Approach Mastery Bootcamp Field Report, Oct 2016

 

Intro: I honestly came with expectations that the bootcamp would be easier for me than it actually was. It was a rollercoaster experience and it all happened in a blur. I came thinking that approaching couldn't be so hard and then hit a wall: "what after I approach, then what?" and anxiety started settling in more and more. Now I see why game is no easy task, at least at first. All in all, this is my bootcamp experience with RPQ:

 

Day 1: on the first day, we met at the coffee shop and talked about ourselves, our inspirations and experiences. At this point I realized I was leaving out a big bunch of information like hobbies and other things I like to do because I felt wasn't worth mentioning, but turns out every piece matters, because that's what speaks about personality and those are things that people can find attractive and interesting. After talking about opening techniques and buying temperature spikes and qualification, we were set to go out and try out the first building block of approach mastery theory. My hands started getting sweaty and I got a rush of nervous expectation of an interesting night to come. Besides our table, was a group of girls eating birthday cake celebrating one of them. We glanced at them and RPQ suggested that I try and open the set with my newly acquired knowledge. I was hesitant but ultimately I approached, leaned in and said "that cake looks amazing! can I try it?" the girls looked at each other briefly and then back to me: "yes " they grabbed a new spoon and handed it to me. The cake was as good as it looked. I followed with "So, who's birthday is it?" then they pointed at the girl and I high-fived her and wished her a happy birthday, I said thanks for the cake and have a fun night, they were all cute and were smiling as we left. First lesson learned: not everyone will greet an approach rudely if done correctly, on the contrary, some people will be really cool about it, which makes life exciting and endless. It broke many of my pre-set fears about talking to strangers, and the expectations of people blowing me up every single time. It just isn't reality.

 

After that, we headed out to a bar and my confidence went through the roof. I approached without much problem and met really interesting girls, both while winging and while taking the lead. Even while being blown out I kept a fresh attitude. "I'm here with my friends, sorry" said a girl seemingly bothered of being approached too much, "is it because I'm ugly?" I said while I laughed. She laughed back and her defenses went down a little. So, shit tests and rejection are still not the end I thought. There are ways to flip the script around. Before bootcamp I would always excuse myself after something like that. Even let myself be bothered by it. Now I saw that it's just another situation that requires different measures.

 

My biggest takeaway from the bootcamp is that girls are rarely rude when rejecting, which I expected. Also learned that for me, clubs are the hardest venues and malls the easiest. Not being a specially high energy person, places that don't require us to be so are best suited for me. It was good learning that game has many faces and adaptability to any style, and so it was learning what my strong and weak points are. All in all, a hard, anxiety filled experience that is bearing results. Although many times I felt like I couldn't do it anymore I kept at it and now I see why plowing through the whole event was the best decision to make. There's always room for improvement and this definitely was an excellent starting point. RPQ is very knowledgeable not only for game but for self improvement as well. When I need advice, he always puts my feet on the ground and things in perspective when I lose track. Definitely, joining the bootcamp and the group is the best thing I've done in Korea.