2016 Extreme Memory Tournament & US Open Recap

Another great XMT-US Open trip in the books. All in all, I spent a week and a half in California, taking in the sun, hanging out with my mother- and father-in-law in between events, and enjoying some friendly competition.

Like last year, I flew in the morning before the first day, just in time for orientation. Everything about this year’s Extreme Memory Tournament mimicked last year’s, with one notable exception. Nelson and the organizers stretched the event to 3 days instead of 2. A big improvement, in my opinion. Last year, as thrilled as I was to make it to the semis, I was mentally and physically exhausted by the time I got there. It really does take a toll on you. You boot up another 50 words for the umpteenth time that day and things mush together...

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XMT Time!

Last bit of training before I head out early Thursday for this year's Extreme Memory Tournament! In its third year now, the XMT is easily the coolest and most fun-to-watch memory competition out there. Make sure to check out all the action at XMTLive.com. In addition to the usual live display showing all competitors' screens and results, Florian Delle (founder of Memory-Sports.com; I interviewed him earlier this past year) and Max Berkowitz (an actual sportscaster!) are going to be adding some color commentary all day long. It's gonna be great! So be sure to tune in online for the group stage starting 8:30 am PDT on Friday. 

Numbers System Details

I've added a slightly more in-depth description of my numbers system to the FAQ:

Since mid-2014, I have used a 3-digit system (one unique image for each 3-digit combo from 000-999) based on the [Major System phonetic code][9], shown below. My system is approximately ⅓ people and ⅔ objects. I place two of these 3-digit images per locus. 

Each digit is assigned a corresponding phonetic sound:
0    s, z
1    t, d
2    n
3    m
4    r
5    l
6    j, ch, sh, soft g
7    k, hard g
8    f, v
9    p, b

For a given 3-digit combo, I squeeze the three sounds together to form an image. For example, 375 might correspond to MKL, so I chose “Michael Jordan” as my image for 375. 357 became “milk.” 604 became “chess rook.” 970 became “Biggie Smalls.”

Here are a few links I used to brainstorm Major system images (if you're stuck on a number, try plugging it into these for some ideas):

http://major-system.info/en/?n=279
http://www.phoneticmnemonic.com/lookup.php?num=279&submit=Lookup
http://www.rememberg.com/

Interview with a Memory Expert: U.S. Memory Athlete Everett Chew

Just 14 years old, Everett Chew is striking fear into the hearts of America’s top memory competitors. At his first ever competition, the 2015 USA Memory Championship, the Southern California native posted a 41 sec speed cards time on his first attempt and went on to reach the finals. In a few weeks, he’ll be competing right next to me in Group D at the Extreme Memory Tournament. He’ll follow that up with his first-ever WMSC competition: the U.S. Memory Open. What will he do next? I contacted Everett late last year to discuss his future plans, his advice for breaking through plateaus, and how he applies memory techniques in his school and personal lives.

"I have found two techniques mentioned in Moonwalking with Einstein called deliberate practice and the 'plateau breaker.' The idea of the 'plateau breaker' is to push myself outside of my comfort zone so that I’m forced to make mistakes. I then identify what’s holding me back and use deliberate practice to clean up those areas. Combining these two techniques is an extremely efficient way to practice and my go-to training method, especially when I attempt to beat one of my personal bests."
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Recalling the Order of Images on a Locus

Here's a question I've been getting a lot recently. I've added it to the FAQ.

When you have multiple images in one locus, how do you remember their order?

Since I use "single-image" systems -- each digit/card/etc group always translates to a single image -- I must still recall the order of images within each locus. Contrast that with PA- or PAO-type systems, which by definition give you...

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Interview with a Memory Expert: Memory Athletes Annalena and Christian Schäfer

Here's the latest in the "Interview with a Memory Expert" series: Annalena and Christian Schäfer! The 22- and 23-year-old memory athletes from Wuerzburg, Germany, have been fixtures on the memory competition circuit for over six years now. They met at a competition in 2010. Now they’re married! I got in touch with them to discuss their relationship with memory sports and the many exciting things (TV appearances, their own memory events, etc.) they’ve been up to. Hope you enjoy!

"Memory sports is still something quite exotic, so it’s great to always have someone to discuss about competitions or new strategies that come up to our minds. If one of us is highly motivated to practice, he/she thrills the other one. But also if one of us wants to do something more relaxing, the other one doesn’t want to do memory training alone."
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Interview with a Memory Expert: Memory Athlete Johannes Zhou

I’ve got another memory expert interview for you: Johannes Zhou! Only 19 years old, Johannes was the top online qualifier for the 2015 Extreme Memory Tournament and this year’s runner-up (check out Johannes’s qualification videos here). After jumping onto the memory scene in 2013, the Frankfurt resident has been tearing up the rankings and thrashing opponents left and right. Watch out for him in Group F at the upcoming XMT (June 24-26). I got in touch with...

"Knowing that I'm able to memorize hundreds of numbers in a few minutes somehow made me a more self-confident person. It's hard to put in words, but it's just a great feeling to challenge your brain on a day to day basis."

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