May Survivor Weekend I - Seeking info and tips

I signed up for May Survivor Weekend I and am very excited as this will be my first in-person GW class. Since I will be making a long trip from California to the class, I wanted to make sure that I get the most out of it. I am a veteran student that is making slow steady progress learning and grasping the concepts. I wanted to know about the following:

- If anyone who took Survivor Weekend before, had any tips/suggestions for me about taking notes, where to sit, how early to show up and stuff like that?
- Logistics wise if anyone had recommendations for hotels in Rocky Mount
- If anyone else was going to the event. I would love to meet as many fellow GW students as possible!

Happy Trading!

Be prepared to take copious notes. I can type much faster than I can write notes, so I always had a laptop with me to type out my notes. If you choose to go this route, bring a small 10-20 ft extension cord. Also, a small plug extender so you can share with others. Wall outlets are available in the conference room, but are in limited supply.

When I went, I made sure to exchange email addresses with a few people sitting near me so that we could compare / share notes after class—just in case anyone missed something.

Arrive at least 40 minutes early on the first evening. The entrance line will be long and will take everyone a while to process in as materials are picked up, names are checked off of the class roster, badges or lanyards are checked for authenticity, and NDAs are signed.

It seemed that no matter how early I arrived, I almost always ended up sitting about mid-way back in the conference room as the front row seats always seemed to be filled up by regulars or close friends of Gary's. So, I found it very convenient to always have a small pair of pocket binoculars with me so that I could see the charts. That made it easy to verify the date, time frame, whatever Gary was pointing out at the time, etc.

Yes ...pay very close attention to the details of Roberts post as he has nailed it. If it is inside the auditorium you will need something to write on as there are no tables. If outside the auditorium of the Dunn center there will be tables. Gary will tell you the serious will sit in the first 3 rows. I would arrive at least 1 hour ahead of time for the first class. Be very serious about your notes … here is why ….. Gary may be telling a story don’t get mesmerized, keep writing your notes there may be a hint there. Again do as Robert instructed. take copious notes… Arrive early…. small pair of pocket binoculars ….. make friends

Sonic,

Hey there....I would have to say don't get too caught up in the details here. Show up for it like any thing else you were taking serious. Take the notes but don't go nuts trying to copy down Gary's every word. I would recommend copying your notes by hand because a lot of that translates to memory as you are writing. I have taken every one of my notes by hand surv. through rtp and it has worked for me.

Gary is going to tell an enormous amount of stories and he often gets sidetracked talking about his love for TFT. There are no secret hints in the stories that Gary is telling. They all go hand in hand with the time tested philosophy of work your butt off....hard enough and long enough and you will find success at whatever you are doing.....even in the stock market.

Don't worry about the best spot to sit. Sit wherever you can see and hear the best. Sitting in the first 3 rows is not going to give you a better shot than the guy who sat in the 12th row and works his butt off.

Lastly, I would say be careful about making friends. Gary says it himself that a lot of people that come to his classes are not doing as instructed and are simply there because they enjoy being a part of the social circle. Friends are great but be careful about why you are making friends in this arena because as Gary has said in the past....this truly is a by yourself thing.

Congrats on making the investment. Gary's system truly does work.....you just have to learn to work it as he works it. Any other questions that you have....don't hesitate to ask.

FM

Ditto to what fireman said. The structure on how on the information is taught is hands down better then the old format. The overall trend is that GW teaching style has greatly improved but I have been seeing more of the old GW coming back with respect to stories. Most are irrelevant to the subject matter being taught. Most of the TFT stories can be summed up in working your butt off and being extremely disciplined. The friends thing may or may not be beneficial. I have only met one or two that are trying to do the work exactly as instructed to the best of his/.her abilities. Most everyone else I have met has their own variation or interpretation of the material. It's okay if one gets off track a bit form time to time. That is what class if for but there are quite few more that have made a conscious decision to do "their thing" regardless. I have to bite my tongue as my nature wants to ask why in the heck they continue paying & attending class after class if they do not intend to at least try as instructed. I have had lunch with folks last year that will tell me "I know he just said to do X but I refuse and will be doing Y because I am also taking this other class and that is what the other instructor said".

Sorry, I digress. The new format removes a lot of the subjectivity and provides and ABC123 approach to what you need for a setup to be considered a possible trade. He also provided maybe 18 to 24 examples that you can research and tear apart. Print the examples, place in a notebook, and keep reviewing to reinforce visually what a trade is supposed to look like. That way when you are clicking through your watch your watch list and a GW like trade is setting up it will get your attention. It doesn't mean they all work but you are putting yourself in a better position for a successful trade. I can't emphasize this enough. I was still caught up like others after SI thinking that just any setup that kind of resembled HRFP/FP (based on terminology you might know) would do. Pay attention to the examples provided. Study to see exactly / precisely what do the indicators look like heading into the trade? What does the global picture look like on all charts heading into a trade? What do the indicators look like when a trade is signaled? Hint: watch the hard sharp change in direction in addition to everything else on the chart. Some signals I used to consider are now viewed as limp, weak, not worth my time. I don't give them a second look. Finally what do all trades seem to have in common? There are some differences between trades but over time you will be able to group the examples into a few groups - continuation and reversal being the main two.

As for the rest, 45 to an hour ahead of time first night, suggest writing notes and then typing when you get home to reinforce the information. I found myself rarely having to revisit my notes if I followed that pattern. For the past year I have been taking a laptop and typing which I can do quicker but I have to reread multiple times to recall the information. Binoculars might be a good idea if you want to see the dates. Don't get caught up in the dates he calls out if people ask. Interpret this as " on or about 4/2...". The date could be 4/3 or 4/1. Maybe 1 in 10 are a candle or so off. When you get home and run the charts back you will know the correct date as you now have exact ABC123 criteria that have to be present based on SI material. IMHO he occasionally provides his own trades but his entries, the teacher/master, could be a bit different as he sees the trade coming (a candle or two early). He is teaching you the safest entry / exit - DON'T STRAY unless given permission in a subsequent class. Do as instructed.

Congrats on making the decision! Hope you have a great and productive weekend.

NCT

If you have taken Gary’s classes before you will not get a lot out of Friday night or Saturday morning. Saturday after lunch and all day Sunday is when you will really start learning. You will be absolutely sick of TFT when by time the class is over. Gary will make you paranoid about talking to anyone. He says only the losers will want to try to talk to you. One last thing, you will be absolutely sick of TFT when by time the class is over.

I wanted to thank all of those that responded to my original inquiry. It look a lot of time out of your day to let us know what to expect. May I wish you Happy Trading!

What is 'TFT?' I took 1-5 by mail order, and took the advanced class in VaBeach...

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djpl8
What is 'TFT?' I took 1-5 by mail order, and took the advanced class in VaBeach...

It's a self defense class that Gary took about five years ago and has been excited about it ever since. TFT stands for Target Focus Training. Gary relates it to the classes he's teaching because they take years of fighting experience and boil it down to the essentials that you need to focus on in a self defense situation. Gary is taking his years of market experience and boiling it down to what he thinks his students need to focus on to survive the market.

Thank you, explains it for me... Reminds me of a book my father had, Kill or be Killed. Woke me up to the fact you should fear no one.

Sonic,
I agree with NCPTech, you will be absolutely sick of TFT by the time the weekend is over. Gary uses forced analogies with TFT to try and make concepts related to trading clearer. Some work, some don't. There are no hidden secrets in these stories to be ferreted out. Don't make yourself crazy trying to find that out. Gary tends to be a better motivator and story-teller than he is a teacher. Make no mistake, he has valuable content to share and he will cover a lot of ground, and with repeated hearings your mind will pick up on things that were said before but didn't register. BTW, I am going back in June so I am not trying to denigrate Gary, just being objective of his strengths and weakenesses.

Thanks for all the responses. I guess I have one question - How much of the total content is covered within the first weekend? I see that there are 3 Survivor Weekend class: I, II, and III.

The greatest benefit to me would be learning the RTP and DE content that is not covered in the WSB 1-5 classes.

You will get the absolute "what you need to know" info about DE in the first Survival I class. He calls it a trigger. DE is not the end all / be all of a trade but it helps to know and something else to consider. About 90% to 95% of my trades have the DE component. I would guestimate that roughly 90% of the trade examples GW provides have the DE component as well. You do not need it but the better trades seem to have it and it is great as a filter when trying to work through a basket of 100 stocks. As for RTP that comes later. SII and SIII start to prepare you for RTP. The first class is designed for engineer type traders. ABC123 trading. You can literally make a check list and check off the boxes as to when you should enter and exit. No more guessing as with the former 1-5. You have a set of rules on exactly when to enter and exit. The intent is to develop laser like discipline. RTP is a bit different as it entails more mindset than techniques. One you progress beyond SI you are allowed to layer in some subjectivity, based on new / updated rules, as long as you take personal responsibility for making the decision. The reason it is taught this way is to develop discipline first before trying to layer in the art. As an aside there are exercises / homework provided in SII and later classes that help to develop the art over time.

NCT

P.S. One caveat to my response. Keep in mind that I have taken everything offered so it all starts to run together over time as far as what was taught when. I took SI when it was first offered before knowing there would be SII or SIII. My initial thought was that I wish he had taught SI in place of the old 1-5 and Advance. I would have been further along in my progress. You get a lot of good info to keep you on track in the first class.

NC Trader, thanks for the post! Would you recommend taking SII and SII right away month after month?

If you are serious about making this work for you by baking GW's cake then yes, I would not think twice about taking the classes back to back. The caveat is that you have to be disciplined. There are things you will learn in SII and SII that you are not ready to use until you have the basic mechanics down from SI. You must be able to take the information and start layering in the more advanced stuff as your comfort level builds. You will be setting yourself up for failure if you try to do everything at once. I only recommend taking back to back as no one is promised tomorrow. Even though GW has a backup plan for the courses to continue if anything happens to him that doesn't prevent something from happening in your own life that would preclude you from attending future courses. Why not go ahead and get the information and then be disciplined about how you layer in the additional info as instructed. Additionally I typically learn at least one new item in most retakes. Sometimes things that were vague seem to finally click. Other times he does a better job of explaining. If you decide to continue with SII, SIII and possibly RTP I guarantee you will not learn one particular thing or signal that will prevent losses or be the "ah ha" moment that most are looking for. It takes a lot of work to develop the art and get good at this. I am on my path and have not arrived but do have my moments when I just know that "X" will happen over the next few days or to ignore a good looking setup but can't explain just before it reverses in the opposite direction. It just all comes together.

Just attended S I weekend in rocky mount. I was the one he refered as antique bcuz I came in with my old 1-5 book..lol. I took 1-5 in VB in 2001. I had an unsupportive spouse, was doing ok in the market by 2004. I got divorced moved to NC was in a very bad accident could not walk for 6 months and crutches for another 6 months might as well say a year. I had started a new business 2 years b4 this and it was in its infancy and needed me to run it so needless to say it had to be closed at a great loss. So here I am, lost my family, lost my business, and lost my health for a year. Had to live with my sister thank God I have her. Went into depressed state for years, started drinking heavily etc... Thank God I quit drinking about 9 months ago and I am ready to get back to work on GW system now. So I figured I would attend the Survial One Class. I enjoyed the class and learned a lot it seems more streamlined and simpler than 1-5 and I like that. I'm Back. Wish me luck!

Dan Jeffries

TFT reminds me a little of kung fu san soo.

Welcome to the forums Dan. Glad to hear you quit drinking, and good luck with your trading.

Thanks

Hey I just noticed your login name. Are ya into Diving by chance?

Does anyone have any new notes on the Gary Williams Survivor weekend stuff? I had some in the past, but not sure where they went.

Does anyone have a copy of the Survivor Weekend notes? I would love to see them!

StockTraderman