Hello,

I just started training again (and posting here) after an absence of many years, and I am having a hard time negotiating one thing about my new dojo's culture. Everyone gives a lot of verbal advice. A lot. Lots of talking on the mat.

I definitely need guidance. I am super rusty, keep falling on my tailbone, can't consistently tell right from left, or which side I should be attacking, or whether to go omote or ura. But while my last dojo was not rigid about no talking, there was a culture of thinking before offering advice, and trying to stick to non-verbal advice. There were benefits to this. It made it a lot easier for me to keep my own mouth shut about my own training--to keep from swearing under my breath and otherwise opining about each move I made. And it made it a lot harder for wannabe Cliff Clavens to dominate practice with their mouth.

So I get to this new dojo and everyone feels like a Cliff Claven, because everyone's got an opinion! The first thing I need to do is obviously relax, and see that the culture is different. But once the mouths are open, then how does a re-beginner who definitely needs guidance shut down genuinely unhelpful advice without looking like an ingrate?