Flash Anzan - How Much Time Does It Take To Master

Mental Calculation, Mathematics, and Puzzles
1

In how much time would an average person in his 20-somethings learn and perfect the Flash Anzan method for blazing fast calculations?

2

I think it will take a long time.

You first need to become proficient with the soroban.
With proficient I mean eyes closed proficient.
The next step would be to imagine the soroban and then to use it.

I have written some things about this in the past:

Maybe this also helps:

3

For to know how works this technique, I’m going to do 10 hours classes of soroban and flash anzan with the world’s foremost mental math expert: Jeonghee Lee (record in memoriad of flash anzan, división, 10x10 additions, multiplication).

JEONGHEE LEE IS THE ONLY KNOW SOROBAN ABACUS MASTER TO HAVE REACHED THE ELEVENTH DAN!!!.

I need two persons more for to do the classes with 60 % of disccount.
Read announcement of this here (I put videos of her also):

10 hours classes like I said is for to know how works the technique, for to learn the technique, you need THOUSANDS OF HOURS BUT… BE PACIENT!!!

4

So how long would it take for people in 20s to be good at the flash anzan as metalpriest asked ?

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5

Do you have to use soboran for flash anzan?

6

It takes many years to master this.

For example Im be able to add/sub two 5 digit numbers with mental abacus but not with unbelievable speed. It takes me almost 2 years to learn this.

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7

I started soroban with 18. The first 2 years I have learned the basics with soroban. The next 2 years I have started mental soroban. Now Im 21.

I recommend you to create a paper soroban which could help you to imagine the pearl rows easier in your mind. This method have helped me to get prepared to notice my mental abacus only with my bare mind. I have made my paper soroban of a piece of cardboard in which I have drawn soroban pearls.

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8

Within ~1 year of daily practice it is reasonable to expect to be better at simple addition using anzan than the average man on the street would be with regular mental math.

For example, 68+45+91 would take most people quite a bit of effort to solve if they had no experience with mental calculation, but it doesn’t take too long of training with the Soroban to get to the level where you can do those sorts of very simple additions in only a few seconds.

The most important thing is to fall in love with the Soroban and become obsessed with it. If you treat soroban training like going to the gym, as something difficult that needs to be pushed through, then getting better will be much harder since your brain will be resisting the training.

You need to be interested in the Soroban, and thinking about it all the time, even as you are falling asleep you will see the beads moving in your mind. It is much easier to get this level of obsession when you are young.

I recommend anyone who is trying to learn Soroban to download the “Simple Soroban” android app. Use this all the time, any chance you get you should be on the app trying to break your highscores and improve your speed.

I think using an app like that along with a physical soroban is extremely helpful for a few reasons:

  1. Convenience - a physical soroban is difficult to carry around, but now there is no excuse not to train all the time - when on the bus, when at work, even when on the toilet

  2. The app gamifies the training and makes it fun. You can easily train for hours trying to unlock the badge or break your highscore without even realizing that the time has passed.

  3. The app changes colour of the beads when they are active, which helps alot with visualisation when you are starting out

  4. It provides you with immediate negative and positive feedback when you get the calculations right/wrong, which is one of the most important elements of deliberate practice.

After practcing for a year or two on the Soroban you can start with basic Flash anzan practice. Even simple stuff like single digit addition like 3+5+6.
Once you can start to do stuff like this in your mind, then in my opinion the hardest element is already finished. You just need to keep ramping up the difficulty and speed as you become better, whilst still doing work on the soroban of course.

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