I'm often afraid of asking questions, because I feel this will make the devs around me realize that I'm a phony. I do note down things when someone explains something to me though, because I like to write down the explanation in my own words.
"Imagine signing up for a tennis course and then finding out it solely consists of lectures. Sure, you need to hear the rules of the game, but you can never learn to play a sport without actually playing it, right?"
True. This is true for the martial arts as well. You have to do contact sparring one day, just practicing forms and reading the theory won't make you win the fights.