Last week I started Judo classes. I’d been antsy for some kind of physical activity since I got to France, and I wanted experience with a new martial art too. Perfect. The knuckles on a couple of my fingers got skinned – not sure if it was from rolling on the mat or gripping someone’s gi. I got a couple of bruises on my chest too. My body’s sore, but in a satisfying way.
So far I have basically no idea what I’m doing, and from what I gather Judo’s a technical sport. The main thing I’m trying to work on in these early days is staying relaxed. Fluid. It’s something I strived for in boxing too. Keeping loose, while moving with speed and strength when the timing’s right. Fighting the instinct to tense up. Or rewiring the instincts. Mentally I understand what I need to do, but then it’s transferring that to the physical.
That state of relaxation with speed and strength – speed and strength coming from relaxation, even – transfers beyond boxing and judo. It’s the same as being “cool under fire.” Keeping the mind open to all possibilities and solutions even when the stress of the situation makes us want to shut down. Talking about it as liquid reminds me of the Tao, too. Or good teachers who have that intangible “presence” in the classroom – poised while passionate.
When I started learning classical guitar my teacher would often remind me to relax. If the hands are tense they move slower. And when I would practice sheet reading I’d enter tunnel vision if I started to stress. Thinking about it, though, didn’t seem to make the difference. In all of these examples, the main solution is experience. Practice. But is that the only means to this presence of mind? Or does some of it come a priori?
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2 comments:
I've been thinking a lot about this lately. One thing I'm always striving for is the ability to stay relaxed, and lucid in performing situations. The adrenaline and stress can sometimes block out important details like what you were even doing in the first place. When it comes to music I think I rely too much on muscle memory, and thats a hard thing to count on when you're nervous. I've found that you need to go over things piece by piece in your mind almost as a backup for when you're blanking. Practicing alone is good, but you really have to create a practice routine that's geared towards retention. You can apply those methods to anything in your life you're trying to learn.
Perfect practice makes perfect execution. Never practice bad habits. For example, never use "dum-de-dum, la la la" when you are learning a lyric, otherwise you unfailingly will revert to dum-de-dum when you go up (forget the lyrics). Bob D. mentions not depending on muscle memeory, but that is the essence of relaxation, letting your muscles execute the motions you have practiced endlessly. Your muscles know how to do what you want, you must let them, and let the music flow from your mind, heart or soul. Being in the groove is an effortless thing as it drives you along, either pushed, pulled, or best, riding the crest of the wave you are creating extemporaneously. You know the feeling, it is freedom embodied, and communication immediate. Flow is what it's about. A river of rhythm, a progression of harmonies, a moving line, a dance, the release of self to the instrument and to the song and not to the mechanics. The mechanics are what you practice. Songs are what you play. Fundamentals are what you practice. Matches are what you fight.
As to a priori, it depends on what you are doing and your confidence in your ability to do it. Talent has something to do with that., e.g., I have always been able to perform. It is instinctive to me. I do not think about it as I do it, I think about it before I do it (rehearsal), and then perform. I am inherently relaxed in the performing spotlight because I am confident in my ability. Golf is something else entirely. As is physical combat.
When you first start learning a physical skill you concentrate on fundamentals, then move on to technique. When the game is in progress you do not think about those things, you execute in reaction to the situation.
Being cool under fire is usually the result of training or experience, knowing what to do because you have seen it before or because you have trained for the situation. In other words, you have rehearsed. Poise comes from consideration of possibilities before they occur. You teach yourself to respond with equanamity.
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