The way physical practice is organized both over short and long time frames determines its outcome. When we talk about movement as a broad concept, it implies that the main interest lies in creating conditions that allow not only for the retention of skills but also an efficient transfer of skills from one area to another. Being good at what you practice is an obvious outcome of repetitive action, but how can you become good at what you don’t do? Contextual interference is one of the concepts we operate with when building the curriculum for our students to achieve this effect.
When people come to study with me, I first ask them what they are looking for. In about 70% of cases, they say that they want to be strong. It usually does not include specifications in which domain, or what they even understand under “being strong”. How do we denominate what strength is? Is it a specific parameter that can be measured, or a way of life that determines whether someone is strong or not? Is it a simple act of exerting force against an object, or is it something bigger than that?
The acquisition of motor skills is a complex process that advances through stages. Roughly speaking, there is a phase of input, a phase of consolidation, and a phase of retention. It can as well be divided into fast and slow learning, the former referring to the immediate change in the systems simultaneously happening with an input and the latter to the changes happening over a longer period of time.
When I first embarked on the journey of studying movement under the guidance of Ido Portal, It wasn’t so clear to me what the aim of what I was doing was, but I knew from the beginning there is something in it beyond what can be seen from the first glance. With time I have realized that besides offering a philosophical layout and a different perspective from which to look at life itself, this approach teaches us to create a net of conceptual frameworks that allows the study of anything with intention.
If we would be always waiting for perfect conditions to get things done, nothing would be done ever. In our work lives, personal lives, our creative endeavors – there is always something that stands in the way, so we choose to do it in another moment. Somehow the time is never right for one reason or another. Nevertheless, humanity continues moving forward. Furthermore, some of us achieve amazing results across the board and seem to never be troubled by anything, while others are always waiting for perfect conditions to do significant things. What is behind this paradox?
I cannot overestimate having a mentor in life. The significance of it is something I discussed before in this article. But finding a good teacher is not easy. In whatever area you are looking at, there is a lot of noise that needs to be filtered. Recognizing what is worth your time is complicated, especially if you have high standards for yourself. There is, of course, a personal connection, but also there is a practical way to determine whether a teacher is capable of providing you with what you are looking for.
Having a practice has many layers. There is more to it than a visible and concrete result that manifests as a skill or a product. Having a practice can and should address all aspects of human life. For a practitioner, there is always something to work on and where to improve. How do you build a practice that has an intention and leaves room for growth even in your worst days, without obsessive attachment to the end result?
“Every day is a spine day”, as Ido Portal says. This is one of the most important things to remember if you aim to have a complex and sustainable movement practice.
Movement practice has many facets, and one of the main pillars of it is the community. You cannot develop all the best in you without feedback and your practice is not complex enough if you do not interact with other people as part of it. What does it mean to be a good partner?
One of the weirdest pieces of advice I have ever given was sending an Olympic lifter to a singing class. What is the connection? – was the question that followed. I had to explain to him how much control of the diaphragm can help increasing the weight in the lifts, overall performance and how it saves you devastating injuries further down the line. He ended up going and thanked me later. So what is the connection here exactly?
A shortlist of books we recommend for reading.
To everything we do in life, a “proper” technique can be attached. May it be a painting technique, athletic form, bricklaying, or cleaning a clogged sink. Technique refers to an efficient way of executing a task, made in a specific fashion, to bring a specific result. For a technique to work properly, a certain set of conditions needs to be present: if X occurs, I do Y, and it leads to Z. When conditions change, technique changes. While building a technical base is important for capacity to perform, it can become limiting on a wider scheme of things.
"Science without religion is lame, religion without science is blind.” Paraphrase these words by Albert Einstein as insight without thinking does not go very far, as well as thinking without insight does not give a full picture.
Master’s thesis of our student describing how his experience with The Bamboo Body and movement practice as taught by Ido Portal, affected the quality of his skill as a professional pianist.
We have a very special relationship to the rhythm. Each human being possesses an intrinsic pacemaker, when there is a disturbance in its rhythm - there is trouble. The most often performed activity – walking – has clear rhythmicity, and in a social setting, the ability to follow the rhythm on the dance floor is giving you better chances to be accepted. Music and dance, poetry and athletic performance – all of it is a permeating theme through cultures, and all of it is associated with rhythm.
The father of modern architecture, Julius Caesar’s contemporary Vitruvius, identified 3 main components of architecture as firmitas, utelitas, and venustas, which is translated as “firmness, commodity, and delight”.
What does it mean – “having a practice”? It is a very vague definition that can be used in many ways and can mean many things. As well as it can mean nothing at all, just referring to smoke and mirrors. The straightforward notion of “practice” in itself entails being involved in a process, repeatedly engaging in an activity with the end goal of achieving mastery in something. It can be both an empty description of a habit or it can be a phenomenon that fills human life with meaning.
