Life is Physical and Artistic

Life is physical, that’s what makes it artistic. That’s what makes artistic practice its central discipline.

Of course it’s deeper than that. What makes life artistic in its physicality is that it is created by inner processes. Inner processes are generative, life in fact is creative. That is how come science is an art and the poet writes from a sense of fact. The imagination is a fact.

After a while I took up pottery as a craft. I also took up dancing and woodworking and printing and farming and cooking and cutting stencils.

An Idea for Jiu-Jitsu Teachers

“As I contemplated my art practice this morning —where each individual portrait is a physical/visual record of my investment of practice, I was gifted an idea I would have certainly tried / executed if I were still teaching young people the martial arts:

I would order some attractive pea gravel or decorative (small) stones —and at the end of every practice I would have the kids stand in a line to say goodbye —and I’d place one of these little stones in their hands.

I’d encourage them to place them in a big jar, so that they (and others) might better understand how each of those practice sessions accumulate. Each is light and small individually, but over time the cumulative practice becomes…something all together different.”

This is a reprint from my mentor Tom Callos. He’s an Artist that’s also a Martial Artist.

It was just a simple IG post but I thought it deserved a blog post someplace so it wouldn’t get totally washed away in the stream.

How to Develop your Jiu-Jitsu...the Soft Skill of Breaking Bones

Jiu-Jitsu is a soft skill, a soft art.

The Japanese term Jiu-Jitsu can actually be translated as soft-skill, although we often translate it as Gentle Art or Soft Art.

In human movement studies and motor development, skills are broken down in many ways. Two big broad categories or classifications are soft skills and hard skills. These are also known as open vs closed skills. It all depends on where you went to school or the textbook you used.

A closed (hard) skill is a skill where repeatable precision is needed. Hard skills are usually free from outside distractions as well.

A classic hard-skill in the sporting world would be a foul shot in basketball. There are no other players reaching for the ball, no dodging or cutting involved. Just one target and one player. All other shots on the court would be soft skills or open skills because they are completely dependent of reading, reacting and recognizing the complete situation on the court as well as the other players from both teams.

Soft skills are flexible, soft skills are all about sensitivity, feeling and physical improv.

So they question arises?

How do we develop soft skills? The answer is play. Play more Jiu-Jitsu. Play with more players. Play with players of all different shapes, sizes and skill sets. Play with variations and positions. Explore and experiment with different paths , approaches and combinations.

When working on the soft-skill of Jiu-Jitsu focus on creating a high number of varied repetitions. Don’t worry so much about making mistakes, the most important thing is to keep it playful and explore. Jiu-Jitsu is fun to practice because it is a soft-skill. But…because it is so fun to practice, it’s important for you to self-coach and observe yourself. After each practice simply ask yourself what worked? What didn’t ? What got you smashed? And why?

A Jiu-Jitsu Poem... Or any other art really.

Jiu-Jitsu is an art, a physical art form, much like Yoga or Dance. These art forms all have something in common beyond their physical similarities. There’s an emotional level, a deep level of appreciation and frustration, of like and dislike. Even disdain. I have felt that on many drives home from the dojo.

This poem by Victoria Erickson is really about her relationship with Yoga. But we can steal it and make modifications for our own moving and martial arts like Jiu-Jitsu.

Sometimes I think about playing around with the words and coming up with something original and all my own, but this is too perfect.

You can check out her book here: Edge of Wonder.

A few years ago I wrote an article about the process of training to get the trash out. You can check that out here:

Jiu-Jitsu and the Art of Churning.

A 10 Minute Kettlebell & Bodyweight Workout for BJJ

The russian kettlebell may be the ultimate "Becoming Bamboo" tool for jiu-jitsu players.

It's effective because it is simple. And so is this quick 10 minute kettlebell and bodyweight workout.

I explain everything in the video so please be sure to watch completely to get the details but here are a few quick tips:

• Start a new round of 10 kettlebell swings and 10 sit-throughs or sit-outs every minute on the minute for 10 minutes.

• The faster you work the more you rest. Stay active during the rest.

• You can pick any kettlebell swing variation. The choice is all yours. But remember, some kettlebell swings are slower/quicker than others. You may be able to perform 2-arm kettlebell swings quicker than the hand-to-hand swings that I use in the video.

• You can progress this workout a few ways...once 10 & 10 become too easy pick a heavier kettlebell or up your repetitions. You could also add some complexity to one of those skills like throwing a high-bridge into the sit-through. Make sense?

Please let me know how it goes.

Gracias!

Fast Yoga Flow for BJJ (Basic Flow)

I use the term "Fast Yoga" to describe simple bodyweight movement flows that I incorporate into my daily training. Often times these are my pre- Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu warm-ups but I also like to do some fast yoga flows before other non-BJJ related training like barbell or kettlebell work. 

You could also use these flows as a pick-me-up during the day to improve mobility, brain and blood flow or just to improve your mood. 

The flow below is a basic flow consisting of a full squat, a sit-through or sit-out and standing up in base. 

Here are just a few quick tips:

• Feel free to hang out in any one of those positions as long as you like. There is no right or wrong here actually...do whatever is resonating with your own body at that particular time.

• Feel free to sway and swagger gently from side to side. Check your stability and base. Play with active and non-active shoulders. Play with the position of your palm and gently pry open your hips with your elbows.

• For more conditioning add some speed and quickness to your flow. Jump into your sit-through and add a jump into the technical stand-up.

• You can set a timer or work for repetitions...both options work quite well.

• Finally, you can combine this flow with other training tools and methods. For example, doing some jump-rope work prior to this flow would be great.

Please try it out and let me know how it goes...have a question ? Let me know.

Obrigado!

What is Motor Creativity? This is.

“Exploration “Play Rules.” These rules are as follows:
(1) you shall investigate the unfamiliar until it has become familiar; (2) you shall impose a rhythmic repetition on the familiar; (3) you shall vary this repetition in as many ways as possible; (4) you shall select the most satisfying of these variations and develop these at the expense of others; (5) you shall combine and recombine variations with one another; and (6) you shall do this all for its own sake, as an end in itself.”

— Desmond Morris, The Naked Ape (1967)

The “correct” way to perform a skill is frequently abandoned by top performers.

I am a teacher. A physical education teacher, a movement and martial arts teacher. And I define teaching as the cause of learning. This may happen simply because the student is ready; or it may come from a cue that was given by me or another student. Or it may have come from the environment or a constraint placed on the learner.

But most likely, it came from the practical physical experience and the sensation and assessment of what is effective by the actual performer.

I’d like to share two videos with you below. The first video is a during a friendly competition during a football game. Please notice how the “winner throws the football incorrecty. And she wins $100,000 because of it.

This second video is dear to my heart as a father that has a baseball pitcher that tends to throw more side-arm than overhead. I simply watch as coaches try to correct his form and actually make his throwing worse off.

Now, instead of being “corrected,” these movers should be applauded for solving these movement riddles in a way that was most effective and satisfying for their own individual expression.

The three books below were required reading in Human Movement Studies at Temple U. If you’re interested in skill, its development and practice design I highly recommend you check them out. I’ll link to them here as well.

Motor Learning & Performance

Dynamics of Skill Acquisition

Movement Discovery

The Language of Movement

Because movement is a language and language is alive, there are no strict mechanics by which it may be understood. We come to know movement and play in much of the same way we come to know a person. A person made it, created it, expressed it. And like that person we know it in different degrees, in different contexts, tasks and environments. To come to know movement, play and creativity more and more completely. To feel these elements change as we change. The transformations of creativity and play are organic, in the same way as we are.

Think Less...Feel More

Your body is your brain. What happens to your body greatly and directly affects what happens in your brain. What happens to your brain greatly and directly affects what happens in your body.

The Art, Science and Craft of Teaching Movement

Physical education, teaching movement is a craft. It is also an art and a science.

Great physical education cannot be accomplished by following some exact recipe. There are a few guide-books and instruction manuals for being a great physical educator and teacher but they often fail once presented with real-world students.

There is no secret formula or codified list of best practices that will guarantee the movement success of your students.

The craft of teaching movement is often quite messy. And it should be. It’s can also be confusing. And it should be.

You doubt your skills. You get frustrated. You get discouraged. And the process or improvement is super slow.

You (we) make a ton of mistakes and yet…that is the beauty of human movement and teaching.

You literally get to explore like a child again. Discovering and touching new environments for the first time in many moons. You get t experiment like a scientist and design like an engineer. You get to compose like a musician and create like an artist.

There’s honestly no point or place that you need to arrive to…As a Physical Creative you will always be exploring, you will always be designing and innovating. That’s what makes this movement journey so beautiful and rewarding.