A Playful Approach to Creativity

Moving well unleashes the body’s kinetic energy, allowing thoughts to flow more freely. When we engage in playful movement—be it a spontaneous dance, a stroll in the park, or an impromptu stretching session—our brains enter a state of heightened awareness. This liberation of physical expression encourages new connections and sparks innovative ideas. Whether it’s rolling on the ground or trying a new yoga pose, the unpredictability of movement invites us to relinquish rigid thoughts and embrace creativity.

Embracing a playful mindset further fuels creative exploration.

When we approach our tasks with lightheartedness, we dismantle the barriers of perfectionism and fear of failure. This playful attitude transforms challenges into opportunities for experimentation, leading to surprising breakthroughs. As we play, we open ourselves to uncharted avenues of thought, allowing our minds to wander and weave through different perspectives. The combination of moving well and a playful approach creates a dynamic environment where creativity flourishes, turning the mundane into a delightful adventure of invention.

Building Stronger Artists Through Play

Martial artists can enhance their physical conditioning by integrating play into their training routines. Engaging in playful activities like obstacle courses, martial arts-themed games, or even playful sparring sessions can make workouts more enjoyable while building strength, agility, and flexibility. These activities mimic the unpredictable nature of real combat, allowing martial artists to develop quick reflexes and body awareness in a fun and stress-free environment. The element of play encourages creativity and exploration, leading to a more dynamic and effective training experience.

Incorporating playful elements, such as partner drills that resemble tag or flow-based movement exercises, can foster a deeper connection between movement and body mechanics. When martial artists are having fun, they are more likely to push their boundaries and experiment with new techniques, resulting in improved muscle memory and coordination. This exploration can also lead to discovering unique ways to engage the body, helping athletes avoid the monotony of repetitive workouts and instead encouraging a joyful engagement with physical activity.

Lastly, play encourages social interaction, which can be a vital aspect of training in martial arts. Participating in group games or team-based drills allows martial artists to build camaraderie, create support systems, and share feedback in a lighthearted way. This community aspect promotes positive reinforcement, motivation, and an overall sense of belonging, making the journey toward a stronger body not just about self-improvement but also about connecting with others. Together, these elements create an atmosphere where martial artists can thrive, forging not only stronger bodies but also happier minds.

Making Motor Learning Easier ( 2 Things)

Generally speaking there are 2 things that make learning easier.

Learning, in my field of movement and motor learning, can be a very deep and broad topic but I'm trying to keep things basic and very understandable.

In the video example above, I speak about balls being a perfect example of novelty and familiarity.

Sometimes when I’m presenting or teaching my Creative Movement Workshops I can feel some hesitation and apprehension in the air.

People do not know what to expect and are a little shy.

But once I break out the balls, usually tennis and medicine balls people relax a bit and become very willing to play and explore.

You can check out two completely different populations, from two different workshops, using the same simple ball game here:

Creative Movement Workshops

Experiment with these and let me know what you come up with.

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Creating a Sacred Space

Every practice has a space, and that space is sacred.

Setting up your workspace is a vital part of your creative process, whether we’re speaking of creative movement or another artistic expression or practice. Your environment has a significant impact on expression.

A personal place of expression is a grounding influence and a partner through every phase of expression.

I personally envision the studio, the dojo, or the woodshed as a nucleus of creation, a source from which creative movement and expression flows outward to other areas of life and the place to which it returns again.

Personally, I maintain my artistic workspace as a sanctuary, a place at home where creative expression is nourished and regenerated.

Start by setting up your space. Your very own creative movement woodshed.

A few years ago I was struggling to find or uncover my own practice so I literally built a woodshed where I could move and create daily.

I wrote about here: Jiu-Jitsu and the Slow Track.

Exercise, Expression and Creative Movement

““I estimate that the average professional person gives much more time each week to physical exercise than to creative expression. We have discovered that health is significantly affected by how we care for our bodies. Why is it that we have overlooked the way creative energy influences our individual and collective well-being? Can you consider making a small weekly time commitment to creative exercise?

If your time is really constricted , consider how a discipline like creative movement can combine body, mind and creative spirit.””

— Shaun McNiff

Putting the Art Back Into the Art of Teaching

Some of your students/ athletes/artists simply will not consider themselves artists. My personal opinion is that anyone that steps inside a movement or martial arts studio is already an artist, it’s simply a matter of refining and cultivating one’s artistic skill.

Recently a mentor of mine, who is a dancer, told me that everyone is a dancer, but some people just need to learn, or maybe relearn the techniques. As a grappler, I would add that we are all grapplers, but maybe we just need to learn or relearn some techniques. My sons, as toddlers were excellent dances and roughhousers (grapplers.)

That’s how I think about movement and martial arts. Or even personal training and athletic development. It’s our job to bring out the artistry and movement creativity in our students. We are here to help guide and shape someone, not to change them.

If you’d like to learn more about my upcoming workshop please go here for some details Teach Like an Artist.

TEACH LIKE AN ARTIST

$50.00

Who is the Best Dancer?

This is what I’m talking about!

I’ve been diving deep into the works of M.C. Richards and Paulus Berensohn.

I quoted M.C. Richards on this blog before here: Life is Physical & Artistic.

What I absolutely love about both of of these artists, potters and poets actually are their other physical pursuits like dance.

There is a deep connection between the physical, mixed moving arts and other creative arts. This is clear. And if we are to approach wholeness and a deeper life we must remain and cultivate a well-rounded approach to movement and self-expression.

Specialist may get paid more but to quote Paulus.

““It’s not a way of making a living. It’s a way of making a life.”

— Paulus Berensohn

The above video is a reading from a book by Corita Kent called “Learning by Heart.”

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.

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!

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