Power & Gender & Fluidity of Motion

[KenpoTess]

Are some people just born natural athletes?

You know the one's, they see a movement, tec, form, once.. and are able to repeat it smoothly right off.

Who has an inborn ability to move fluidly in Kenpo?

I know in our school and at the college I've seen a myriad of males and females each semester and as I watch them go through the tecs, there are some that tend to have a harder time grasping onto the 'drop the power and work on fluidity' concept.


We have quite a few in the college Karate class that come from other styles..and have to keep at them.. work on your form.. Technique and Speed = Power.. They come from styles that use Power and strength and it's a difficult mind-set to move them from.

eg, Delayed sword - Explaining .. Each block is a Strke.. each strike a block..

I go through the tec line and block each punch .. they stand with their arm tingling and mouths hanging open, grinning.. Saying.. gee you didn't block hard.. that's cool..
The woman love it because they don't have to 'muscle' their way through a tec..

So once we get through the power issue we work on the fluidity of motion.. rounding the curves off .. having them work isometrically and that does wonders.. Course we have the speed demons who frantically fly through a tec because they wanna be like some Karate dude they saw in a movie.. They are harder to slow down at times.. but when they are reined in.. and continue down the path.. they are awesome..
Of course on the other side of the spectrum .. we have the plodding along group that should be playing shuffleboard instead.

Now those plodding groups.. they keep at it.. they try and try and try.. guys and girls, I applaud them.. they have to work at it.. nothing athletic comes naturally to them..
Is it a matter of lack of Self Confidence that seperates them from their counterparts? Or maybe the way they are built? Why can one person move so gracefully and one built bout the same.. doing the same tec.. blunders through it.. at 1/4 speed.

I'm not really asking questions.. just putting down some thoughts.


with respect,

Tess

 

[Pakhet]

Originally posted by KenpoTess


Is it a matter of lack of Self Confidence that seperates them from their counterparts? Or maybe the way they are built? Why can one person move so gracefully and one built bout the same.. doing the same tec.. blunders through it.. at 1/4 speed.

I'm not really asking questions.. just putting down some thoughts.


with respect,

Tess

Hi Tess,

I don't think it's a matter of self confidence or even of build. Watching the differences between my daughter and myself makes me think it's a brain mechanic thing. She's always been graceful and able to pick up anything pretty much on the first try...skiing, softball, soccer. I, on the other hand, am a klutz and always have been. I know she didn't inherit her abilities from myself or her father...the only other athletic person in my family is a younger sister (and by extension, one of her 5 kids is very athletic). So, no answers here, but good question

Lisa

 

[KenpoTess]

Originally posted by Pakhet



Hi Tess,

I don't think it's a matter of self confidence or even of build. Watching the differences between my daughter and myself makes me think it's a brain mechanic thing. She's always been graceful and able to pick up anything pretty much on the first try...skiing, softball, soccer. I, on the other hand, am a klutz and always have been. I know she didn't inherit her abilities from myself or her father...the only other athletic person in my family is a younger sister (and by extension, one of her 5 kids is very athletic). So, no answers here, but good question

Lisa

Hi Lisa,

yes I think you have something there.. It's not build definitely.. Seig has the ability to watch something and do it with grace and fluidity.. and he's built like a tank.. His speed is phenomenal and he amazes me each time I see him in action. I've seen gawky scarecrow type bodies move gracefully and the same type body move so mechanically. Big guys jumping and landing soundlessly and tiny people sounding like an elephant when just walking.
So there must be some inborn ability to some.
I would love to be able to see something once.. remember it and perform it fluidly.. but alas.. I am a slow plodding sort that has to work and work and never will be a Graceful gazelle..~!

Thanks for your comments

Tess

 

[Seig]

That is because a gazelle had four legs and feet........Look Tess, no hands! :rofl:

 

[KenpoTess]

Originally posted by Seig

That is because a gazelle had four legs and feet........Look Tess, no hands! :rofl:

*Stuffs Seig's hands in the closet.. Dat's right buddy..
*snorts*

BEAST~!!!

 

[Robbo]

You know the one's, they see a movement, tec, form, once.. and are able to repeat it smoothly right off

I've always admired these people, every school has them. But one thing I have seen over the years is that I'm still training and most of them are not. Anything that comes easy gets taken for granted.

Now if you have someone who makes the stuff work AND works hard to take it to the next level by being the best they can be. Well then, you have somebody special, take care of them.

Rob

 

[Blindside]

I really agree with Robbo.

I am fortunate enough to be one of those people who learns physical skills fairly rapidly (my sister is a professional ballet dancer, so it runs in the family). But in alot of ways it is a double edged sword. I haven't had to work as hard for the skills, I unconciously copied them, but in an analytical art like Kenpo that isn't a great benefit. I can't tell you how many times I have been asked "what stance are you stepping into" or somesuch, and it is something I never even thought about. I was doing them correctly, but I didn't analyze it, I just did it. This problem is going away as I have devoted much of my time to resolving it, but it was a problem particularly through brown belt.

Many people who have loads of physical talent do not stick with it because they do not find it challenging enough. I would do an analogy to gifted students in school who get bored so they wind up getting poor grades. I respect the hell out of two of my fellow students who have had to fight the whole way through, break down every motion, endure constant reminders by instructors to "relax" and "flow." They are better martial artists than me because of their lack of natural talent, rather than because of it.

Lamont

 

[Stick Dummy]

Seig has the ability to watch something and do it with grace and fluidity.. and he's built like a tank..

Nah, More like a Bradley fighting vehicle with a 20mm MK 9 cannon up top.:rofl:

Not the kinda thing I'd let my "Gazelles" run in front of.............


Tess,

My #1 son has that ability, and it makes me very proud, and ABSOLUTELY sick when he flaunts it to mock me.........

 

[KenpoTess]

Originally posted by Stick Dummy




Nah, More like a Bradley fighting vehicle with a 20mm MK 9 cannon up top.:rofl:

Not the kinda thing I'd let my "Gazelles" run in front of.............


Tess,

My #1 son has that ability, and it makes me very proud, and ABSOLUTELY sick when he flaunts it to mock me.........

Hahaa.. you got that right Pete.. sheesh.. ~!!
oh not another one.. Man.. there outta be a law bout those natural athletes mixing with us ~!*G*

 

[Nightingale]

It has to do with learning styles.

There are three ways of learning information. Everyone can do each to some extent (barring disabilities), but people are usually really strong at only one or two.

Visual - you learn by seeing things
Aural - you learn by hearing things
Kinesthetic - you learn by movement (doing things)

Those people who are just natural athletes are kinesthetic learners. This is where the idea of the "dumb jock" comes in, because people who are kinesthetic learners, although they may be of average to above average intelligence, learn best in a manner that is not used very often in the classroom... think about how you were taught...hearing the teacher lecture, and seeing stuff in your book and on the chalkboard, right?

Personally, I'm an aural learner. My doctor jokes that I have a "phonographic" memory, because I remember word for word absolutely everything I hear, usually for a long time. When I'm sitting in school, I don't take notes. I sit and listen, and on the test, I simply replay the professor's lectures back in my brain and write down the answers (those questions regarding analysis obviously take more thought, but you get my meaning).

When it comes to doing something physical, it takes me FOREVER to learn something. It took me like four months to learn short form 3.

I like kenpo because it is a challenge. School is a means to an end, and is mildly entertaining, but it isn't challenging. Heck, I probably would've had a 4.0 in college and high school if it had been just slightly more difficult so I'd want to put in an effort. I never did homework. I absorbed information like a sponge, so I couldn't fail a test if I tried, but didn't do homework, which lowered the grades. Grad school, now, which is slightly more interesting and difficult, makes me work, and I do have the 4.0.

There's no challenge in putting effort into something that comes to someone extremely easily. Personally, I get bored. I like kenpo because it isn't easy.

 

[KenpoTess]

Originally posted by nightingale8472

It has to do with learning styles.

There are three ways of learning information. Everyone can do each to some extent (barring disabilities), but people are usually really strong at only one or two.

Visual - you learn by seeing things
Aural - you learn by hearing things
Kinesthetic - you learn by movement (doing things)

Those people who are just natural athletes are kinesthetic learners. This is where the idea of the "dumb jock" comes in, because people who are kinesthetic learners, although they may be of average to above average intelligence, learn best in a manner that is not used very often in the classroom... think about how you were taught...hearing the teacher lecture, and seeing stuff in your book and on the chalkboard, right?

Personally, I'm an aural learner. My doctor jokes that I have a "phonographic" memory, because I remember word for word absolutely everything I hear, usually for a long time. When I'm sitting in school, I don't take notes. I sit and listen, and on the test, I simply replay the professor's lectures back in my brain and write down the answers (those questions regarding analysis obviously take more thought, but you get my meaning).

When it comes to doing something physical, it takes me FOREVER to learn something. It took me like four months to learn short form 3.

I like kenpo because it is a challenge. School is a means to an end, and is mildly entertaining, but it isn't challenging. Heck, I probably would've had a 4.0 in college and high school if it had been just slightly more difficult so I'd want to put in an effort. I never did homework. I absorbed information like a sponge, so I couldn't fail a test if I tried, but didn't do homework, which lowered the grades. Grad school, now, which is slightly more interesting and difficult, makes me work, and I do have the 4.0.

There's no challenge in putting effort into something that comes to someone extremely easily. Personally, I get bored. I like kenpo because it isn't easy.

I've taken a few days to mull this over Nightingale.. watching myself and thinking about what type of learner I am.. I am definitely not of the singular, typical ,categorical of the three.
I have progressed in my learning as I sit and type this -eyes closed - just recalling how different I am now then when I first began Kenpo. Repetive movement burns the tec into my muscle memory.. from there it's ingrained.. but first I must feel a technique or form .. I must understand the whys and where's of it. I must experience the motion and movement before I can grasp anything else. I realize I do the same thing in my artwork. I can sit and read a help file, instruction book. and grasp the basics but soon they are gone from my memory.. I can watch a demo of another creating.. My visual self .. see's all.. not focusing on just one thing at a time. I see life in this manner too.. I can't tell you what someone is wearing clothes-wise.. but I can tell you if they were happy or other mood.. so therefore.. Unless I sit down and actually pick up a paintbrush or clay. or work the technique.. I will never learn..
Just my ramblings..

respectfully,
Tess.. who's always seeking new knowledge..