A question was asked about feeling intent and how it can be harder to move on time if you can't feel the other persons intent. The question was more detailed than that, but hopefully this is enough context.
I'd post the original question, but its not my own so I don't feel I have the right.
So I replied thusly
Funny, we did work on this Tuesday night in class.
I agree with most above that if it were a real attack, most likely he would have had intent. However, professionals and thoseof higher skill level can also hide/mask there intent or as was mentioned sort of have no intent when they attack.
Likewise things that happen by accident are often evoid of that kind of intent.
Since you always want to be training to fight the more skilled opponent, something should certainly be done to increase your skills in that area. I know I'm working on it right now.
The way i have it figured. there are three main things that need to be trained for.
A) increasing awareness of more subtle gradations of intent
B) develop awareness of different types of intent (he may not have intent to harm... but he likely has intent to move his armforward)
C) increasing your other perceptions so as to be able to work efficiently without feeling the intent
In training all three of those things, I think its useful to start with working on your ability to become intent invisible yourself. As anything you can do yourself, is always easier to understand in the opponent. And of course as Furtry says... "Its always about yourself"
A and B can of course be helped by blind training and I'm guessing you already do that.
C can be aided by reversing the blind training idea. Find a way to mask yourself to the intent and work for a while. Overloading your senses can be helpful. Give yourself so much input that its hard to sort it out.
Or you can try to artificially change your partners intent to make it harder to read. If you make the practice in to an asymetrical game (two different goals for each participant) this might help.
Opponent say has to touch you as softly as possible with a short stick, while say moving in rhythm to a calm piece of classical music (in a ear phones). Make his job have as little to do with martial intent as possible. try different metaphors or visualizations... what ever works for him.You on the other hand work against him normally, or blind folded, or listening to loud disharmonious music (I'm sure you could get some from Jonas ).
Sure it sounds weird, but I'm guessing it will probably be useful.
Before i was doing RMA I use to occasionally bring in Indonesian music and other things with uncommon time signatures and what Americans think of as atonal scales. I'd blast it during drills where people were relying to much on rhythm and not enough on spontaneous interaction. Inevitably people would get a lot of lumps at first, but then they'd usually break through to another level. I've found the use of music to be quite useful in messing with or enhancing natural rhythms.
Arthur (bringer of strange drills) Sennott
