Dragaera

OT: bois (was: Sethra Lavode vs. Enchantress of Dzur Mountain)

David Rodemaker dar at horusinc.com
Thu Aug 15 11:44:20 PDT 2002

> What you are talking about is exactly the same thing happens to me under
> those circumstances, but I don't call it thinking spatially, I am just
> aware that my thinking, under those conditions, is not happening in
> English, but in terms appropriate to the skills being used.  You call it
> thinking spatially, I call it thinking in the language of those
> skills.  That it is, at some level in my mind, I am still manipulating a
> set of symbols.  Facility, or it's lack, with the language of
> those skills
> is one of the main things that limits our abilities.
>
> Mmm...is this making sense?

Certainly, but as another point. Being able to think creatively with a
skill/symbol set doesn't mean you can translate it.

For example:

My JKD instructor is a great martial artist, he's well educated, and an all
around nice guy. He is not however the greatest instructor when it comes to
translating body mechanics. He can demonstrate at speeds which will allow
you to see what he's doing, talk generally about balance, where to put your
feet, why you are doing things, etc., and is otherwise an excellent
instructor.

But try and get him to define '30% speed' or '50% force' and he's always way
off (and to the high end also, <ouch>), or where a balance point is for
other people.

My wife's instructor (various arts), who has no higher education that I know
of, can do so in language that a seven year old can understand.

David