Movement Research Notes (Vol. 2)
Wuji: ‘no extremities’: What are we cultivating when Daniel (rather repeatedly) mentions the word Integrity? Or when the Chinese ancient practices talk about Wuji states? To be at the centre of it all; moved yet not forced; inspired but not pulled; enlightened but not ‘above’ anything or anyone else...
The Walking Class (continued): The writer or artist works his part-time / full-time job as a waiter or dishwasher or postman to cover his basic expenses whilst working on their novel on the evenings and weekends... once it’s complete, they become a full time writer but it no longer feels the same. There’s too much pressure; plus there’s no inspiration; nothing to write about. They quickly forgot it was the ordinary ‘walking class’ hours that created the novel, just as much as the writing ones. Alas: no input? no output...
The Highest Forms Of Problem-Solving? The race, the ‘performance’, the fight. This is true, true, true dexterity - when we have our skin in the game, with real life consequences, with our and others’ emotions also at stake...
Surprises Regarding Dexterity: Middle level problem solving is not what we might easily think... for the harder stuff is actually the more simple movements that we take for granted. Standing still for 30mins, for example, is a harder problem to solve than 30mins of engaging, varied movement riddles. The stiller the body, the more moving the mind. And so... dexterity doesn’t always look impressive (rarely, in fact).
What Is Art? “Creating a fiction that is greater than reality”. This is what we aspire towards, in tiny ways, when we (re)imagine a movement practice.
Symbols Speak A Thousand Words: Certain shapes (a circle for instance) has longstanding, universal meanings... the snake that bites its own tail // whatever goes around comes around // what you run from you end up chasing etc etc. How can such simple shapes further inform our understanding of the world and ourselves?
Tone (lived Wuji): Even contractions across one’s shape (involving constant adjustments and sensory corrections) - a splendid metaphor for one’s entire ‘being’ regarding how they spend their days. Life is Wuji... practice ‘tone’ in one thing and it will inform all things.
“the master one thing is to master all things” (Musashi)
‘Beneath the Water’ - we question everything EXCEPT those things that we believe SO MUCH in that we never think to question them. How do we peel away these layers? What might the subconscious have in store for us?
Friendship as the ONLY relationship that really works - what might it mean to cultivate a friendship-first approach to ALL of our connections? And what limited beliefs might we have regarding this?... After all, maybe we CAN marry and have kids with our friends? Maybe the term is even irrelevant - providing you’re great friends, call your Father or your Wife or your lover whatever you like. If you ARE friends however, then it should be a win-win for all. If not, then maybe it’s not friendship.
Energy, Humour & Laughter - sometimes it feels like the health of my body and mind, and my daily life, can best be measured by HOW MUCH I’ve smiled and laughed. Though intangible, It can be felt in the chest and even the face muscles. A light, childlike spirit gets evoked and nothing is too heavy within such a life.
PREPARATION AS ILLUSION: the more my running and movement training proceeds, the more illusionary the idea of any objective preparation becomes. A million conscious experiments completed and it’s the ability to simply pay full attention, to REALLY choose, to REALLY observe and to reflect upon the fate of one’s next competition, race, situation etc that most matters. If failing is not the real failure (which it isn’t) then success becomes a very different thing. To have answered the interesting question and to have sincerely lived out the potential story of your life is the ONLY success perhaps. Are you asking and living the really interesting questions though?
Illness as Teacher - a recent illness reminds me of my immortality; that there are things I’m not seeing, am not aware of, might adapt to better. That there is always another question and evolution for me. That I’m fragile and some things (bacterias? viruses?) will always be stronger. The occasional change in physical form, in weakness, in adaptation is perhaps its own movement practice - to simply move with what is there. Surrender and humility completes the adaptation much sooner than stubbornly resisting and soldiering on also. And yet the story needn’t also be BIGGER than it us. For ‘This too shall pass’...
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