PART 2 - Universal Domains

Another reality that’s important to acknowledge early on: we cannot know our students fully; each have their own unique patterns, habits, personalities and lives outside of the classroom.

It is not our job to bend ourselves around their shapes, and not will this ever be possible (especially when working with larger groups). Our work, instead, should seek out and support the universal qualities of, and requirements for, all human beings.

A good practice unites all types, regardless of their supposed preferences, skills and upbringings. There are some simple ways of framing and understanding what these practices are…

The following 4 learning processes cover every possible scenario you’ll ever find in a workshop/class setting:

Meditation - doing one simple thing with full awareness.

Research - finding multiple answers to the same question / solutions to the same problem.

Performance - the act of seeing, and being seen by, others.

Play - a competitive game with a clear measure of success and failure / winner and loser.

It is possible that more than 1 of these processes will be happening at the same time (quite likely in fact, depending on your teaching domain). Pure performance rarely, if ever, exists alone, just as play can have a flavour of one or two of the other categories, depending on how the practice is designed.

Notice also that ‘meditation’, here, is about simplicity and measurability, not the usual esoteric notion of mindfulness etc only.

Meditation and Research are the two most fundamental processes underlining every practice and should be recognised somewhat as opposites in their intentions. Meditation seeks objectivity, repetition, clarity, whereas Research encourages creativity, openness, problem-solving and curiosity. Every practice and domain, and every individual or group involved with it, requires both for an optimal learning experience and long-term educational journey.

Ignore any impassioned stories or complaints that argue counter to this fact. All students (and indeed facilitators) will be more comfortable in one of these processes compared to the other. All that means is that we need to give extra attention and care towards the other, less familiar side of things.

There is, of course, more to be gained from our blind spots than from strengthening our already-known habits.

Play, as you may notice, is defined here as being competitive in form. This is crucial for two reasons:

1) it clearly separates it from the ‘research-only’ process.

2) competition is a natural and inevitable part of life - to ignore or undervalue it is of great discredit to yourself and your students. After all, one day the competition of life will find them, and your teaching style will be partly responsible for their success.

A quick reminder of life’s basic competitions that should be practiced regularly and often through whatever domain you choose to facilitate in (eg. Martial Arts, Music, Dance, Writing, Running etc):

> Getting hired for a job

> Finding a spouse, partner, husband, wife etc with which to live and/or to make and raise a child

> Being chosen by potential students, teachers, collaborators, artists, professionals etc

> Making and sustaining friendships and a larger tribe

Lastly, the Performance component is more (or less) satisfied depending on the number of people watching / receiving the individual/s completing the task, as well as the performative nature of the task itself. Asking a new, inexperienced dancer to improvise in front of just 1 person is already quite a unique and challenging situation, whereas more experienced singers, movers, runner etc may need a bigger way of ‘being seen’ to meet the same requirement. Naturally, practicing in a public space already has a more performative outcome than the same class done inside a small dojo.

Only with time, repetition and diligent reflection will one’s practical understanding of these 4 learning process be gained, as well as their various nuances. That being said, just with their basic definitions in mind, one can already start planning better classes accordingly; ensuring a somewhat balanced ratio of all 4 processes.

The same can be done for one’s own self-practice. Take my running practice, specifically, in it’s current form at the time of writing this chapter:

Meditation - 20 reps of the 50-step staircase in the park outside my house (up and down again) at 60% of my maximum speed/effort, 5x per week

Research - Question: how can I improve my speed and efficiency when running up and down hills? Research Tasks: standing jumps (80% of max jump height); 6 reps, 3 sets, 3x per week // hanging knee raises (knee at least 90 degree angle up from centre line); 10 reps, 3 sets, 3x per week

Performance - running outside always (no treadmills) when training // teaching elements of running, endurance and/or movement for 6-week blocks throughout the year // writing and sharing these ideas weekly online through my blog and social media

Play - 4x marathon or ultramarathon races per year

As mentioned previously, one’s teaching is (mostly) just a mirror of one’s own practice. By cultivating and, in turn, further understanding these 4 universal domains of learning for ourselves, our students will naturally benefit more and more over time.

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