Clues to Movement and Attitude Control

-

---

Annex 2 of Navigating Alternative Conceptual Realities: clues to the dynamics of enacting new paradigms through movement (2002)

---

a href="https://kairos.laetusinpraesens.org/detach2_x_h_1">Clues to Movement and Attitude Control
Clues from animal locomotion
Clues from animal locomotion understood generically
Clues from Christian vices and virtues
Clues from yogic perspectives on afflictions of the mind
Clues from Buddhism
Clues from the streetwise and from nonviolence
Clues from the martial arts
Clues from psychotherapy and game-playing
Clues from dialogue

---

[Parts: Next | Last | All] [Links: To-K | From-K | From-Kx ]

---

Clues from kinetic intelligence and sports psychology

One approach to recognizing the possibility of intimate relationship to other realities, is to explore clues to understanding how people move in the 'flow world' of process reality -- namely clues from those who engage in dancing, skateboarding, snowboarding, surfing, hang-gliding and other sports requiring balance, coordination and kinetic intelligence. Have they ever been consulted about issues of governance -- as has been the case with jazz musicians (Kao, 1996)?

What is intriguing is that many of these clues can perhaps only be alluded to in aesthetic terms even amongst practitioners. These are extremely difficult to explain. They can be demonstrated -- like riding a bicycle -- but the conceptual shift that enables skateboarders to perform a complex movement has a different locus. And whilst somewhat meaningful in relation to the material world, it is necessary to look elsewhere for their equivalents in the alternative realities that are the concern of this paper -- as has been illustrated in investigation of 'flow' in the case of executives in the organizational world by Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi (Flow: The Psychology of Optimal Experience, 1977 [more]) and others.

Less abstract for many are the preoccupations of sports psychology and the techniques of 'mental game coaching' or 'mental training' for competitive sports designed to get athletes into the 'zone'. This is a term athletes use to describe that state of mind-body unity when they are positive, relaxed, and energized. It is critical for peak performance. When in "the zone," things may seem to slow down, actions become effortless, and things are done without thinking, operating from a deep, instinctual level. They seem to know just what to do, and just do it. This is the state of mind athletes strive for. The goal of sports psychology is make that kind of mental state more readily accessible. It is seen as a secret weapon that can work for everyone [more].

For example, typical problems of athletes noted by Patrick Cohn include: low self-confidence; concentration problems; dealing with pressure; anxiety and stress; lack of motivation; perfectionism; fear of failure; lack of trust; no patience; comfort zones; choking:; intimidation; lack of a routine; lack of self-control; anger; frustration; psych-outs; poor mental preparation; lack of game plan or strategy; and teammate or coach problems. These bear an interesting resemblance to 'hindrances' and 'vices' discussed below, whereas Brian Mackenzie's concerns resemble those of the corresponding 'perfections' and 'virtues'. He emphasizes concentration, confidence, control and commitment (the 4C's) as the main mental qualities that are important for successful performance in most sports [more]:

• Concentration: as the mental quality to maintain focus on the task in hand. Common distractions are: anxiety, mistakes, fatigue, weather, public announcements, coach, manager, opponent, negative thoughts etc.
  
  
• Confidence: resulting from the comparison an athlete makes between the goal and their ability. The athlete will have self-confidence if they believe they can achieve their goal. ( "You only achieve what you believe").
  
  
• Control: ability to maintain emotional control regardless of distraction. Identifying when an athlete feels a particular emotion and understanding the reason for the feelings is an important stage of helping an athlete gain emotional control. An athlete's ability to maintain control of their emotions in the face of adversity and remain positive is essential to successful performance. Two emotions which are often associated with poor performance are anxiety and anger.
  
  
• Commitment: ability to continue working to agreed goals. Sports performance depends on the athlete being fully committed to numerous goals over many years. In competition with these goals the athlete will have many aspects of daily life to manage including: work, studies, family/partner, friends, social life and other hobbies/sports. Sport commitment can be undermined by: a perceived lack of progress or improvement; not being sufficiently involved in developing the training program; not understanding the objectives of the training program; injury; lack of enjoyment; anxiety about performance - competition; becoming bored; coach and athlete not working as a team; lack of commitment by other athletes.

Many of these points recall the traditional relationship between a disciple and a guru.

---

[Parts: Next | Last | All] [Links: To-K | From-K | From-Kx ]