Where the Eyes Go, …
This past weekend Tommy and I attended another Air Steps workshop with some of our Lindy Hop teachers.
Air Steps are the fancy throws, lifts, and partner work that you see in old movies or when watching Lindy Hop performances or in movies like Swing Kids. They are rarely done in a social dance context. We like to explore this because I am a movement geek and someone who loves to fly and Tommy likes to carry and throw things. And we'd like to perform dances that include a few air steps!
The lessons for me are not so much about the air steps themselves but about what I am learning that is applicable to human movement in general, skill learning, and the way our nervous system organizes itself in relationship to a dynamic environment.
We were learning a move called the Judo. It is different than a similar throw done in Judo because the objective here is not to take your partner down, but to flip them over your back and have them land on their feet, with each partner centered with the other.
We spent 3 hours warming up, prepping, and learning in stages before actually throwing the full move. And some folks did not throw the full move because thy were not ready and throwing the full move was not the goal for this session. The goal was to get clear on the down prep, the up prep, and the throw itself if you were ready. Both the down prep and the up prep needed to be accurate, and repeatedly executed with accuracy multiple times before moving forward.
The main work in this move is for the base (Tommy, in this case). The flyers roll (that is me) was relatively simple: Be patient, wait for your base to inmate and only when you feel your partner pop you upwards will you lift and bend your legs slightly to take the position of an active chair shape (think of a very stable dead bug shape or a braced chair pose) and maintain that shape until landing. That was it! I was glad that we do a lot of active deadbug shapes on The Playground because that part was super easy for me.
The base, however, had to get themselves in an awkward side bending squat, then pop the flyer over their back in as straight a trajectory as possible. That meant a good deep stance, the ability to generate power from the legs and, MOST IMPORTANTLY, an accurate visual target. The base's eyes had to be looking straight forward AND upward, not down. Where your eyes go your movement goes, and if the base looks down, or off to the side, that IS where the flyer would go, and that trajectory become apparent in the flyers landing.
I could go on and on in describing this but below are some videos of us throwing this move and you can see where the force vector was off, and I was thrown on an angle (first video) and where it was straighter (second video). The third video shows the excellent execution of our teachers AJ and Gaby.
Watch where our teacher AJ's (the base) eyes are looking (NOT DOWN) and the accelerative force of his pop. This gives the flyer (Gaby) the chance to go up high enough to correct and adjust to anything that might have gone off in the launch, or timing of the partnership, ie the inevitable variance!
I loved how all of this unfolded. My role was to be a receiver, and to take the chair shape, then land. That was it. And the fascinating thing is that I could FEEL where Tom's eyes were even though we were facing away from each other and I could not see him--whether he was looking down (which he had to unlearn from a normal judo throw), or toward me (which is intuitive but not helpful here as it creates a rotation and a spin to the flyer). The EYES MATTER!
"If the eyes look up, muscles that extend the spine are reflexively facilitated, as if they are trying to help the eyes reach their target. When the eyes look down, this invites flexion." - Todd Hargrove
Tommy had to learn NOT to look toward me or down as he was throwing me. He already knew the actual Judo martial arts move, thus had to re pattern a deeply in grained grove to throw me down or off at an angle. He needed to set the course of my trajectory with his EYES, and commit to the timing and force of his "pop". I had to commit to listening his timing, and NOT initiate a jump, or try and flip myself, but rather take and maintain a stiff core in the chair shape as soon as he popped me until I my eyes spotted him upon landing. This whole process happens really fast! It is about being calm, focused, and able to react. The external focus helps the body self-organize because any hesitancy can snd the throw off in a weird direction or dampen the necessary velocity.
This dovetails nicely with Gabriel Wulf’s research on internal versus external attention, which shows that we perform better when we are focused on events outside the body.
Wulf explains that internal focus “interfere[s] with automatic motor control processes that would ‘normally’ regulate the movement.” By contrast, external attention allows the body to “naturally self-organize, unconstrained by the interference caused by conscious control attempts.” Put simply, quiet eye helps prevent paralysis by analysis and choking."
If you want to read more about these ideas here are some links to some excellent essays by Todd Hargrove that I have been quoting from in this newsletter. He addresses the role of the eyes in movement and Perception Action Loops. It is fascinating stuff.
LINK 1
LINK 2
At the end of the perception-action-loops essay, Todd writes about why many of us do not like treadmills and machines in gyms. The environmental constraint (like a trail you are running on or a partner you are dancing/moving with) causes you to "spontaneously adopt a technique that will make you more dexterous."
He continues: "These ideas can be applied to make common exercise programs more engaging and functional. Running on a treadmill at exactly the same speed, mile after mile, is a different experience from running on a trail, where you must scan the surroundings, and make adjustments to speed, posture, and foot placement. The trail is an environmental constraint that causes you to spontaneously adopt a technique that will make you more dexterous.
Your physical activity now involves a component of skill and visual attention, making it a richer and more multidimensional experience.
Similarly, resistance training with free weights or bodyweight is a different experience from applying force to machines that move along predetermined pathways. The machine removes all perceptual demands related to sensing the position of the weight, and making corrections to ensure balance is maintained. This is why people are rarely passionate about machine training, but often develop a keen interest in powerlifting, kettlebells, gymnastics, bodyweight training, Pilates, yoga, or other kinds of exercise that involve a perceptive challenge. When action stays coupled with perception, movement feels more playful, interesting, and meaningful."
Here are some videos of our throws, from off center to more centered as well as an example to what to aim for from our teachers:
LINK
Being a student of movement and the human body and nervous system means I love to learn new things. And no worries! There will be no Air Steps on The Playground!!! But we might play with some tennis balls here or there, and continue to gently and playfully challenge or visual/vestibular/proprioceptive systems by moving in new ways.
Let's play!