Page 100 - The Art of Learning by Josh Waitzkin_Neat plip book

ability because my new physical ski lls are super charged by be coming
integrated into my mental framework.

The importance of undulating between external and int ernal (or conc rete
and abstract; technical and intuitive) training appl ies to all discipl ine s, and
unfortunately the internal tends to be neglected. Most int elligent NFL pl ayers,
for example, use the off-season to look at thei r schemes more abstractly, study

tapes, break down aerial views of the fi d, notice offensive and de fens ive
patterns. Then, during the season they sometimes fall into tunne l vision,
because the routine of constant pai n requi res every last bi t of reserves. I ha ve
heard quite a few NFL quarterbacks who had mino r injur ies and were forced to

sit out a game or two, speak of the inj ur y as a valuable oppo rtuni ty to
concentrate on the mental side of thei r gam es. When they retur n, the y pl ay at a
higher level. In all athletic disciplines , it is the internal work tha t make s the
physical mat time click, but it is easy to lose touch with thi s reality in the

middle of the grind.
Since I had broken my right hand, I was forced to cultivate my weake r side .
I quickly realized that there were certain martial movements tha t I relied on
my strong hand to cover, and now my left had to catch up so it coul d do

everything. Day by day, my left learned new ski lls, from deflecting attacks to
uprooting someone at unusual angl es to eating with cho ps ticks. After a coupl e
weeks of slow work, my fractured right han d was a bit more stable. I was us ed
to protecting it behind me whi le playing with my left, and I was also

comfortable falling and rolling witho ut touch ing the injury to the floor, so I
was able to mix it up a bit more. Then my teacher beg an pai ring me up with
slightly more aggressive training par tner s who were less ski lled tha n me and
not necessarily controlled. A coupl e of thes e guy s really wanted to pr ove

something. I was a big fish at the school and no w was thei r moment to
dominate me. They had two hands, I had one, and they intended to expl oit the
advantage. Clearly, I had to approach thes e situat ions with open ne ss to be ing
tossed around. If I wasn’t prepared to inv est in loss, ther e woul d be no way to

do this work. That said, it was fascinating to see ho w my bo dy reacted. My left
arm instinctively became like two arms, with my elbo w neutralizing my
opponent’s right hand and my hand cont rolling his left arm. I had no ide a the
body could work this way, and after a few day s of thi s training, the no tion tha t

I was playing at a disadvantage faded. I felt compl etely comfortable with one
hand against two, s o long as I was a bit more ski lled than my par tne r.