Page 87 - The Art of Learning by Josh Waitzkin_Neat plip book

sense, the embodiment of Muhammad Ali’s “Float like a but terfl , sting like a
bee.”

While I was internalizing this information, I was also cons tantly traini ng
with people who were far more advanced. They absolut ely manha ndl ed me.
There was one man—call him Evan—w ho was the slight ly out -of-cont rol
powerhouse of the school. Evan was a six-foot-two, 200- po und second- de gr ee

karate black belt, eight-year Aikido studen t, and eight -year studen t of Tai Chi .
Master Chen only let Evan push with peopl e who coul d handl e hi s aggr ession
without flipping out, tensing, and get ting hur t. But even then , Evan often
stirred up confrontations. Once he felt I was ready, Chen started pairing me up

with Evan.
Talk about investing in loss! It is one thi ng to put your ego on ho ld, but
this was brutal. Evan would have me pl astered up agai nst a wall, my feet a foot
or two off the ground, before I even saw the attack coming. It is in the spi rit of

Tai Chi training for more advanced studen ts to stop when thei r pa rtne r is off-
balance. But Evan had a different style. He liked to put you on the gr ound.
Week after week, I would show up in class and get ham mered by Evan. No
matter how I tried to neutralize hi s attacks , I jus t coul dn’t do it. He was too

fast—how could I dodge what I coul dn’t see? I knew I sho ul d avoid tens ing up,
but when he came at me my whole body br aced for impact . I had no ide a ho w
to function from relaxation when a freight train was leveling me fi ty times a
night. I felt like a punching bag. Basically, I had two opt ions —I coul d eithe r

avoid Evan or get beat up every class.
I spent many months getting smashed around by Evan, and admittedly it
was not easy to invest in loss when I was being pum meled aga ins t walls—
literally, the plaster was falling off in the corner of the school int o whi ch Evan

invited me every night. I’d limp ho me from practice, brui sed and wonde ring
what had happened to my peaceful meditative haven. But then a cur ious thi ng
began to happen. First, as I got used to taking sho ts from Evan, I stoppe d
fearing the impact. My body built up resistance to get ting smashe d, learne d

how to absorb blows, and I knew I coul d take what he had to offer. The n as I
became more relaxed under fire, Evan seemed to slow down in my mind. I
noticed myself sensing his attack before it began. I learned how to read hi s
intention, and be out of the way before he pul led the trigger. As I go t be tter

and better at neutralizing his attacks, I began to notice and expl oit weakne sses