Interpretive Dynamics - Pivots

In today’s post I am talking about pivots. We want to create a relation between our body and the rail in a single spot. From there we turn the body around that point of contact on an axis or gliding on a plane. In the video:

- One arm rotational bridge

- Backward spin on the rail

- Transverse spin

Could you spot them? Good. Now off with the homework: Build a single long kata with two hooks, two slides and two pivots, film yourself and look at how much you suck. Do it again. Suck less. Again. Better. Again. Acceptable. Again. Strive for perfection in your eyes. We have a pretty good built in hardware. Refine it; work on it until you are maximally frustrated. Enjoy the feeling and the effort, don’t reject it – go home hungry that’s how progress is made. Pure labor limae.

From my travel diary, on the road - general notes on the teaching side of it, I think they might be interesting for some:

“The first interpretive dynamics workshops are rolling. The material is easily digestible; people with zero experience about movement blend with the more expert practitioners. Little material well practiced means more learning. Give them a book and they will sit. They have to stay hungry, the way I am.
They think they are doing a great job, when it is not happening; pressure from the crowd / reciprocal – small groups learning / video analysis have to be used to ensure a reality check. Our eyes can spot the ripples in the matrix. Get that finger in the eye! Suffer today, enjoy the memory tomorrow.
External cuing + practice + demonstration are the ingredients of the super hero special soup. They just work the best together. The enhance the learning process by at least 3 points in the scale of my eyes. Question and answers must follow each section. No questions after a long day means not a good relationship with the students and fat cold brains. It means bad teaching. The minds should be sweating all the time and they should feel under pressure (the same way it was happening to me during the movement camp in ido’s class). […] A lot of people means – you better have a damn long rail to keep the quality high. […]”.

*The rhythm from the video comes from the little piece of art by Thomas Roebers and Floris Leeuwenberg of FOLI from the people of Baro (it is a classic but for those unfamiliar with it – check it here:

for those familiar with it check it again, it’s always good).

Have a good day and beat it,

Marcello.