Reflections from the receiving end of harsh coaching. 5

Searching for the 'correct answer' is different from 'exploring for yourself'

Lately, while watching sports, there is something I have been thinking about constantly.

That is the meaning of the phrase 'thinking while playing'.

In the past, I thought I was 'thinking'.

But looking back now, I feel that what I was actually doing was searching for the 'correct answer' for batting or throwing.

I was just having someone teach me and then trying it out.
Searching for the correct form.
Reproducing what I was told.

Of course, even within that, I was making my own efforts.

But it seems that was a little different from the exploration of digging deep into 'why it happens that way'.

I have been playing tennis for nearly 10 years now.

At first, I was learning at a school.

The coach who taught me was truly skilled.

Their form was beautiful, and they were popular too.

But I didn't get better at all.

Even after continuing for about four years, the sensations didn't connect.

At first, I thought, 'I just don't have any talent'.

But I kept thinking about 'why can't I hit the ball'.

From there, I gradually started watching videos of people who share theoretical information.

Mechanics, how to use the body, reproducibility, timing.

I started analyzing those things in my own way.

Along the way, I stopped using a one-handed forehand and switched to two hands. I think that is generally in the minority.

It didn't feel like it was highly recommended by the coach at the time, either.

But when I observed my own body, I felt that this way was more logical.

So, I decided for myself.

From there, I would slow down videos of international players, try it out, fail, correct it, and try again.

I was almost entirely self-taught, gradually shaping it into form.

Now, I don't take lessons from anyone.

But my tennis friends tell me, "It's been a while, but you've gotten better than before."

For example, when tossing the ball for a serve, if you bend your left knee from the start, you can't bend it properly afterward.

So, it's better to keep it straight at first so that it bends slightly later on.

Those kinds of small principles, one by one, start to connect.

And now, that is very interesting to me.

Because I can discover things for myself.

I think I have finally learned the feeling of "exploring a sport."

My younger self barely had that feeling at all.

I wasn't looking for the "why," I was looking for "is this correct?"

So, I was just creating the form, and "why I was doing it that way" wasn't connected within me.

I feel like I've understood a lot of things recently. That just imitating the form is no good. The form you are imitating is often just a part of a continuous flow. What kind of movement does that actually signify? Of course, there are people with the talent to do it without thinking about such things.

However, for an ordinary person like me who can't even manage reproducibility, I think that if you know the "why," you can become like someone who has talent.

I think that is what it means to devise ways while knowing yourself, and I feel like that is what it truly means to think for yourself.

I believe that "searching for the correct answer" and "exploring for yourself" are completely different things, even if they seem similar.

And I feel that this is not just limited to sports.

The next one is the last. It's long lol

I am writing this as a place to rethink the realizations and questions I encounter in my daily life and clinical practice in my own way.
I hope that people can learn about what I feel while working with the body outside of my website.

I specialize in treating chronic lower back pain and back tension in Kamiyacho, Tokyo. I perform treatments specialized in fascia using an approach of "identifying the causative tissue."

I also write a blog for patients (^o^)／
The series "Please don't give up on that lower back pain yet." is now available in 6 parts.

Haishi Physical Therapy Fascia Lab
1 minute walk from Kamiyacho Station, Tokyo
https://fascia-lab.com/
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