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Old 02-21-2013, 07:55 AM   #21
Walter Martindale
Location: Edmonton, AB
Join Date: Jun 2006
Posts: 802
Canada
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Re: The Harmlessness of Humor

This training/martial arts stuff can be/is about very serious stuff because we need to learn things that may save us from serious harm, possibly do serious harm to our friends/training partners if we're not careful, but if you do it from a grumpy, pissy position with a foul attitude, you interfere with your ability to learn.
You learn more from making mistakes and learning how to not make mistakes - and if you can laugh at mistakes, I believe that you can remember their lessons better.

When I'm coaching, I structure exercises that cause people to mess up, on purpose, so that they can learn how to remedy the problem they create, on the fly, and possibly regain their chance to win. A-priori, they're coached that "today is learn-to-recover-from-mistakes-day".

Cheers,
Walter
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