Backhands Optional

(When) persistence is futile

What if

For a challenge

A skill to learn

A breakthrough to make

We tried many things

We're not getting there

Maybe even not

Perceiving progress

Even getting hurt

Bad a/o repeatedly

Despite precautions

Accounting for user error

Assuming, first

There's not a lack of

Or a wrong-for-me

Overarching goal, etc

Persistence

Is generally

A great

Virtue

Keep trying

In different ways

But can persistence turn

Against us?

Maybe we're doing

The wrong sport?

What gene do we have

Fast or slow twitch?

Time to adjust

Expectations

Targets

Accordingly?

Better

Adjust the actual

Challenge?

Wrong goal?

Wrong way of going about it?

Wrong time?

Not ready?

Maybe doing it

Wrong?

But

Not seeing it?

In the end

Risk of burn out

Losing motivation

Giving up for good

To see

Re-energize

Maybe

Take a break?

Power nap

Meditation

Or an extreme:

Desert, ashram, shut off

Change

The environment

Where we don't have to worry about

Stuff

When

Persistance here

Was in fact

Futile

Is there anything else

That's exciting

To try

For a while?

Already good

Sure

It's great to enjoy

Flow

Mastery

And not

Be bothered by

Failure

Frustration

Everyone

Watching

Part taking

Very impressed

But wait

That's that acquired state

Something

We're already good at

Where would

Always doing that

Lead us

Over time?

What about

Progress

Today

Then?

The other extreme

Always struggling

Constantly frustrated

Not enjoyable

So unless we consciously

Want one or the other

Let's shoot for a ratio

Maintain vs Develop

What's that

Ratio

Today

Then?

For developing today

Is there a goal

Even a little one

To go after?

1 thing

That would be new

We couldn't do before

A little breakthrough

Now then

How to

Acquire that

In a fun way?

Celebrating

Going after something

We're not

Already good at

Not worth it?

The other day

I found an older book

Covering physical education

For children

Of course

I looked

For mentions of

Ambidexterity

The author

I suppose representatively

Stated

It just takes too much effort

Yes

It's a lot of work

But how about

A lifelong perspective

We already know

It doesn't have to be perfect

Even less so

Early in school

But

Kids learn faster

So why not establish

A basis

For ambidexterity to develop

Passively

Or if chosen actively

Throughout life?

I would have

Loved to have

Such a

Head start

Look at Djokovic and Sinner

Covering the court

Right and especially

Left :)

Conscious compensation

Compensating

For a weak spot

Along the chain

Is usually not good

Weak

Foot

Leg

Back

Making up for it

Higher up

Working around it

Somewhere else

And thus

Creating

New problems

In other places

However

If a lack

Physical, technical, mental

Can't be fixed

Maybe we can

Consciously compensate

Without that hurting us

Much

Even find a way

To overcompensate

And turn that weakness

Into a net strength?

Then remember

To go back later

To see

If we still need to compensate

Much?

Constructive complaining

Complaining is another thing

That happens naturally

So can that also

Be put to good use?

Complaining

Complaints

Is usually regarded

As negative

Feeling hampered

Treated unfairly

Not progressing

Off

There's obviously something

A trigger

Unhappiness

Behind this urge

A (perceived?)

Gap between

What is

What should be

So as we do here:

Can we use that energy

To learn

And improve?

Maybe complain

To and with AI first?

To skip to the constructive part

For the human interaction?

If we

Complain to ourselves

How to address the root cause?

Or let it go?

So that we can find

The next (best?) thing

To complain about

And fix that :)

Triumph and disaster

Someone famously said

We're supposed to treat

These 2 imposters

The same

Really

Really though

Really really

Though?

I mean

They might have

Different names

For a reason

Maybe we should treat triumph

Like triumph

And disaster

Like disaster

Consciously

And then decide

What best to make of each

Next?

Mistaken mistakes

How can mistakes help?

If one occurs

Certainly

Learn from it

Post mortem

Hopefully not literally

Etc

Conscious

"Mistakes"

Miss-takes?

Can inform us

Help us dial in

Where we want to go

To reduce

Mistakes

When it matters

What about

A blanket

Mistake culture

Yay mistakes

Nay please

No unnecessary harm

So ideally

We only make mistakes

Consciously

Add them

As everything else

To our toolkit

Sparks and fires

Prerequisite here

Is that a spark

Was there

Or found

For energy

Fire

To always

Move us

Hitting a wall?

Take a break

Re-ignition happening?

Re-ignitable?

If not

Maybe find

And light

Another spark

At least

For a while?

Gross Domestic Smiles (GDS?)

Maybe that's

The overall measure

To measure

And optimize for?

Developing vs results?

How to think

About developing

Vs producing results?

Might help

To think of

And work with

3 broad scenarios

When it matters

Life or death

Impact on others

Something important happening

There

We automatically learn while doing

Should not be distracted by meta stuff

Focus on the job

And hopefully

Apply unconsciously

What we trained

Developed for

If something is

Repetitive

Not (yet) automated

There's likely room?

To look for ways

To develop while doing

And decide:

Keep it repetitive?

Do it differently

Stand on one leg

Use the other hand

Or tool?

In training

Reversely

We can think of

What to train for

What's the goal

The improvement

To then apply

On a job

That's (still) repetitive

And

When it really matters

At the desk

Got an office job?

Sit a lot?

Glued to the screen?

And the keyboard?

How to make that time

Work for us?

Or at least

Do less harm?

How about standing?

Adjustable desk

Or just

Stack that printer paper

Maybe stand on something?

Wobbly?

Pads?

Balance board?

Got weights near by?

That look at us all day?

Maybe pick them up

Once in a while?

Swing something?

How about

That tennis racquet

Or 2

Something to juggle

At hand?

Balls?

Apples?

Daily

Ping Pong break?

Massage?

Walk?

Hands always in the same position?

How about a different keyboard?

(Who the keyboard is Alice?)

Mouse for the other hand

Trackball

Trackpad

Voice to text

Or voice?

Or video to video?

Or person to person?

Look at the same area?

Same distance?

How to add some variation there?

Where else to look?

Without getting overly antsy

Best overall office strategy is probably

To mix it up

And keep moving

On the job training

Got a physical job?

Go to the gym afterwards?

Or feel too worn out, without getting fit(ter)?

Do physical issues creep up?

So why is that job not like training?

Strength?

Mobility?

Coordination?

How are those activities different from

Weight?

Yoga?

Tai-Chi?

Does it have to be?

How can we make

What we do

Learn there

Transferable?

To other areas

Of life

Sports

Make that time

Those activities

Work for us

Rather than wear us down?

Can we build something in?

In line with your goals?

Clean motions

With both sides, etc

And or create something

Completely different

A teaser?

A stimulus?

Obviously

Let's not forget

To do

The job :)

Ch-Ch-Changes

When we are changing something

Or something changes

These could be

1) Incremental

2) Step

3) Game

Changes

Incremental is like building up

Step by step

Slowly but surely

Kaizen

When we make a leap

Maybe a breakthrough

That's a step change

Leap change?!

When there's a radical shift

In what we do

What we produce

That's a game change

So what change are we aiming for?

Today?

This week?

This season?

Probably good

To have all these changes

In the mix

Over time

And also strive for

Incremental

And step changes

In different games?

No no limits

Limitless

No limits

Sky is the limit

Maybe the universe?

Wouldn't that be nice

Realistically

Seems there are plenty of limits

To what we can achieve

Especially as an athlete

And

We hit them

All the time

Time

Energy

Potential

External factors

Once

We've identified

The right ones

Correctly

The question is

How to deal with them

This is similar to

Bottlenecks

So maybe limits are tools

For resistance training

Or broader

Resistance management?

Can we move them?

Change?

Work around?

Compensate?

Anticipate future ones?

Lessen those?

Prevent?

Or better avoid?

So maybe the journey is about

Finding those limits

And finding ways

To deal with them

P.S.:

Again

When we keep hitting a wall

Feel stuck

We can always do

Something different

Fruitful frustration

You might have seen a pattern here

Of using "everything"

Including emotions

In our favor

Many emotions create energy

Hence give us energy

So we can put even negative emotions

To positive use

Frustration

Might be natural

And after all

Positive?

Since resulting from dissatisfaction

From the way things are

How we want them to be

So there must be a goal, somewhere

Motivation towards it

A will to get there

Maybe even anger

While disappointment eats energy

At least at first

Frustration feels like

Built-up energy

So let's add

Emotional awareness

Energy awareness

To our toolkit

Use that energy

To try again

Maybe differently

To make frustration fruitful

Not to forget

If we're stuck

Need some time

We can try something else

Acquired state

Started with a spark

Curiosity

Inspiration

"Not yet"

Then trained something up

Sufficiently

Arrived (at least?) at

Consciously competent

Acquired

A state

And earned to

Enjoy that

But

Then what

Keep doing

The same thing?

Maybe

Practice that more

But get worse

Over time

How about

Building upon

Or pivoting from

That acquired state

What is

The next

State

To acquire?

Marking

Each state

As achievement

Maybe record it

Later

Revisit select states

Enjoy moments of mastery

Build confidence back up

Then again

Look for the next state?

Pivot elsewhere?

It doesn't have to be perfect

Trying to promote

Creative ambidextrous development

I have to be able to

Exemplify

Felt liberating

When I realized

What I demo

Doesn't have to be perfect

Instead

Even better demo

What to do

When it isn't

OK one needs to see that these efforts

Can go somewhere

But it's mostly about

Getting on, navigating the journey

With personal breakthroughs

Maybe some objective successes

Surely setbacks

Along the way

When my weak-side tennis

Seemed good-enough

Yet not perfect

I could "come out"

I can still show

What's not great

How that's bugging me

And what to do about it

So in sequence

In contrast to other contexts

We may have the liberty

To prioritize this way:

1) Mindset

2) Practice

3) Results

That also means

*We*

Don't have to be

Perfect

Quite in contrast

What's not working

But can be worked on

Is at the very core of this undertaking

So let's

First and foremost

Pursue

And demo (if someone's watching)

The *pursuit*

2nd chance for 1st impressions

Usually

For a certain skill

We can only be a beginner once

With unique first impressions

But for single-handed

One-hand dominant activities

If we choose to develop the other side

2nd chance for 1st impressions

Let's not miss (as much) this time

This last time

To capture learnings

Do it better

End up better

On both sides

Strictly thinking

Of course there'll be spillovers

From the 1st round

What we know, what's transferable

But for the most part

Most of us should feel

Like 1st timers

For a 2nd time

How special is that?

Target practice

Related to counting

If there's a target

We might tighten up

Going for it

For competition

Practicing with others

Backboard practice

Precision does help :)

Also to have some sort of outcome

We often work backwards from targets

Develop technique and methods

To hit them more often

Goal

Basket

Pocket

Pins

If we want to count hits

Start with easier, bigger targets

If we want to end up more precise

Make them small

For our aspiration here

Becoming a complete athlete

There is (more?) focus

On the "how"

For that

Sometimes it's better to have

*No* target

Focusing on clean motion

Being OK

With missing

The service box

The court

Hit over the fence

Into the net

Our half of the court

Missing altogether

Once happy (enough) with the motions

We can bring those together with target practice

And/or use target practice

To check in

Maybe in the end

We meet in the middle

Hitting targets with smooth technique

And elevate from there

Not to forget that

To broaden our range

Understand spectra

We also want to make some mistakes

Count for when it counts

Loosely swinging

Seeing what happens

No outside / inside pressure

Usually the balls go in

Start adding some pressure

Opponent

Target

Obstacle

Things change

So:

Stay loose when it counts?

Better handle the pressure?

Honestly I don't know the answer (yet?)

I do know books etc have been written

About playing freely

Letting things happen

But is that really really possible, at all times?

What about on break point 2nd serve 4:4 3rd set?

Match point for or against?

After getting worked up by some irritation?

Are we ready

Have we prepared

If we end up

In such situations?

It probably won't hurt

To practice

And elevate

Both approaches

The loose, free, see what happens

But also increase chances

To hit the spots

When pressure gets to us

One simple way of practicing the latter

By oneself even

Is to count

For when it counts...

Hitting the doubles alley

Service box for, well, serves

And angled cross courts

Play deeper than service line

For our pursuit here

Of course everything with

The still weaker side as well

To catch up

I'm sure we can literally

Count on

Both sides getting better

Trend line :)

In or out

When something's optional

Do we opt in

Or out?

Goes back to

Want to, vs

Have to

If we opt-in

We "want to"

At the very time

If we have to opt-out

We may have wanted to

At some point

And for now

That's turned to

"Have to"

So opting out has a

Forcing function

Subscription, Prime example :)

Plus, helps not having to make

The same decision

Over and over again

As with everything

Let's try to use in or out

In our favor

If motivated

We'd naturally

Opt-in

If something no longer works

Let's

Opt out

Either way

Let's make sure

Optional things remain optional

All presupposing

Intrinsic drive already

Discovered, alive, and kicking

Problem finding the right stance?

How about the right jump then?

Sure, difficult to time

But that's where dynamic play

Will end us up anyways ;)

At the end of the day

We probably want to master both

So if stuck with one

Why not work on the other?

Give X-benefits a chance!

Support or crutch?

Similar to using the handrail

When playing tennis, the other hand

Can serve as support

Or crutch

Think ideally

One *could* play using 1 hand only

But not firm, tightening up

But loose, yet controlled, well timed

Either way

Using 1 hand only

Is good practice

Especially for the weak hand

Then

Add the other hand back in

To support but not take away

The newly acquired independence

Pivotal

When we're stuck

And a slight

Even a big change

Doesn't help

We can think of pivoting

Turn somewhere else

For a time

See if that unlocks something

Can't run?

How about biking?

Can't bike either?

How about swimming?

Leg broken?

What about the upper body?

Can't serve?

What about the other hand?

No physical activity possible?

How about Active Watching?

Mindset-wise

If we can't do X

Can we do Y

That might even compound X?

If we take a break

Then let's make that a conscious

Better

Decision

Let's not just give in

To our circumstances

Maybe our response can be

Pivotal :P

It's now or later

Hehe :)

Well

Sometimes

It's indeed

"Now or never"

Invaluable

To recognize these moments

And really go

After them

But sometimes

When it's pointless

Even dangerous

Bad feeling

We can

Flip that phrase

"Now or later"

Have some fun

Take some comfort

That there may be

More opportunities

Simply speaking

Join that tournament

Attend that camp

Convert that match point

If we can't

Put it on a parking lot

Revisit that

Once in a while

Maybe make it a goal

Prepare

Make that next time

A better occasion

Possibly look forward even more

To the "later" = the future "now"

Than missing out on

The original "now"?

P.S.:

All assuming that

"It's now or later"

Is not the guiding principle in life :)

And we have more of the opposite "problem"...

About "showing up"

Learning something new

Doing something new

Creative stuff

We hear about the value of

"Showing up"

Even on a bad day

Unless burned out

Needing a break

Or pivoting

I'd support that notion

Maybe something

Will still happen

There's value in more, regular,

Repetition

Thicker myelin

As we get going

Energy might indeed

Show up

Or finding plan B

Practicing to improvise

What else can we do, there & then?

There are signs though

When pushing through

Is counterproductive

Might get hurt

Injured

Take longer to recover

So yes let's show up

Give it a go

And also

Develop a sense

For when to abort

And do something else

That day.

Compounding returns

When looking

And selecting

Pursuits

Paths

Is there a way

That they augment

Build upon

Each other?

Can one help

Unstick another one?

Bring new elements?

Ideas?

Badminton lounge to tennis?

Ping pong spin?

Interval training strength from mountain biking?

Balance from the slackline?

From tennis to X

Eye for the ball?

Hand-eye?

Strategy?

Developing the weaker side

What do we learn for the stronger one?

In return, can we figure out

To speed up our learning?

Can we practice, choose

The one

With an eye to

The other?

Theoretically at least

If we practice across

Smartly

We should reap compounding returns

Such as nice concept

Seems worth a few shots

In any case we'd be becoming

A more complete athlete

Purpose

Do we all have our own, given purpose?

I don't know.

Can we come up with a good one for ourselves?

Most certainly!

Sure we all have our crosses to bear

In life

But, also for balance and energy

Can we pick our own?

My purpose for example is, well,

To the right :)

But also,

Maybe broader:

Can we try to change thinking

Hopefully for the better

Maybe lift human experience, performance, potential

To higher levels?

Hands on

Real life

Day to day

What can we do?

Be of service to someone?

Build something?

Repair stuff?

Promote a cause?

When we find a noble purpose

For some period of time

It'll help us, and

Inspire others

And do good along the way.

Picking habits

Rationally speaking

There are only so many habits

That fit in a day

So how about

Picking the ones

That are actually beneficial?

To ourselves

To others

To our pursuits?

If there are still some

Detrimental

How about displacing them?

Similar to managing

Our thoughts

Depressive feelings

Where we have choices

Let's focus on

The good stuff

When something bad pops up

Use it

E.g. as information

To assess what helps

Our pursuit

It's back to the big stuff

Mission, vision, goals

A purpose

And maybe an iteration here and there

Acquire a taste

Speaking at a school

I asked the students

To point out 1 thing

They’re passionate about

Think ~80% said "soccer"

Well is that really it then?

Sure, good to find common ground

Something to enjoy together

But are we that similar, really?

Also

How is that helping down the road?

Making our personality?

What's our X-factor?

Maybe it's time

To acquire a taste

That could turn into

A real passion

Something that pulls

And inspires others

Pursuit, Progression, Performance

We can still build out a broad base

Train for flexibility

Enjoy soccer

While finding "our thing"

Do we need to eat?

Always thought that

Part of a "good" preparation

Was fueling up

At least a good hour before activity

While I'd still do that on match day

I noticed for practice

That dogma is limiting my options

Holding me back

Having such dependency

Can e.g. be tricky early in the morning

Logistically

And in the head

By now, folks have figured out

That working out

On an empty stomach

Can actually be beneficial

Personally,

Wouldn't go all out for hours

But have erred more towards a light practice

Rather than a meal

In the mornings

Seems to work

Eat after

Enjoy it more

1 dependency less

At least in the head :)

Active watching

Think by now it's undisputed

That visualizing is practice too

So just by imagining

We can be progress

When tired

Stuck

Empty

Looking for inspiration

We can switch to from active practice

To watching something active

And become

An active watcher

Pick a player

Become a player

Move with the player

Hit the shots

Or - take the opportunity

And pick the other player

Look for clues

Improve our reading

Option 3

Zoom out

And predict

The patterns of play

While we can always lean back

And enjoy a good match

We can choose to watch actively

Make that a practice

Out of that box:

Close our eyes

With intent

And see if something happens

To come to us...

Accpetings

Acceptance

Sounds positive

But is it really a

Double edged sword?

On the one hand

Acceptance might free us up

From one thing

Help pivot to others

But it's also closing doors

What about an ailment, now?

A loss, now?

A shortcoming, now?

Someone being "better", now?

Not being "good enough", now?

What are the implications of an "accepting"?

Consequences?

How is it helping?

What are the downsides

To accept what for how long?

Hence, acceptance should probably be

Consciously chosen

Questioned

Revisited

Maybe we put reasonable timers on our acceptings?

Triggers?

We change

Others change

Circumstances change

Progress happens

Doors open?

If we think through our acceptings

And strategy ideas pop up

For now, the meantime, and/or later

Maybe we put those too

On a parking lot?

Error check

When mirroring

We have an opportunity

To check for errors

On the strong side

At the same time

There's a risk

Of copying them

To the weak side

Examples may be

Lack of a unit turn

Suboptimal grip

Not a loose but crisp contact

So let's not copy the errors

And take the opportunity

To fix the source

As well ;)

Build on last time

To reduce overhead

Such as excessive planning

We can build on "last time"

Especially if we're on a good, clear path

Avoiding the other extreme

Going in completely non-conscious

We can take a few moments to remember

"Last time"

What was the last progress?

A little breakthrough?

Where did we get stuck?

When we finished, what did we want to work on more?

If we can't remember

Or at not happy with what we remember

Maybe we take a quick look at something we captured

And/or a goal to we wanted move towards

Zig zagging up

Up into the right

Things always getting better

Immediate returns

Instant rewards

Well, that would be nice!

When that happens

Let's appreciate it

But it's not the norm

Especially,

When we're practicing at the edge of our abilities

Surely,

If we go beyond

When we're outright changing something

Things may get worse for some time

Maybe we even need to unlearn and relearn

Take a few steps backwards

Bottom line:

There always be setbacks

Bad times

Disappointments

But if we zoom out a bit

From days to weeks and months

And we find a positive trend line

We might be on the right track after all

The trend is going to look nice and smooth

Zoomed in, we're zig-zagging but upwards

Main thing is we keep looking

And trying

Style points

Ever thought:

I'd rather play

A good match

Than play poorly

And somehow win?

Because the opponent

Played even worse?

Or to have caused the opponent

To play even worse?

What's a

Good match

Then?

Not under-performed

Called upon what practiced

And what worked in practice

Played good points

Nothing bad happened

No injury

Played to win

Had fun?

If we still lost

The opponent was just better

At winning

What gets counted :)

That day

Hopefully they played well too

And as a result

We "made a good match".

So even in officially

Non-style competition

Apart from the Ws

Of the world

It's OK to give ourselves

"Style points" too

Make match more memorable.

Let's do it again

With style points

A loss is

Not only a loss

A W a plus

How about a 2x2 between

Winning and style?

Ever want

Bad style?

Obviously

In a match

We don't want to aim for

Style only

Show up

Loosey-goosey

How about always bringing

The 3F?

P.S. Optional anecdote:

A couple of years ago

I played well

At an ITF tournament

Against a strong opponent

Before

I had lost 0 and 1

Didn't play horrible then

But could have done better

The 2nd time

I played great

Almost every single point ended up being

An entertaining rally

We had a few spectators

Who enjoyed it

Had a good time on court

Both of us

Somehow

I lost 1 and 0 :)

Yes I'll keep thinking how to

Score better next time

But

I didn't mind at all

It was a great match

Style points galore!

Will it scale?

As we're working on something

Building technique

What's the path

For that particular motion?

Will it scale?

How easily?

How fast?

How far?

What's "scale"?

Max speed

# of reps without issues

All with a min level of accuracy

Maybe another argument

To start clean and simple

Get the base motion right

Add bells and whistles later

What might add the last 5%

Or bells and whistles

Add to it later

Maybe for style points :)

User error?

Something not working?

Hurting?

Anything getting overly sore?

One muscle group stronger than the other?

Maybe it's to a good

Let's-see-what-we-can-do

Extent

User error

Motion not good?

Range of motion limited?

Weakness somewhere along the chain?

Anything off-axis?

Of course

Over-favoring

One side?

How about taking a look

At ourselves

Compare to others

And/or ask someone else

Once we see

Find ways to address

Try a few

See again

Injured - congratulations!

Well, partially...

To take the disappointment

The sting

Out of it:

Injury

Likely a disappointment

Is also

Information

Why did we get hurt?

Anything wrong with any motion?

And/or too much demand?

And/or not prepared for the demand yet?

If we listen to discomfort and pain

And take action

We might prevent something much worse

Down the line

While recovering

What have we learned along this path?

How to prevent the same thing from happening again?

Other paths to explore, that we otherwise wouldn't take?

Once recovered

Let's make sure

We start, get

In a better position

Assuming

The injury was

At least partially

User error

To deal with an injury

We can also practice to improvise

Compensate

Knowing that may need undoing later on

Worst case

If really nothing can be done

We might indeed need some

"Crutch"

That in turn

May as well bring

Side-benefits

To uncover

Free energy

Sure when we're in a good mood

And have positive energy flowing

It's easy to go out and do stuff

What about negative emotions

That drag us down

Make us want to put our head in the sand

Can we see some energy there

Use in a constructive way?

A loss? A frustration? A disappointment?

No matter where energy comes from

Stepping back

A miracle and gift to have at disposal?

So it would seem worth trying

To free

That free energy

Regression to the mean

It's good to know about

A force that keeps pulling

To the mean

Simplistically speaking

To what most people are doing

Usually close to what's "average"

Maybe we can decide

In which fields that's OK

Even helpful for us

And where we really want to try

To go towards

An edge

Or even

Break out

And stay out

How about

Moving that mean

With that?

Disappointment is information

Disappointment hurts.

Loss. Failure. Stalling. Injury. Etc.

But when we're over that

What benefits does it hold?

Expectations wrong?

View things differently?

Do something different?

Approach (literally?) from a different angle?

Did we mess up?

What would we try to do different next time?

How do we prep for that?

How will it work when it matters, again?

Was something out of our control?

OK to try again like we did last time?

Shall we still come with a plan B?

Rather than trying the same thing again

Or changing something

Maybe dismiss, swap, the whole undertaking

"Dis-appoint" it?!

So after the sting

We can see and use disappointment

*For* our development

Make it part of the toolkit

The best vs (enjoying) variety

Personally

I love gear

Tried (and always trying)

Out of curiosity

How does it feel?

Do we have an "experience"?

Is there a difference?

A step change?

At the same time

I'm also super sensitive

To slight changes in spec

And setups

In combination that means:

Especially for when it matters

I'm trying to find the "perfect" setup.

Well, "good enough really"

It's another range,

And although narrow,

Not a point on a spectrum

If we look for "the best"

We might be looking

For a long time

Forever really

So for match day,

I'd say let's get close to that "best"

Something that at a minimum

Works well enough

All the time

But for everything else,

Including and especially practice

Maybe we discover to enjoy

The variety

We can use that for differential practice,

If we haven't consciously chosen

To keep the gear the same

And change something else.

Maybe we'll find out something

By trying new stuff

And old :)

For that "perfect" setup as well...

Worst foot forward

To become a more complete

Ambidextrous

Athlete

We need to flip things

You might know

How to find

Your natural forward foot

Your "best foot forward"

Let someone give you

A gentle surprise push

From the back

Then see

Well

For our practice

Let's prioritize

The other one

So when...

Skateboarding

Snowboarding

Playing tennis

Practicing balance and coordination

Let's put

Our worst foot

Forward

More often

Until

Ideally

There's no more foot that's

"Worst" :)

Side Preference Indifference!

Friendly Fair Fierce

What's a good mindset when we compete?

For us?

Towards our opponent(s)?

For everyone around really?

For myself, I came to the conclusion to try and strive for

Friendly

Fair

Fierce

The "competitive mindset triangle"?

If one is missing, we might have a problem.

If not on the day of,

maybe at the next meeting.

Have a little thought exercise:

Friendly and fair but not fierce?

Fair and fierce but not friendly?

Friendly and fierce but not fair?

If you have all 3, what's missing really?

Good thing is, we can practice like that too.

I.e. practice competition mindset in practice :)

So - could "3F" be the ideal competitive attitude?

Side Preference Indifference

After the initial waves of brainstorming

"Side Preference Indifference"

Became the original project name

For this undertaking

And

"SPI"

The acronym

Accordingly

While the spelled out version

Never rolled off the tongue

I liked (and still do)

That it conveys an end state

In which

We'd not even think of

Which side to use

For a given task

To just use the better suited one

For that to feel natural

How *natural* that actually is

Well we will see

And Of course

We can think

We want to

For tennis

One could argue

Only playing forehands

Would be better suited

Easier stroke

More power

Less steps

More efficient movement

When we have to be quick

E.g. at the net

It's a bit more

Challenging

But hey

It's optional

After all

So would be backhands :)

I picked

"Backhands Optional"

For now

Seemed fun

Next level

Might spark curiosity

Cause a bit of a stir?

What is that supposed to mean?

When were backhands ever optional?

Well, now they might be.

Or have they always been?

In any case

Are you really still playing

"Vintage tennis"?

That's so optional :P

Show off

If we need it

Get something out of it

We can do something

We're already good at

In terms of feedback

We'll be admired

At least

Relatively speaking

If we're trying

Something new

Many may look down

On us

Take skiing beginners

First X-legged attempts at inline skating

Hitting terribly wrong notes

Making a mess in the kitchen

First of:

Congratulation

For trying something new

That's hard

Because we

Like a challenge

Hve a vision.

Are curious

How long do we stay "bad"?

Do we find ways to progress?

How does that look after a week?

When do we reach the 80%?

If we show off something

We're good at

Let's do that consciously

Towards

A goal

Ideally

A noble one :)

Otherwise

Let's show off

The constructive struggle

And

Cause a bit of

A societal switch

To recognize and appreciate

That?

3rd party feedback

How to deal with feedback?

What others think?

Say?

Maybe behind our back?

First

If everything is always awesome

That's not really helpful for us

At all

Maybe

That's not the whole truth then

We're not pushing our envelope

Sure

In today's world

There's going to be great feedback

If we (always?) win

But

We're showing (off)

Something

That we're already good at

Here

We're looking for

Development

Hence challenges

Striving

Towards higher

Longer term goals

Struggle forward

From the outside

That often won't look as pretty

Maybe it seems like we're stuck

For a while

So if between people

We're not working or interacting

With similar mindsets

We will also get negative feedback

Maybe exclusively

Misunderstanding

Not understanding

Adversity

Are we somewhat crazy

Maybe jealousy at its core

Envy

Knowing, or sensing

One is stuck also

So what to do about it

Maybe not daring to look

Bad

Or not as good

Once we've sufficiently checked

That we're not overly

Obsessed

On the wrong track

That the current persistence is

Not futile

We're really opening a door

At least for ourselves

How about practice where

When no one is watching

Or find others

With the same mindset

But how to always end up with

Something constructive

From feedback?

What other people think?

We can choose to know

What people think

By asking for it

"Tell me more."

Take that in

Consider it

Sleep on it

Assess it

Talk to others

With different

Viewpoints

Backgrounds

In the end

Even "negative"

Or dismissive feedback

Can be positive

To challenge our

Assumptions

Force us to have good

Reasons

And communicate them

Well

To those who matter

To us

And with that

Negative feedback

Might actually reinforce

That we're on the right track :)

Cause

At the end of the day

We're accountable

To ourselves

Insane in the same game?

At what point

Are we still trying the same thing

But end up

With the same unsatisfying result?

Not the result we want

Not a real result

Not making progress

Not enjoying breakthroughs

And

Maybe it's not a point

But

A sliding scale?

So even

Harder

To notice

And admit

But there could be

Some event

That could serve

As a signal

A loss

An injury

Something breaking

Worse than before

Lack of motivation

Energy

Something someone said

At least to consider

To keep in mind

With persistence

We may still be able to

Work ourselves through

We don't always have to

Change something

But persistence doesn't have to mean

Trying the same thing over and over

It doesn't have to apply

To the path

Much more important seems

The destination

So persistance

Can also mean finding

Another way that works

Towards a goal we had set

So if

What we're doing

Just doesn't seem to work

Let's try something else

Take a break

To reflect

Or let the mind wander

Think about something else

If we keep trying

Change a variable

Add in a different challenge

Maybe switch the whole game

Before we

Eventually

Go insane

In the same game :)

And are not having fun

Along the way!

We can always come back

Later...

No matter what

Probably always good to

Ingrain in the main brain

To train for flexibility

About these posts

In the spirit of "Pareto power"

I decided to first spend ~20% of time

To get ~80% of the messages and polishing

Out there

Most will be a bit rough at first

Hopefully sufficiently clear

At least thought-provoking

Ideally really, activity provoking :)

I'll keep tweaking

As I come across things again

Something comes to mind.

And

Welcome any feedback

Suggestions, help, contributions

E.g. via constructive comments

Feel free

To get going

The idea is

To be able to

Jump in anywhere

From anywhere

To keep jumping

As long as one likes

Look at the project

From different perspectives

See what clicks

Resonates

There may be some overlap

Here and there

Most of it

Hopefully conscious.

That's to recognize patterns

Get used to

The broader

Ideas, principles, vocabulary

And eventually

Close the cycle

While we're hopefully

Still moving forward :)

There's always content on the landing page.

For each post

Goal is to feature 1 link

To keep going

Labels to the right.

For a more linear approach

There's also the

FAQ

Pareto power

How good do we want to be at what?

How much time do we want to invest?

Are we (still) on a steep learning curve?

Or are we hitting diminishing returns?

If developing

A broad range

Of skill, flexibility

Is most important to us,

If we don't think

We'll end up in the 0.01%

Needing to spend thousands of hours

To get an extra 5 km/h on the serve

We might

Fare better

Applying something like

The Pareto principle.

Towards

An end state of

Being 80% "good"

With 20% of practice.

Then

As we need to practice more

And/or make less progress

Look for the next Pareto project

Maybe

5 of those 80% Paretos

Would be more valuable than

1 85% of something?

Pick 1-3 fields max

Of primary passions

Where we consciously keep going

And accept diminishing returns?

Is there a Pareto field

That could lead to

A jump

In a primary passion?

Also

Having built up a broad range

Might overcompensate

A slightly slower serve :P

Maybe

Serve smartly instead?

Mix in

The other hand?

While starting off the weak side

Might feel rough and slow

Most might quickly see

Jumps and breakthroughs there

Such rough start

May in itself be

A sign of having found

A steep learning curve

Win some, lose some

Stepping back

What's a good

Win/lose ratio

For our development?

If we play up

We can learn much

If we play too far up though

It's not fun for anyone

In knockout format tournaments

Losing each first round

Likely not enjoyable

Depressed lobster?

(It helps:

If there's consolation

And with that

At least 2 matches

2nd one likely not that far up

Some group format

Where multiple matches

Are guaranteed.)

In the other extreme

If we always win easy

We should probably pick

A more challenging pond

If we're a favorite

We can practice living up to it

Make that its own challenge

Gracefully?

And/or

Set additional goals

To keep us sharp

Throughout the match

Losing as few games as possible

Or points within games

Or not needing 2nd serves

Missing min # of returns

View it as a prep

For a strong opponent

Who has a weaker backhand

Or doesn't like rushing in

Of course

Without going crazy

Losing focus

On the actual match

So maybe pick

1 extra challenge

At a time

Downtime's optional!

Winning a whole thing

Obviously comes with

Its own challenges

Physically and mentally

Maybe that win

Will allow

A step up

For the next competition?

Generally

Winning is good for

(Building back) confidence

When needed?

But winning everything

Is not good for

Dialing in confidence

Distorted picture

If I remember correctly

Rats are wired

To let their weaker peers win

~30% of the time

So fairness and empathy

Seems baked into all creatures

Hopefully not eradicated by some

And if so, bring-backable :)

When not in an official competition

With official rules

But especially if using competition

To build up something

We can always give

The objectively weaker party

A leg up

3 serves?

Long term (i.e. lifetime)

A 50:50 win:lose

Would mean we've competed

At the right level in average

As long as we try to compete in

Ever more challenging ponds

I.e. don't get stuck

I.e. keep developing

When we lose

Maybe mostly have that happen

When there's

Nothing to lose?

Persistence

What a virtue.

For breakthroughs

Which usually don't come cheaply

Persistence is probably

The key ingredient

Where does its energy come from?

Being and staying persistent

Is incredibly hard just for its own sake

Without anything to drive it

Suppose those drivers could be

Running *towards* something

Vision, mission, goals

An overarching mindset

Or running away *from* something

In the past, present, future

Injury. Pain. Loss

Feeling stuck

Here, we can turn the negative stuff

Into constructive energy as well

Something will be better as a result

Along with positive side effects

Try again

Rinse and repeat

Add variations

Find other ways

That's all of course

If we're on the right path

Barking up the right tree

Not already stuck

Not at

Too diminishing returns

Too comfortable already

In an acquired state

There can be a fine line between

Not being persistent enough (= giving up too early)

And wasting energy

On the wrong track

So keep going

Better do something else?

Pointers?

Comfortably uncomfortable

If we're too comfortable

We're probably

Not learning

Something new

For progress

We need new

Stimuli

Challenges

If on path and practice

At the edge of abilities

We're always going to be a bit

Uncomfortable

Can we get comfortable

With being

That kind of

Uncomfortable?

Good sign?

Right spot?

More (and less) precisely

Right range?

Obviously

If we're permanently

Super uncomfortable

Not good either

May dial back then

Practice and enjoy something

We're already good at

Get a W

And then

When ready

Go back to

Slightly uncomfortable

And feeling

More comfortable

With that

Than last time

When that again feels

Comfortably comfortable

Welcome to an

Acquired state

Let's not

Get too

Comfortable

With that :P

How

Related to

I don't know

And

Yet

Another

Great way to find

A goal, a path, and more

"How".

How can I...

How can we...

How did they...

How come no one's done X?

Open question

Open mind

Maybe

3 main outcomes:

There really is a limiting answer

E.g. an undertaking could lead to

Something harmful or

There's some other good reason

Not to do something (a certain way?)

Maybe it's not worth it then

For now

A immediate, clear idea

A spark

Let's go out, give it a go, play

Based on what we find, iterate

New ways of trying things.

Aka "innovation"?

Once we have a good "how" question

Capture all possible how's (and limitations)

That come to mind

And then see...

In my case

I was wondering how it's possible

that I keep practicing tennis more

but seem to become worse over time

At least

not improving as much

as I would elsewhere

How is that possible?

How can I do something about it?

How can I practice differently

To actually improve?

How can I then see what's working?

Amongst other triggers

This thinking

Led me to

This project

Developing

And comparing

The other side

Of the body

More time on the wall

Focused on specific aspects

Shadow swings

What are some of the top coaches doing

Playing and practicing more

Adjacent racquet sports

Trying something completely different

Inspiration from other fields

These could be some ideas

Resulting from

A"how" storm

To assess, trim, prioritize

For the deeper thinking parts

Let's remember the

"3rd 3rd"

To not give up (too) early...

Yet

Another powerful word

Anyone noticed?

Implies that it's possible

To acquire something :)

Curiosity

Knowledge

Skill

Achievement

I don't know yet

Can't do that yet

Haven't tried yet

Practiced enough yet

I haven't looked

For different ways

To achieve X

Yet

So if we add "yet"

We're not giving up

Before we've even

Started

Not closing

the door

And maybe open

1 or 2...

And maybe

Unknowingly

Create

Acceptings

Instead choose

That we want

To give something

A go

At the other end of our

"Yet spectrum"

We can of course choose

A closed door

Again

It's a matter of being conscious

And making a

Conscious decision

At a point

For a certain vector we're on

"Yet" becomes

That "acquired state"

How to make that journey?

Good question

Maybe start with

How :)

Mirroring

How do we quickly see?

Compare?

Well, let's take a look

At ourselves :)

While mirrors are commonplace

In fitness or ballet studios

We don't see them that often

Elsewhere

Before

We go shop

And

Roll one in...

Is there a reflective surface?

Window?

Glossy wall that "returns"

Information?

(I found I'd had somewhat of a block

Practicing anything including shadow swings

In front of a window

Especially when others are watching

Hopefully I'm past this now

And can inspire others to just do it

And deal along the way

With any adversity.)

If performing something one-sided

One mirror-benefit is of course

Seeing yourself as

Other-handed...

We can also mirror

A coach

Or someone else

Who's farther ahead

Is there a stroke

Or stroke element

To copy? Try?

Add to the toolkit?

Are they mirroring you

Demoing with their other hand

When facing you?

Or turning around to demo?

And video, obviously

To watch others

Record yourself

Compare

Mirror a video

Horizontally

New perspective

New insights

For a quick hack

Use a reflection of that video

Rather having to flip the video itself

Again mirror or window

For our endeavor here

There's the direct comparison

Between

Right and left

Generally

The weak side would mirror

The strong side

One swing each, compare

When stuck on the strong side though

Do we discover anything

By trying more

With the weak side?

In any case

Look at comparison swings

Parallel swings too

Utilizing any of the above

With this new awareness

We can work more

On the weak side

With X:1

Shadow swings

May not be in fashion

At least I'm not seeing

People anywhere

Just swinging racquets

But

I found them to be

Extremely useful

And fun

It helps knowing

What to look for

And how to

Go about them

E.g. "hit through the ball"

While not being afraid of

And/or "interrupted" by

An impact

How would a complete

Relaxed swing

look like?

What's the max speed for a swing

That could work back on court?

Without anything hurting?

How often repeatable?

For the weaker side

There's a chance to get a lot of repetition

AND variance

Per time

To ingrain the basic movement

And then to start getting used get used to

All variations needed and/or apply-able

On court:

Fast slow

High low

Spin flat

Etc

Building

Naturally-feeling

Flexibility

For each movement

We can also shift attention from

A target to hit

Or making good contact

To other elements

Was there anything bothering us?

Holding us back?

What way of holding the racquet feels best again?

How's the wrist lag?

Follow through across the body or over the shoulder?

Double-handers, what hand does what?

Upper body rotation - was that symmetric?

Leading with the hip, on both forehands?

When back to hitting balls

We can then focus on

That one thing we tried to address

"In the shadows"

Maybe hit the wall or ball machine first

Before adding another human

= Variable

To the mix

I'm sure there's more

It depends e.g. where we suspect

Shortcomings

And what we're working towards:

Developing the weaker side

Would mean

Many more swings

There

Hitting harder generally would mean

A focus

On swinging faster

Maybe with extended radius

Becoming more

Versatile

Well

Mix it all up!

And fun?

Make it fast

Dynamic

Hear the swoosh.

...

Then

Connect the strokes

Add a take-off

Steps in between

Get creative with it

Figure 8s

Turbo Tai-Chi

Be a martial artist?

Shadow swings can present

Another path

Towards our goals

Deliver

Their own

Breakthroughs

Along the way

Make new movements feel

Natural

Pain free

Fast

And eventually

Provide surprises here and there

When back connecting

With the 🎾 :)

Probably still needs to be proven, but working assumptions:

* We can build up our weak side

* For that, we need repetition

* In order to catch up and reach "side preference indifference",
we need to train the weak side more than the strong side

* It helps to compare the strong and weak side

So one way to practice (and to name that) would be X:1.

Maybe starting with 1:1 for direct comparison.

Then, once figured what to pay attention to on the weak side, increase that ratio.

Maybe to 2:1.

Then go to 3:1.

As the weak side gets better, or we need comparison again, move back towards 1:1.

This not only goes for practicing coordination and motor skills, but also for strength, power, and balance - well - imbalances...

Might be straightforward, but (and maybe because) I found X:1 to be the main and most useful structure.

If we're starting someone out, how about X:1 from the getgo?

Nothing to lose

To compete or practice

More freely

It helps when there's

Nothing to lose

When expectations are low

Stronger opponents

Tough circumstances

Odds against us

Sure

It'll be nice

To win

Again

But

If we compete up

We can play up

There's less pressure

Ironically

Nothing to lose

Might increase odds of

Winning :)

In any case

We owe

To at least compete

To the best abilities

Opposite situation

When the favorite

Everything to lose

Different challenge

Ask folks

Who made #1

And tried

To stay there

For a long term equilibrium

Maybe aim for 50:50

With a tendency to

Move up in ponds

For practice

There's less to lose

With precautions such as

Safety equipment

And

There's less to lose

More freedom

When no one's watching

What do you want to work on today?

Asking this

Ourselves

In line with

Our mindset and/or goals?

When we practice with others

Anyone asking this?

If not

Why not?

If today

We don't feel like "work"

Just "play"

That's alright too

But

Make that

A conscious

Decision

Free play is good also

Liberating

Will also bring

Benefits

If any surprises come out of it

How about taking a minute

To capture them

During or after practice

Sounds more like

Chance

Though

Doesn't it?

If we do want to

"Work on something today"

We like that in playful manner

Anyways :)

Towards

Maybe

A little

Breakthrough?

Still got juice?

Especially when younger

Seemingly unlimited physical energy

Theoretically unlimited opportunity

For practice

Still should be conscious

Of injuries due to

Harmful movements and/or

Too many repetitions

Then there's

The mental aspect

E.g. when things get

Too much, dull, tiresome

That's why we're trying to become

Complete

Mix it up

Build up both sides

If energy is a bottleneck

Maybe a good goal would still be

To do a little more

Than in our regular practice session?

We don't have to be MJ

Who supposedly always

Came first

And left last

But maybe have at least temporarily

One less session / week

And extend (and/or intensify)

One we have?

So in addition to realizing that

Downtime is optional

and that

The best (probably) force rest:

What can we do after

Partner practice

That may lead to

Our next breakthrough?

Something on the wall?

Ball machine?

Shadow swings

Maybe with 2 racquets?

Footwork drills?

Few more lifts?

On our (still)

Weaker side?

Move something?

Stretch?

Review anything

And try again better?

After all is done

Not forget to

Refill

Recharge

If we're (reasonably) measuring something

And/or found a breakthrough

And/or an idea for next time

How about a quick note?

The best force rest

Sounds catchy

And is probably true

Maybe I should

Trademark this phrase :)

Though

Heavily influenced by

"Peak performance"

So credit first

My "problem" is

That I'd generally like

To do

As much as I can

Learned (acquired?) early

To push myself

To my limit

And slightly past it

After all

That's how

Athletes

Make "gains"

But sometimes things need to

Sink in

Heal

Build up

Sometimes

We need other stimuli

Or at least they'd be

More effective?

Our own system

Is probably giving us

Valuable hints

Any time

If something

Hurts

Then maybe not take

Painkiller

Find the root cause

Give it a break

Then train up

Better

If we're low

Is there something else

That gets us

Excited?

Where

All of a sudden

We don't feel

Tired?

Why is that?

What variable has changed?

Or what game

Even?

After an intense period

Practice

Tournament

Bed all Sunday?

And try again on

Monday?

Or Tuesday?

Or Wednesday?

If the body is tired

Maybe the mind can do something?

Actively

That Monday?

How about a swim?

Walk in the forest?

Shop for something fun?

Enticing book?

I found I can always do

A little coordination work

Even if it's on the

PlayStation :P

Mindset vs goals

Too much

Too many

"Goals"

In life?

And

Practice?

In addition to setting smart goals

Distilling them

Finding the frequency and level of detail

That work for us:

If we ingrain

An overall productive, searching mindset

Along with

A somewhat objective way of assessment

In a sense

Are already where

The goals are supposed to get us :)

This kind of mindset

Is very closely related to

The principles I had distilled

From my own adventure

For example:

* Keep looking for something to improve

* Find a path (and question it from time to time)

* Practice at the edge of current abilities

* Find a way to assess if you're progressing

If any of these start to feel

Un-wantedly aimless

Then good goals

Can give direction again

And of course

Review and re-assessment

Of our broader

Vision and mission

Good goals

In line with

Our 1) Vision and 2) Mission

Let's set 3) Goals

For along the way

Since it's *our* project

It's OK to iterate

In and between

These big 3 at any time

First and foremost

We "report"

And are accountable

To ourselves

A general best practice

For creating goals

Is to make them

SMART:

* Specific

* Measurable

* Action-Oriented

* Realistic

* Time-Related

First and foremost

It won't hurt for those goals

To be smart

Themselves :P

If it serves a purpose

We can break

Those goal rules

As well

For example

We can set an unrealistic goal

To find new ways

Towards a real breakthrough

To assess progress

Let's check-in regularly

More so in the beginning

While we find our path (and ourselves?!)

Maybe first

Per practice session

Then weekly

Then monthly

Then

As we develop an overall structure and mindset

Maybe quarterly?

Per season?

2x per year

Would probably be the minimum

To avoid losing

Focus

At that time

Be open to

Break something

In the established structure or mindset

Through goal cycles

We can ingrain the search

For something new

What’s temporarily uncomfortable

For

Little

And big

Breakthroughs

That shift to an overarching mindset

To a life style

Can replace goals

To a certain extent

Well chosen

Big goals

Can become

Our life's milestones

Probably good also if

Managing goals

Doesn’t become

Overly obsessive

In other words

We're still in control

To switch a constant goal hunt

Off :)

If we ever need

Or want

A break from goals

That's fine too

Maybe set a reminder

To consider picking up the effort later

With a reference to the work already done

And where we left off?

Analysis paralysis

Premise: we have set some good goals and want to measure progress against them

But: if we over-record and -measure it can literally paralyze our practice

Generally: more overhead, less fun (might apply to work-life too!)

Measuring (and thinking about it) during practice can keep us from getting into flow

Maybe (simple) measuring is also more something for the repetition stage, after having been focused on ingraining the basics for the specific movement (e.g. learn how to juggle => count how many w/o drop).

Trade-off for me: I'd like to record progress and findings, e.g. to see if I'm on the right track, what works, and what's re-produceable. So I'm not basing this whole thing on my subjective experiences and thoughts.

Problem is, once you're past something, you can't go back and re-create the experience (similar to only having one chance of a "first impression").

Now that I trained up the forehand on my weaker side to a decent level, I don't have any hands left to be a forehand beginner again :)

So the less I measure the more I'm missing out on capturing that experience and progress,

but the more I do there's a risk of having less fun and losing focus (=> what gets measured...).

Some ideas for less (perceived) overhead:

* Prioritize what and when to measure, e.g. practice 3x / week but measure 1x / week - e.g. hitting targets, speed, repetitions w/o error.

* Measure the target movement and not the meta movements that may help get there. For serves, having just consciously hit into the fence and into the net, eventually count the ones that were supposed to go into the service box. Based on the goals, maybe their speed, placement.

* If it feels right and somewhat accurate, make estimates. How good was X, 1-10? Better than yesterday? Last week? Why, why not? How many forehands hit today with the still weaker hand? What was the X:1? Need more next time? Against the wall, machine, partner - how many strokes per minute => minutes actively played => # of strokes.

* Measure at the end of a training block. Hit 2 baskets of alternating serves, now get 10 kick serves each into the court without error. How many attempts needed? How many repeats?

* Have someone else count and/or record (and alternate).

* Film and count what counts later. Maybe you'll also re-assess what to count next time.

These are just top of mind ideas to get started, I'm sure there'll be more...

Complementary, maybe even an alternative approach to measuring activity:

Breakthroughs are arguably more fun.

Keep track of those, the planned ones and the surprises. 1 per session would be great.

So it's less to measure and more memorable.

A simple table of date and breakthrough, e.g. in the phone's note app, may do for the day of. We can go back to add to it and organize those later...

For measuring purposes, hopefully not that many breakthroughs per session then :P

For the overall pursuit, as many as possible please!

Fine motor skills

How about day to day work

In the kitchen?

Using cutlery "in reverse"

Probably counts as well

What about

Writing?

Drawing?

Painting?

Like we started out as kids

Coloring book

But take it on

With the weaker hand

Sometimes

1 crayon in each hand

And alternating

For direct comparison

Writing

Both hands

At the same time

Parallel or mirror

Maybe

Good for the brain too

To write in the

Other direction?

Progress markers

Decrease of required effort?

Things softening up?

Along the kinetic chain?

How tight is everything

In the wrist, arm, neck?

Compared to the result

On paper?

Upside down

At least

The writing :P

I don't know (yet?)

"I don't know" can be quite liberating, and open the door to finding out more.

Maybe we need to practice saying it a few times.

Obviously in situations when we think that might actually be true.

When you're learning something new, which should occur in our context here quite frequently, take on that "beginner's mind".

And with that, one would err towards not knowing.

Moving away from this extreme, other potential door openers could be:

I don't know *enough*.

I'm not sure yet.

Tell me more!

What would be good for me to know?

"Yet" seems pretty powerful as well, implying intention to figure out.

The beginner's mind(set) is closely tied to trying out and being ok with making mistakes. Even consciously.

Let's make mistakes

When going for breakthroughs

Maybe we sometimes have to

Break through

Something

In tennis terms for example,

let's hit some balls

Into the fence

Over the fence?

Make the ball bounce first

On our side of the net

Hit into the net

As fast as we can

Ideally

With a ball machine

Def not a partner

Who'd prefer to rally :)

Use a basket of balls

and

Feed yourself

Something new happening somewhere?

Maybe along the kinetic chain?

Something suddenly let loose?

Where does the acceleration come from?

What does that mean

For going back

Into

The boundaries?

As always

Don't hurt yourself or others

Maybe don't try to

Suddenly lift 2x the weight

A friend told me once

That versed musicians

sometimes practice hitting

A slightly off note

If you can do that

And easily (and maybe even better)

Go back to pitch-perfect

You've probably come quite far.

An analogy in racquet sports may be

to make conscious ball contacts

*Around*

The sweetspot

To re-discover the sweetspot sensation

Make cleaner contact again

And in play

Make that contact more often

(For the super advanced

You can - or already may unconsciously -

Create extra spin by making contact

towards the outer edge of the racquet head...)

Today (and maybe tomorrow still)

There are socio-psychological boundaries as well

People are surely going to look at you funny

When you're doing unusual things

But

Nicely

And smartly

Break through that as well

Kobe

RIP and thank you. Saw him play the Warriors during a difficult time for him. Lakers came with Payton, Malone, Grant, and Shaq, so that was a treat as well.

Have always been impressed and inspired by his work ethic, e.g. heading back to the gym after a bad game or starting that early in the mornings.

Mentally, on the same page.

Physically, I couldn't do it. I'd probably get exhausted, sick, and injured.

It'd catch up with me and I'd have less total and def less effective practice time.

Maybe wear out my body earlier than necessary.

So, as always: look for a plan B.

One fallback is always coordination work, which is not as physically taxing but can be very effective,

To a lesser extend balance, which can also get taxing.

When the body needs rest, the head can do some work. E.g. visualizing, watching, reading, thinking, writing.

I also have a new - optional - way of watching sports, more on that later.

For thoughts re: how much to do, see /how-much-how-often.

What are you working on?

Having lived in the US

This is probably the question

I've heard the most

At least, well, at work :)

But

Even in non-work contexts

It came up

Quite often

(Perception seems that in the US

People tend to "live to work"

Whereas in other places

People tend to "work to live"

Maybe it's both

And good

For both

To be in tune)

Either way

The term

"Work"

Is pretty omnipresent

And this question

Is a good way

To test

For a good answer

How about

An alternative phrasing

Such as

"What are you pursuing?"

While "work"

Sounds

And usually translates as

"Work"

The good thing

About our mindset here is

We can "play"

On something :)

With a broader direction and specific goals

A few vectors and paths

And target breakthroughs:

Great answers at the ready

That may also

In Exchange

Trigger

New insights and ideas

No one's watching

In addition to

Being negatively influenced

Or sidetracked

By others

And despite

partner and group practices

bringing many benefits

with them

Sometimes it's most effective

or just makes sense

to work on something

by oneself

Free from distractions

Conscious

Focused

In tune with the activity

Almost in meditative quality

Setting aside not only time

But also space

Phone on DND

Mostly

This could be to achieve

A base level of

(A new) skill

That you'd then

Bring to play

With others

To build upon further

For example:

Skate up and down

Somewhere until comfortable

Before heading

To the skate park

Hit a few thousand times against a wall

To get a few (more) balls

Into the court

When you meet with someone else

Become good enough

With the (still) weaker wing

Apply as strength playing folks

Not into the whole thing

Practice where and when

No one is watching

And come back

To surprise & delight :)

If there is a group

And/or space

Of like-minded seekers

That'd be option 3

Adversity

Trying to find new, creative ways to improve and hopefully even make a leap here and there has caused some interesting reactions.

For context, I've been on this for about 40 years, have looked at most of the famous and many others tennis coaches, and at least in the tennis world may be in the top 1% of overall package of skill and experience. In many other worlds of course I'm in the bottom 1% :)

So at least I'm telling myself what I'm doing and looking for here and now is a result and natural extension of what I've done and learned to date. I really don't want to feel stuck or even get worse over time.

Generally, I found it incredibly hard to find practice partners to even work on something very similar to the main thing. For example let's set aside some of our weekly time to practice approach and net play, going into the winter and thus onto the fast courts and the league matches. Maybe we should play a set of doubles together before it counts?

Before the pandemic, hitting barefoot or even on socks for a bit, to build up the previously weakened foot and maybe improve awareness and footwork, usually caused a stir. No carpet or clay has been harmed in the process! In terms of quality, I felt I was more balanced when rallying and even won sets against shoe-wearers. I always asked my partners, kept checking in, and made sure not to overdo it.

During the pandemic, I needed to find risk-free environments, and ended up doing a lot of open air self-practice. No good walls around, so a freeway underpass in an industrial area had to do. In terms of practice quality and progress, it wasn't bad at all.

Between the occasional folks who'd pass by, the reactions were split by a 1/3: ignorance, thumbs up and/or smiles, or shaking heads.

In other words, it seems whenever we try to do something new, different, creative, no matter how considerate and careful we are, we are likely to face headwinds.

For me, that meant to retreat a bit to "practice where no one is watching". A) to split what I wanted to work on, and B) to get to a level where I have have certain breakthroughs to reliably show, and bring that into the other split. In a sense this ended up being the "making lemonade" out of the "lemon" pandemic situation - being able to set aside some time and space for uninterrupted practice on my own goals and progress.

In light of the mixed reactions, I often had to think of the "Gandhi stages": ignore => laugh => hate => fight => win. This doesn't necessarily have to be the pattern that applies here, though it probably shows that trying something new may encounter some resistance for some time.

So I'd say if you're reasonably self-aware, consider external feedback from time to time, and think you're on the right track, stick to it. In that sense, maybe "disappear" for a while and come back stronger and with something different. Maybe folks will later ask you how you did it, and how they can do it too :)

For me, it helps to have overall vision, mission, and goals. If down the road folks are starting to teach kids 2 forehands, and 2 backhands, this whole thing may already have been worthwhile.