Aliveness

I talk a short course in boxing at a local gym, Mjölnir, last fall and it was an interesting experience. It was really difficult and I think I need to retake it...  I enrolled alone which I would not do again, since most of the participants came in pairs and the course was based very heavily on pair-work.

Being a teacher it is always valuable to experience the other side of the table, and especially when you come as a complete novice and a rather weak one at that. I felt that the going was really fast, and I had a hard time following - and missing classes was a serious bummer! However, there was a very distinct pattern to the training. A punch or movement would be introduced, then practiced and then put into a live context with a partner.

This is in line with the Martial Arts idea of aliveness. Aliveness is based on timing, energy and movement; and it involves training with a partner who shows resistance.

This idea has been fermenting in my head and it seems to me that this concept could have applications for a number of different activities.... music, lanuguages etc. I am reminded of the discourse methods employed by Oscar Brenifier in his Philosophical Practice. There the energy, timing and mobility apply on the mental and emotional plain.

My idea for this in my English classroom would to raise and maintain higher energy levels in the room. It seems to me that the mental energy state of classrooms is often way too low. It also means resisting the students and having them resist each other, for example in debates. It means using pair work extensively and it means having students move around a lot more, and moving around myself more also.

My practice has been moving in that direction anyway and I am confident it is a good way to go. This approach also means that preparing for class can mean a number of things besides knowing the stuff you are going to go through - your mental and physical presence and energy levels are probably just as important a variable...