Theory & Practice: The Pose

The Pose is a fundamental ancient language of all species capable of interaction. We all understand and speak that language. It’s one of those things that everybody does without even realizing it or ever acknowledging it, but we are all mostly pretty fluent in it! How’s that? Simple. If you’ve ever seen your grandma or mom with her hands on her hips, feet shoulder-width apart – you did not need a translator. Or walking down the street and without knowing or seeing the details from afar you can easily tell what someone at a distance is doing. You can easily distinguish between a game of basketball and soccer, you can tell who is playing and who is watching and so on.

Pose is the language of all sports. Poses are really the language of all human movement, but let’s narrow it down and focus on athletic movement in sports for the purpose of this article.

There are literally millions of possible poses but we intuitively recognize only the ones that are key, or close to key, poses. This is also where we see the level of skill possessed or what is recognized  as ‘raw talent’.

What are key poses? A key pose is the moment of interaction with support that serves the purpose of transformation of energy in the most efficient way with the least effort.

There are many poses. Any and all human movement consists of a myriad of poses. However, some are at the center of the movement and others are just happening in between. Some poses transfer energy and redirect movement others are insignificant, while some others impede the progress.

On a grander scale, a single pose reflects a number of things: our intent, our state of mind, level of preparedness, various psychological, physical, emotional and other vital processes that take place in preparation of our interaction with the immediate environment. Because essentially that’s what movement is – it’s our interaction with the environment. Skillful interaction is everything. There is no way to confuse a body pose of a lion going for a kill or the one heading to a water hole. The boxer ready to strike cannot be mistaken for the one that’s on the defensive. The pose of a tennis player is easily identified and cannot be mistaken for the pose of a wrestler.

We can strike a specific pose in order to convey our message, to show our intent without saying a word. A correct body pose also allows us to quickly “collect all necessary and essential psychological and emotional information along with biomechanical and physiological ingredients” and to seamlessly integrate ourselves into the natural forces already in play, our immediate environment, in order to use all that’s available to provide for execution of efficient and effective movement required at that given moment.

In the Pose Method we single out the key body poses in every athletic activity in order to eliminate the unnecessary and to focus on the essential to make movement simpler and our actions more effective.

It applies to all movement, as a matter of fact the idea behind the Pose Method was inspired by martial arts and ballet. Both are focused on precision of movement and taught via repetition of specific poses (though the concept of gravity as the leading force in movement was never identified). And if you look at such an ancient discipline as yoga, you will clearly see that underneath the modern layer of entertainment currently attached to it by way of flexibility contest, the heart of yoga practice is in poses. The original poses were about centeredness, focus, balance and harmony.

From the educational perspective teaching through the Pose simplifies the complicated task of teaching movement by cutting out the unnecessary fluff and zooming in on the key poses that make up the pattern of clean, effective movement. Learning through the poses is a much simpler task as well.

Check out this great video from Tokyo Olympics 2020 Opening Ceremony!

 

Each sport can be easily recognised by its POSE.

 

 

 

What it means for your body

It is free to operate at its best. Our body sustains most of the damage due to its incorrect use before it ever gets to the overuse stage. Occasional bumps and breaks aside, we are responsible for our damaged knees & shoulders, ruined hips, torn ligaments, worn out cartilages, etc. A well build, properly operated and correctly used equipment lasts and lasts, and will last until it’s misused. Our main goal should be to learn to use it correctly.

What it means for you

You’re psychologically and physically free to focus on achieving your best. Your foundation is done right and you can effectively develop your skills further. Imagine how far you could go if you’re not constantly sidelined by easily avoidable injuries or if you’re not struggling with the basics of movement? Yes, that is exciting to imagine!

What it means for a coach / physical therapist / sports doctor

You’re free to focus on higher performance of your athletes/clients. You have a method that allows you to quickly identify errors in technique, in movement, that gives you an effective solution on how to handle it, and helps you keep your athletes away from injuries.

Regardless of the sport, there is nothing simpler than moving from pose to pose.