Trini y Sean (PATangoS) wrote: ><snip/> > >
>Thanks Jeff. This is a key element that I neglected to >address. To practice effectively, you have to be mentally >focused on the skill you are practicing. So it is less >effective to practice two or more skills at once. This is >why I believe that dancing cannot be considered practicing. > > From a strictly coaching perspective this is dead on the money, otherwise sports would have no practice, just games. >For me, dancing requires awareness of everything. (Being in >the moment, in the zone, or however you wish to describe >that state.) If you are focused on improving one thing, >then you are not giving enough attention to everything >else. (A perfectionist's ideal may be to maintain total >awareness even while focused on improving a specific skill, >but that is a different discussion. Besides, I am more a >pragmatic than a perfectionist.) > > More to the point, practice allows you to over-optimize certain parts in an artificial environment. This is essential because any high-level physical level activity should be viewed as more of an interacting system. Soccer players don't just run, e.g., but practice sprints in the case they need them. Generally any skill in a live situation will degrade so optimizing them is crucial. So it goes with tango. >--- Jeff also wrote: > >For activities that have a large conditioning component - >which tango thankfully does not - it can be a great deal >more frustrating since you have to grow new muscle before >you can train it. > >--- Sean again: > >How large is large? > With tango you can work at it a couple of times a week and after a month or two be doing pretty well. Sure you'll be a bit sore in odd places but nothing serious. Contrast this with a competitive sport where an athlete might well have to do 4 - 6 weeks of serious free weight training before going to an intensive camp. Anything less is begging for an injury. I know I sound like a trainer/coach but wanted to emphasize one of the charming things about tango: most anyone can do it! But you have to know *where* you put your practice. Having someone offer "tango-robics" would be goofy in the extreme, wouldn't it? Cheers, Jeff G _______________________________________________ Tango-L mailing list [email protected] http://mailman.mit.edu/mailman/listinfo/tango-l
