I'm a martial arts teacher (as well as a never-ending student), and it's true that one practises and practises so that one can act spontaneously... and totally intuitively. In other words, practise is essential so that one can eliminate the need for the intellect, and thus use only the intuition. My former karate teacher told us that his job was "to make the conscious unconscious and the unconscious conscious."
The oriental paintings are a case in point. Japanese paintings are created in seconds... but what leads up to them is immense training - both physical and mental - such that "it" appears on the paper, apparently effortlessly. They are spontaneous inasmuch as they require no interference from the intellect (which is relatively dull... someone will crucify me for saying that, I'm sure... :-)
P.
At 12:16 PM 5/1/2006 -0400, you wrote:
Philip Winestone wrote:
That's a little like: "Sincerity is a great selling tool; if you can fake sincerity you've got it made."
It is a little like that. But I think it is more like saying that a great actor can imitate any emotion, even if he does not actually feel it at the moment.
A good writer gives the impression of light hearted, effortless spontaneity, even though most labor mightily to achieve that effect. Why should the reader care? Is the effect you want; it makes no difference how it came about. What harm is there to artifice?
In China and Japan, many great classical ink paintings and calligraphy scrolls were probably "dashed off" in 10 or 15 minutes. Some of them consist only a few strokes. They appear to be spontaneous, and in a sense they are, but they are also the result of many years of practice and fabulous craftsmanship.
- Jed
