New to the forum... didn't read the entire thread, so please forgive me if I'm running amuk...
This topic interests me, not because I'm into eastern religion, but because of a pretty life changing experience I had as a martial arts student back in my college days, where the lead instructor advocated a book called "Inner Tennis" to get some points across.
The concept that I was introduced to we called "relaxed concentration".... being calm and relaxed, yet very alert and aware. One has to let go of the noise caused by insecurities and self conscious judgements, and learn to watch, listen and feel.
I had never recieved much good instruction or coaching in any of my previous athletic endeavors (mostly hockey, with a little football and golf...) and never really excelled at them. But in the martial arts environment, I learned how to watch somebody do something...... really watch them. Then to attempt to replicate the actions....and to watch myself. Then to compare the two pictures in my mind and to tweek my own actions to better match the observed ideal. Sounds so simple... but I had never really been exposed to the concept
For the first time in my life I really excelled at a "sport" and was then able to apply this approach to excell at a lot of other things as well. And though, I moved on in life and never went back to practicing martial arts, the concept of relaxed concentration and the comparative "do-loop" approach to learning physical skills has been mine ever since. I even learned how to skate with my entire body, instead of standing erect and using just my legs (after doing it incorrectly for 15 years).
Knowing how to "calm down", being comfortable in my own skin, and not really giving a hoot what other people might be thinking, has helped my shooting a lot. And though I've only had a smidgeon of exposure to action pistol type competition, I seem to have a knack for it.
Recently I was gifted a second hand ping pong table and have been teaching my girls to play. My oldest daughter has never done well with hand eye coordination activities, but as I watch her flail away at the ping pong ball, I find myself telling her "calm down", "stop the jerky, spastic motions and pay attention to what your doing"..... "that's the way". Just last night, she finished up our time with a smile on her face, as she knew she had improved.... a lot.
