KINESTHETIC LEARNING FOR SUCCESSFUL BODY SCULPTING
Posted by Burr Leonard on Tue, Jan 12, 2010 @ 09:52 AM
On December 21st, Diane emailed in this comment on my blog about the importance of
HANDS ON ADJUSTING:
“Interesting blog - I have to respectfully disagree as far as preference when adjustments are being made. Personally I prefer to be told exactly why I'm doing something incorrectly….”
I agree with Diane on her preference for teachers giving her verbal, not physical, corrections. Giving students verbal cues on how to correct their form is a quicker, more efficient, and simpler way of communicating. The reason we Bar Method teachers also correct physically is that students have different learning styles. Some learn verbally by listening to the teacher. Some learn visually by watching the teacher. And some learn kinetically by feeling the position the teacher helps them achieve. We want all our students to get the best possible workout, so we use all three modes of communication. Students who learn kinetically often cannot find the correct positions no matter how precisely teachers demonstrate and describe them. It is for these students that we reserve hands-on adjustments.
In any case, you can be a visual or verbal learner and still benefit from an occasional hands-on adjustment. I’ve studied this technique for almost 30 years and still appreciate the teacher adjusting me. In “fold-over” for example, students’ heads are facing downwards, so we can’t see our positions. I often wonder if my hips are square during that exercise, so it’s reassuring when the teacher gives my hips a tweak.
Over the years, I’ve learned to appreciate the extra connectedness that hands-on help gives me to the workout. I hope that other students like Diane will also find some value in this mode of guidance as well.