Tactile sense and / or just play.
A new G.I. Joe movie just came out. Faithful readers of the Budo blog now I love
the Joes so you know a Joe themed blog had to be in the works.
There are a few things I have been knocking around in my head and
discussing with other trainers I wanted to blog about for awhile. The G.I. Joe movie is a good excuse / spring
board to discuss them this week.
One of my favorite characters from the G.I. Joe comic book
back in the day was the Blind Master
In the book - Sensei Moore (the Blind Master) is an honorary
member of the Arashi Kage Ninja clan who was taken in and trained by the Hard
Master. He later opened a Dojo in Denver ,
Colorado
{Interesting side note my first Aikido Sensei was Sensei
Moore who received his training at the Nippon Kan Dojo in Denver Colorado
When The Hard Master was assassinated by Zartan, Sensei
Moore continued his master's practices and trained Jinx.
That is the Blind Master and Jinx from the film
Because Jinx was trained by the Blind Master, she actually
fought better blind and would wear a blindfold into combat.
Sounds silly right, but that brings me to the first Idea I've been kicking around…
Tactile sensory perception.
Information received tactilely is perceived faster / reacted
on quicker, than information received visually
The somatosensory system is a diverse sensory system comprising the receptors and
processing centres to produce the sensory modalities such as touch, temperature, proprioception (body position), and nociception (pain).
The sensory receptors cover the skin andepithelia, skeletal muscles, bones and joints,
internal organs, and the cardiovascular system.
While touch[1] is
considered one of the five traditional senses,
the impression of touch is formed from several modalities. In medicine, the colloquial
term "touch" is usually replaced with "somatic senses"
to better reflect the variety of mechanisms involved.
Somatic
senses are sometimes referred to as somesthetic
senses, with the understanding that somesthesis includes touch,
proprioception and (depending on usage) also haptic perception.[2]
The system
reacts to diverse stimuli using different receptors: thermoreceptors, nociceptors, mechanoreceptors and chemoreceptors. Transmission of information
from the receptors passes via sensory nerves through tracts in the spinal cord and
into the brain. Processing primarily occurs in the primary somatosensory area in the parietal lobe of the cerebral cortex.
At its
simplest, the system works when activity in a sensory neuron is triggered by a specific stimulus such as heat;
this signal eventually passes to an area in the brain uniquely attributed to
that area on the body—this allows the processed stimulus to be felt at the
correct location. The point-to-point mapping of the body surfaces in the brain
is called a homunculus and
is essential in the creation of a body image.
Reaction Time
by Kyle Shannon, a neuroscience undergraduate student at UC-San Diego.
Background
The speed of your reactions play a large part in your everyday life. Fast
reaction times can produce big rewards, for example, like saving a blistering
soccer ball from entering the goal. Slow reaction times may come with
consequences.
Reaction time is a measure of the quickness an organism responds to some
sort of stimulus. You also have “reflexes” too. Reflexes and reactions, while
seeming similar, are quite different. Reflexes are involuntary, used to protect
the body, and are faster than a reaction. Reflexes are usually a negative
feedback loop and act to help return the body to its normal functioning
stability, or homeostasis. The classic example of a reflex is one you have seen
at your doctor’s office: the patellar reflex.
This reflex is called a stretch reflex and is initiated by tapping the
tendon below the patella, or kneecap. It was first independently described in
1875 by two German neurologists, Wilhelm Heinrich Erb and Carl Friedrich Otto
Westphal. In their original papers Erb referred to the reflex as the “Patellarsehnenreflex”
while Westphal denoted it as the “Unterschenkelphanomen”. Thankfully, we now
refer to it as the patellar reflex.
This reflex is also known as a “reflex arc”. It is a negative feedback
circuit that is comprised of three main components:
·
A sensory component or afferent neuron. These neurons take in information
and translate it to an electrical signal that gets sent to the central nervous
system, much like the spikes you hear when doing the cockroach leg experiments.
·
Integrating center or interneuron. These neurons act as sensory processing
centers that determine the magnitude of the response to the incoming stimulus.
They are located in the central nervous system (your spinal cord).
·
The efferent portion or motor neuron takes the information from the
interneuron and sends it to the effectors which activate a response. The
effectors are usually muscle fibers as in the patellar reflex or a gland such
as the salivary gland.
The knee reflex arc is a spinal reflex, and the circuit is drawn above.
This picture shows how the sensory (afferent) neuron sends information through
the dorsal root ganglion into the spinal cord; where the signal splits into two
different paths. The first is the motor neuron (efferent) leading back to the
quadriceps. When your quad muscle’s motor neuron receives the information it
fires and causes your lower leg to spring forward up in the air. The second
signal from the sensory neuron travels to an interneuron which sends a signal
to the motor neuron (efferent) leading to the hamstring. This signal tells your
hamstring to relax so there is no negative force acting on the quadriceps
muscle when it contracts. Both signals work together and all of this happens in
the spinal cord without going to the brain. It never needs the brain.
You may be asking how a knee reflex arc and a soccer player dealing with an
oncoming ball are different. Are both not reflexes? While it may seem that a
soccer player negotiating an oncoming ball is a simple fast reflex, it is
actually a symphony of hundreds of thousands of neurons working together to
produce a conscious decision. Does the player catch, dodge, or bat away the
ball? This choice is what makes a reaction.
When a soccer player realizes the ball is blistering towards him, there is
visual information that has to be processed and decisions regarding a correct
course of action. The brain then needs to send many signals to various muscles.
Feet begin to move, hands might travel in front of the face, and eyes may close
shut, along with many more processes. This is the work of many neurons as well
as numerous systems and circuits in the brain, and what’s more, and you can
train and enhance your skill through practice. This is how you get better at
sports over time.
Like all science, the history of the reaction time discovery is peculiar.
Dutch physiologist F.C. Donders in 1865 began to think about human reaction
time and if it was measurable. Prior to his studies scientists thought that
human mental processes were too fast to be measured. This assumption was proved
incorrect with the help of Charles Wheatstone, an English scientist and
inventor. In 1840 Wheatstone invented a device, much like his early telegraph
system invention, that recorded the velocity of artillery shells. Donders used
that device to measure the time it took from when a shock occurred on a
patient’s foot until when that patient pressed a button. The button had to be
pressed by the left or right hand matching the left or right foot that was
shocked. His study tested 2 conditions: in the first, the patient knew in
advance which foot was to be shocked; in the other condition, the patient did
not know. Donders discovered a 1/15 second delay between patients who knew
which foot was to be shocked versus patients that did not know. Notably, this
was the first account of the human mind being measured!
These efforts continue today, with the improvement of “non-invasive”
imaging technologies like fMRI, PET, EEG, etc... You may have had one of these
scans in the hospital.
How quickly neurons move information is called the “speed of neural
transmission”; we studied it in experiment 11 when we measured the conduction
speed of axons in earthworms. This is only one of the speed bottlenecks though.
You also have to deal with the synapse (which we studied in experiment 8).
Furthermore, the quickness of reaction times can differ depending upon what
type of stimulus you are reacting to and what kind of task you are doing.
In this experiment you and a friend will be testing each other’s reaction
times using a simple 12 inch ruler. You will be testing not only visual
stimulus, but also auditory and tactile stimuli.
Materials
·
Eye Shades
·
12 inches wooden ruler, two of these
·
Seat and desk
Procedure
This experiment will be broken into two phases. The first test will use one
ruler, while the second test will use two.
Experiment 1: In this phase you and your partner will test visual,
auditory, and tactile reaction times using one ruler.
1.
Have your friend sit at a table with their dominant hand over the edge.
2.
First we will test visual response. Hold the ruler at the 30 cm mark so
that the 0 cm end is just at your friend’s index finger.
3.
Tell your friend that when you release the ruler they are to grab it as
fast as possible. Do not make any sounds or gestures that you are releasing the
ruler. They have to react to the visual stimulus of seeing the ruler being
released. Record the centimeter mark.
4.
Repeat the experiment three more times. Then switch places with your
partner and redo it.
5.
Now you will record auditory reactions. Have your partner sit at the table
as before, also be sure your partner puts on the eye shades.
6.
Again testing the dominant hand, tell your partner that you will say the
word “Release” as you release the ruler. Once they grab it record the centimeter
mark and repeat 3 times. Switch places with your partner again.
7.
For the last test, have your partner sit at the table wearing the eye
shades again. This time you will test the tactile response. Tell your partner
that you will touch the shoulder of their non dominant arm as you release the
ruler.
8.
Give you partner no auditory cue that you are releasing, just a simple
touch. Record the measurement and like before, repeat three times, then switch
places and redo.
Here is the table for the first experiment:
Experiment 2: In this phase you and your partner will test visual and
auditory reaction times using two rulers.
1.
For the Visual portion of this experiment have your partner sit as the
table, like before, but have both of their hands over the edge.
2.
You will hold both rulers this time instead of just one.
3.
Tell your partner that you will release just one ruler and they must pick
the correct one and grab it as fast as possible…Tell them they must not squeeze
both hands, only one.
4.
When you are ready to begin, randomly decide one ruler to drop. It does not
matter which one, you will perform this test 3 more times, but never tell your
partner which ruler you will drop.
5.
Again as before switch roles and redo.
6.
Finally, we will test the auditory reaction again. This time using both
rulers.
7.
Get in the same position as before with both rulers. Make sure your partner
has the eye shades on.
8.
You will then proceed to say “left” or “right”. As you say it you will drop
the corresponding left or right ruler. Your partner must decide which ruler to
grasp based on the auditory cue you give: “left” or “right”. As before, your
partner must only squeeze one hand.
9.
Record the measurement and repeat 3 more times, remember to randomly decide
which ruler to drop. Switch roles and repeat.
Here is the table for the second experiment:
Math
In your chart above you are going to take all the centimeter measurements
you have collected and convert the measurement in centimeters to seconds. This
will tell you how long it takes, in seconds, an object (the ruler) to fall a
certain distance. The formula below is comprised of three variables.
·
Y = the distance you measured in centimeters
·
g0 = the acceleration due to gravity constant (980 cm/sec2 )
·
t = time in seconds
Here is an example of the equation being used:
It may seem tedious to convert by hand each number you recorded so instead
you will be provided with a quick chart to convert your centimeter measurement
to seconds. However, there are several values missing in the table. You will
need to fill them out to complete the table. Use the equation above to fill out
the remainder of the chart. If you are savvy you can also design a computer
program to do this.
After using the chart and converting your centimeter measurements into
seconds you will have your ruler reaction time in seconds. Looking at your data
you might be thinking how you compare to the human average reaction time. Here
it is! The average reaction time for humans is 0.25 seconds to a visual
stimulus, 0.17 for an audio stimulus, and 0.15 seconds for a touch stimulus.
Questions to Consider
1.
Why do you think touch and audio stimuli have a faster reaction time on
average?
2.
Do your results match the averages mentioned above?
3.
Would you expect a difference in the average reaction times between a male
and female? What about a more athletic person compared to a more sedentary
person?
4.
Do you think it’s OK to average two people like we did? What might be the
problem?
5.
Why did we not test the “tactile” reaction time in the choice task? How
could you redesign the experimental setup to test tactile reaction times in the
choice task?
6.
As you know, you have a dominant vs. a non-dominant hand. With only four
trials, it is too hard to see a difference. Perhaps you should repeat the
experiment 10-20 times to see if there is any difference between dominant and
non-dominant hands.
7.
The average conduction velocity speed is approximately 20-80 m/s. It takes
approximately 1 ms for a neurotransmitter to cross the synapses. Calculate the
lower limit for your patella reflex vs. the patellar reflex of a giraffe.
Comic books
and neuro-science, Kasey you must be a killer with the ladies
How is this
information useful to Operators?
OK, any time
I talk about tactics I need to be careful because a public blog is open source
intel to the enemy (did that sound cool, it sounded cool in my head).
So with out
giving away the farm for free let me say that operationally you must read off
your teammates quickly and pick up any area of responsibility your partner
vacates. Also the only cover you can
count on in a structure is the armor you are wearing. You must move to protect the weaknesses in
your partner’s armor with the strength of yours and vice versa.
Not too long
ago we put on a new operator orientation class for the team. Working on these basics I notices a long
(dangerous) gap between the movement of one operator and the reaction of his
partner among new operators.
I would grab
one of the instructors and we would demonstrate how we would like the motion or
technique done. Seamless (c’mon guys
it’s me what did you expect, less than perfection?). The new guys would try it again. The technique or tactic would be correct, but
there would still be that dangerous lag or gap.
As I
processed this further I noticed that the experienced operators, in this case
the instructors had developed a “tactile sense”
We weren't blind like the Blind Master, or wearing a blindfold like Jinx, but we rarely
looked at each other. Our eyes were
occupied looking for threats in our areas of responsibility. We were much closer together in the stack
“nuts to butts” if you will. We could
feel each other move. Whatever our
partner did we would move at the same time to cover with weapons and protect
with armor. No gap, no lag.
The newer
guys would watch their partner move then try to figure out where to go, the
speed of information coming through the eyes, that information going through
the OODA (observe, orient, decide, act) process was slow and caused that gap.
Going off that
hypothesis I forced them to touch each other (wow that sounded way less gay in
my head). Getting the information faster
and cutting the orient, and decide portions out of the OODA process. The instant you feel your partner moving you
fill the gap he left (ok, make your own easy sexual preference joke here). Stimulus coming faster and conditioned
response resulted in the removal of the gap / lag and made the new guys flow
much smoother. It’s been said millions
of times but slow is smooth, smooth is fast.
I feel by
drilling that tactile sense early on in their operational career we helped the
new guys become much better faster.
Giving them skills that may take years to develop by themselves in the
field.
How is this useful for martial artists?
The following
quote I stole from Rory Miller, where he got it from I don’t recall, regardless
the information is worthwhile…
In order for a technique to be valid it must have four
elements:
- It must have a tactical use.
- It must work moving or standing still. If you can’t hit hard when both you and the threat are moving, you can’t hit hard. If you can’t put a bullet on target on a moving target while you, yourself are moving, for all tactical purposes you can’t shoot.
- It must work whether you can see or not
- It must work when you are scared, under an adrenaline dump. If the technique needs a clear head and pinpoint precision to work, it doesn't work.
So if you are not The Blind Master, or if you haven’t been
trained by him how do you address #3 It must work whether you can see or not?
How do you
develop / use this tactile sense to
your benefit?
You are going to
have to get close. Becoming comfortable,
uncomfortable close is a valuable attribute.
I touched on this a
bit in an older blog
Here are the relevant
points:
Because violence
happens closer than most dojo training we should all work closer than most dojo
training. Close in fighting or “grappling range” fighting can be
used when you can’t see.
Watch the video on
this link
Could you tell the
Judoka were blind?
Here are some more
links to blind judo:
I can here you
saying that is great for sport, but isn’t this site about practical
application?
Yes, yes it
is. Here is an example of practical application (and poetic justice,
which apparently is also blind)
Here is the link –
But for the lazy I
have included the article here:
Mugger attacks blind man... who turns out to be a judo world champion
Last updated at 16:53 11 September 2007
The blind beggar was actually a one-time judo world champion
When a German mugger spotted a blind beggar at a train station in Germany
The teenage mugger spotted the 33-year-old beggar sitting outside a train station in the south-western town ofGiessen
Intending to steal his cigarettes, the 17-year-old threatened the blind man and then punched him in the face.
Unfortunately for the mugger, what he didn't know was that his would-be victim was Michael Esser, a former world champion in judo for blind people.
Before he knew what was happening he had been flipped over and put in a stranglehold.
The blind martial artist then pinned him down until police arrived.
Herr Esser need to choke a bitch?
The teenage mugger spotted the 33-year-old beggar sitting outside a train station in the south-western town of
Intending to steal his cigarettes, the 17-year-old threatened the blind man and then punched him in the face.
Unfortunately for the mugger, what he didn't know was that his would-be victim was Michael Esser, a former world champion in judo for blind people.
Before he knew what was happening he had been flipped over and put in a stranglehold.
The blind martial artist then pinned him down until police arrived.
Herr Esser need to choke a bitch?
Ok, so that is great for grappling what about striking? Well if you train at “sparring” range not a damn thing. But if you have strikes you can do up close at grappling / in fighting range the same principles that make blind Judo work make blind striking work.
Try this drill:
Cover your eyes with
something (make sure you can’t see)
Have a partner
strike you (correct form – slow motion)
Recover (counter
ambush)– you should be close enough to touch your partner [I know that might
sound ridiculous but I’ve seen enough Karate classes “spar” so far away from
each other that actual contact much less delivering force into your opponent is
impossible]
What strikes are
available to you, what targets are open, where are they? Your
tactile senses are faster than your eyes you will be able to feel (almost
“sees”) how they are standing and where all their parts are. Again
comic nerd it’s kind of like Dare Devil only minus Ben Aflec, so way cooler
Counter strike
(correct form – slow motion) Not only is pulling punches a great way to develop
bad habits its impossible to do if you can’t see. So hit as hard as
you can - slowly
Once you get the
hang of it there many variations you can play with just remember keep it
simple, keep it safe.
Striking drill - I
like to use a B.O.B. (body opponent bag) for anatomical targets but you can do
this drill on any bag.
Hands on BOB’s
shoulders or against the bag
Close Eyes
Hit BOB as hard as
you can in places that hurt
Side effects –
besides learning how to strike effectively from close range, and when you can’t
see you will learn how to move while dizzy (bell rung) and lots of sneaky
little strike that don’t look like strikes which set up your throws and locks
(dirty Judo)
"...but my
teacher Morihei Ueshiba sensei always had stated that in real fighting
occasions 70% of aikido is atemi, and 30% is throwing" Shioda G.
"Atemi accounts for 99% of aikido." was a remark once uttered by the Founder" Saito M.
"Atemi accounts for 99% of aikido." was a remark once uttered by the Founder" Saito M.
Counter Ambush drill
– If you have a wing chung dummy or something similar this is fun
Hands on the wing
chung dummy’s arms or at shoulder level
Close Eyes
Work your counter
ambush as hard as you can tolerate
“The board should
fear your hand not the other way around”
That picture brings
me to the other thing bouncing around in my head…..Just play
I took my older
daughters to the G.I.Joe movie with me.
Between going to the Dojo with me, the character of Jinx from the movie
and Yao Fei's daughter Shado from the CW series “Arrow” (very cool
show btw) my oldest daughter has shown a renewed interest in the martial arts.
In the past I have tried to teach my daughter with limited
success. Usually we both left
frustrated. What I teach isn't really “for
kids”, I have high standards, and to be honest I probably expect far too much
from my oldest daughter.
So I was very happy when my oldest asked – hey you wanna
play ninja school?
Hell yeah I do!
In the Arashi Kage there is a:
Hard Master
Soft Master
Old Master
Young Master
Snake Eyes can’t talk so he is the Silent Master. I love to talk and I am loud so following the
balance of opposites, I took for myself the title of the Resonant Master.
Balance of opposites Fire and Water
Like a scene from any decent 80’s action flick my basement
is a combination of Dojo, weight room, gun range, and laundry room. We decided this would be a perfect Arashi
Kage Dojo.
I have been working on using low kicks (lower body) along
with blocking structure (upper body) to enter into "close in / in fighting" range (crash in)
myself so I figured I just let her play with it.
Just let her play with it would become a key
concept for me.
I started playing by saying the Arashi Kage train in “golden
movement”
For a move to be gold it must:
Improve your position
Worsen the their position
Protect you from damage
Allows you to damage them.
It secures your perimeter (keeps you covered)
Disrupts his ability to attack you (stuns him, unbalances him, changes his orientation, undermines what he needs in order to attack you)
Sets up your next move.
Disrupts his ability to attack you (stuns him, unbalances him, changes his orientation, undermines what he needs in order to attack you)
Sets up your next move.
This happens with EVERY move you make, not every technique,
but every move within that technique.
Sounds pretty good right?
I kick ass at playing Ninja school.
That isn't from any Arashi Kage ninja scroll. You may recognize it as Rory Miller’s Golden Standard and Marc
MacYoung’s standard of effective technique.
Hmmm, I guess I made them defacto Arashi Kage masters. Marc can be the Fuzzy Master and Jimerfield
Sensei can be the Bald Master
Rory can be the Cerebral
Master – does that mean we need a dumb ass master? Naw, sadly the world is full of enough dumb
ass ninja masters we don’t need any more.
But in playing with these Arashi Kage secret golden
techniques my daughter was instinctively picking up
Structure
Motion – Drop step
Power generation
And having fun while she did it. I have the bruises to prove it!
Just let her play with it
Playing ingrains things faster.
How long does it take to pick up a video game? Did you read the book first or just start
dicking around with the game? Did the
book even help?
Also hitting on point #4
- It must work when you are scared, under an
adrenaline dump. If the technique needs a clear head and pinpoint precision to
work, it doesn’t work. –
Under adrenal stress your cognitive function is diminished. The part of your brain that understood the
directions for the video game you read before you started playing gets harder
to access as adrenalin rises and other parts of your brain take over.
Playing also trains the parts of the brain that are taking
over under stress.
An example of this can be seen in learning a language. It is useful for troops to be able to speak
the native language of their theater of operation. Learning language traditionally is difficult and
lengthy for adults.
The military has developed a 1st person shooter in which you
must pick up conversational Farsi to advance in the game. Troops just playing picked up Farsi much
faster than by traditional language training.
How is this useful to Operators and/or Martial Artists?
Allow yourself, allow your students the freedom to just play
Now you know…
And knowing is half the battle
(The other half involves guns and blowing shit up)
Train hard – Train Smart – Be safe
Yo Joe!
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