Perception of Detail

Perception of Detail

Yesterday, some of us in the IHC got together to practice our forms in an open training setting.
It was a Great afternoon, and a fantastic way to get to know our teammates a little better.

While we were practicing, an interesting (for lack of a better word) situation arose.

Across the street an argument ensued between two people, and it was certainly heated. Immediately a couple of our teammates directed their attention to the situation, and made themselves known. They were not in harms way, but wanted to keep an eye on the situation in case it escalated.
The two people eventually disappeared around the corner, and then out of sight, possibly back to their hotel room.

To me, the most interesting part of this situation, is what took place afterwards with our team. We started to discuss the event, and shared what we thought, and how we each perceived the situation. It was very interesting, and I learned a lot from this. Not only about the different perceptions of us all, but what I learned about some of my teammates. The situation was not a great one, but for our team, I believe it was a great experience for us to learn about each other.

Some of us more felt the aura of the situation, but not so much of the details. Some of us paid close attention to the details, and some were in between. The couple of us that made themselves known, were of the feeling that being known can be enough to defuse the situation. I myself felt that the more people that were watching, could possibly escalate the situation. Possibly turn the anger on to us.
Thankfully (hopefully) the situation dissolved, to our knowledge.

As Sifu Cosgrove mentioned in her post earlier today, she did ask me to write a blog about this, as I was one of the ones that paid attention to the details. I could describe both people pretty clearly, both in physical appearance, and what they were wearing.

In my employment, this is part of my training on a regular basis, as it is very important to recognize details, as we could potentially find ourselves in a dangerous situation. We partake in several courses annually, and one of our Head of Security is a former Edmonton Police Trainer. 

One of the tips I have been trained on, and learned about is to pay attention to obvious details, such as facial hair, tattoos, and eye and hair color.  These are the hardest things to disguise, and take thought and planning to do so. It is not always the case, but most often. Height is also something that people cannot disguise. Body weight generally is not something you cannot easily disguise either.

What this basically consists of is memorization of sorts. A little trick to practicing this is a game that I have often seen played at bridal or baby showers.
Have someone arrange a tray of kitchen utensils - different shapes, sizes, and colors. They then show you the tray for 10 - 15 seconds. How many items can you describe? How many items were on the tray, and can you describe each one in detail - shape, size, color? Once you are good at this game, try with other objects, rooms, or people in a social, or public setting. Eventually, it will become part of what you do, without even realizing it.

I have also incorporated this into my training with Kung Fu. Not only will I pay attention to the way a move is made, but also the detail of the move. I have found that I need to tell myself to sometimes not pay such close attention to the detail itself. This is because everyone has a different perception of detail. What way one will move or place their hand, may not be exactly the same as another, but it does not mean that it is wrong.

It is habit for me to do this, everyday, in everything that I do. Sometimes I am paying closer attention than other times. This has also made me think that maybe I do feel a bit of people's aura's as well, while not even knowing it. I've referred to this in the past as my 'gut' feeling, or for the Superhero fans out their - my Spidey senses.
This is another thing we are trained on at work, is if your gut is telling you that something is not right, more than likely it is not right, and go with  your gut. Maybe there is some Aura in there?

I had many Great takeaways yesterday from our get together for some training, and one of them was the time I spent with Sifu Cosgrove and Miss Lee in refining my own forms. Sifu and I are doing the same form for this IHC year, but I noticed how her moves and flow are so different from mine (there's that detail in me again lol). So thank you for taking the time with me, and explaining your feeling of flow, and how you incorporate it to your form. And thank you Miss Lee for shaking out some cobwebs for me with Da Mu Hsing. My heartfelt appreciation goes out to you both, as well as all the team members for coming out, participating, and sharing your experience.

In a situation that none of us could have foreseen, or expected, turned into a great team building experience, in my opinion.

Thanks for reading, and I look forward to seeing you all in class, and future get together's!!