Combining Technical Awareness and Creativity

Creativity isn’t just for artists such as painters, musicians, writers, or innovators coming up with a new product or service. It’s just as important for any martial artist who is seeking to enhance their performance and take their training to a higher level.

When it comes to martial arts, sometimes technical skill and creativity can almost seem like two opposing forces - one relegated to the right side of the brain, the other to the left. The right side deals with creative, intuitive, and imaginative. The left side deals with logical analytical, sequential, etc. However, some of the most technically adept martial artists are also some of the most creative. They’re able to alter their approach, techniques, and tactics from moment to moment according to the situation. Their style is intuitive as opposed to mechanical. They don’t meet every situation according to rigidly learned and adopted patterns and their actions are not simply an empty execution of the technique. How are they able to attain such a level of expertise?

There are numerous factors, but I believe one of the prime reasons is that they combine technical awareness and creativity and allow them to work with and feed off each other. Notice that I used the term technical ‘awareness’ and not technical ‘skill.’ Technical skill is about possessing the necessary physical, mental, or emotional skills you use in what you do, and include things such as physical techniques and actions. Such skills are obviously necessary prerequisites because they allow you or give you the opportunity to be creative. Technical awareness, on the other hand, is not just about possessing technical skill, but also comprehending the intended functions, advantages, constraints, and even potential dangers of techniques, actions, etc. It’s not simply possessing a well-stocked arsenal of combative tools and skills, but the creative application of those tools and skills. With regard to technique, technical awareness can allow for a certain degree of imperfection in movement in exchange for freedom.

Technical awareness can foster creativity. However, if one isn’t careful, it can also possibly stifle things, because you can end up establishing rigid parameters of movement and action. And one needs to allow for variability in movement. So technical awareness and creativity need be balanced and work together. One shouldn’t overtake the other. They should fit together like Yin and Yang.

So, with regards to your own growth as a martial artist, why not explore the idea of cultivating technically aware creativity?