NEW* What is flow?...
BASI news article on Flow as an element of performance.
What is Flow?
We have all heard the expressions, ‘Perfection of movement’, ‘Poetry in motion’ and ‘Being in the zone’ but have you ever stopped to understand or think about what they mean or how they work?
Each of these expressions can be used to describe the element of flow in performance, so what does it all mean and what is flow?
By definition, for me ‘flow is the balance of movement, energy and mind’. In effect, Flow is the reason for doing what we do!
Flow represents the coming together of all the elements of a task, the biomechanics, the physics, the balance of energy and most importantly the state of mind and understanding required to create the perfect outcome.
One cannot have flow until they understand the concept of the task, the desired outcome, the essential mechanics and the external physics necessary to create the desired outcome.
Flow is like the missing link between high performance and truly inspirational performance. It is about feeling rather than just mechanics; it is about understanding the elements of the task and then searching for perfection with in them.
The introduction of Flow in the BASI syllabus represents this push to create a greater understanding of performance within the BASI system and through this create a greater level of understanding and performance at all levels.
Flow is not something that can only be used at the highest levels, in fact with out the understanding of flow at the most basic levels the highest levels of performance can never be reached.
Flow is not a new concept by any means and is something that as high level performers, we use in our everyday riding or skiing. The introduction of flow as an independent element in the BASI syllabus and its inclusion on the PPC chart is to draw attention to the fact that without flow as an element of performance the highest levels can never be reached.
In order to create an understanding of flow we must first work with very simple tasks where the actual mechanics are not the main concern. Exercises both on and off the snow will aid the understanding of flow. In fact exercise sessions off the snow are paramount to creating an understanding of flow within students of all levels.
At the most basic level, the simple task of walking can be used as a task to introduce the use and understanding of flow. For example, the student could be set the simple task of walking, a simple ‘acquired’ task that is performed everyday. Slowly through out the session the student should be led to really feel for the mechanics and movements of ‘walking’ and start to go beyond making these movements simply for the act of walking but for the act of walking with perfection.
The student should be led to recognize the mind set that is used in order to change their awareness to this more intrinsic way of working with their movements and balance in order to create a more ‘flowing’ out come.
In between each exercise the student should stand a moment to let the feedback from the last task sink in.
Before starting the next task the student should be led to not think about the last performance and accept that the knowledge and feelings gained in that exercise have already been stored within.
At the start of each new task the student should be led to have a clear mind with the outcome of the task as their only guide.
As the student progress’s they will be able to eventually look at the desired outcome first and then feel for the flow within themselves before starting the task knowing that they can create the perfect performance or just as importantly, knowing they need to explore a greater understanding of the task before they will be able to complete it with the desired result.
As the set task becomes more technical and difficult the students will find themselves facing tasks with which they are unfamiliar (tasks with which they do not have an ‘acquired’ skill level). By using the thought process that they have learned through understanding ‘flow’ when the task is an ‘acquired’ skill they should be able to look at and understand the mechanics and physics of the proposed task and feel for what is needed in order to reach the desired outcome. Before attempting the exercise the students should, by understanding the concept of ‘flow’, already have a good understanding of how to perform the task and have a good idea of their own individual performance level with regards achieving the desired goal.
Understanding the element of ’flow’ will not make every outcome perfect but it will definitely help shorten the learning process and speed up the ‘awareness’ and ‘practise’ phases of learning a new task. It will also greatly improve performances within tasks where the mechanics of the performance have already reached the ‘acquired’ level.
Using flow can change the way in which we look at and ride the mountain. On one hand we might look at the line governed by the terrain and by understanding the element of flow have an understanding of how it will feel to ride it. On the other hand we might already have an idea of how we want our riding to feel and so ride the terrain in a certain way in order to achieve this outcome. Flow will in this instant govern the line we choose. In the first example, flow will give us an understanding of how the line dictated by the terrain should feel!
It is always important to ride in both instances with an open mind accepting changes to our preconceived perception of how it should feel when faced with unexpected conditions or terrain changes unaccounted for. We should ride with an overall view of the line and terrain, whilst concentrating on flowing in the given moment.
It is important that flow is not perceived as a soft, effortless performance! Flow is the balance of movement, energy and mind within every task be it an aggressive, attacking, powerful performance or a soft, easy and passive performance.
Flow should be something that is looked for in every task albeit something within the ‘central theme’ or a high performance exercise.
Flow is the balance of movement, energy and mind. Flow is the reason for doing what we do!
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