Your training at Zenyo is based on a revolutionary approach that eschews the traditional “learning process” that focuses on isolated technical skills used to create “muscle memory.” More than 100 years ago, renowned Soviet neurophysiologist Nikolai Bernstein debunked this idea in his work.
Our training is based around self-organization — the ability to spontaneously adapt to the movements, tasks, or goals demanded in any particular situation. You naturally perceive opportunities for action (affordances) through interaction with the environment. When you train in a manner that prioritizes self-organization, you are able bring out your own remarkable ability and let it shine.
There is no right way. There is no perfect way. There are many ways. There are no basic or fundamental techniques that everyone has to know in Jiu Jitsu. Each person is different. There are techniques that work and make sense for you as an individual. Everyone is different and practices Jiu Jitsu in their own unique and different way.
By taking the time to find your way, you will find that you can build any skill you choose.
“PLAY IS OUR BRAIN’S FAVORITE WAY OF LEARNING.”
You are born ready! You are created with a special ability to self-organize around a goal without the need for excessive conscious attention. You see, you act. American psychologist James J. Gibson pioneered this approach, called ecological dynamics. (Ecological dynamics is now encompassed under the larger umbrella of dynamic complex systems theory.) Gibson’s view is perception and action are intricately linked and that you interact with the environment through direct perception. “We must perceive in order to move, but we must move in order to perceive,” Gibson writes.
Gibson’s ideas were a revolution against the predominant mindset of “muscle memory.”
Zenyo is part of the fight against mindless, repetitive training. You learn best when challenged to solves problem posed by the environment. You do not need special, detailed instructions to accomplish a task. In fact, research shows those might hurt more than they help. You learn your own best way, individual to you, based on what you are able to perceive through the environment in the moment. You learn directly, by doing
Science Speak: “The interaction between the intrinsic dynamics and the external constraints of the system will produce the emergence of individual solutions and coordinated movement patterns. It won’t be necessary to inform the athlete about a theoretically ideal motor output, but create tasks and context where the technical skill can solve the constant changing situations. Solutions will emerge by the exploration of the environment and the perception of affordances (opportunities for action). Instead of memorizing a great number of rules and sequences of actions, athletes need to develop their capacity to perceive informational constraints and adapt their actions according to the specific goals." In other words, self-organization.