Surfing the Edges

Far from slighting the hard parts, we need to embrace them.

~ David Perkins Making Learning Whole


In anything we wish to learn, there are things that we can do easily and things that we find difficult. And there are edges where with a bit of effort we can turn difficulty into fluency. It is these edges that provide us with our greatest opportunities for improvement.

If you only do the things that you are currently able to do easily then you won't increase your skills. Instead, it is better to adopt a strategy of stretching and then consolidating.
You first work out what edge you want to work on, and then use focused and structured practice in order to increase your facility on that dimension. Once you have pushed this edge out further, you then work on consolidating your new gains. (If you solely focus on stretching without consolidating, whatever skills you have acquired may collapse on contact with the reality of actual performance.)

If the skill is a physical skill then there are many edges you can work on including:

• physical capabilities such as flexibility, speed, stamina, smoothness, balance, agility
• broadening repertoire (extending the range of techniques that you can draw on)
• deepening technique (becoming more aware of the finer points of a technique and refining your performance.)
• flexible performance (increasing the range of entries into a technique or the range of techniques that can flow from a given technique)
• varying context of performance ( learning to function under pressure or in adverse circumstances or in circumstances where a technique is ruled out.)
• exploring the limits of a technique (when it will or won't work, when it can be made to work, how it can morph into an alternative if it fails.)
• increasing control ( intensity, stopping, starting, shifting in mid-technique)

These 'edges' can pertain to activities as diverse as martial arts, performance arts and sport.

In relation to yoga, Ganga White puts it this way:

"Every yoga posture has different levels and intensities of engagement, and every body has its own limits. You can learn to adjust and modulate these levels or edges, in order to get different effects and benefits out of the asanas. This technique was also pioneered in yoga in the sixties by Joel Kramer, who called it "playing the edges". I use the term "surfing" because it implies flow, balance, adjustment, and enjoyment - while riding on a wave of energy. Learning to surf and to experiment with many different types of edges can add beneficial dimensions of subtlety to your practice" (from Yoga Beyond Belief, p.95) 

Parallel edges can be found for other skills you may wish to learn such as learning a language, mastering laboratory skills, programming a computer, editing graphics...the list is endless.

The key is to know what your performance edges are and being committed to working on them. Doing so is a surefire way of enhancing your skills in any area in which you wish to excel.