380: Aaron Cantor on Exploring the Inner Game of Athleticism, Movement and Skill Development

More show notes at https://www.just-fly-sports.com/podcast-380/

Today’s podcast is with movement coach Aaron Cantor. Aaron is a bodyworker, personal trainer, yogi, and movement generalist. He grew up in Japan and Brazil, and has traveled the world, learning from a variety of teachers and movement experts. Aaron has taught in the US and internationally, and works through a variety of game-play, movement, and story-telling-based methods. He is currently a coach for Evolve Move Play, while also working on his own movement coaching and teaching practice.

In training, movement, and competition, we have both an “outer game” and an “inner game” at work. The outer game is relatively straightforward and the most common way we tend to interface with movement in the modern world. This includes the game’s rules and also leads into the external methods of instructing that game, such as telling individuals where to put their limbs in space, what motions to make, and what strategies to choose.

The “inner game” approaches movement from a fun, connection, feel, and exploration perspective. Training requires some sort of numerical target of improvement (outer game), but at the same time, elite performers that have the “inner-game” skills that gives them a more complete package. Human performance is a combination of both outer and inner elements. By understanding the nature of the “inner” aspects of training, how to explore movements more fully, how to connect more deeply with our own bodies and our environment, we can achieve a more integrated and dynamic training process and, even more importantly, find more joy in sport and movement, and connection with ourselves and others.

On today’s podcast, Aaron and I discuss the key aspects of training the inner game of movement, through an exploratory and intuitive process. These principles can apply to any realm of movement, from strength training and general fitness, to running and sprinting, to team sport skill applications. Most of what we study in the space has to do with the “outer game,” so taking time for the inner aspects of movement helps us to paint a more complete picture of the total process of training, play, and competition.

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