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

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. Today’s episode is brought to you by Lost Empire Herbs, TeamBuildr and the Plyomat. For 15% off your Lost Empire Herbs order, head to lostempireherbs.com/justfly. To try Pine Pollen for free (just pay for shipping), head to: justflypinepollen.com. The Plyomat is a functional, intuitive, and affordable contact mat for jump and plyometric training and testing. Check out the Plyomat at www.plyomat.net TeamBuildr is an online software for coaches and trainers. I’ve continued to hear great things about the Teambuildr platform, and whether you are looking for an in-house training portal or an online training hub, be sure to check out Teambuildr training software. View more podcast episodes at the podcast homepage. Timestamps and Main Points 4:32 – The “Maradona Mind” in warmups and athletic mastery 13:20 – The importance of a low-barrier to entry in movement, in terms of building a flow state of performance” 20:37 – Principle vs. Systems based approach to training and global thinking 23:04 – How bringing the inner game into training can level up basic strength and human movement training 29:23 – The difference between a formula, and a trusted path “in” to the workout, to allow for dynamic exploration and flow, while still allowing for a sense of structure to the session 37:15 – Aaron’s “to infinity” practice, to help him get more into his body while learning and performing a skill 45:05 – “Coyote Mentoring” processes, where games and tasks can “trick” an athlete or individual into achieving 50:41 – All of the layers that can go in between moving and exploring, and then competing, in building a more total aspect of athletic and competitive ability, while being able to enjoy the performance on a higher level 58:30 – The value of group collaboration in teaching and performance Aaron Cantor Quotes “It’s playing with the limits of what’s possible. It’s not a conventional warmup, but it’s deeply embodied and it’s really going to help him on the field” “Looking at how it transfers in terms of just looking at the skill, is a very small way of looking at it, because the invisible skill is his relationship to himself, his relationship to timing, his relationship to space, his relationship to the object he is manipulating all of the time” “I think we’ve spent maybe too much time one how obvious skills translate, but invisible skills are key” “It’s tricky, because if you start to turn inner game, or flow state conduction into a formula, you kind of lose it. There is a letting go. It’s strange, you have to hold onto the thing, you have to focus. But at the same time you have to let go” “I prefer simple ways into the experience, rather than a robust, well-thought out system” “There’s something I like about methods that really invite people to create mastery from within, where the constraints are just enough to get you in the experience, but not so much that it overlays the experience with too much conceptual, or too much striving” “Shaking, arm swings, and the other piece is getting down on the ground, and getting back up again, because that builds such a connection to the pathways your body can comfortably use to fall, and pick yourself up, to roll. I find that when the fear of falling is not in my system, I am much more bold, attentive, and fully able to commit to whatever movement I’m doing” “Talking about inner game and outer game, outer game is the obvious thing we are trying to do, everyone passing by can see it. The inner game is how much fun am I having, how pleasurable is this, how much fun are you having if I’m competing with you, how much fun is this for you? How much connection do I feel to you? How much connection do I feel to myself? The inner game is a little more nebulous, but those prompts can point us in that direction.” “Then I like to say, we are actually doing the inner game, and the outer game is just creating a container, for us to work on the inner game” “No matter how good the technology gets, I still feel that a human body, a human system, is an incredible pattern recognizing entity” Show Notes Pistol Pete Maravich Drills: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=F60p0CcEa7Q Maradona’s Famous Warmup at Napoli (Live is Life) https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Cdf6D19Etmc About Aaron Cantor Aaron Cantor is a bodyworker, personal trainer, yogi, and movement generalist with 25 years of experience in the movement space. Aaron grew up in Japan and Brazil, and has traveled the world, pursuing enlightenment and self-mastery, while learning from a variety of the world great movement experts. His current focus is on teaching through story, movement, and games as portals to deeper engagement with life itself. He teaches locally and internationally, and is currently a coach for Evolve Move Play, while also working in his own movement coaching and teaching practice. He lives in Western Massachusetts, USA with his boys Bodhi and Jasper.