Bruce Lee often used hand-drawn sketches to demonstrate combat techniques. Little more than stick figures, his books, such as the Tao of Jeet Kune Do, are filled with these simple renderings.Although the drawings were printed for the readers' benefit, one cannot help but thinking the originals were notes to himself. It makes me think of many-a-sensei who encourages his/her students to write down what they are taught after class. It may not be so much for future reference as the process helps clarify and commit to memory the technique in the present.
I have been meaning to use sketches this way for awhile now. I feel the process of analyzing the technique--posture, stance, etc.--even as stick figures will help form a better understanding for myself, as a visual thinker, as opposed to a written, linear form.
I will hopefully post some of these in the near future, if nothing else as a good chuckle at my artistic abilities.
It's not the notes and drawings; it's the thinking through the notes and drawings that is valuable.
ReplyDeleteagreed...
ReplyDeleteI should probably try some sketches as well. I've often returned to notes I've made about a particular technique or series of movement only to struggle to figure out what I meant. Good idea.
ReplyDeleteMaking your own sketches and notes, and then trying to figure them out later can be challenging and rewarding. But I think it comes down to internalizing the concepts to some degree.
ReplyDelete