Couple things to get out of the way up front in this musing. The definition and the etymology of the word. The reason being there are some fascinating things to unpack here in terms of how sword work is taught to actors and whether or not one is really ambidextrous of just slightly comfortable in their non-dominate hand.
Definition: Ability to use left and right hand equally.
Etymology: Latin dexter originally meant "related to or situated on the right side," but since most people do things better with the right hand, "dexter" developed the sense of "skilful" (as demonstrated by our word dexterous). In 1646, English physician and author Sir Thomas Browne combined "dexter" with the Latin prefix ambi- (meaning "both") in the first documented use of "ambidextrous": "Some are . . . ambidextrous or right-handed on both sides." The word can now describe the kind of physical or mental agility demonstrated by one with multiple diverse talents. (care of merriam-webster online dictionary)
What is interesting about being ambidextrous is that there is apparently a connection to synesthesia. What this could suggest is that to be truly dexterous one may be operating at a frequency differently to just one hand dominate persons. If the dexterous person is experiencing more than one sensation at once there is a full body experience going on. A richness if you will.
The main key to being ambidextrous lies in the concept – to be interchangeable without hesitation. By this I mean a task can move between hands with ease. The key word here is with ease. My reason for this rabbit hole in today’s musing is that I am fascinated when I ask actors sometimes if they are left or right handed. Some actors feel the need to say: “oh, I’m ambidextrous!” I would honestly get that answer four or five times out of ten. The reality is that ambidextrous people only make up about 1% of the population. So, when asked if you’re right or left handed might be better to really be honest with that answer.
That said to seek being ambidextrous as an actor is admirable. Some key ideas to consider when starting to train yourself to be ambidextrous. You will need to focus on fine and gross motor skills. Break your learning tasks into those groups. In order to start to develop an over all experience of ease and in order to lead to a synesthesia experience you’ll need to do some deep re-wiring. Some examples of retraining tasks might be:
Fine motor skills. Brushing teeth, flossing, handwriting, turning the page in a book and move the computer mouse to the other side!
Gross motor skills. Balance, catching a ball, hitting a ball and hand eye exercises.
To conclude I just wanted to also make the observation about the old notion that you have to teach all actors to sword fight right handed. In my opinion this serves no purpose at all. To allow left handed people to start on their dominant side will always pay dividends and will lead to a stronger sense of synesthesia when they switch the right. Interesting to note most ambidextrous people started left handed. By forcing adult learners on to the non-dominate side all you are doing is slowing down their learning process and clouding the motor skill development.
Definition: Ability to use left and right hand equally.
Etymology: Latin dexter originally meant "related to or situated on the right side," but since most people do things better with the right hand, "dexter" developed the sense of "skilful" (as demonstrated by our word dexterous). In 1646, English physician and author Sir Thomas Browne combined "dexter" with the Latin prefix ambi- (meaning "both") in the first documented use of "ambidextrous": "Some are . . . ambidextrous or right-handed on both sides." The word can now describe the kind of physical or mental agility demonstrated by one with multiple diverse talents. (care of merriam-webster online dictionary)
What is interesting about being ambidextrous is that there is apparently a connection to synesthesia. What this could suggest is that to be truly dexterous one may be operating at a frequency differently to just one hand dominate persons. If the dexterous person is experiencing more than one sensation at once there is a full body experience going on. A richness if you will.
The main key to being ambidextrous lies in the concept – to be interchangeable without hesitation. By this I mean a task can move between hands with ease. The key word here is with ease. My reason for this rabbit hole in today’s musing is that I am fascinated when I ask actors sometimes if they are left or right handed. Some actors feel the need to say: “oh, I’m ambidextrous!” I would honestly get that answer four or five times out of ten. The reality is that ambidextrous people only make up about 1% of the population. So, when asked if you’re right or left handed might be better to really be honest with that answer.
That said to seek being ambidextrous as an actor is admirable. Some key ideas to consider when starting to train yourself to be ambidextrous. You will need to focus on fine and gross motor skills. Break your learning tasks into those groups. In order to start to develop an over all experience of ease and in order to lead to a synesthesia experience you’ll need to do some deep re-wiring. Some examples of retraining tasks might be:
Fine motor skills. Brushing teeth, flossing, handwriting, turning the page in a book and move the computer mouse to the other side!
Gross motor skills. Balance, catching a ball, hitting a ball and hand eye exercises.
To conclude I just wanted to also make the observation about the old notion that you have to teach all actors to sword fight right handed. In my opinion this serves no purpose at all. To allow left handed people to start on their dominant side will always pay dividends and will lead to a stronger sense of synesthesia when they switch the right. Interesting to note most ambidextrous people started left handed. By forcing adult learners on to the non-dominate side all you are doing is slowing down their learning process and clouding the motor skill development.
I know that there was a time when some teachers would maybe suggest: “oh it’s a new skills so start on your right” – but the reality is it’s not a new skill really – the building blocks of fine and gross motor skills is already there. All the student must do now is; build on those skills. I suspect it may have been more about convenience for the teacher having everyone use the sword in the same way, and or to have everyone to do a stage combat exam fight with the same fight choreography on the right side. I say” Pffft to that.
To be continued…
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