Dance training superior to physical exercise in inducing brain plasticity (2018)

I must only cut with the “sharp side” of my light saber, and cutting must take the form of contact then pulling back hard to slice (you don’t push a blade through meat).

Also, you can’t stand there. The enemy is going to slice you, and avoid your attacks much more easily if you just stand in one place. So never stop moving, high, low, side to side, back & forth.

Attack and cut from every angle. From over, from under, from every possible stance. Dance, motherflamingo, dance!

All this with maximum speed & force.

And no blade crossing. Duh!

Now work your way up in difficulty. You learn to move like a samurai. You don’t have a choice!

I wish the game had settings that enforced these constraints, along with more complex target motion & rotation. And moving/rotating shielded target sides that reduced your attack options. But just imagining the constraints, just as it is, works fine.

It also helps to have a large enough area where your VR boundaries are all but irrelevant. And no pauses between songs - one album at a time, straight out. You don’t get a break in battle!

One thing I have learned. If I ever had to fight in a real epic 合戦 (gah-sen), I would want my AirPods and tunes!

There is lots of other research suggesting that couples dancing is more beneficial to the mental health and memory than other kinds of exercise.

That said (and having no background in an very little knowledge of MRI research), I am also skeptical like you that there would appear such clear visible signs so soon in the brain images.

I have had a really bad body coordination, so I have had to learn everything the hard way. So I know A LOT of theory -- and over time, I have learned to coordinate my body much better. But some kinesthetic people are still naturals and move better than I do.

I agree with you that the major difference between dancing and other sports is probably not in the complexity of the movement. I think that the biggest difference is in improvisation and need to harmonize movement with your partner and music.

I also agree with you that there is almost no limit in either field on how detailed you can be in your body movements.

But even within weight training there appear to be various approaches, based on different goals. In my training, I almost never used 100 percent effort. Rather, the muscles were constantly stimulated with similar but different movements, all the time varying the stimulus. The muscles grow in rest.

It is very similar to how I have learned to dance. On the social dance floor, there are always limitations (such as other couples, tables, walls, music etc.) that come up. When you are improvising, you need to adjust your movements constantly (varying step length, direction, the movement you are doing etc.). And over time, you have experienced everything that can happen, and your body has learned to react to it, so "you" (i.e. your analytical mind) can relax and let the body move.

When speaking with colleagues and friends still in the Old Country, depending upon whether I wish to shock (or not), I decide between saying I live (in a Gemeinde) or in a commune.

Lagniappe: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MKIaS0lh-uo

* that said, tinder is still incredibly popular here; kids these days!

EDIT: one notes the legacy of the pike square in that one can still hear cries of "close ranks! close ranks!" in the village square — but these days it's used to mean "scoot over a little on the party benches so the late arrivals can fit in": https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ls4eU3txvFI