One of my favorite ki exercises is hapo undo: an eight-directional defense. This exercise is also the core of the first bokken kata. In it, the practitioner turns to the four walls, then the four corners in time, throwing up defensive hands at each step. Often, the sensei leading the exercise speeds up progressively throughout. Sometimes, we switch feet, which is perversely my favorite version.
So, what is the point of this exercise? Certainly not just to confuse the lower belts who haven't yet figured out the pattern of steps and pivots. I was taught that to truly master this exercise, one must have full attention on each direction in turn, regardless of how quickly the count is moving. As soon as you step or pivot, your attention must then shift immediately and fully as well.
I have always found this exercise a great literalization of best work practices. We live in a multi-tasking society, but study after study reveals that multi-tasking is actually just attention-splitting, and tends to make all of the multi-tasked items less effective. Perhaps instead of multitasking, we should try to remember hapo undo. Keep that feeling of intense focus on each task you perform, even if you have to switch between them quickly. This can help with productivity, even when the work environment necessitates multi-tasking. Even more ideally, just focus on a single task at once. Real-life hapo undo may be slowed down a lot - an hour or even a day devoted to each task. But remember, if you're trying to focus on all eight opponent swordsmen at the same time, you'll get stabbed!
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