Wired Magazine article on potential new technology training

[noahz]

http://www.wired.com/science/discove...6/ff_mindgames

The article is about a researcher's investigations into why some elite athletes seem to have a "sixth sense" (situational awareness) that gives them an advantage over stronger, faster opponents. He uses special goggles that render his subjects blind at key moments (i.e. a tennis player just as his/her opponent serves), and tracks their results.

From the article:

[Wired 15:06] Wayne Gretzky-Style 'Field Sense' May Be Teachable

Vint mentions a two-time Olympian who recently began training in a new sport, the modern pentathlon. "She's great at swimming and running," Vint says. "Decent at shooting and equestrian. But in fencing, she's terrible." Being a good fencer means being able to read subtle cues from an opponent's body and foil position — something fencers normally pick up over years of practice. A perceptual- training program, Vint theorizes, could accelerate that learning curve, transforming his protégé from zero to Zorro.

[Allen Evans]

I thought this was an interesting article as well. It fits in well with some of the things I've read by Malcolm Gladwell (author of Blink).

AE

[qatet]

That pentathlete must be Sheila Taormina. I reffed her in Atlanta and I wouldn't say that she's terrible. Mostly uses a fleche, but that's not uncommon in pentathlon, from what I understand, since it's only one touch. Pretty good timing for that fleche, which is where this perceptual training comes in. But she's kinda screwed if her opponent wants to fence it out.

This idea of perceptual training is _exactly_ what Czajkowski is working on in Understanding Fencing. He breaks down the process of response into different stages, then discusses how the coach can make each of those moments sharper.