Circus = Porn (+ other stuff)

Jon:
Yesterday we went to the circus. It was set in a tent and it had a director but the director didn't have a top hat and there were no animals. In other words: not classical circus but "contemporary" circus.
I am certainly no connoiseur but I have seen a few shows of this kind. One thing always strikes me:
Circus = Porn and Contemporary Circus = Arty Porn.
Classical circus consists of a variety of constellations performing tricks accompanied by music that either is just there to fill a void or to emphasize the tricks. There is no story that tries to bind the tricks together. Rather it is obvious that you come to this kind of circus to experience the tricks and perhaps eat some popcorn. It is perhaps not art but it is honest. The equivalent in porn is the highlight reel: "200 girls in 90 min, slam bam thank you mam, if-I-wanted-to-se-a-movie-I-would-have-rented-Schindler's List". The purpose is simple and single. It is more a tool than something else.
Contemporary Circus however is a different story. Contemporary circus "tells a story". It has a unifying theme other than just presenting a ton of awesome tricks.
Yesterday this unifying theme was the Fibonacci sequence (yes, it's always something like that).
So rather than just "TADA!" it is "mmblablaTADA!blammmblablaTADA!!TADA!!!" This might of course seem commendable, to not just do some tricks but to incorporate them into a larger context. The problem however is that this context, this story always plays second fiddle. Nobody really wants to tell a story or really wants to listen to one. The story is subordinate to the tricks and hence becomes uninteresting. The car breaks down and I need help. The plumber comes to fix the pipes, the pizza boy to deliver the pizza, the pool guy, the housemaid...etc. Feel the fast forward finger itching? Mental disorder, Fibonacci numbers or the car breaking down at a remote location are all just bad excuses for showing us what we really want: 30 minutes of having our breaths taken away. Otherwise we might just go to the theatre.

Ok. Enough ranting (well, not really. I will just shift my focus).
Before we went to the circus yesterday I started working on a post elaborating on a theme that has become somewhat of a soundtrack of this blog: What training should or could be.
Let me try to present a definition of fitness: To develop all aspects of the human body's ability for movement.
What I generally miss in definitions of fitness:
1. Asymmetric and off-balance work
2. Fine motor skills
3. Improvisation

1. I have touched on this before so I will just go through it briefly. Using the body asymmetrically and/or when not being in balance is something that is done in all sports and all the time in everyday life. It needs to be practised!
2. In sport specific training fine motor skills often play a major role. Think about the extremely fine tuned movements of a race car driver, a pool player or a table tennis player for example. They are never trained as such though. Fine tuning the nervous system in this way should be as much a part of fitness as being able to put a weight over your head (not that putting a substantial weight over your head does not include a fine tuning of the nervous system, it is a different kind though).
It struck me while watching the circus yesterday that the kind of fitness these people display are the closest someone comes to the way I'm thinking about fitness these days. Doing one arm handstands, walking a slackline while playing the violin, climbing a pole, somersaulting from a rope trapeze, etc. It is really a display of the kind of versatility that I am talking about. Not CrossFit but CircusFit (Ok, maybe some more cardio wouldn't hurt. Or what do you think Oscar?)
But that brings us to my third point because this is one thing that I miss even at the circus:
3. Improvisation.
Life is NOT an endless highway of repetition. If your life is I suggest you give it some thought.
Repetition is a major part of life though. It is only through repetition that we learn. But what is the point of learning if we just keep on repeating? Don't stay caught behind the bars of 21-15-9 forever, break out of 15:15, (20/10)*8 and 5/5. These wings are not wings to fly but merely vans to beat the air. Improvisation is - as all musicians know - something that needs to be practised. So once in a while, after you have mastered a skill, set it free and play with it. It will reward you.