Basebuilding (Patreon)

• If you’re new to LMA, start with our table of contents

We've already explored the ballpark of basebuilding in previous ground-up activities. This module maps basebuilding out further.

Wedge

In LMA, a wedge stops an object from moving or separates objects. It is both a conceptual and physical bodily position. You can consider it a specialized type of obstruction. Basebuilding explores how wedges function dynamically in movement.

Baby crawl/table position

This is a structure with four legs—a table. I also refer to it as the "baby crawl" position because this is one of our earliest imprinted movement positions. It epitomizes skeletal support over muscular effort—otherwise, infants couldn't do it. It is inherently one of our strongest positions. However, for many Western adults, it's a position that's largely vanished. In fact, most stable and strong positions have been disappeared through Western hegemonic (colonialist and capitalist) creep.

Pretending to be a table

In the first part of the video, I am lying face-down and flat on the mat, embodying a collapsed table that begins to prop itself up. This involves engaging primarily with skeletal structure rather than muscular tension—just as an infant naturally does. Consider how you would move with complete muscle slack.

In the video, I first create a wedge by propping myself on my forearm and elbow, separating my upper trunk from the ground and preventing collapse. This action creates slack for my second forearm and elbow wedge—supporting my upper body off the mat. Subsequently, I prop up my knee and shin wedges, one at a time.

Attempting multiple wedges simultaneously requires muscular compensation due to the lack of support, thus increasing the effort. Shifting my weight onto three supporting points (two legs and one arm) reduces load-bearing on one arm. I pull that lighter wedge back and prop my palm down, locking out my arm under one corner of my center mass. Once I become a table with three long legs, it's nearly effortless to lock out the final one. This is not the fastest Way, but it's a Way with no gaps in stability. It can withstand force. A baby's Way to withstand force is with its structure—it has no other Way.

Descending is the same—I collapse one leg at a time. Think about when we fall or roll onto our hands; it looks very much like this—collapsing the table legs as a crumple zone or buffer before our center mass makes contact.

Embodiment is with the land

Whether you're getting up or going down, interacting with the ground without ever facing the ground is often unsound for your body and denies your connection to the ground. Whether it's the influence of Western "genteel" society not wanting to get its "hands dirty" or the unconscious belief that we are just minds floating in the air, we often move while denying the ground—producing unsound movement structures that are repetitive, monotonous, uncoordinated, isolated, and noncomplex.

Stability emerges from the ground through a strong base of support—four table legs or wedges create such a robust, load-bearing structure.

Basebuilding under pressure

In the next set of clips, I place my hands and weight on various parts of my partner's back. We briefly went over the concept of wedges and the table position. The aim is not rote memorization. It's about understanding the concept of wedges and designing an activity to play with theory. Under pressure, my partner found one Way that consistently worked. Many things can work once, but safety emerges from reliability.

Heavy blanket

Next, I drape my weight onto my partner, mimicking a heavy blanket from different positions. This scenario highlights tandem physics—we become a combined structure. For safety, I press my body closely against hers, creating a mutual support system. Her trunk is my own trunk. She is my buffer from the ground.

My head becomes an integral part of our unified structure, sometimes resting against her back—essentially hugging her trunk with my head to make our structure more compact. If my head is hanging over her trunk, I have my hand there, ready to catch me.

Open loop

In LMA, an open loop means that you are hugging with your limbs without locking them. In the following clips, my arms maintain an open loop, clinging lightly without excessive force.

Closed loop

Conversely, a closed loop means locking my limbs. In the final clips, locking my arms creates the most consistent drag, really testing our theory. Part of the exploration isn't about big movements but rather subtle adjustments and the development of haptic senses—knowing where your partner's body weight is, where to shift your own weight, and in which order to prop the table legs.

Closing thoughts

Movements developed in isolation can lead to injuries when applied under real pressure. Conversely, reliable movements discovered under pressure enhance individual movement safety. Wedges and tables provide a reliable structure—effective in both independent and tandem movement contexts, rooted firmly in the land and the material conditions.

– Sam