Infinite Loops (Patreon)

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

In the previous Growth series, we started from the ground up. Here, we're working backward.

The activity

Practitioners take on two distinct roles: front partner and back partner. The front partner begins with their back facing the back partner. The back partner wraps their arms around the front partner's trunk, creating a loop. Loops can be open or closed, with their tightness and resiliency collaboratively determined.

Escape variation

The front partner's objective is to break the loop and escape. The back partner isn't denying the escape; instead, they apply enough pressure for the front partner to discover reliable pathways for escape.

Infinite loop variation

The front partner's objective is to break the loop and navigate behind the back partner without breaking contact. Once the loop breaks, the back partner relaxes, maintaining their balance to support safe and fluid transitions. Roles then reverse, creating an infinite loop of action—break, circle, repeat. This ongoing exchange resembles two fish continuously circling each other in a pond.

Open loop

Your limbs form an unlocked loop. Here, I deliberately use the term "limbs" rather than arms, not just to align with our tree metaphor, but also to acknowledge the possibility of looping with legs or even your head. Open loops depend solely on surface-to-surface friction and muscular force to sustain the connection.

Closed loop

Limbs lock together, forming a single loop without gaps. Closed loops provide greater security against slippage or weak points.

Wedge

Within LMA, a wedge is an object that separates two objects.

Analyzing the video

The accompanying video showcases explorations from the LMA Learning Lab. Partners experimented with loops placed at various heights, ranging from the hips to the armpits, progressing from open loops to more challenging closed loops. They explored different ways to interlock arms and experimented with wedges to effectively split loops. Front partners explored various wedge placements for maximum effect and diverse pathways for circling behind. Notably, even after breaking loops, front partners maintained limb contact to prevent immediate relooping.

South-and-north sapling stance

Rather than the front partner spreading their roots east and west symmetrically, they staggered asymmetrically south and north. This allowed them to control their own weight and balance, rather than have it controlled by their partner. This also positioned their hips as a natural wedge.

Wedges used

• Thumbs: created openings to grip wrists.

• Hands: gripping itself forms a wedge.

• Hips: primary wedge for splitting the loop.

• Back: pushing back or bending forward, combined with breathing out and sucking in the stomach, created separation between the loop and the trunk.

• Back of arms: pinned and pressed the back partner's arms downward.

• Elbows and forearms: bony wedges that can overcome muscular force.

• Clasped hands: though not a wedge itself, clasped hands formed a closed loop, strengthening arm wedges.

Interlaced loops

The front partner grips their partner's wrist, creating a tandem closed loop. They interlace their other arm through the loop, closing it by gripping their own wrist. Think of a magician's interlocking rings or the Olympic symbol. Another way to think about it is closed looping the arm that is looping your body.

Safety tips:

• Move slowly and deliberately, as arms can get tangled and injured, especially during circling or interlaced loops.

• Avoid big, sudden movements when arms are entangled.

• Rather than replicating what we did in the Learning Lab, see if doing the activity safely brings you to the same solutions.

• If you experiment with our solutions, remember to focus on just getting in the ballpark of the movements.

• It can be refined over time or through other LMA activities. Even when we arrive at the same movement solutions, how you express the solutions each time is contextual and personalized.

• You will have limited visual feedback. Prioritize the haptic sense you've cultivated through Growth activities.

Final notes

It is impossible to list or name everything we did because we didn't view our actions as isolated techniques meant to be recalled sequentially. Instead, they emerged dynamically through repeated attempts to achieve an objective, continually reshaped by shifting conditions and changing partners.

Theories and concepts are memorable and adaptable; exact movements are challenging to memorize, and precise scenarios can't be replicated. Memorize our concepts; express and better understand them through physical practice. Knowing how to skillfully adapt a movement is not about memorizing it, but about understanding concepts deeply, allowing a movement to arise contextually. The subtext to that understanding is a sense for situations and their shifting opportunities. There is no sequence or even concept you can memorize that can bypass the understanding that comes from unscripted, exploratory experiences with a partner.

As adults, we are limited by our imaginations. We can't fully access the movement autonomy we already have because we aren't aware of what is possible. For movers, monotony opposes autonomy, and we often can't see any other paths than the ones we're trapped in. Our restricted perception limits our imagination, autonomy, and possibilities. Observing how other movers approach movement problems is valuable—not as a tutorial to be passively absorbed, but as an opportunity to sample diverse ideas and perspectives. Watching others shouldn't be about becoming a human hard drive that can't think for itself, but about inspiration—breaking free from monotony to realize greater human autonomy.

– Sam