Defining Time-Space (Patreon)

• LMA Curriculum

Your opponent poses problems. Your techniques and movements are the solutions. Time-space is the time and space needed for potential solutions. Not only the time-space to implement the technique you think is right but to vary it up or even discover the solution.

Imagine climbing a boulder. You need lots of space to climb it because you must stretch and contort your body in unpredictable ways to solve the problem. You need ample time-space to discover the solution.

Most experienced climbers will find the optimal course to climb a wall. However, even if they follow the same path, each climber will approach the challenge differently. Even if the same climber attempts to climb the same wall multiple times, they will never complete it in exactly the same way. You will never climb the same way twice.

Now imagine if these same climbers had a time limit, would it change their solution? Yes. Rather than having open space, imagine they were climbing inside a crevasse, would that alter their climb? Yes. Conditions limit your potential. Your solutions are limited by your available time-space. More time-space, more possibilities. Less time-space, fewer possibilities. Without enough time-space, you might not discover the solution to a problem you would normally solve.

Time-space is the room and time the climber needs to climb the wall. Even when climbers agree on the most efficient path, ample time and space are still essential due to the variability even in a single course.

Even the repetitive motion of an expert craftsman still has variability. Constrain his time and put him in a box, and the quality of his work will diminish. The box itself will lessen the time of his swing. Constrain his time, and his swing will shorten. Time limits movement, space limits time. Your conditions (e.g., environment, fatigue) limit your opportunities.

The game of combat is about controlling your opponent's time-space without allowing them to control yours. And if you can, using the conditions (e.g., hard surfaces, stamina) to restrict your opponent's potential while preventing them from doing the same to you. This is how you'd define both "dominance" and "control."

– Sam