When we classify an aptitude as intuitive, it conveniently serves to remove it from the list of things we need to teach or confront. Perhaps, however, this accepted map does not match the territory it supposedly represents. Could it be that achieving mastery beyond technical competence is less innate than we customarily believe? My answer to this question is that I believe that implicit skills both underlie and transcend what we typically think of and teach as massage skills. Following a common terminology from psychology, I refer to these as metaskills. My second premise is that more is known about the structure and communication of these metaskills than we usually believe. A major reason for this disconnection is that much of the knowledge we seek is scattered across the boundaries of several disciplines. The good news is that it is exactly such knowledge, from regions where different disciplines cross and intermingle, that often newly inspires creativity and invention. My third and final thesis in writing this article is that what we learn about our metaskills can fundamentally influence how we conceptualize and teach the practice of massage therapy. In looking for a framework for our metaskills, I will be trying to transform the intangible into something that feels more concrete and malleable.
II. Setting A Context for Metaskills
III. Lessons from Cognitive Science
V. Dynamic Alignment through Imagery
VII. The Importance of Improvisation
VIII. Making It All Work Unconsciously
© Keith Eric Grant — The RamblemuseSM, November 1999. All rights reserved.
Keith Eric Grant is a senior instructor of Sports and Deep Tissue Massage at the McKinnon Institute in Oakland, California. Wearing another hat, he practices the vocations of atmospheric physics and numerical mathematics. When time and life permit, he pursues the avocations of Scottish Country Dancing and Scandinavian couple dancing.
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Websmithing by Keith Eric Grant — The RamblemuseSM. Last modified 20 August 2000.