On Generalists versus Specialists
A conversation at shinkage practice recently got me thinking. The short version is that any time you pick up a new thing, you come with baggage, both good and bad, and especially early on, putting that baggage away and dealing with the material that is presented can be a challenge. The specific context was a rapier fighter and montantera trying shinkage and visibly switching what she was doing to Figueyredo's Rule 6 mid-movement, which ruined her footwork, but another example was the deep refusal of the blade in Eisshin-ryu's vertical cuts, which shinkage doesn't do. Obviously, Eisshin-ryu is more closely related to shinkage than Figueyredo's montante rules, but falling back on a previous body of knowledge can both aid and hinder understanding the art as presented. This leads to a broader problem, at least for me, that of generalists versus specialists. I started shinkage with an advantage in certain areas; I know how to practice a specific skill or movement deliber