10 000 hours

I've been thinking a lot lately about the idea of 10 000 hours. I heard that a person has to practice a skill for over 10 000 hours to be truly great at it. Depending on what it is, most sports have the idea that after 10 000 hours, you transcend and the movement becomes natural. Your body simply remembers the motions. You have molded your muscles and brain into one, and the movements become ingrained within you.

I heard a documentary on Jimmy Hendrix on CBC radio 2 the other day. They were interviewing Jimmy's army buddy who said that ANY free moment, Jimmy would be playing the guitar. As soon as he had 3 minutes away from a drill or exercise, he grabbed his guitar. This particular fellow said many times he would find Jimmy asleep at 3 am, with his guitar laid on his chest. He would then wake Jimmy up, and they would play music until the dawn.

Jimmy's buddy said he squeezed 30 years of guitar into 5 years. Most guitar experts don't know how to replicate the sounds Jimmy made on his guitar, even to this day.

Cycling, of course, soaked in tradition, has its 10 000 hours. The term wasn't 10 000 hours though, it was the 10 year mark. I was told as a kid, that once a cyclist reached 10 years of training, then it becomes so ingrained in them that they're body just remembers the motions. It remembers how to hold it endurance. It was then that cyclists become great.

Terry Tomlin, the local fast man in Atlantic Canada was an example of that. Terry is 40 years old now and skill kicks my ass in a lot of races.

You see old Pros in sports and a lot of them look as if they stopped their profession the day before. Old skiers walk as if they are skiing, they have the same hip movement. Cyclist legs don't seems to change, the veins and sinues are still there. Despite how most seem to have giant guts.

Its here that I am reminded of a Taoist Sage. Someone who dedicates his life to knowing the life forces of the world, and how to interact with them. In a way, practicing your 10 000 hours is like that. According to Mencius, "Being at one with the Tao, is like a great chef, he cooks and cooks, and cooks all day long. He cooks to the point that he doesn't realize hes cooking, he simply goes though the motions without thinking. He has flow."