Game Sense: Pattern Recognition and Recognizing Shapes
If sparring is a form of wayfinding, then participants are the landmarks. We recognize a landmark by its shape, and once we recognize its shape, we can recognize both its orientation and ours. This information is invaluable when it comes to decision-making, especially in real-time combat.
Our ability to recognize patterns and shapes is both perception and game sense. It's a skill that can develop as a byproduct of training but develops even better when it's the goal of training rather than left to chance. A way to improve pattern recognition involves the classification of shapes. Liberation Martial Arts uses symbols. For instance: "I," "O," "L," and "Z."
Once you learn these shapes, you see them all the time in martial arts, particularly in grappling.