Wayfinding: Finding the Way
Learning means dwelling in space
Introduction to Wayfinding in Liberation Martial Arts (LMA)
Wayfinding, a concept deeply ingrained in Liberation Martial Arts, is not just about navigation or orienting ourselves in physical space. It's a profound and dynamic interaction with our surroundings. This includes land, material conditions, community, and superstructure. In some cultures, this is known as the Way.
Wayfinding is a blend of cognitive and perceptual processes like perception, attention, memory, imagination, anticipation, and decision-making. This embodied knowledge of the Way is both innate and learned, passed down through ancestry and tradition. Unlike the Western/colonial paradigm, which places knowledge solely in the head, Wayfinding and LMA root knowledge in our space and conditions. Learning means dwelling in space.
Interconnectedness of self and environment
In LMA, the environment and the individual are inextricably intertwined. Without the person, there is no Way, and without the environment, there is no person. Progress in LMA does not occur in a vacuum; it's a collaborative process between the individual and their surroundings. You are not just in the environment but an inseparable part of it. The environment shapes your behaviors and actions, and in turn, you shape the environment. You seek cover when it is sunny. You plant a tree to give yourself cover. The environment is you, and you are it. This mutual influence is fundamental to LMA.