My Views on Ido Portal’s Workshop
By vishwa on Inspiration, Training
May 30, 2013
Who is Ido Portal? Ido Portal is a movement specialist, though he calls himself a movement generalist. He has learnt various disciplines–gymnastics, Olympic weight lifting, yoga, several kinds of martial arts, and has also competed in acrobatics. He has learnt about movement complexity from various other fields of studies. He has travelled all over the world searching masters to learn their skill. He also works with top coaches, physiotherapists, doctors and athletes thereby continuing to teach and learn.
What did I learn from the workshop? By learning various methods Ido Portal has developed a system culminating into a vast and wide variety of movements. Movement is a natural attribute to human beings. Human beings have evolved from animals. Thereby, humans have the capacity to crawl, run, jump, and execute various other movements. Though it was stressed on learning the hand stand and the muscle up, I could see a movement encyclopedia in front me/us. Some of his YouTube videos testify his physical abilities. The movement complexity that he taught us is out of the world. His vast amount of theoretical knowledge and his physical abilities is unmatched.
Dumbfounded
I was dumbfounded at his physical capabilities. He shows you the physically impossible without much difficulty. For example, performing a single arm hand stand with ease and flipping to stand straight from that position and also executing a Pinkie pull-up though he had recently dislocated his pinkie. Many other complex movements were taught and shown making us feel like sissies.
Destroyed
I was destroyed of whatever I conceived about fitness science. Many of my beliefs and views were proved wrong. The idea of working out for an hour a day was thrown into pieces, as the master himself works out for 6 to 8 hours in a day. For you to dominate a skill requires long hours of practice. Moreover, you have to use it or else you will lose it. It means that a skill learnt has to be practiced often and that would demand you to come out of the self-imposed rigid pattern.
Stripped
I was stripped of my abilities. It didn’t matter that I had deadlifted so and so squatted so and so and bench pressed so and so. It also didn’t matter that I had learnt and taught functional fitness, for true functional fitness was demonstrated right in front me. I felt like a crawling baby trying hard to stand in front of him. All my physical abilities didn’t matter, for I wasn’t able to perform many of the simple routines he showed me. It showed me that all I had mastered these years were some specific movement patterns. He showed me that that should not define me.
Ido Portal’s teachings reminded me of what Bruce lee says about water. Lee says, “”You must be shapeless, formless, like water. When you pour water in a cup, it becomes the cup. When you pour water in a bottle, it becomes the bottle. When you pour water into a teapot, it becomes the teapot. Water can drip and it can crash. Become like water my friend.” Ido Portal was indeed water in motion.
This single video shouts loud on what he is capable off–physically.
http://youtu.be/h6SC58jaF2M