Recent news from Japan said that Japanese professional Shogi (Japanese Chess) players were beaten by computer software for Shogi. It was sensational because people were assuming that in a complex game like Shogi (in which you can reuse the enemy's piece unlike Western Chess, so that the complexity is enormous), computers could not win over human intuition and beat professionals created after 450 years of tradition and collective endeavors for the game.
The lesson is that, to win a game, you don't have to be human. Seek the best move, execute, and you (are more likely to) win.
Professional gamblers are said to act in a similar manner to computers. They follow their rules and strategies. They just do what they think the best move to win. Love is an attachment that clouds their judgement, so they don't love the game in the same manner that we do. They would strategically retreat from the game if the tide turns.
Another common trait among the software and the professional gamblers? Their top priority is winning, and is not enjoying the game. Enjoyment is secondary, or perhaps is even detrimental to the purpose of winning.
Yesterday our swing dance club welcomed Melissa Rutz for day-long workshops and a demonstration. She teaches, competes and judges all over the world and is ranked among the top West Coast Swing dancers. I had a dance with her, and my intuition/feel-good meter indicated that she is a top notch dancer. Yup, I trust my own judgement. And thank you, Melissa, for an interesting dance.
In the party, we had Jack and Jill contests for Newcomers and for Novices. These were contests, and three judges decided who won.
What I thought while watching the contests was that few people knew the rules of the game. They are there for enjoyment, and not for winning. Sure, it was the right attitude for a dance contest, but just in case some of you are wondering, I'll share the rules of winning in Newcomer/Novice contests.
The first rule is that In the Newcomer/Novice category, you got to show or demonstrate that you've got the West Coast Swing basics and can execute them cleanly. It is imperative.
In other words, the judges are not watching how great your dances are, or how cool your moves are. Forget what you see in YouTube, like the great improvisational dances and all the playing by pros. Showmanship, which is critical for the pros, is NOT what they seek primarily in this Newcomer/Novice category.
The judges will first check the lady's footwork and the timing. If she is not stepping on the beat of the song, the couple is pretty much out. Both the lead and follow better make sure she steps on the beat, and is doing the basics (step-step, step-step-step(triple step), and step-step-step(anchoring triple step)) nice and clean.
The leader has to ensure she does the right steps with the right timing. Good teamwork is what the judges look for. You want to be a solid leader who can lead, or let her do the right thing. For Newcomers it is sufficient. All the body rolls and wiggling, which you might think add interest to the dance, are more likely distractions for demonstrating your clean dancing.
Only when the very basics look good, the judges would start looking at other things, like smoothness or variety of moves. Dancers with a little bit awkward but correct basics would beat smooth but sloppy dancers 9 times out of 10. Your presentation, including musicality, improvisation and showmanship, count only after you've shown your good basics.
Since a contest is a game that follows artificial rules, there are many associated tricks and considerations you can use. For example, if you've only got a minute to dance, it is difficult to fix if you start out wrong. Spending 5 seconds to ensure the right start would be a good thing to do.
Notice the rules can change according to the contest category, although they may not spell them out. In the Newcomer/Novice category, you are judged by a standard of whether you are carrying on the tradition of West Coast Swing dance. In the Intermediate/advanced category, good execution of basics are given. How you use them becomes more important. Boring (i.e. basics only) dancers fade in the background, and dancers with musicality, improvisation and showmanship would prevail.
Of course, these rules are artificial and only for the game of contests. They matter only if you want to win the contest. I say your enjoyment is a reward by itself. So, you choose.
