Dance: An example to analyze techniques pros use

I am on my winter break, enjoying some time off.


I was browsing YouTube, and here is a good find.


Lomachenko's Matrix Style Footwork & Matador Feints Explained - Technique Breakdown

This example video explains techniques used by a champion boxer Vasyl Lomachenko. 

Some boxers give off aura of "highly talented". He is one of them.

I find some martial artists' moves smooth, slick and fascinating. They can easily have much greater appeal than some dancing.

There are aspects you cannot imitate easily. Innate physical aspects, such as reflex speed, dynamic vision, and body usage with looseness, are hard to teach or learn.

However, there are technical aspects in the game (including dancing), which can be learned efficiently with the aid of good analysis and teaching, such as this video.

Next time when you find an impressive dance video, analyze the techniques like this video is doing. Narrate it, with a focus on what the performer is doing.

If you make it a habit, you appreciate the art better, and you may even be able to pick up the techniques and do it yourself better or faster.

This boxing technique video is from a website "The Modern Martial Artist". Highly recommended. 

[disclaimer: I have nothing to do with the makers of the videos and the website. All rights belong to them.]

Life: Wrapping up 2018; 3 work-related news from 2018

Friday 12/21/2018 was the last day for official working days before Winter break.

I submitted a revised manuscript to journal office, made backup copy for digital files in my computer, chatted with a colleague, sent out a peer-review evaluation for someone's manuscript, and ended the day.


For this winter break, I did not schedule anything beforehand. 11 days of unscheduled chunk of time. How luxurious.


Yesterday I was just enjoying being lazy. 

Today I went to my office, and finished a couple of peer-review evaluations due this week.

To some extent, a scientist is like an artist; like dancer or musician or painter. What they do is not entirely "work", but has elements of "play". The word "workaholic" may not be entirely accurate.


Anyhow, if I chose three news from 2018 in my work; 

 (1) We published a paper and a review article that are important to define upcoming work related to Alzheimer's disease.

 (2) Initiated a collaborative work with brain trauma researcher. Sent out a grant proposal with them.

 (3) Sent out an abstract for American Association for Cancer Research (AACR) annual meeting 2019 (March 29-April 3 2019) in Atlanta, and a manuscript related to the work.


During official Winter break, I'll take some time to appropriately plan for 2019. Most of good things will not happen if we do not make them happen.


An additional news would be, successful job hunt by my former Graduate Research Assistant. He found a job in Mew Mexico and moved. Good.

Life: Is it Exciting? Profitable? Contributing to others?

This is December already and it is about time to have my annual planning session.

There are many subjects to make action plans for. But it helps to have "simple guidelines", in addition to detailed plans.


What I am currently listing as candidates for the "simple guidelines" for 2019 are;

     Is it exciting?

     Is it profitable?

     Is it contributing to others?


Whenever I need to decide something, I'd ask these "simple guidelines" to myself.

If that "something" does not meet at least two of the "simple guidelines", I'm not going to do it. My time and resources will be better spent elsewhere.


In other words, I am currently interested in doing something exciting, profitable, and contributing to others, in 2019.

Don't bring me anything that is unexciting, non-profitable, or self-serving in a predatory manner.



I'll test these guidelines for this month, and decide whether I'd elect them personally-officially for 2019 or not. So far, they look fine, though.