Clean Run - June 2017 - 40

Simple Is
Beautiful
By Kathy Keats

"Simplicity is the ultimate sophistication."
- Leonardo Da Vinci
I don't know why, but we don't trust simple. Maybe we think simple isn't good
enough. Perhaps we think that complex
is better because if we don't understand
it, it must be the realm of the elite, far
above our abilities and understanding.
But I ask you to consider a different perspective. Anyone can make something
complicated. Complex is often another
word for bloated. What happens when
an organization or a software code gets
bloated? It slows down, it crashes, and
it's hard to learn how the system works.
Let's be clear. Simple isn't easy. Simple
isn't lazy. Simple isn't inferior. Simple
is about cutting away the fat and finding
the essence.
So how does simplicity help you in agility?
Simple is fast. One of the huge benefits of simplicity is speed. Reaction
time and speed is based on economy of
movement. The movement should look
effortless, almost easy. Whether it's a
professional golf swing or a quarterback
throwing a football, no motion is wasted.
"Simplicity is the key to brilliance."
-Bruce Lee
Bruce Lee would know. As a martial artist, speed and reaction time is everything.
Agility handling should be thought of in
the same way. With dogs travelling at 6+
yards (18+ feet) per second, every movement you make needs to be as economical as possible. Being economical can be
both strategic and biomechanical.
40

Being strategically economical means
using the simplest handling strategy
possible to get the job done well. The
fancier you get, the more things can go
wrong. And I know this will come as a
shock, but fancy moves don't always
create more speed or a tighter turn.
Biomechanics is the physics of body
movement. For example, if your footwork is poor, you can't apply your muscles in an efficient way to create power
and speed. In other words, you get stuck
flat-footed. For many handlers, time is
better spent improving footwork on one
simple move rather than learning a dozen new moves.
If you were going to break your handling
down to the most basic moves that you
need to get around a course, what is the
minimum number of moves you could
get away with to do 80% of the courses
you see? Can you get your list down to
six? Can you make those six moves 20%
better than they are now?
This brings us to the next benefit of simplicity: You can't focus when you're
overwhelmed.
Humans weren't designed to multitask
very well. Laser-sharp focus is a hallmark
of elite performers. They aren't distracted
by extraneous detail. Simplicity makes
focusing on the important details easier.
As Steve Jobs said so well: "That's been
one of my many mantras-focus and simplicity. Simple can be harder than complex: you have to work hard to get your
thinking clean to make it simple. But it's
worth it in the end because once you get
there, you can move mountains."

Simple is harder than complex because
it takes a tremendous amount of effort
to get your thinking clean. But the efficiency and understanding that comes
from simplicity brings such clarity that
you can achieve so much more.
If you can't explain it simply, you don't
understand it yet. Think of times you've
had a great coach or teacher. They didn't
try to impress you with their knowledge.
They made everything seem simple.
Clarity is the result of simplifying
"Everything should be made as simple
as possible, but not simpler."
-Albert Einstein
To have a clear mind and to perform
well, it's got to feel simple to you.
How simple you make things will depend
on several factors, such as the style of
courses you run and the type of dog you
have. Diligent practice helps you get rid
of the bloat and dig down to the essence.
Many people think of practice as a process
of adding things, but that's only at the beginning. Mastery is the reverse process.
"Perfection is achieved, not when there
is nothing more to add, but when there
is nothing left to take away."
-Antoine de Saint-Exupéry
In some ways we have become hoarders-hoarders of knowledge. We collect
ideas, then immediately put them down
and let them collect dust. We are so keen
to keep adding to our repertoire that we
forget to refine what is already there.
Practice time is part of the purging and
de-cluttering process.
Clean Run | June 17

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Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of Clean Run - June 2017