The Open Hand: Arguing as an Art of Peace

Appendix 1: Photographic Illustrations of Movement Sequences

DOI: 10.7330_9780874219203.c006 Appendix 1 Photographic Illustrati ons o f Movement Sequences The photographs below supplement the verbal explanations of the movement sequences described in chapters 2, 3, and 4. The individuals who appear in these photographs were (at the time the photos were taken) first-year students at Lehigh who had recently completed Arguing as an Art of Peace. Although the photographs were shot in a studio on campus, the students did the movements just as they had practiced them in class. 1. P ush hand s an d blen d i n g (discussed in chapter 2) Step 1 The first movement sequence students practiced in the lab was a basic version of tai chi push hands, designed to give them a feel for blending with an opposing force, for sensing the interplay of yin (yielding) and yang (resisting). In the following photographs, the student on the right is the pusher and the one on the left is the receiver. They begin by connecting with their hands. 140   Barry M. Kroll The pusher exerts some pressure and the receiver yields and blends, keeping enough resistance to guide the push away from her center and extending the pusher. Then the roles reverse as the receiver pushes back and her partner yields and blends. After students had some experience with the basic movement sequence, I often altered it by showing the receiver how to step into the pusher’s extended arm so their bodies turned and they faced away from one another on an angle to the vector of confrontation. This modified pattern set up the reframing exercise we did next. Step 2 Step 3 Photographic Illustrations of Movement Sequences    141 2 . E ntering an d re fr am i n g (discussed in chapter 2) The exercise begins with a crosshand grab. In the photograph, the student on the right is the attacker: he has reached out and grasped, with his right hand, the receiver’s right wrist. The receiver responds by yielding a bit (as in push hands), then pivots on her left foot and brings her right leg back so she is no longer facing the attacker but positioned to his side, on a slant to the original vector of confrontation. She brings the attacker’s hand to the center of her body, where she is in control. Step 1 Step 2 142   Barry M. Kroll Linking arms with her opponent, the receiver steps forward, turning her attacker and leading him in a new direction. From an initial position of confrontation, the encounter has been reframed as a side-byside effort to understand a problem and its possible solutions. Although the two students have linked arms in a gesture of cooperation, the receiver maintains control and directs the movement. 3. Turning an d at ten ti ve li stening (discussed in chapter 3) Step 3 This turning maneuver is the most complicated sequence students practiced. It begins, however, with the familiar cross-hand grab, attacker on the right, receiver on the left. Step 1 Photographic Illustrations of Movement Sequences    143 The receiver yields and swings her right leg around so she is standing orthogonally to the original line of confrontation. Her hands move to control the attack, centering the energy at her midpoint. Next, the receiver pivots on her left foot and swings the right behind her, standing beside the attacker and facing in the same direction: the receiver has turned so she is looking at things from her adversary ’s position. At this point, a faceto -face encounter has been transformed into a side-by-side stance that represents attentive listening. Note, however, that the receiver is still in control of the encounter. Step 2 Step 3 144   Barry M. Kroll Step 4 Step 5 In the most challenging step in the sequence, the receiver leads her opponent in a 180-degree turn to face the opposite direction. Once turned, the two opponents remain side by side, looking at the issue from the receiver’s perspective. Photographic Illustrations of Movement Sequences    145 Step 6 Step 7 The receiver executes one more turn, moving back to face her opponent . They are still connected. Having viewed the conflict from each other’s perspective, the opponents are ready to disengage. Neither has capitulated; their final position reflects the fact that differences remain. But they are now facing in the opposite direction from the one they assumed at the beginning: they may not agree, but they have reached a...