Something not commonly known about me is that I have a passable amount of knowledge in the martial arts field. I studied jiu-jitsu for a number of years before taking up dressage. I dabbled in other martial arts disciplines as well, but mainly focused on jiu-jitsu, which, along with kickboxing, is the bedrock of UFC fighting. I don't discuss my martial arts years often because there basically is no need to; the subject only comes up with regards to self-defense.
Jiu-jitsu, obviously, is a male-dominated field of study. Being a woman in this milieu put me in an interesting position, namely because my opponent was usually a man. I was marginalized in a way that men aren't in the sport, not because of any conscious actions, but simply by the nature of my gender.
While on the surface jiu-jitsu appears to be about a show of force, the paradox, especially for women, is that the force the discipline provides isn't about strength at all. Fighting on a pure strength basis just wears the fighter out, creating an opening for your opponent to beat you. The forceful fighter (meaning the fighter that uses strength) most likely will be the loser; most women just cannot match men on a pure strength per strength playing field.
Instead, the successful fighter is one that knows how to use their own energy, and the energy of their opponent, effectively. It's in this arena that jiu-jitsu and dressage intersect, but in a way that is not necessarily obvious to the casual observer. I think you see where I'm going with this.
I never really thought about these similarities until yesterday, but dressage is founded on a similar principle. Using force, for the most part, gets no one anywhere when it comes to horses. The forceful rider just fights with herself. The horse weighs 10 times more than a human; it's ridiculous to think we can match them strength for strength.
The rider who uses the horse's energy to focus it and redirects that energy will eventually get somewhere. That's why you can see Debbie MacDonald (all 100lbs of her) riding Brentina, this huge mare, without being tossed into the next solar system. And that's why an untrained horse like Nic, when the rider tries to use force to subdue her, can run the show.
I've had to learn this with the horse. Sadly, it's something that should have been apparent to me all along, considering my past experiences.
For the past 3 months, I haven't been attempting to use force with the horse because 1.) it's just counterproductive to my efforts, and 2.) i'm lazy and it hurts too much to fight. And FINALLY, after 3 months of sorting ourselves out, I got an elastic connection for about 10 minutes yesterday.
(For the uninitiated, an "elastic connection" basically means the horse is more receptive to receiving aids from the rider. It means the flow of energy is such that the rider and horse are moving more as a unit and thinking on the same wavelength, rather than just being 2 separate entities. Think: the Force in the Star Wars sense, rather than in Fight Club sense. It's the foundation of dressage; nothing more advanced can be accomplished without it).
Interestingly enough, despite the Cult of Beauty aura that surrounds dressage, the discipline actually began as part of equestrian military training; dressage, after all, exists to make the horse more rideable. The "elastic connection," and all the suppling of the horse involved in the training, evolved in order to make the horse more useful in battle.
Dressage and jiu-jitsu have similar beginnings; just as dressage evolved to aid fighters in battle, any martial art is just that: martial. It's only natural the two would be founded on the same principle.
This isn't an earth-shattering revelation for the ages, but, regardless, I think it bears mentioning.
