"Martial Foodie's 5 Intelligences"

 

By: Sun & Moon Taiji One’s Mickey Lee, M.Ed.

January 25, 2013

 

Background:  In fields such as psychology, education, and history, there have been many ways to categorize various modes of intelligence.  In liberal arts academia, it is about cultivating a well-rounded individual in the math/natural sciences, social sciences/humanities, arts, and languages.  In traditional Chinese culture, the "Master of Five Excellences" was an individual skilled in the martial arts, medicine, calligraphy, poetry, and painting.

 

More Macroscopic Take on Intelligence:  While latter of the above captures a more multi-modal form of intelligence and the interrelatedness of different capabilities, its redundancy (i.e. calligraphy and painting) prioritizes certain abilities (i.e. visual art and handiwork) over other major modes of intelligence.  To look more broadly across the different facets of life, I compiled my own 5 intelligences.  In a higher level sense, individuals are talented in one area should be able to apply the concepts to other fields within the same intelligence grouping; then, further, connect all 5 categories.

 

1. Sensory Intelligence:  The potential of an individual's many abilities can be scaled to their ability in six subcategories:

     A. Touch

     B.  See

     C. Hear

     D. Smell

     E.  Taste

     F. Perceive (extra-sensory perception)

 

While people are born with innate sensory abilities, they can heighten their senses to a certain degree.  People who lose one sense often become heighted in other senses when they are forced to rely more on the others.  By nurturing individuals to be in touch with their senses, they can become better at deciphering situations through all 6 senses and utilize them to avoid danger (touch- identifying out-of-norm pain before it becomes serious; taste- deciphering off taste to avoid getting sick or poisoned).  However, what is more insidious is how much of modern society conditions us to dull our senses by treating those in touch with their senses as over-sensitive: when they appear to notice something amiss, it is often treated as an inconvenience to others.  Therefore, cultivating sensory intelligence requires a deliberate effort to retain individuals' connection to their senses (i.e. positive reinforcement when individual correctly detects situation using the senses).

 

2. Bodily Intelligence:  This broadly describes the ability of individuals to be connect with their bodies to performed deliberate movements.   Intricate examples include martial arts/Yoga/Qigong/Neigong, parkour/tricking/gymnastics, and dance.  Furthermore, a person should be able to be in tune with the body to make adjustments in eating, rest, activity level, etc. to remain in good health.  Sometimes considered in the broad liberal arts education, what good is a healthy mind when the body which houses it is cannot work in the desired unison with it?  Having sharp senses is one thing, to be able to coordinate and act upon a desired physical response requires intricate coordination of the central and peripheral nervous systems.  Great Grand Master Jhoon Rhee's "7 Qualities of a Champion" describe seven attributes of Movement Intelligence: Posture, Balance, Flexibility, Timing, Endurance, Power, and Speed.

 

3. Interpersonal Intelligence:  To be able to take another's perspective is invaluable in most endeavors.  Qualities such as wit, charm, humor, and leadership all require this ability of insight into others.  Take this one step further, and interpersonal intelligence can be applied across ages (i.e. babies to seniors) and across species (i.e. communicating with animals).  We live in a social world, and no matter where or when in history, it would appear more than sensible to consider this ability to understand then sway others.

 

4. Academic Intelligence:  The one that most often rewarded in developed modern societies, this intelligence requires the individual to be skilled in memory, organization, synthesis, analysis, etc. in the aforementioned liberal arts subject areas.  In traditional academia, earning a Ph.D. and M.D. require high forms of academic intelligence.  In non-traditional subjects such as the martial arts, academic intelligence is required for a founder of a style (i.e. a Sijo) to carefully study all necessary components, adapt, derive, and systematically organize all necessary aspects into the new martial arts system's curriculum.

 

5. Creative Intelligence:  This requires the individual to not only comprehend and analyze existing data/stimuli but also to make something new (i.e. an inventor, chef, visual artist, musician, or choreographer composing a new artwork), derive a novel approach to solving a problem from a previously unexplored perspective, or making significant improvements upon an existing method of problem solving (i.e. inventor coming up with a new patent).  This would be the difference between simply scoring high against a set standard versus changing the way people think of a given field by enacting revolutionary ideas.

 

The main inspiration of the above "5 Intelligences" has been by observing all five categories in one individual via first-hand experiences.  While capable and accomplished in the traditional "5 Excellences" of medicine (western Medical Doctor), martial arts (two Black Belts in vastly different martial arts styles), poetry (Ph.D and numerous written publications), calligraphy and painting (via culinary medium), this inspirational epitome has extraordinarily sharp six senses, a martial arts champion competitor and coach finely attuned to own health, remarkable ability to anticipate others' thoughts, two doctorates degrees, and a creativity spanning natural science, culinary arts, and pedagogy—all enriched by deep intuition, unmistakable charm, wit, and beauty to match.   She is Martial Foodie, Dr. Melody Lee.