Every voluntary human movement involves applying energy to change the position of the body. Energy can be applied in many different ways. Rudolf Laban referred to these various qualities of kinetic energy as effort. Similarly, the moving body can trace many different shapes as it traverses space. Consequently, the human beings possess a richer range of motion than most other species. As Laban observes, “When jumping the cat will be relaxed and flexible. A horse or a deer will bound wonderfully in the air, but its body will be tense and concentrated during the jump.” A human being, however, “can jump like a deer, and if he wishes, like a cat.”
Voluntary movement is intentional. Thus our bodies serve as an immediate means of acting on the environment to our satisfy needs. We must make an effort to act. However, according to Warren Lamb, “Effort goes with Shape organically…. The fact is we can never do Effort without Shaping and, if we emphasise the Shaping we still have to make an Effort. The two are a duality, inseparable from each other, and fundamental to balance.”
Though fundamentally inseparable, it is possible for an individual to place more emphasis on effort than on shape, or vice versa. This differential emphasis will characterize how the individual goes about acting in the world.
For example, Warren Lamb found that when a person emphasizes effort, he or she takes a more assertive approach. Being assertive is commonly seen as being direct in claiming one’s rights, insistent, demanding and even aggressive. In movement behavior terms, however, being assertive simply means applying one’s bodily energies to make things happen. The assertive person will believe that almost anything can be accomplished if he or she maintains focus and applies enough pressure at the right time.
This is the effect of an effort emphasis focused outwardly, on doing. But effort also plays an important role in the inner life. I take up this subject in my next blog.