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Fitness

Athletic Ability as a Form of Intelligence

According to a Harvard professor, your ability to juggle or do the hustle might mean you possess a form of intelligence related to body awareness.

val worthington, valerie worthington, bjj, mma, brazilian jiu jitsu, grappling

Written by Valerie Worthington Last updated on November 13, 2011

Historically, the stereotype of the “dumb jock” has suggested people with athletic ability are not very smart. More recently, however, athletes have begun to earn the credit they deserve, and, arguably, have always deserved, for their intellect and acumen.

Harvard University cognition and education professor Howard Gardner has advanced a theory of multiple intelligences, of which bodily-kinesthetic intelligence is one type.

Historically, the stereotype of the “dumb jock” has suggested people with athletic ability are not very smart. More recently, however, athletes have begun to earn the credit they deserve, and, arguably, have always deserved, for their intellect and acumen.

Harvard University cognition and education professor Howard Gardner has advanced a theory of multiple intelligences, of which bodily-kinesthetic intelligence is one type.

Gardner’s theory provides validation for the notion that sophistication and intellectual rigor contribute to elite athletic performance. It also helps explain how control of and facility with one’s own body actually occur.

Gardner’s book, Frames of Mind: The Theory of Multiple Intelligences, describes all of the multiple intelligences as an alternative to the long-held belief that “intelligence” is along only one dimension. Additional intelligences covered in the book include musical intelligence, interpersonal intelligence, and linguistic intelligence, among others.

People possessing bodily-kinesthetic intelligence are described as “good at body movement, performing actions and physical control. People who are strong in this area tend to have excellent hand-eye coordination and dexterity.”1

Many readers probably know one or more people who seem to be good at every sport they try, who pick up complex physical movements seemingly effortlessly, who can mimic others’ actions without much challenge.

Gardner’s theory helps us view this ability as a form of intelligence, which has positive implications for those of us who like to challenge ourselves physically – even those of us who are not so naturally gifted.

For the less gifted among us, there are ways to improve upon this intelligence as outlined in a recent article.2

Indeed, bodily-kinesthetic intelligence is described as one of the more marginalized but also one of the more widely observed intelligences in children.3

Given the evidence that suggests a physical component to learning helps in retention, it behooves all of us to develop our own bodily-kinesthetic intelligence. After all, it’s just fun to DO things!

val worthington, valerie worthington, bjj, mma, brazilian jiu jitsu, grappling

About Valerie Worthington

Valerie Worthington has been moving her body since before she was born, for many reasons and with many outcomes. She really started to pay attention to how, when, and why her body moves when she began training in Brazilian jiu jitsu in 1998. From then on, she became hugely invested in educating herself about how to optimize her body movement for BJJ and how to support it in doing so. She has observed that these endeavors require her to invest herself not only physically, but also mentally, emotionally, and psychologically, fueling a particular interest in the influence on her life of these dimensions of athletic activity.

Valerie has developed as a BJJ practitioner via her own training and competition preparation, teaching and coaching other practitioners, and writing about her life as a jiu jitsu devotee through the lens of her education, personal experiences, and professional background. She holds a bachelor’s degree in English literature from Dartmouth College in Hanover, New Hampshire, and a doctorate in educational psychology from Michigan State University. She is a first-degree black belt in BJJ, as well as co-founder and proprietor of Groundswell Grappling Concepts. She trains at Princeton Brazilian Jiu Jitsu in Princeton, New Jersey.

Most recently, Valerie is the author of How to Love a Grappler: A Guide for People Who Love People Who Love Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu.

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