Ask a Manager: Using Martial Arts At Work

[minoanmiss]

Is it weird to incorporate martial arts at my job?

When I saw your recent post about the kneeling coworker, I started thinking all of the weird things that I do, many of which are related to my martial arts experience.

For example, at previous jobs I have taken a controlled fall to get low enough to grab something off a low shelf or under a desk, and at most of my jobs I’ve stood in stance to write on a counter or other surface that was made for someone much shorter than me. I practice forms in out of the way areas during breaks and downtime. I give myself wrist locks when my hands cramp. And yes, I occasionally kneel (though I’m more likely to lie on the floor) for ergonomic variation of position or just because it’s comfortable for a particular task (more likely on carpet than tile, to be fair).

My jobs haven’t tended to be office jobs, but I do wonder what your take is on whether getting into unusual positions at work is unprofessional or just one of those quirks that makes life more interesting. I try to limit my impact on other people (I’m not practicing punches in a crowded hallway or doing forward rolling falls next to someone trying to review a spreadsheet or anything), and I’ve avoided some of these when they had obvious problems (probably better not to take a fall in a chemistry lab no matter how quickly I want to get what fell under the lab bench). That said, I’m not particularly self-conscious about incorporating my martial arts into my day in small ways like the falls to do work down low or doing stances at a desk. Is that a bad thing?

I don’t know anything about martial arts so I made my husband demonstrate each of the moves you mentioned and … yeah.

Wrist locks shouldn’t be a big deal, and practicing forms in out-of-the-way areas on breaks would be fine in a lot of environments, although not all. But a controlled fall is likely to be distracting or even outright alarming to people around you. Standing in stance will be less so but will definitely be A Thing That Stands Out As Odd. You might decide you’re fine with the latter; if you’re willing to be known as the quirky guy at work, that’s entirely your call! But I’d quit the controlled falls; they’re pretty over the top for an environment other people are working in.

Comments

amidst giggling

[minoanmiss]

Here's a compilation of illustrative videos from the comments

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vXPeOdCe09w

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=olq5odQa_3w

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5n_Qjeia2n8

The LW's planned method: https://youtu.be/Gg-ueTxEuP0

[dine]

I'm a bit confused as to why LW thinks a 'controlled fall' is better for retrieving something than merely bending over or even kneeling down - if the item has rolled out of easy reach, surely lying on the floor in a more regular manner would be less alarming to any onlookers. I mean, unless the goal is to be That Attention-grabbing Weirdo, eliminating unnecessary stuff far outside the way most people move/act makes sense.

[shirou]

I am so glad I have a private office with a door for when I need to stretch. I do not do anything halfway as "unusual" as the LW, but there is something odd about work culture that people are expected to go 8+ hours per day with minimal motion.

[cimorene]

I would love to hear what LW's coworkers have thought about these things.

Just cause you can doesn't mean you should

[feldman]

Workplaces, and sets of colleagues, differ in how stiff and formal they are, how tightly mgmt wants to control the aesthetic of the office (and employees), what the safety concerns are in that industry and that location, and what individual accommodations need to be balanced.

It's a fuzzy continuum from, "I'm startled when coworker pratfalls to pick up a paperclip" and "I'm infuriated by coworker's knee bouncing in my peripheral vision."

Some moves aren't for every environment and situation. The successful coaching a martial artsy coworker of mine received was "only slow moves, only in your own work area, and not when customers are at the teller window" + for the rest of us, "as long as J's in parameters and her drawer balances, how she stands or fidgets is nunya business."

An unsuccessful coaching I've received; when accessing floor level drawers and shelves, "you need to bend from the waist, because R thinks it looks awkward when you squat like a frog", while actively in PT for a back strain.

[green_grrl]

My favorite thing about this Q&A was Alison having her husband demonstrate each of these so that she could pass judgment “weird or nah” on them!

[minoanmiss]

That was when I began to giggle in delight!

[melannen]

Have to admit I'm too stuck on "New Coworker Keeps Kneeling For Me" to think too hard about this one...

[movingfinger]

That one reminded me of the waiter thing of crouching beside one's chair and perhaps touching one's shoulder, apparently to "establish a bond with the customer" or something. It's so weirdly off for the environment! Very Miss Jean in nursery school.