Athlete Brains: Dai Tamesue's "Fluid Pacing" vol.28

A serial interview column where Mr. Dai Tamesue freely discusses "things on his mind right now." The only set theme is "What is autonomy? What is tolerance?" Mr. Tamesue shares his thoughts on various "things on his mind" in response to the mysterious "interviewer's" unexpected prompts. Well then. What kind of stories will emerge this time...? Stay tuned.

──Continuing from last time (#27), we'll be exploring the theme "What is sense?" again this time.

Tamura: Thank you for having me.

──Summarizing our previous discussion, it seemed sense might be two things: "the ability to imagine how others see you" and "the ability to imagine what that person expects from you."

Tametsu: That's probably about right.

──Now, here's an even trickier question...

Tametsu: Here it comes.

──So, what should one do to hone that "sense"? It's relatively easy to imagine what to do to hone "technique." But when told to hone "sense," it's unclear what to do.

Tamesue: I think it probably comes down to accumulating experiences. I'm surrounded by a lot of so-called "second-generation" or "third-generation" people, and their experience level is overwhelmingly high. They've seen good things, they've eaten good food. That's what second- and third-generation people do. So they can intuitively judge, "This is good," or "This is no good." They aren't swayed by brand names or prices.

──That's so cool. I really admire that. When someone just intuitively says, "This tofu is the real deal," it blows me away.

Tamesue: Sense isn't about knowledge. It's practical wisdom, I guess. Like, "Ah, I've experienced this situation before." Track and field is the same. You might think it's just about clearing hurdles set at the same intervals on the same track, but your body moves naturally because you've felt that sensation before.

──Commentators might just sum it up with a phrase like "Tamesue's hurdle sense," though (laughs).

Tamura: You know how they say someone has a "good nose"? "Having a good eye" means you have knowledge. You use that knowledge to judge how valuable something on the table in front of you is. But "having a good nose," I think, is about that intuition that lets you find the good stuff in the chaos.

──And that intuition isn't just a whim, but comes from experience, you mean.

Tamura: Exactly. It's instantly judging: "If I move my feet like this, swing my arms like that, something good seems to happen."

—So sense isn't innate talent, but something acquired. It's not knowledge. It's based on experiences ingrained in the body.

Tametsu: I think that's probably it. Whether it's politics, business, fashion, or gourmet food, people with good sense are like that, right? There's no one just displaying innate sense. "Sense" is about properly storing important experiences within your body, so you can act intuitively when the moment comes.

──Going back to the pastry bread discussion from last time, when a club senior tells you, "Go buy some pastry bread using your sense," that's exactly what they mean.

Tamura: I think the crucial thing is getting others to recognize that "only you can do that." If people think, "Ah, that's so like him," then that's having sense, isn't it? You don't need to be cool. The point isn't whether it's cool or not, but rather "how to use your unique self" and "at what moment."

──Next time, I'd like to ask if that "sense" is something you can reuse. I once had a boss who was incredibly skilled with words. When I asked him how he could tell such interesting stories, he said, "Well, it's like rakugo. I'm just repeating the same stories over and over."

Tamatsue: That's an interesting story.

──Right? People who tell the same stories over and over at drinking parties usually get disliked, but hearing that boss's stories was always entertaining. Back when I was young, I thought, "Maybe that's what sense is all about."

Tamesue: I think it's because you can sense their desire to make people happy. It's not like, "Listen to me!"

──I think so (laughs). (Continued in #29)

(Interviewer: Web Dentsu Inc. Editorial Department)

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Athlete Brains Production Team (Hibi Yori)

Sense, Part 2. "Sense" means properly storing important experiences within your body so you can act intuitively when the moment comes. It's not about the head; it's about the body's senses. Athletes are people who have honed their bodily senses, people with highly developed sensors. That's probably why they possess a broad sense of "sense." To hone your sense, perhaps co-creating with people overflowing with sense is one shortcut.

Athlete Brains Production Team: Dentsu Inc. / Akimichi Hibi (3CRP) · Genta Arahori (Late Bureau)

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Athlete Brains, led by Dai Tamesue.
For details on this team that connects the knowledge cultivated by athletes to solving challenges in the world (businesses and society), click here.