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Colm_OReilly

Hey guys,

Since we're having some philosophical/evolutionary discussions of late, I thought I'd throw out this question for you.

When animals play, they're learning how to survive. Predators will do a lot of pouncing, and play biting around the neck, whereas prey will have a lot of leaping and running in eractic patterns.

Humans play too, in the service of survival. So I was watching my kids monkey around and putting aside the social dynamics of leadership etc, they play chasing a lot. The modification can be from a simple tag, you're caught, to dragging the guy to the floor.

Here's what I'm wondering. Does chasing have some hard wired role to play in our survival? Or, is it a case of it's a very easy game to play, hence it's popularity (like soccer)?

What do you guys think?
Colm

PS: For some bizarre reason, the no tag backs rule has never been implemented

Dragan

Colm_OReilly wrote:

Here's what I'm wondering. Does chasing have some hard wired role to play in our survival? Or, is it a case of it's a very easy game to play, hence it's popularity (like soccer)?

Hey Colm,

for my money, yest it is very much hard wired into survival instincts. As a race humans have done a lot with technology very fast, as such we have advanced so to speak. But we have not yet evolved to the point where we need to stop worrying about what, metaphorically, may be behind us.

There was a time when a human would only eat what he could run down, or pick up, and this time lasted for a lot longer than our current overload of foodstuffs and such. You cannot stamp on survival and instinct and a 100 million years of running after what you need to eat and away from what was trying to eat you.

Valmont

Now that you say it, it makes sense. The difference seems to be humans play fight and run whereas in the animal kingdom it seems to be predators play fight and prey play chasing.

I also saw your kids before their competition at the tournament, they were playing "take the back like marcelo garcia" quite naturally:D , I wonder if that is part of survival too?:p honestly they inspired me to learn how to get back control with the over under hooks

paxo

Colm
Have you noticed that when small children get angry with each other they almost always hit the other kid straight down on top of the head with whatever they have in their hand at the time. Maybe we are hard wired to defend ourselves from a very early age. Its also interesting that small boys tend to wrestle rather than kick/punch.

Paxo

Roper

Kids are natural wrestlers. Its amazing to watch them doing simple things that it takes an adult ages to get.
If I don't organise a game for my younger kids they invariable wrestle or play chasing, although for a while there Star Wars was popular and they hit each other with pads a lot!

Dyr

Valmont wrote:

Now that you say it, it makes sense. The difference seems to be humans play fight and run whereas in the animal kingdom it seems to be predators play fight and prey play chasing.

Wouldnt really agree there. Look at dogs and cats for example, they'll take turns playing the victim whether it be in fighting or chasing each other around

Dragan

Bambi wrote:

Wouldnt really agree there. Look at dogs and cats for example, they'll take turns playing the victim whether it be in fighting or chasing each other around

Indeed, but much like humans ( as Colm said, the kids were changing roles ) a cat or dog could be prey or predator depending on the situation, very few animals are at a point on the food chain where they can be considered exclusively predator.

FiannaGym.com

There are many animals that are exclusively preditors, they're called Apex preditors, humans, killer whales, lions, tigers, bears, etc. Every now and again they cross paths, but they don't become "prey".

Anyway, what is "hardwired" into humans is "learning". Specifically learning "shared behviours". Which gives us "shared learned behaviour" which is a loose definition of culture.

Humans are often called "unfinished animals" meaning that we are born unfinished, the completion of the human "animal" comes about through learning. Anyone who has seen Feral children on TV will realise that humans can be programmed to behave like a dog, play like a dog doing whatever biting or fleeing dogs do.

What is significant about the types of play mentioned above is that the are social, interactive and involve more than one person. The game of chasing is shared learned behaviour.

Other animals on the other hand don't really do this (primates, birds and maybe a few others are exceptional). It is important to remember that pre-agricultural man (paleolithic man) was not void of culture, not a "noble savage" but had cultures as full and as complex as our own.

Peace
Pearse

Colm_OReilly

Thanks for the replies guys!

Papa Stokes,
So I'm to assume the game of chasing has more value in the learning of social norms, establishing rules and interaction than the chasing itself?

That's the reason I let them play unregulated at the start of class. They get to develop their own social codes without adults telling them what they should do.

I also saw your kids before their competition at the tournament, they were playing "take the back like marcelo garcia" quite naturally , I wonder if that is part of survival too? honestly they inspired me to learn how to get back control with the over under hooks

That's not instinctual, it's learnt. Every single class will involve Seatbelt work, because it's beautiful.

My kids will go for underhooks/shoots, then back. Owen's kids went for trips, played more guard work, and held side control for longer. John D's kids went for hip throws and mount easier.

That's what we focus on in class shining through in competition.

Colm