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Department of Connections

Movement and Trading

A Hallmark of Mastery: Economy of Movement

January 2004

Jan. 30, 2004: I happened to be taught last night by a world swing dance champion, Yuval Hod. My daughter Kira and I had seen him previously at a dance contest. In one routine, with the greatest of ease and hardly any movement, he flipped his partner up 20 feet in the air and as she somersaulted over him, falling a foot from the ground, he nonchalantly reached out a forearm, and she tucked in between his legs.

Yuval told us that his method of teaching adults is based on what succeeds with intelligent 5-year-olds, famously fast learners who only need things explained step by step. What characterized both his moves and his teaching was that there was hardly any movement at all. Every step had complete economy of motion.

He mentioned after one minute that the Collab was a good dancer (I am the world's worst). I noted that I had the same ability after 2 seconds to say if someone was a decent tennis player, by looking at their follow-through. He said he could tell it from the first breath a dancer took.

Almost all the champions I have ever seen, no matter what the field, had that same economy of movement and compactness of style. All great traders have that same economy. They generally trade in one or two markets, act in concentrated bursts of energy without folderol, and always a little bit earlier than the time when a collision of forces will create a frontal attack between the elements. -- Vic  

Comment by Kevin Ho, Singapore trader:
This economy of movement and compact style can be seen in a Chinese close-in fighting martial art system called Wing Chun (literally meaning "eternal springtime"). It is almost devoid of circular movements -- everything follows the philosophy that the fastest point to the opponent's face is a straight line fired from the practitioner's centreline. In fact, each offensive technique also doubles at the same time as a deflection.

Wing Chun is unique in the martial arts world in that it was devised by a woman, and is preoccupied with breaking down the opponent's guard without meeting force head on. If this Kung Fu sounds familiar, it's probably got to do with the fact that it formed the foundation for Bruce Lee's Jeet Kune Do. An analogy for economy of movement in trading would probably be the trading style of a good pit trader - fast, reactive and instinctive without sign of excessive deliberation. Comment by Craig Cuyler I have thought a bit about this since I am an active boxer. And since you didn't mention boxing, I will say the following. The best style of fighting (just like trading) is the style that generates the most money and the style that is recognized as a sport in the Olympics. Boxing, judo and Tai Kwon Do are the only officially recognized fighting sports at the Olympics. Of all of these, only boxing generates the big money; therefore, it attracts the best and most skillful technicians. Its proponents are ranked properly and measured properly. Boxers have the longest careers, make the most money, are the most famous. They are the macro traders of the fighting world.

Kickboxers or K2 fighters come second, and that is why Mike Tyson is now fighting in Japan along with guys like Francois Botha and Butterbean who have been fighting the Vegas circuit for many years. The UFC fighters are like the Technical gurus who find an indicator that works for a while and then breaks down; they have the shortest shelf life, and once their technique is exposed it can be broken down very quickly.

MMA or Jeet Kwon Do? Well they look good on paper but no one knows what the hell they really do. These guys are like the derivatives traders of the world -- impressive looking, impressive sounding, but probably only good under certain conditions.

Boxers, like the best traders are measured, ranked and scrutinized; they get to the top by sheer hard work more than anything else.