During my time here in Beijing I've done a lot of coaching and a lot of travelling. Often, my travelling on Beijing public transit occurs when I'm coming to and from coaching basketball. It's strange to me that I hadn't connected the dots before, but I've recently come to realize that a lot of basketball skills can come in handy while getting around Beijing. Here's a list I came up with.
1. Flex on Contact
For many of my advanced basketball players (players who can dribble, shoot and pass), I try and teach them how to use their bodies most efficiently while moving around the court. One of the best skills that I was taught was flexing when you make contact with another player. This seems like common sense, maybe something that you'd do even without thinking, but it's not. It's a skill that requires focused practice. A deliberate attempt to flex on contact often results in a much more favorable outcome.
For example in basketball, when driving to the basket, you're probably going to run into some big men (forwards and centers). For a relatively skinny guy like me, flexing on contact can be the difference between an and one play and getting your shot thrown into the bleachers. What flexing on contact does is it allows you a brief moment of miniature hulk-like strength that, although it may not actually make you stronger, it allows you to create the contact with the defender and if you time it right often results in them bouncing off of you, instead of the other way around. Imagine taking a punch in the stomach when you're not expecting it as opposed to getting ready for the strike and then flexing and leaning into the blow just before it hits you. It's what my basketball mentor Troy Miles would call making you 'virtually' strong.
When commuting in Beijing, the subway is the basket and the throngs of people are all defense. Throw away any notions of Western 'civilized' manners because those will not help you here. It's eat or be eaten, kill or be killed, only the strong will survive. In the tunnels and corridors below Beijing there are no "rules." Do not wait for people to exit the subway before attempting to get on, do not move if somebody invades your personal space (none of the space is yours), and do not get out of somebody's way if your respective routes take you into each others' paths. I grew up believing The Zax story by Dr. Seuss was a fun children's tale, but it turned out to be the basis for my ethical compass in how to properly conduct myself in Beijing.
Whenever somebody gets in what I call your 'cage' (imagine the little ring around a player in a basketball video game. It's basically the area around you that you'd normally feel as your personal space), prepare to flex. They will not move for you, and you will not move for them. It may seem difficult to carry yourself like this at first, but once you've spent enough time in the jungle you realize that to survive you must adapt. Efficiency is priority number one, and moving in a straight line toward your destination, flexing others out of the way is the ultimate weapon in your Beijing commute. They will bounce off of you and you will be victorious in your commuting battle. These victories will boost your confidence and you will soon find yourself with a changed demeanor. One that will be visible to others and will subconsciously compel some of them to move out of your way.
2. Footwork and Boxing Out
1. Flex on Contact
For many of my advanced basketball players (players who can dribble, shoot and pass), I try and teach them how to use their bodies most efficiently while moving around the court. One of the best skills that I was taught was flexing when you make contact with another player. This seems like common sense, maybe something that you'd do even without thinking, but it's not. It's a skill that requires focused practice. A deliberate attempt to flex on contact often results in a much more favorable outcome.
For example in basketball, when driving to the basket, you're probably going to run into some big men (forwards and centers). For a relatively skinny guy like me, flexing on contact can be the difference between an and one play and getting your shot thrown into the bleachers. What flexing on contact does is it allows you a brief moment of miniature hulk-like strength that, although it may not actually make you stronger, it allows you to create the contact with the defender and if you time it right often results in them bouncing off of you, instead of the other way around. Imagine taking a punch in the stomach when you're not expecting it as opposed to getting ready for the strike and then flexing and leaning into the blow just before it hits you. It's what my basketball mentor Troy Miles would call making you 'virtually' strong.
When commuting in Beijing, the subway is the basket and the throngs of people are all defense. Throw away any notions of Western 'civilized' manners because those will not help you here. It's eat or be eaten, kill or be killed, only the strong will survive. In the tunnels and corridors below Beijing there are no "rules." Do not wait for people to exit the subway before attempting to get on, do not move if somebody invades your personal space (none of the space is yours), and do not get out of somebody's way if your respective routes take you into each others' paths. I grew up believing The Zax story by Dr. Seuss was a fun children's tale, but it turned out to be the basis for my ethical compass in how to properly conduct myself in Beijing.
Whenever somebody gets in what I call your 'cage' (imagine the little ring around a player in a basketball video game. It's basically the area around you that you'd normally feel as your personal space), prepare to flex. They will not move for you, and you will not move for them. It may seem difficult to carry yourself like this at first, but once you've spent enough time in the jungle you realize that to survive you must adapt. Efficiency is priority number one, and moving in a straight line toward your destination, flexing others out of the way is the ultimate weapon in your Beijing commute. They will bounce off of you and you will be victorious in your commuting battle. These victories will boost your confidence and you will soon find yourself with a changed demeanor. One that will be visible to others and will subconsciously compel some of them to move out of your way.
2. Footwork and Boxing Out
In basketball, footwork is everything. It may be one of the most important skills that people tend to neglect, especially if they're more gifted than others in the area. I happen to not be one of these people, so to get a leg up, I've had to focus a lot on footwork during my tenure as a basketball player. Good footwork can be the difference from getting your shot off and having to pass the ball away. From getting a stop on defense to having the offensive player blow by you. To getting the rebound to having the other player push you over and grab it.
In China, I've found focusing on my footwork both improves my speed and allows me much greater comfort, even during rush hour. I can't count the number of times I've had someone lean on me while I'm standing in the train, get so close that I have to adjust my body position so I can see my kindle or phone in front of me, or even get so close I can feel their breath on the back of neck (when they happen to be almost as tall as me).
Getting the right footwork can be the difference between beating the rush to the escalator or waiting the 30 seconds in line while everyone else piles in front of you. This may not seem like a lot of time, but incidents like these, where a herd of people rush through a choke point or a kill zone, are quite common. Make a bold step. Cut someone off and carve out your place. If someone has the gall to step in your path, do not change your way, if you need to step on their heels, so be it. This is the way, and sometimes a scuff on a shoe is a necessary evil in this commuting abyss of grey morality. If you absolutely have to change your course, make sure you brush by the defender shoulder to shoulder, as you would coming off a screen in a basketball game. Remember, efficiency is priority number one.
Once you've reached your destination and you're on the train, you must scope out your surrounding like a secret agent would during a scene just before a big shoot out. You must determine the weak points and protected areas of the train in the blink of an eye. One second of hesitation could be the difference between carving out a place yourself against a wall to lean on or being smashed into a sweaty, disappointed Chinese-American human paste in the middle of the car. Take bold steps, stand wider than you need to, claim your space and do not budge. Someone may come along and stand next to you, even applying pressure with their leg against yours to try and make you readjust, to give up precious inches of space. But they don't know who you are, that you're practiced in the skill of Beijing commuting. Your legs are slightly bent, they're wide, and you're flexing them out. Sound familiar? That's because that's how you stand when you're trying to box out a 6-9 225 pound power forward who's been trying to push you around all night. What's a small Chinese man or woman compared to that? Use the right footing and you'll be fine.
Learning to turn it off
A lot of basketball players become entirely different people when they step on the court. They're your friends, they'll joke around with you before hand, but after tip off you're sworn enemies. It's no different once you've swiped your subway card and gone through the turnstile. Get your game face on and get ready for war. Just remember that when you resurface, the rules are little different. Not completely, because walking around the streets (especially crowded ones) can call for the same mentality. Living your life in this aggressive state of mind is not a good nor a healthy way to live. I like to close my eyes and think about my small apartment where although the space isn't big, I have absolute control over my domain. If somebody enters my abode, they will conduct themselves with both manners and thought concerning those around them. Knowing that such a place exists, even as small as it is, is comforting and allows me respite in such a chaotic and lawless domain. I close my eyes and remember such a place exists, and I can turn off the images of Beijing commuting that flash through my mind and I remember who I really
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