This week my guest is Dr Carl Woods who is a Senior Research Fellow in Skill Acquisition at Victoria University in Melbourne Australia who enjoys exploring and knowing at an ecological anthropological intersection in sport.I had heard Carl on a number of podcasts and was so excited to be able to spend some time listening to his view on the world which I have to say I love.There is no real intro on the chat as we hit the ground running and just got straight in to it. I am very grateful to be able to do this podcasts and have such great guests and a loyal community, if you listen often I just want to say thank you and I hope you enjoy them as much as I love doing them.Send us a textSupport the showhttps://talkingperformancepod.com/

Professor Carl Woods discusses knowledge, guidance, and experiential learning in sports and education. He emphasizes direct experiences in understanding the world and challenges traditional academic standards. The conversation extends to the importance of diverse interests for high-level athletes and the human-centric approach in sports science.

For those of us residing in a society that prioritizes; productivity, extraction, speed, and efficiency, this episode of the Run Culture Podcast is a must listen! ."....certain non-western societies don't use the adjectives; efficient, rapid or fast, as words to describe expert performance, they actually use words like; cautious, slow, attentiveness and responsiveness. These slower adjectives are used to describe what it means to be an expert hunter...." They understand the idea of uncertainty, they take time to attend to the rich contextual ebbs and flows of information in front of them and they patiently wait for the right moment to act. I chatted to Dr Carl Woods a scientist and researcher at Victoria University in Melbourne who enjoys exploring the concepts of; learning, knowing and skill from an ecological and anthropological lens in sport. We discuss: -That we live in the 'information age', where there is an excess of 'second hand information' everywhere, we have a test for this a test for that, a strategy for this and all this tech spitting out all kinds of data...Universities teach courses in siloed and reduced methods and reward an encyclopedic like recall of information as expertise... Yes, 'second hand information' can be useful...but I am also seeing a lot of un-embodied/disconnected and disempowered runners as a result. -The importance of 'inhabitant knowledge'.....which is gained through exposure and 'primary experience', this can't simply be replaced by 'second hand information' eg. what a textbook/test or Instagram post says. -Embracing 'uncertainty' and 'the wisdom of not knowing', 'Being prepare but not planned' -Slow down and attend to the environment around you, be a 'wayfinder'. -What defines mastery/a skilled performer or expert? ....the humility to say; 'I don't know' or 'I am unsure', openness, lots of exposure to a certain environment and context, to resonate with their surrounds, to 'look, feel, hear and smell' better, to know what to pay attention to- what to 'stretch towards' and when to 'wait' and be patient.

The guests on this episode are Damian Farrow, Alex Lascu, Derek Panchuk, and Carl Woods. They discuss the shift from coach as instructor to coach designer, the challenges of 'hands-off' coaching, the importance of understanding skill acquisition theory, and the need for a consistent purpose across different coaching disciplines.

Themes covered in this episode include:What is a coaching philosophy and do we need one?Understanding experiences from others perspectives.Learning through corresponding/ interacting together.Best intentions, staying curious and humble.My fabulous guests bios and links to other content and resources are in part 2 due to word constraints.BibliographyThe meaning of some 'long words' used in the podcast. Despite the complexity of the words, these are important and useful concepts to think about regarding philosophy and guiding principles in coaching.Critical phenomenology examines how our experiences are shaped by power, social structures, and historical contexts. It emphasises the importance of understanding individual and group experiences, while also acknowledging larger societal forces. It critiques traditional phenomenology's focus on individual subjectivity and advocates for social and political critique to empower marginalised groups and create more equitable societies.Eco-feminism highlights the connection between women's oppression and environmental degradation, both caused by the patriarchal system. It advocates for more egalitarian and sustainable societies, emphasising the interdependence of all living beings.Positivistic objective philosophy emphasises empirical evidence and scientific methods to understand the world, seeking universal laws and objective truths while excluding subjective experiences and values. It prioritises quantitative data and a neutral observer to eliminate bias from scientific investigation.Ethnography is a qualitative research method used to understand human cultures and social phenomena by systematically observing and analysing people in their natural environment. Ethnographers aim to produce detailed accounts of social and cultural contexts through extended fieldwork, interviews, surveys, and document analysis, often using an emic (insider) or etic (outsider) perspective.Participant observation is a research method where the researcher becomes a participant in a social setting while observing and recording the behaviour of others. It provides a deep understanding of the cultural practices and beliefs of the group studied by experiencing them firsthand, and often involves note-taking, interviewing, and engagement with group members.Anthropocentric philosophy prioritises humans and their needs above all other living beings and the environment. It assumes nature exists solely for human benefit, promoting an unsustainable relationship with the natural world. This perspective neglects the interconnectedness of all life and has been criticised for being destructive.Pedagogy is the practice and theory of teaching and education, encompassing methods and strategies to facilitate learning, selecting appropriate materials, designing lesson plans, and creating an engaging environment. Effective pedagogy considers individual needs, promotes active participation, and varies by subject matter, age group, and cultural context.Ontology is a branch of philosophy that deals with the nature of existence, including the concepts of being, becoming, and reality. It is concerned with questions about what exists, what entities can be said to exist, and how such entities can be grouped, related within a hierarchy, and subdivided according to similarities and differences.Epistemology is the branch of philosophy concerned with the nature and scope of knowledge. It explores questions related to how knowledge is acquired, the criteria for evaluating knowledge claims, and the limits of what can be known. Epistemology also examines the various sources of knowledge, such as perception, reason, and testimony, and investigates the methods used to validate knowledge claims, such as the scie