Bodily-kinesthetic intelligence is manifested through the ability to control one’s movements with mastery and to use tools expertise. These tools vary greatly depending on the activity to which we refer. It can be the classic ball in sports games or the surgeon’s scalpel, skis or the tailor’s needle, the clavettes in gymnastics or the cane used by Charlot. Competence in physical activity consists of the use of a fairly broad range of skills, such as strength, endurance, balance, dexterity, expressiveness, and coordination. It is very important to be able to carry out physical activity programs that develop all of these skills. Eastern culture, compared to ours, has traditionally been more inclined to follow these paths and, among the many forms of expressiveness it has produced, martial arts represent an example of integrated development of these different skills. In our Western culture, however, more attention has been paid to the development of skills such as strength and endurance and less to that of other skills.
Assess your kinesthetic intelligence
- I play at least one sport or do physical activity on a regular basis
- I find it difficult to sit for a long time
- I like to engage in manual activities
- I get the best ideas when I walk, run or otherwise engage in some physical activity
- I spend most of my time in outdoor activities
- When I talk to other people I gesture a lot
- To appreciate an object I have to touch it
- I feel like a person who moves in a coordinated way
- I enjoy experiences that give me intense physical sensations
- I cope well with physical fatigue
Add up all affirmative responses:
- up to four – you have a long way ahead of you to increase your kinesthetic intelligence;
- between five and six – you are trying hard but can do more, don’t give up;
- between seven and eight – you are showing excellent kinesthetic skills, keep believing in them and above all, practice them;
- between nine and ten – don’t get ahead of yourself; you’re good.
