Shohei Ohtani at Neurological Point B to Start the World Series
From stagnation to a humming neural network of absolute strength entering the 2025 World Series.
Neurological Point B at Level of Competition
It’s violent. It’s explosive. You’ll know it when you see it…
That’s how we define Neurological Point B at the Level of Competition.
In The Art & Science of Programming: you are taught to use the Level of Competition as a feedback loop to gauge if an athlete’s nervous system is at Point B. We referenced Olin Kreutz and Ben Johnson, but if you want a current example, just watch Shohei Ohtani’s most recent game.
Stagnation to Historic Output
The baseball analysts in the video above—experts in their sport but not in programming for Point B—described Ohtani as off. What they were actually describing is what we call neurological stagnation: when the neural network of absolute strength becomes bored and as a result its ability to self organize force expression stagnates.
Then, in game four of the National League Championship Series (NLCS), everything flipped. The stagnation gave way to compression—and from that compression emerged ten strikeouts and three home runs. Resulting in a 4-0 sweep.
Stagnation is a real monkey on our back as strength programmers. Most do not even know about this monkey and that is why it grows into a gorilla, then we have a real fight on our hands—one we are always will to take of course. Ohtani identified this monkey on his back and violently shook it off.
Stagnation Sets The Table for a Humming Neural Network of Absolute Strength
Stagnation leads to low performance, not high performance. Low performance in a team sport leads to frustration. Stagnation when it matters most—October baseball—is brutal.
As Louie Simmons would say, “Desperate men do desperate things.”
Desperate Ohtani did something he hadn’t done in awhile, he took batting practice outside.
