In the previous post, I wrote about the “Over the line” concept, where a teacher or a leader has to push people towards the common goal. It’s done through inspiration, motivation, information, teaching, and good leadership. But you alone cannot carry everyone across the line. You need to create a growth culture in your community. And what if you could create a generation of people where they start to help each other?
Generations are a very common and simple tool to build a community.
Use generations smartly. Know that one generation is good for one thing; the other will be better for other things. Don’t make it the biggest part of your culture, so you avoid inter-generational drama.
Remember to avoid drama, you need more action. But you cannot expect one generation to be active for 10 years; they will get tired and sooner or later be stuck in drama.
If you want to put some energy into a group, go and create the next generation. Don’t boil the water from the top with a lighter. First, you are alone and it’s not enough. Secondly, you are going to burn your fingers. When the generation went cold, try to get another 10-15 new good people into the “pipeline.” Focus your energy on them. They will warm up all the water at the top.
The best motivation for a capoeirista is to get a rasteira from a younger capoeirista. The best motivation for an advanced player is good roda, and he wasn’t there.
— From talks with Cueca