I am starting to think that the blades have never been as dead as we are led to believe. I think they have been held captive by the gems attached to them. Also i feel that the blade has been leading adolin subconsciously down a path to becoming an edgedancer. This passage could just be Adolin understanding that he was out of his depth and wondering how he had the instinct. Previously i feel he thought he was that much better than his opponent and didn't register the cues.