From the time boys and girls reach the age of six, seven or eight, they have likely been involved in some form of organized sport. T-ball is often the first sport for a boy, while soccer has become the sport of choice for younger girls. But before long, and often before parents know it, several years have passed and the kids have advanced to other sports, including softball, baseball, basketball, flag football, and football, even though the kids are still playing. soccer at all ages. and girls

No matter the sport, every participant wants to be able to perform well and wants to get better at their game as time goes on. This is natural. As kids mature and begin to think in terms of high school and college, the possibility of athletic scholarships comes into play. The desire to play well is replaced by the desire to excel, which often becomes the dominant emotion. Whether or not this becomes the driving force, everyone wants to play to the best of their ability and this is usually incentive enough for participants to work as hard as they can to achieve their goals.

For young children, the coach’s first responsibility is to teach them how to play and, in particular, how the coach wants the game to be played. Each position in each team sport requires the player at that position to have a different set of physical attributes and skills that may make him or her particularly well-suited for that position. For example, in baseball, a first baseman, pitcher, or catcher doesn’t need to have the running speed that an outfielder should. A six-foot ten-year-old is more likely to play center on a basketball team than a point guard, and a slow-footed but sure-handed person would do much better as a goalie on a soccer team than as a goalie. Forward. . Based on the attributes of each candidate, the coach must assign each one a playing position. These can change over time, so these considerations remain part of what takes up the coach’s time and energy.

The coaches do their best to bring out the best in each team member. At the younger ages, coaches are often volunteers who have had little formal training in how to get the most out of their players. Sometimes the team is lucky and gets a coach who can achieve a lot. More often the best intentions cannot make up for their lack of knowledge and skill and as a result the coaching is ‘good enough’ but doesn’t always bring out the best in players.

In addition to teaching the game and the details of the various positions, the coach has many other teaching duties. The coach must teach the players to play as a team, to be respectful with the other players on their team, but also with the players on the other team. Some of the players will assume leadership positions, while others must learn to follow and cooperate with the leader, or speak respectfully if there is a dispute over something the leader has done. This represents only a partial list of a coach’s responsibilities, so it’s a lucky team that gets a truly competent coach.

Often in the attempt to win in the middle ages, winning itself becomes the main goal. How much each player actually plays and at what positions is determined by the coach, who bases his decision on the player’s ability and the resulting contribution to the desired “gain.” The way players are treated often defines how these young athletes perceive themselves. The player who is left out often feels inferior, while the player who plays most of the time begins to feel superior to the others. The less capable child may develop more slowly and improve, even as the season progresses. It is important that the coach does not allow the good player to become overconfident and perhaps impulsive, while the other child loses self-confidence and therefore does not take advantage of his abilities.

Fortunately, there is another activity that youth can participate in that is more individualized and allows each individual to develop to the level that they are capable of at their age and stage of physical and mental development. There is no competition as to who will play in the game, for how long, and in what position. Does not require specialized training as determined by the sport and the position played in that sport. Everyone learns the same thing and many ways to achieve what is required. This allows the teacher to focus on the lesson itself while exposing all participants to many concepts and aspects of the lesson. The teacher can focus on the abilities of each student so that positive attributes come to light for all to share and from which all can benefit. All students can learn by observing and practicing with other students and helping others as they progress through the lessons. That activity is Karate.

How Karate is Taught Learning Karate involves much more than learning to punch, kick, grapple, and block. Instead, students first learn to sit still, clear the mind of all distractions, find their center, and establish their balance. From there the students learn to bow as a recognition of respect for themselves, for others and very importantly, respect for the training area and what it represents for them personally, that is, the opportunity they have to train. They then return to standing, this time progressing through all the basic postures. From there, they begin to learn how to fall, forwards and backwards, in such a way as to minimize the likelihood that they will injure themselves from the fall. They then learn to execute various complex positions, movements, techniques, punches, kicks, and blocks. Combinations of these replicate the movements they perform in various circumstances in all sports. Once these combinations have been absorbed, through knowledge, application and repetition, the student will be able to handle himself much better than he otherwise would have in all situations, be it sports or even threats. physical to your person.

In the training process, each action is given a name and the combinations of these actions are learned in forms, steps or combos. Each of these is also given a name. The starting position in one form is called “Chumbae” and involves nothing more than standing at attention with the student’s arms and fists placed in a certain position. The student takes this position by order of the instructor. The difficult part of the position is not getting into it, but the fact that there must be no movement until the next command is given. If the student has an itchy nose, or any other distraction, not reacting to the situation becomes a test of self-control.

The next command could be “double for a high block”. A smooth transition to the placement of the arms, hands, body, and feet should be made as quickly as possible, without appearing to move jerkily. This command will be followed by other commands to move to other positions. Every action called by name requires immediate recognition and a fluid response.

At first, the recognition of the command is not immediate and the response is not smooth or fast. But with time and repetition the response becomes more immediate and the repositioning motion more fluid and precise. Just like learning a new language, individual words are first recognized, then with frequent use the words can be put together into flowing sentences that ultimately generate complete thoughts and concepts. This can be achieved once the students have assumed the new language as their own.

This is Karate.