GAMES - PLAYING VS TRAINING :

Deliberate Practice (Training is?) Cote : “Highly structured activity that requires effort, generates no immediate rewards, and is motivated by the goal of improving performance rather than inherent enjoyment.”

 Deliberate Play ( Play is?) Cote: “Activities are intrinsically motivating, designed to maximise fun and enjoyment and provide immediate gratification.” 

Application in Physical Literacy:

Under the Age of 16.

Years 0-6 should be ALL about FUN & Play. 

Years 7-12 Long Term Learning OVER Winning. 

Year 13 and over competition introduced for serious athletes but still learning to train at a higher volume & intensity takes time.

Year 16 is ID of High Performance candidates.

An extension of the CAI course is the incorporation of the KADM initiative of using games and having game sense in our coaching.

Implicit VS Explicit Learning & Development

GAME SENSE Games. We are playing games when we spar, when role play, it is simulating a competitive bout. Sparring in all forms for Kickboxers are our equivalent of a game/match or scrimmage in ball sports. There is a set of rules, an opponent, objectives and an area of play. 

FOUR ELEMENTS 

Each game has four elements:

1.  Rules 
2.  An area of play 
3.  Objectives 
4.  Opponents.

Those four elements when combined constitute a game and coaches incorporate these every day in training, from simple drills down to positional situations, situational drills, positional drills, simple striking, sparring etc. We will not get hung up on the word- GAME. Think: SPARRING. Let us examine how we are using rules, areas of play, certain training partners and having them work on certain things to build the foundational skills in our student athletes. 

STRATEGY :

Strategy is game planning and game planning is strategy. 

Coaching athletes on a day to day basis combining the ideas of gross body position, positional hierarchy, ring craft and also transitional sequences, from one range to another gives our athletes the application of tactics for a strategic outcome. What strategy do we deploy against the skill sets of various styles of opponents? Styles Make Fights. An intelligent GAME PLAN or STRATEGY will counter different opponents at different moments. How many different STYLES of fighter have you faced in competition or in training?

IF WE ARE NOT HAVING FUN WE ARE DOING IT WRONG :

KEEPING IT FUN. All Kickboxers LOVE to spar! The use of VARIED forms of free sparring is all about keeping it fun, keeping things interesting and naturally competitive . It means you still do all the hard work, ALL THE TIME, but the idea is to make it fun, to be a facilitator of fun, to make it interesting. 

Let athletes enjoy themselves LIVE, let them compete every day. Competition is core, iron sharpens iron. 

Competitiveness in a combat sport can lead to emotions becoming overheated at times. Safety is always paramount with highly competitive athletes, there is always the chance that things get heated and the action leaves the mat. Know your athletes and remind them : We spar WITH training partners & teammates and save the fights for opponents in competition! Keeping it fun, is a big part of ensuring this does happen.