About the Sport Principle The mat area, the pitch, the court, it needs to be owned. The top-level sports player will take time to familiarise themselves with the playing surface before the fixture. TV cameras often show players taking a stroll on the Wembley pitch on the morning of the cup final. The stadium is […]
About the Sport Principle In any sport, it is important to control your breathing, but there is a very judo-specific dimension to this concept, which moves it beyond most sports. Patrick Roux, former GB coach explains: ‘As a young competitor, I heard this phrase from a renowned teacher who was watching, from the edge of […]
About the Sport Principle Like weightlifters, high-level rock climbers stand or fall, (often quite literally) on the strength of their grips. Grip strength is of crucial importance here, and Sports Science tests often focus on climbers’ forearms with the aim of discovering what makes good climbers uniquely effective with their grip. It’s similar with judo. […]
About the Sport Principle Social inhibition in sport is a huge area of academic study in PE and Sports Science. Put simply, the term means that some people’s performance is improved by the presence of an audience (social facilitation), but some people feel the pressure and the presence of the audience makes their performance worse […]
About the Sport Principle This principle is all about the ‘f’ word: focus, of course. Sportspeople, like all of us, sometimes get their understanding of how we focus wrong, and it costs them dearly. They may talk about their momentary loss of focus costing them the game. For example: ‘I lost my focus for a […]
At CVM this year, like every year, we have focused on one person, we have written about, spoken about and shared the news of Jesus the Christ. Jesus answered, “I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me.”John 14:6 Jesus is the answer, he is […]
The Sport principle: Imagine being a child supporter of Manchester United, whose first game at Old Trafford was the 5-0 defeat to Liverpool earlier this season. All your short life, you’d have looked forward to an experience that should have been a happy memory for the rest of your life, but it was forever ruined […]
About the Sport Principle Sports scientists used to think success was achieved by being focused, but not obsessed. They are now convinced you need to be obsessed. Four years before the London 2012 Olympics, one of our fencers made a big choice to make sure every last little decision in her life was made with […]
Many of us have been there – turbulence in the stock markets, nervous clients, projects cancelled, news of lay-offs, rumours within the organisation; and then the all-staff meeting confirming the worst – there will have to be redundancies. I’ve lived long enough now to recognise it as a familiar pattern. Sleepless nights; panic about providing […]
About the Sport Principle Combat is a popular metaphor for describing any kind of conflict in life, whether physical or not. So, we may wrestle with our consciences as we get to grips with a problem. We often don’t realise we are borrowing grappling imagery as we try to gain the upper hand, and get on top of the situation. Persuasion can […]
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