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 […]
About the Sport Principle There is no other sphere of life where it is clearer than in sport to see that if you enjoy something, you excel at it. Very few top-level sportspeople are reluctant athletes. They don’t struggle to get out of bed in the morning because they are doing what they love. It […]
About the Sport Principle I love rugby league. But this hasn’t always been the case. It took my youngest son joining a local club, and then his coach to organise a trip to watch his club, Wigan Warriors, followed by an international at Anfield, for us to be hooked! We’re now fully paid up long […]
About the Sport Principle All the sports research points to this. Being confident leads to sporting success. Always! It is generally believed that there are two types of confidence in sport: one is innate and could be described as a natural disposition. It is a generalised belief to do with the extent to which an […]
This week my brother Ben and I are trying to cycle from St David’s in Wales right across the widest point of the UK to Lowestoft. When I dreamed this Grand Challenge up in lockdown it seemed like a fantastic idea and made perfect sense, now as it begins today – none of it makes […]
About the Sport Principle Judo is all about exploiting your opponents’ ‘weak lines’. Put simply, if the objective is to topple an object or person, where there is a prop or support, there is strength, and the objective becomes very difficult to achieve. Picture a simple plastic chair, of the sort seen in a typical […]
About the Sport Principle Judo is one of the most widely practised sports in the world. Our English word, ‘Judo’ is taken from two Japanese words: ‘do’ meaning ‘way’ and ‘ju’ meaning ‘gentle’. It is literally ‘the gentle way’. Judo involves ‘moving with’ an opponent. ‘Push when pulled, and when pushed, pull’ is a mantra […]
About the Sport Principle Is there anything worse? Paying for your ticket, looking forward to the match all week, and then watching your team play out a dull 0-0 draw! Perhaps it is the end of the season, and in order to stay up, or get into the play-offs (or whatever) all your team needs […]
About the Sport Principle Have you ever been frustrated at being excluded from something because you cannot access the specialist language? Olympic track cycling presents this frustration for me. Every four years, I excitedly tune in to enjoy what strikes me as a gripping event, but every time, my inability to distinguish my keirins from my […]
About the Sport Principle: Life in the Olympic village: This year, the Olympics will be very different. Due to the global pandemic, there will be no international spectators and the competitors themselves will be in and out of the village, only permitted to stick around for the duration of their event. But perhaps this won’t […]
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