About the Sport Principle This is my final thought in this series of sports principles. If you’ve managed to read each of these blogs, stretching back well over a year, well done. Well done too if you’ve managed to read any of them. I really appreciate any time and attention that you have invested in […]
About the Sport Principle A lot of sportspeople believe that natural talent is only one-tenth of what you need to succeed in top level sport! The other nine-tenths are down to sheer determination and the willpower to succeed. This is not saying that talent isn’t important, talented people often have the edge and make some […]
About the Sport Principle Michael Jordan, arguably the world’s greatest ever basketball player, said: ‘You will always miss 100% of the shots you don’t take’. If you don’t have a target to aim at, you will always miss. The world’s top athletes in all sports have their targets clearly written down for them on all […]
About the Sport Principle In order to be able to physically make it to the end of a 26.2mile marathon, the skill of saving energy during the early part of the race must be mastered. Feelings are faster and more efficient than intellect – a good marathon runner is able to manage a simply unimaginable […]
About the Sport Principle Top athletes spend most of their time worrying about things they have no control over: the weather, the referee, the crowd’s reaction, etc. We must learn from this. There is now lots of scientific evidence to suggest that the old saying is true: Whether you believe that you can, or you […]
About the Sport Principle Judo: “The gentle art of folding people’s clothes, with the people still in them.” Judo hurts. At the end of a hard night’s training, literally shedding blood, sweat and tears, covered in bruises, dripping with sweat, and nursing countless aches and pains it’s hard to see it as the ‘gentle way’. […]
About the Sport Principle The British Olympic sailing team’s sports psychologist attributes the British Sailing Team’s considerable success over the last two to three decades, to their deliberate policy of generating a team spirit among the sailors over the Olympic cycle, even though many of them are going out on the water on their own […]
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. […]
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