Fitness Midtown East : Igor Dyachenko’s knowledge
Fitness Midtown East : In kid’s karate classes, your child will begin to learn about the techniques of the martial arts. They will not spar or compete immediately, but they will as they progress. Facing an opponent in a sparring session or competition takes a lot of concentration. The demands of the sport are challenging, and we look at how to keep the focus on your opponent.
Mental conditioning in karate
A karateka may have superb physical fitness, but if their mental conditioning isn’t right, they will not succeed in the competition. Focusing on both physical and psychological conditioning is key to being successful in any martial arts. Having the right mindset helps to:
- Think clearly even when the body tires
- Keep focus for the duration of a fight
- Control emotions that can impact performance
When someone becomes physically tired during a sparring session, their decision-making can become slower. When fighting in karate, quick-thinking is essential. Being unable to think and strategize can lead to poor technique and incorrect distancing for strikes. To combat this, during kata practice, we promote mindfulness and focus. When performing patterns, our minds can wander, we maintain focus to prevent this.
A karate match is short, but losing focus for just a second can cost you the win. The only way to make mindfulness and being in the present second nature is to practice. During our kid’s karate class, we teach students how to stay in the moment. The more your child practices this, the better they become at maintaining focus.
Controlling emotions during a sparring session is vital. If a fighter allows frustration, anger, or impatience to take hold, it has a negative impact. With mental conditioning, your child learns to let go of negative emotions. Removing these from the mind helps to keep focus on the goal of winning the karate competition.
Tips for improving sparring
Sparring is a great way to practice strategy and find ways of beating an opponent. Your child won’t go into sparring straight away, but it will come into play later. We help them to improve point-scoring in sparring by adopting strategies and keeping the focus on the opponent. Some of the things we teach include:
- Using combinations to score points
- Mixing up movements to confuse the opponent
- Regular sparring practice
Igor Dyachenko has been using his extensive knowledge to create the perfect kid’s karate classes. Our students learn many different strategies, karate tactics, and critical skills. Your child can use the techniques in class to find success. Fitness Midtown East