British Wrestling are excited to share that we are working with a number of combat sports led by British Fencing, to support our coaches in learning the latest coaching methods from around the combat world.
British Fencing has started a cross combat sport collaborative. This included British Fencing, England Boxing, British Judo and British Wrestling. The thought behind it was to bring these sports together and support the growth of their respective coaches by learning from one another. As it was the first pilot we invited a select few coaches however this will open up to the performance pathway and regional coaches in the future.
British Fencing brought in Sian Hughes Pollitt – a Journalist with a wide variety of experience. She interviewed some of the wrestling coaches in attendance. Below is a snippet of her interviews, with the full interviews available as a download below.
My major lightbulb moment at Combat Club was being introduced to constraints-based coaching where the coach steps back slightly to encourage the athlete to grapple with the problem or task in hand. We’d been working to more traditional strategies in Wrestling. By overhauling training, grounding it on a reflective aspect or relevant activity, I can now enable
Sian Hughes Pollitt – Journalist
my athletes to take control of their learning. They explore what works and it allows them to self-organise. Meanwhile, I observe and offer some external cues or potential options, maximising our time on task.”
All coaches feel the same. The journey is difficult and we go from one challenge to the next. It’s physical as well as mental. A lot of coaches at Combat Club were talking about their individual experiences – one said
Sian Hughes Pollitt – Journalist
that their athlete had taken a heavy loss at a tournament and it was a struggle to bring them back from that. In all our heads there’s an alarm bell beeping because I have a kid like that who puts in a lot of work. Coaching is very personal as well as professional. Knowing how to keep them motivated and succeed in bringing them on involves putting everything at the max to get the job done. I run a junior team and that’s exhausting, taxing but rewarding. We took the team title in Leicester on Saturday. I will give my all to them so they can do their best on the mat. Often I sweat more than my wrestlers.”
David reports his confidence has been boosted by a continuing dialogue with his fellow Combat Club coaches, which in turn supports him in embedding new lines of attack in athlete development and coach education. It cascades outwards too. He sees wrestlers transform – their self-confidence in turn improving stature meaning they can enter into certain positions with greater ease and pick up skills and tactics more quickly.
Sian Hughes Pollitt – Journalist
My one word for Combat Club would be
Sian Hughes Pollitt – Journalist
‘therapeutic’. Coaches constantly work, think about work and we get worn out. Right from the off on that day, I was sharing my experiences with other coaches who have exactly the same things going on. That lands. Combat Club gave me the permission to think about myself. As a coach I am forever athlete-centred, looking after them and looking out for them. It is refreshing when something or somebody recognises that coaches are essential links in a chain. They are assets and assets need looking after in their own right.
