Specialized sports skills

Specialized sports technology has never been a standardized action template that is universally applicable, but a dynamic action solution that fits the competition rules of the event, matches individual physiological conditions, and adapts to real-time competition scenarios. This is the most practical conclusion I have come to after spending 12 years in the training ground, following provincial team coaches in three projects, and watching the review of more than a hundred professional games.

A while ago, I went to a field with my friends to play basketball. A kid who had just entered high school argued with us while holding his mobile phone, saying, "Professional coaches on the Internet said that shooting must be standard with the arms and forearms at 90 degrees and the elbows not turned out. It is not right for you to throw with your hands crooked like that." After that, he demonstrated the posture again. The posture was very good-looking, but he only scored 2 out of 10 goals. On the contrary, there was a retired provincial team defender sitting on the sidelines. His wrist was so crooked that it almost touched his ear. He raised his hand and stepped in. The child came over and asked. The old man smiled and said, "I also practiced standard postures when I was young. Later, I broke my left hand and changed my movements. If I can get in, it is a good technique."

When I was practicing track and field, the two coaches on the team had quarreled countless times. The old-school coach recognized the backside technique and watched us every day to make sure we push back fully and push the hips in place. He said that only when we push back hard enough can we run fast.； The new coaches are obsessed with front-side techniques, asking us to raise our knees to the ground and reduce the time in the air. They say that pushing too hard from the back will waste time in exerting force. Now you search for sprint teaching, and the two groups are still arguing, but you see Su Bingtian changed the front technique and ran 9 seconds 83. It does not mean that all sprinters have to change - the 16-year-old member of our team has not yet developed the strength of his lower limbs. He learned the front technique for half a month, and his knees directly accumulated fluid, so he changed to the rear technique to lay the foundation, and now his performance has increased steadily. Is there any absolutely correct technique? It just depends on what stage you are at and what your physical condition is.

Speaking of which, I also encountered this pitfall when I was practicing fencing. When I first started, the coach broke my legs every day and said that the front knee of the lunge must not go over the toes, otherwise it will hurt the knee, so I stuck to this standard practice. As a result, when I played in the city competition for the first time, I met an opponent who was 20 centimeters taller than me. I couldn't touch his effective part with the standard lunge. I was beaten 15 to 2, and I squatted down and cried on the sidelines. Later, the coach of the provincial team who came to select players saw it and showed me a lunge. My knees were five centimeters faster than my toes, and my stride was half as long as mine. He said, "If your knees are not injured, your core can be controlled, you can hit people, and you can get back, what's wrong with your toes?" The rules don’t prohibit it.” I later changed my movements and won second place in the next competition without any knee problems.

I have seen many similar farces when I was in the running circle. A few years ago, when front palm running became popular, a group of people forced themselves to change their running form. They were originally able to run a four-hour marathon. However, two months after the change, Achilles tendonitis developed and they could not even walk. Later, everyone slowly came to realize that people with high arches and strong calves can indeed improve their performance by learning the forefoot running method. People with flat feet and heavy weight are simply making trouble for themselves if they join in the fun. An older brother I know is PB322 in the marathon. He has been running with his hands on the ground for ten years. He has never been injured. His results are much faster than those who praise the "standard running method".

Many people always think that specialized technology must be a standard answer that is exactly the same as what is shown in the textbook. In fact, this is not the case. If you go to see the Olympic finals, athletes in the same event all have their own characteristics in their movements. In table tennis, there are pen-hand and horizontal strokes, and in swimming, there are two-stroke and four-stroke strokes. How can there be any unified standard? Those standard movements in textbooks are essentially scaffolding for novices. They are the lowest-risk, most cost-effective entry path summarized by countless predecessors. They are not a lifelong curse.

To be honest, the most taboo thing when practicing special skills is to accept death. If you just start practicing, there is nothing wrong with just following the standard movements to lay the foundation. Once you have practiced to a certain level, you have to learn to adjust according to your physical condition and competition scenarios. Techniques that can help you achieve results and avoid injury are good techniques. After all, we practice skills to win games, not to make instructional videos as templates for others to see, right?