After meeting up at the Tees Valley Sport #PassOnYourPassion event in October, two female coaches from the area have worked together to share their skills and provide a multi discipline experience for their athletes. Marsha Garret took a group of her dance students along to MAX Training Academy, a Martial Arts and Mixed Training centre in Middlesbrough. Here the group worked with MMA Coach Sam Johnson and some of her athletes.
The two groups used the discipline of Capoeira to share and develop their skills. Capoeira is an Afro-Brazilian martial art that combines elements of dance, acrobatics, and music. It was developed by enslaved Africans in Brazil at the beginning of the 16th century; the slaves used music and rhythm to mask the combative nature of their movements.
To begin the session the dancers taught a short routine to the students from MAX Academy. The group then worked more specifically on the combative elements of Capoeira. This gave the dancers better understanding of the origins of the moves and taught them some new elements to integrate into the dance routines.
Both groups of young people and the coaches had an amazing time and felt that they learnt a lot from the session.
“The young people had their comfort zones challenged, but ultimately recognised how this activity helped their performance. As a coach it was great to see someone else work with my group, to see what the young people responded to and what motivated them. I got to consider different ways of explaining movement and giving direction. We definitely all took a lot away from the session.”
The integrated session was so successful and beneficial that Sam and Marsha are seeking to repeat the session in the near future. If you think your squads or performers would benefit from trying a different discipline, or you like the idea of sharing skills and ideas with a coach from a different sport let us know. We can put you in touch with other coaches from the #PassOnYourPassion programme and you can schedule your own workshops.
Posted on 18th February 2020