What are the contents of special sports?

The essence of the special sports we often talk about is a full-scale targeted content centered on a specific competitive or fitness event. The core covers special technical polishing, special physical fitness adaptation, special tactical games, special psychological construction and special injury recovery. It is by no means as simple as "repeatedly practicing the basic movements of this event" as everyone thinks.

I used to train with the retired badminton coach of the provincial team for half a year. At first, I really thought I was just smashing and practicing my steps every day. But in the first week, I didn’t touch the racket at all. I squatted on the mat every day to practice the small strength of the ankle joint, the explosive power of hip rotation, and the wrist control of the clapping hand. Practitioners say that this is the most basic special physical fitness - the squats and deadlifts you usually practice in the gym are general basic abilities, but special physical fitness requires you to be able to jump to the net immediately after squatting to exert force. The entire force exertion model fully meets the actual needs of the project, and it is almost impossible.

Technical polishing does not require just a lot of training. Take badminton's high and long shots as an example. You don't need to make 1,000 swings to pass. You have to adjust the hitting point based on your own height and explosive power. You also need to be familiar with the action variations in different scenarios. How to use it when you are passive. Hitting the ball in place and how to press the landing point during the attack are all areas of specialized skills. It took me two months to change my movements. When I was playing half-court lobs, I still returned the ball out of bounds from time to time. I just didn't polish my skills to the extent of forming muscle memory. Once the fast-paced confrontation came, I would return to my original form.

Speaking of which, there have always been differences in the content boundaries of special sports. Many amateur players think that I just play ball and run and keep fit. There is no need to bother with so many content, as long as I can sweat. Coaches with professional backgrounds generally believe that even if you are an amateur, practicing some special content corresponding to the event can avoid unnecessary injuries. There is a golfer next to me who has been playing field ball for three years and has never developed any special strength training on the ankle joint. He has sprained his foot five times. Recently, he has just followed the coach to practice standing on one foot to balance. Last week, he told me that he has been playing ball for two hours and his ankle no longer feels as tight as before.

When it comes to the level of a competitive match, the weight of tactics and psychology will immediately come up. If you find out that your opponent's backhand is weak, you will deliberately suppress his backhand position. When you encounter an opponent who is good at lobs, you will speed up the attack rhythm. These are all part of special tactics. When it comes to critical situations, not shaking and daring to play the ball at your usual pace is the role of special psychological construction. When I reached 20 in our local amateur match last time, the sweat in my palms could soak the handle of the racket. The coach shouted on the sidelines, "Play as you usually practice." To put it bluntly, he was helping me get back from my dazed state. It was also considered a special on-the-spot psychological adjustment.

Many people tend to miss out on specialized recovery. In fact, this is what ordinary enthusiasts need to supplement most. Specialized recovery is not just about finding a general stretching video and following it. For example, if you play badminton too much, your rotator cuff and wrist joints are prone to tension. Specialized recovery requires targeted shoulder external rotation, relaxation, and shoulder joint strengthening. The position of the blade is adjusted, and even the rhythm of sugar supplementation after the game must be based on the energy consumption characteristics of the event. I stretched blindly after the game before, which caused pain in the rotator cuff for a week. Later I learned that the general stretching did not cover the deep muscles that often exert force in badminton. It was a waste of effort and easy to get injured.

In fact, many people now practice special sports out of hobbies. They don’t have to follow the training volume of professional teams. They can just choose what they need and practice. This way they can have fun and avoid sports injuries.