Martial arts mix up
You’ll need
Planning your visit
- Invite a martial arts practitioner into your group to give a demonstration or run a taster session. The invited person must hold a relevant coaching qualification within their sport.
Further information for running martial arts activities within Scouting can be found here and should be consulted before running this activity. When choosing your martial art, consider selecting one that no group members already take part in so everyone gets a chance to try something new. A list of martial arts that can be run with Scouting can be found here. The warm-up activity could be completed before booking the taste session to learn a little about different martial arts and help your group to choose which martial art they want to try.
- Give the visitor plenty of notice and check if they have any accessibility or travel needs (such as public transport information or a parking space).
- Discuss with the visitor how you can best support the session by providing a suitable space and enough time.
You should also discuss the content of the session with the visitor and make sure they are aware of any group members accessibility needs so that the session can be suitable for everyone. Some groups may also wish to check with parents/carers that they are happy for all young people to participate. If a taster session is not appropriate for your group, organise for a group to visit and perform a demonstration of their martial art instead.
Get your head in the game
- Print and cut out (or write on scrap paper) the provided lists of martial arts, name translations and countries of origin.
One set of each will be needed per team.
- Everyone should split into small teams of five or fewer members and stand in their groups at one end of your space.
- The names of the 8 martial arts should be laid out at the opposite end of the space (these could be on a table, on the floor or stuck to a wall)
- The separated lists of name translations and countries should be given to the groups.
- Group members should take turns to choose a piece of paper, run up and place it with the martial art they think it matches, then run back and tag the next player.
- The relay should stop once the first team has finished, the number of correct matches should be counted up and the victory will be awarded to the team with the most correct matches.
- Each team should be given one point for each correctly matched name translation and country of origin, or three points if they get both right. The team with the most points wins.
Instead of running this activity as a relay race, each team could sit around a table and be given the cut-out martial arts, name translations and countries. The groups could then race to match them on their table as fast as they can.
Martial arts session
- Group members will now take part in the taster session delivered by the martial arts coach.
- Where possible ask the coach delivering the session to discuss any cultural or historical areas of their martial art as these areas can be just as important as the physical component.
- Following the session remember to thank the coach and find out how anyone that is interested can take up the martial art if they wish.
Reflection
Rate it out: Create a scale spanning from one end of your meeting place to the other. Use paper, chalk or masking tape to create the numbers one through ten. These numbers run from negative to positive, with one representing 'sad' or 'strongly disagree' through to ten meaning 'happy' or 'strongly agree'.
Ask everyone to gather in the center of the room, and then ask a series of questions to help reflect on the taster session. Each person should run over and touch or stand by the number that articulates their answer. After each question, allow time for people to explain their chosen position if they feel comfortable doing so.
Here are some questions to consider, but feel free to substitute your own:
- How much did you enjoy the session?
- How much did you learn from the session?
- How important do you think the culture and history around martial arts is?
- How likely are you to take up any form of martial arts in the future?
If some people decide to undertake a martial art and work towards their badge, you could use this reflection to check in with them every few weeks and see they are enjoying their new sport.
Safety
All activities must be safely managed. You must complete a thorough risk assessment and take appropriate steps to reduce risk. Use the safety checklist to help you plan and risk assess your activity. Always get approval for the activity, and have suitable supervision and an InTouch process.
- Active games
The game area should be free of hazards. Explain the rules of the game clearly and have a clear way to communicate that the game must stop when needed. Take a look at our guidance on running active games safely.
- Contact games and activities
Make sure everyone understands what contact is acceptable, and monitor contact throughout the activity.
To increase the difficulty of the relay race, add a time limit to the activity. If the activity is too difficult the race portion should be removed which removes the pressure from the decision-making process and allows groups to discuss and think about their answers.
Any accessibility requirements of your group should be identified beforehand and discussed with the visiting coach to see if they can be catered for which should influence your decision on whether this session can be made appropriate.
Further information on adapting martial arts for anyone with additional needs can be found at BBC Sport.
All Scout activities should be inclusive and accessible.
Anyone who enjoyed their martial arts taster experience, or didn’t enjoy it but may want to find out about a different martial art, should be encouraged to take up a martial art and pursue the Scouts Martial Arts Activity Badge. They could get in contact with whoever ran the taster session or research a local club on their own. Lots of information for getting into martial arts can be found at BBC Sport.
Discuss with your group prior to booking the visitor which form of martial art they would like to experience. Support your group to reach out to the proposed visiting group to book the session themselves, they could use a group email address to get in touch.