Elyse’s Point

Episode 1: Let's get into some of the Philosophy of Sport. This helps set the stage for how there are aspects of our sport that are amazing and how there are aspects that might be killing it. The first episode sets up the background for the topic, and I don’t talk about the actual sport in much detail. The focus for you is to try and listen to the episode and apply it to your personal experience within the point sparr...

Episode 2: What is the purpose of sport?

What is this idea of "real fighting"?? Why is it that when I tell people "I do karate" that they say "oh.. so that means you can beat me up?"

Uhmm... No? But it does mean that I have dedicated time and effort into a sport to try and excel at the highest level I can. Just like any other athlete!! 

Let's get into the WHY of sport. Why do ...

Episode 3: Let's talk about rules.. and rules in rules. What marks the line between participant and nonparticipant in sport AND what makes rules so important (Who knew!)

Not to worry! We also talk about the two mistakenly similar types of fighting taught in karate: Kumite and Point Sparring

This is the last episode where we talk about the structure of sport (which can be challenging if you ...

Episode 4: Let's talk about one of the most taken-for-granted groups. Specifically in competitive sport. What makes a good coach? Topics include:

- The difference between coach and teacher

- Coaching for live matches

- Coaching Adults

Elyse Gorrell

PhD Candidate; MPC (CSPA-ACPS)

www.embodiedmentalperformance.com

Facebook — https://www.facebook.com/ElysesPoint

You...

Episode 5: Let's cooperate and understand females in sport and females in point sparring. Why do females drop out of the sport? This is not males vs. females. This is not solely a female issue.

Elyse Gorrell

PhD Candidate; MPC (CSPA-ACPS)

www.embodiedmentalperformance.com

Facebook — https://www.facebook.com/ElysesPoint

Youtube — https://www.youtube....

Episode 6: Let's discuss those karate kids (8-25 year olds)! This episode is speaking to competitive sport and NOT recreational sport. Youth sport and early sport specialization can be heavy topics -- and I'm using extreme examples (that do occur) to illustrate my point. Keep in mind I'm not stating "kids can't play competitive sport", but I am discussing how: 1) kids need to grow (mentally and physically) with the sport, and 2) wh...

Episode 7: Let's talk about the outsider and the insider perspectives of sport.. Skill appraisal! How do you know when you're watching a skilled athlete? How do you know you're good at your sport? If you can't train or compete... how do you know? Time to find other ways to ground yourself... social media is not one of them.

Elyse Gorrell

PhD Candidate; MPC (CSPA-ACPS)

www.embodiedmentalperf...

Episode 8: Let's talk about some of the influencing factors that affect the doers' and the viewers' perspective of sport karate. This is discussed through episode expert vs. novice knowledge, propagated information, and the actions within the game. How do all these contribute to what is regarded as a sport and what is regarded as a spectacle?

Elyse Gorrell

PhD Candidate; MPC (CSPA-ACPS)

www...

Episode 9: The final episode. Ending statements surrounding the questions of: What is the identity of sport karate point sparring? 

Elyse Gorrell

PhD Candidate; MPC (CSPA-ACPS)

www.embodiedmentalperformance.com

Facebook — https://www.facebook.com/ElysesPoint

Youtube — https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCKh_eedyxP0eilONX-7yjgw

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Elyse's Point guest this week is Maeghen Cotterill. Cotterill is an 11 time world gold medalist, President of WKU Team Canada, and Owner of 5 Elements Martial Arts in Calgary. We discuss the amazing rule set of sport karate, women participation in martial arts, strengthening sport karate in Western Canada, and sport karate in the media. 

Note: this interview was recorded June 28th, 2021. During the interview it is briefly mentioned...

Elyse’s Point guest this week is Dr. Maureen Connolly. An outsider to the sport karate community, Connolly is a Professor of Physical Education and Kinesiology. Connolly is an award winning teacher, a practitioner within sport and physical education (with a sport background in gymnastics, dance, and competitive body building) and helps everyone of every ability perform to their best. We discuss what “Pedagogy” is, the...

Elyse’s Point guest this week is Trevor Nash. This is a unique interview with Trevor as who many people associate with one of the greats when it comes to competing in point fighting (honestly I don’t even know all his stats and he wouldn’t tell me when I asked)… but not a lot of people recognize him for his coaching. AND he's my current coach! We discuss Trevor’s experiences and perspectives on coaching within sport k...

Elyse’s Point guest this week is Dr. Sarah Hopkins. Let's look at the body’s physiology with Hopkins; Chiropractor and owner of Bodylab Clinic in the Niagara region (oh ya… and she does ironmans competitively). We discuss treating Sport Karate athletes’ bodies, injury prevention and recovery (!!), the idea of pain vs. discomfort, overtraining, the aging body, body maintenance, training smarter vs. harder, and the indi...

Elyse’s Point guest this week is Suba Shrestha. Suba is a National Kata and Kumite Champion. I feel so lucky having Suba as a guest as I admire her skill, and although I recognize that she specializes in the forms aspect of karate I wanted to talk to her about Kumite and her experiences competing. Within discussing her experiences, Suba teaches me more about Kumite, we compare Point Fighting and Kumite, and speculate ...

Elyse’s Point guest this week is Ryan Sutton. Ryan is the Co-founder and Executive Director of Headsup Concussion Advocacy Network. He is also the coordinator at Peterborough Athletics Concussion Awareness. This episode we talk all about concussions and the inherent risk of contact sport with concussions.

Check out his work at headsupcan.ca

Elyse Gorrell

PhD Candidate; Mental...

Elyse's Point guest this week is Patrick Gorrell. Pat is a Certified Personal Trainer under the governing body of the Canadian Society for Exercise Physiology (CSEP-CPT) and is a Precision Nutrition Level 2 Coach. Pat also has 15 years of teaching and coaching karate. We talked about what a personal trainer is and how they can help competitive athletes, when you should start personal training, changes within personal ...