Stop-Tag

Settings & Setup

• Game #5 (Tag)
• Time: 30 seconds to 2 mins
• Health setting: depending on skill level
• 2 students, each student wears a 2020 Armor vest
• Skill Level: beginner to advanced color belts and black belts
• Setup time: 1 minute

Gameplay

Two players wear the 2020 Armor vests, set them to game #5 set the appropriate health setting for their skill level and set a time from 30 seconds to 2 minutes. Sync up and start the game.

You tell the students that in the time of the match, each player takes turns to throw 10 kicks (or more) that must land. The goal is to see how many out of the 10 kicks the partner can block or avoid.

At the end of the game, the person who has the most successful blocks (i.e the lowest score) wins.

What They Are Learning

This game puts a clear focus on defense and the two aspects of defense: blocking and stepping. By forcing each player to take turns being attacked, they focus their attention to the specific task being asked of them, which in this case is to have a good defense.

You can use this opportunity to tell the students that proper stepping and footwork is the first best line of defense – by getting out of the way you can’t be hit. If you can’t get out of the way, then they may sacrifice their arm to block. They also have a third option which is to cut off the distance and move in close.

The vest will show clearly when an impact is detected, so students will see where the holes in their defense may be. Ask them to watch to see if they get hit by certain kicks, or perhaps during the start of the match (when they might not be aware) or the end of the match, where they might be tired or careless.

Knowing when in the match their defense is the weakest is a critical piece of information for both the athlete and the coach. Having this awareness will allow both the athlete and the coach to direct extra mental and physical energy at these critical weak points to increase their chances of winning.