What does special sport mean?

The essence of special sports is a collective name for systematic training, competition and related supporting activities that focus on the core competency requirements of a specific sports event. The core feature is that all movements and planning are fully adapted to the exclusive rules of this individual event, and general training will not be carried out in general.

In the previous context of competitive sports, the boundaries of this concept were actually very narrow, and it basically only targeted the preparation content of professional athletes. Take the young members of our team who practiced sprinting before. There was not much long-distance running content arranged in daily training. All plans were centered around starting reaction, cadence control, and explosive power improvement. Even the relaxation techniques after the game were designed to target the muscle tension points that are prone to occur during sprinting. This is the most typical special sport in traditional perception. For a long time, the sports academic community has also accepted that this concept is only linked to professional competitions.

However, in recent years, public fitness has become more and more detailed, and the usage scenarios of this word have long been relaxed. Nowadays, if you browse the content of sports bloggers or go to offline gyms to find personal trainers, you will often hear the term "specialized improvement." For example, fans who like to play badminton take time to practice swing power and footwork in front of the net. They even adjust their diet and do targeted endurance training in order to play in amateur leagues. These contents are now often included in the category of specialized sports.

Of course, the industry has not completely unified the definition of standards. Many old coaches who have been working for 20 or 30 years still insist that only related activities with clear professional competitive goals and results in official competitions can be called special sports. The amateur advancement of ordinary enthusiasts can at most be regarded as a single interest exercise. In fact, there is no need to argue over the definition. The core logic is to focus on the exclusive requirements of a single event. Whether it is a professional athlete or an ordinary enthusiast, arranging training according to this logic is much more efficient than blind training and less prone to injuries.

Speaking of which, I met an office runner in the past two years. At first, he developed synovitis in his knees while running casually. Later, he adjusted his plan according to the logic of marathon specialization. He first spent a month practicing core and landing posture, and then slowly increased the distance and increased the pace. In more than three months, he safely completed his first half-marathon in his life. To put it bluntly, no matter who it is, the core of special sports is to "exert force accurately towards the target."