Petr Kotik Edit
Thu, 9/30 7:59AM • 18:31
SUMMARY KEYWORDS
athlete, sport, kickboxing, fight, training, coach, emotions, understand, coaches, big, students, important, person, trainer, czech, good, calm, federation, german language, talk
SPEAKERS
Paul Barnett, Petr Kotik
Paul Barnett 00:00
(welcome to the great coaches podcast) So Peter, it's great to see you today. Where are you in the world?
Petr Kotik 00:03
I'm in Czech Republic in Prague in the centre of Europe. Hi, Paul.
Paul Barnett 00:07
Yes. And I say we have a lovely day out. So, have you been at training already this morning? Or will that be something you'll do afterwards?
Petr Kotik 00:13
I have some special meeting afterwards. But in the afternoon, I'm going to have a few training sessions
Paul Barnett 00:19
Petter. You have had a marvelous career as a kickboxer and as a kickboxing Coach 16 time world champion, you've coached more than 10 amateur champions along the way. So I guess the first question I would like to ask you is what do you think great coaches do differently
Petr Kotik 00:38
I[PB1] think great coaches must be partners with the athletes especially now when we are talking about the actual situation these days in the past maybe it was a little bit different. But I think now you must be a partner with your athlete it's necessary to know your athlete so when you start to understand who is your athlete and possible to change anything's if you have a good balance in your partnership, then you can really change big things and you can change many things you can change a lot of skills, everything but athletes needs wants to change many things and also the trainers you should know how to change it. But of course it's about balance and both of you change the big change then you can make it
Paul Barnett 01:23
How have you got to know your athletes what are the methods that you use to get to know them in a deeper level,
Petr Kotik 01:29
it's important if you know you're at least from the child's age, or if they come a little bit later. This is very important condition because you know your athlete as a child, your family everything else about your athlete not only the sport part but also as I said the family and friends and school then it's easier to know your athlete so it's not only sport I think this is very important. [PB2] You need to understand the consequences sometimes when we are going into the details big parties also the private life hours your partner and your boy and girl or mix of everything, but at first you need a time wherever important is critical situation especially in the sport in the training or in in the competition. They situations shows you who you are embarrass your limit it's a mix of everything
Paul Barnett 02:22
in your sport kickboxing. What is the main role of you as a coach?
Petr Kotik 02:28
I'm afraid that it's not easy answer it depends on your athlete because kickboxing this individual sport, so you must really work individually with your students. The role can be a little bit different for the athletes I role the big role is understand what should be my role if somebody needs to really have like a general to tell the task and everything so then I try to be more tough if somebody needs to have more a friend or partner I try to be more friendly and now so I tried to recognize what is really necessary for your athlete it's very difficult to explain in general I'm here to help them to the king boxing or sport mission and everybody needs a little bit different things so I try to find out what is what the role is the best one so if it's possible to say like that,[PB3]
Paul Barnett 03:21
now it's a great answer. It's a fantastic answer. I was talking to one of your students in preparation for this interview and I was also watching some video footage of you fighting and I wanted to ask you about courage and how you help your athletes develop the courage to get into a fight and then to keep going when they're getting hurt. Courage is just such an important part I imagine of kickboxing I think
Petr Kotik 03:48
it starts in the training if you are able to implement into your training the similar situation what can happen in the fight it really helps after a time if you make the training very similar to fight which is very difficult and it's not possible to do it every training but when the atmosphere and the team on the training is ready for really training pointing for this this really helps and then a few understand what's going to happen on the training then you can individually talk to each athlete and work with them [PB4] it's it's mostly training and then of course competition you must win the competition you must go and fight as much as possible at first on beginners level and then step by step higher and higher, especially in the international tournaments and then of course the biggest tournament and this mission or this way slowly shows you the development also scales of course, but also the head the head is never know what's gonna happen. It's not exact science. I'm always surprised I'm always surprised. I try my best to help back on that moment in the fight. It's only up to To the athlete, and they must sell what they train and it's changed, it's possible to some level to train, you must have it in your so the martial arts or martial sports, the fighting sports are not for everybody. It's not like a normal games or sports, you need to have something in yourself to really find with and deal with this situation, somebody can do it really well, somebody's not very well.[PB5] Another thing is in kickboxing is very good support. When you can fight for contact styles, or not for contact styles. Even when you are not really a fighter, you can try to sport you are not destroyed. So it's a sport four points in the beginning, you can take the natural contact style, and then if you feel that you have it in yourself, and you want to touch the full contact part of the kickboxing. You can you can but it's not necessary. So I think it's a very big power of kickboxing. You can really choose what fits your soul what fits your body, what can be really good for you.
Paul Barnett 06:07
He talked a minute ago about always being surprised. Could you tell us a story about when you were recently surprised by one of your athletes.
Petr Kotik 06:16
I have many stories about it. Because when you are in the fight, sometimes you are like in France or something, the modern word is flow, maybe we will get into the flow. Sometimes athletes becomes totally different parisons I had my students in the fight, the student was very calm, not a suppressive person. Back when they got head, the person's totally changed, he starts to screen he starts to express himself. So it was totally different person when the fight stops. He changed his life for all totally changed. And I understand that because sometimes when I feel like that, when I step into the tummy, I become a different person to different worlds, I cannot really explain the stories, you must be there to understand persons are really changing in the rain about I mean a good way in the rink or on the tatami you can reach your maximum here you can understand really our emotions usually. And the competition. I'm surprised not on the training, not in the training. But on the competition. There is a place, but I'm surprised when I reach the top of themselves in my athletes.[PB6]
Paul Barnett 07:28
I'd like to talk about emotions. And now that you've brought them up, because you have a reputation as a coach who is very calm, and I spoke to two people. And they both use the word calm Are there any routines or systems are things that you do to maintain your calmness before a fight or during a fight
Petr Kotik 07:50
when I was younger, and I was fighting really like myself, and before I was a trainer, of course I tried to be calm, but I do some sport, there's some possible I wasn't that calm, like now. So after the experience, I change it a little bit because sometimes when I was not calm, it was contra productive. I felt the emotion and emotion control me now I did not control my emotions, but the emotions one for example, I lost the fight or I didn't do what I really want. After a time I realized that it's better to really control the emotions. For example, in the fight, when your opponent doesn't know your emotions, it's better because then your opponent doesn't know what to expect. When you show really our emotions when you're really happy or sad or, or angry. You can adapt your strategy for your fact. Also, when I'm a trainer, I think it's better to stay calm. I'm so happy that I'm training because I'm doing work that I really love. There is no reason why I can be angry. I'm really happy person when I'm on the training. Okay, of course sometimes I shall sometimes I really need to control the training. That's of course, too much emotions. For me, I think you wouldn't work. That's why I'm trying to stay calm. But inside of course, I feel a lot of emotions. But I don't show the emotions too much. It's like in the fight when you are a trainer. So it's better when your emotion is under control. And I think that's the best[PB7]
Paul Barnett 09:17
way. How do you teach your athletes to control or hide their emotions? Is there any tips or tools that you have?
Petr Kotik 09:24
Yes, it's very difficult part of the training. So I try to teach them for example, one of the tool is to make up a task for you tell yourself What do you really want to do, I try to use the combination jobs out punch, Roundhouse gate, front gate, for example, because it's your good combination. So concentrate only on this and try to really do a lot to really use it in the fight. And when you have a task when you have a goal like a small goal, then you concentrate only on this doesn't matter if you are successful or no just try five times 10 times Then you've little bit forgot of the things around. This is one of my to make the task for you make the goal and then concentrate on the goal on the small goal during the round or fight and it really helps[PB8]
Paul Barnett 10:13
better your students tell me you are always trying to learn and improve as a coach. In fact, you're a student of coaching. Are there any particular resources or books that you found helpful on your journey as a coach,
Petr Kotik 10:27
I think this is one of the biggest problem in martial arts maybe in kickboxing I have to thank kickboxing martial arts maybe no but kickboxing it's very difficult, you know, to find these resources because our sport is not that big, not that large. I know the textbooks in German language because my friend national coach in Austria kickboxing, he wrote a book in German language, but I'm not strong in German language to understand this textbook, but I am lucky, we are very big friends. He told me everything what is in the book, I think this is very important. If you have a friends around the world, this is the best resources because no textbooks too much, especially for the styles one fighting light contact for contact. Okay, k one, I still think that everybody wants to save it for yourself, there is the magics or now know how maybe too much resources about it. But in the beginning, when I was a student when I was in university, I, of course, learn a lot, anatomy, physiology, and so many, many things around. So this was very good. This was the great basic for my work to understand the education of the human body, psychological things. So this was perfect. But you start to understand later, after experience, you need to really the experience from the training or from the competition, and after that, you start to understand so I was in university, when I study, I slowly started to understand all this thing we are doing because of that and start to slowly understand what's going to happen in the training. And after a time I adapt also my coaching to this knowledge, but understand the personal experience when I talk to my colleagues, for example, in different gyms or in different countries I visited a few times like Canada, for example, Johnny Korea, his nickname is ice name. So he was a very big star in the past of kickboxing. So I talked to him a lot about it. I was visiting his James in Canada, I learned a lot there. Also, I traveled around Europe, in England, I was visiting the gym in Hungary in Germany. And this was a text for me to talk to my colleagues and try to get the information from them and try to use it here. This was the second step. And the third step, finally, in Czech Republic A few years ago, starts the project from Czech Olympic team or Czech Olympic Federation. This is a big meetings with coaches, conferences, trainers, as a speech or presentation from around the world. Very helpful for me. I'm so happy that I was in the sessions. It's very refreshing your mind because how is the system in Belgium football, for example, it's amazing. And also when I talk to the person coach of Kobe Bryant, it was great. I'm a sports psychologist from English Premier League so another university for me this people and to get the information from them
Paul Barnett 13:23
better. Would you mind sharing some of the things that you thought interesting about Belgian football or Kobe Bryant or go the Premier League I would be fascinated to hear what advice or insight you took from those conversations.
Petr Kotik 13:36
Sometimes it's good that they for example, confirm your mind your thoughts that you are on good way, I don't think that I am the best coach or I know everything is the first step of the end when you feel that you are the best and you know everything the best and always criticize my steps, my thoughts. And when I talk to these people, they tell me Okay, this is a good way I'll do the same thing or I'll do a little bit different. I'll do this that way. This dialogue, I talk to myself, then I talk to them and I compare and this is great[PB9] . For example, here in Czech Republic that is not too many kickboxing coaches with the highest education, for example, get in sugar, but like I am one of the mentors. I teach coaches, I also need to be trained, I like to bridge the information it must find it somewhere else and in kickboxing is difficult. So I'll try to find in different sport and I think in some levels is the same. The sports are the same. They have the same problem with the young athletes, they have the same problem with motivation, the same problem with the money and they have the same problem with the Federation or the of the system of the sport. So it's alright I found where I get the information, but I can talk to my colleagues. This is very refreshing. I'm very happy when I learn something new and it's really good for my work or my life.
Paul Barnett 15:00
What was the best thing that you recently learned? Almost everybody
Petr Kotik 15:03
from the really big persons of sports, they said, what I just said, Don't think that you are a God of sport, you must have still open your eyes and listen to the others. This is very important. I try to really work like that, especially now, because I'm leading the Czech boxing Federation. And now we are still growing up, there is a lot of work. And you need help, there is a lot of parts of your work, that somebody can do it better than you are than me, I need help. And if I get the help from the other people, and we have the same goal, then we can grow and we can make our sport much better. It's also a big part of the business goal chain. But I think words together a sport and business is very close, I think in many points, especially how to lead the people or the leadership is really similar. This way of learning now how to really be a leader of people.[PB10]
Paul Barnett 15:58
Leaders often talk about having moments when they doubt themselves, and they doubt their ability. Could you tell me about your top tips in dealing with self doubt,
Petr Kotik 16:09
I think is to improve skills when you improve your skills. It really helps. I had like this, my confidence went forward when I really learned what I never did before. For example, when I did Plain Sight john Claude Van Damme Of course in the movie so that I said okay, I really am like him, I can say that I'm kickboxer now when I learned how to do spinning cake now jumping span cakes, the combination, the multiple cakes combination, and this really helped me the kickboxing skills for my students, I'm sure that this helps the most. And of course, there is another part it's the hat. But I think this really helps to train your skills to understand where you are strong, you're good boxer or you're good kicker or you are good and conditions, you are good with feeling the fight to read the opponent's movements, this is important to understand where is your strong moments, and when you train to the maximum and then your self confidence can be better. [PB11] And I think it really works in our gym.
Paul Barnett 17:13
And better I can see that you use learning as a way of really overcoming self doubt. But not only that, developing yourself and your students and pushing their lives forward. So my final question would be around legacy. And I'd like to ask you, what legacy Do you believe you are leaving as a coach?
Petr Kotik 17:32
Nobody asked me this question before. I hope that I'm not that old already. But the sport is good part of your life. I think this is the main thing. The sport is good part of your life. And the sport can train your sport skills, but also life skills. The sport is not wasting of your time. It's really good part of your life. If you reach top level of the sport or just condition or if you are doing just for fun. I think it doesn't matter. It depends of your life mission. What is your life way, but I think the sport must not must. But I think it's supposed to be a good part of your life. I'm very happy that the sport is my hobby and my job. This is my mission. But I'm sure that sport can be a good part of everybody's like,
Paul Barnett 18:19
thank you so much for your time today. I've enjoyed our discussion immensely. Thank you.
Petr Kotik 18:24
Thank you, Paul. Thank you very much and I hope we meet somewhere else sometimes.
Paul Barnett 18:28
We will we will