Participation, Recreation and Inclusion through Martial Arts Education
▶Summary
PRIME – Participation, Recreation and Inclusion through Martial Arts Education – is a unique venture co-funded by the ERASMUS+ Programme of the European Union. The partners of the project developed a high-quality coaching framework to support the promotion of healthy martial arts participation among people with disabilities. This framework is the first of its kind and is written within the context of the European Qualifications Framework (EQF) and similar international standards like the European Sport Coaching Framework.The martial arts are an unusually diverse and adaptable group of movement and sport forms, offering popular contexts for engaging and supporting the healthy development of people with disabilities. So, the objectives of PRIME and this coaching framework were:- to promote inclusion and easier access to martial arts for people with disabilities;-to increase confidence, physical competence and physical activity levels among people with disabilities in Europe by fostering high quality coach education in the martial arts; and- to bring martial arts coaching accreditation in line with international best practice standards.And the motivation behind the objectives was:- to support the dissemination and application of the Charter of Fundamental Rights of the EU, the Treaty on the Functioning of the EU and the United Nations Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities, which are all concerned with developing policies and events to support the participation of people with disabilities in sport and physical activity;- to develop the basis for a first comparable EQF-compatible framework for martial arts coaching education and accreditation;- to offer a popular context for engaging and supporting the healthy development of people with disabilities;- to increase access to self-defence for people with disabilities by training in martial arts to react to violent crimes, including domestic violence, homicide, assault, rape, and robbery; and- to support the UN’s Sustainable Development Goals:The content for the framework was developed through:- qualitative data gathering and analysis, desk reviews and examination of existing learning ma-terial; - identification of motivations and opportunities for participation and barriers to it; - consol¬idation of existing evidence, qualifications and coaching education frameworks; - production of good practice reports; framework development;- piloting with national and international martial arts organisations and coaches; and- display of resources for coaches and others on a designated website in addition to the framework.The materials that make up this PRIME collection, namely the PRACTICAL GUIDE FOR COACHES and a unique collection of ACTIVITY CARDS, focus on inclusive coaching, key principles of working with different disabilities, communication skills, strategies for adapting activities to encourage maximum participation, and related topics in martial arts. Together with additional material on the website (videos, articles, etc.), this collection of resources is designed specifically to support coaches working with persons with disabilities.