In this podcast Dr. Gary Gray invites Angela Mohan, a personal trainer with Irish roots, to discuss some of the history of Irish Dance and how she has helped to implement AFS into the training process. Also discussed is how children are taught the fundamentals of movement prior to being taught the fundamentals of Irish Dance leading to more success with the technical skill set of Irish Dance, a strategy that can be applied to any all activities for children and adults alike.

When faced with the opportunity to try a new activity or hobby, fear often hold us back from enjoying or even really applying ourselves to said activities.  We fear looking silly, we fear not being very good, we fear what others might think or say.  This fear usually stems form a point in our childhood when we tried a new sport or activity and failed because we lacked the proper fundamentals or coordination to perform the skill set properly.  Some will keep trying and eventually develop the necessary fundamentals.  Many will quite and never try again relegating themselves to the excuse “I’m just not good at that”.

Instead of introducing novices to advanced skill sets right away, Gary and Angela discuss  introducing the biomechanical fundamentals of the more advanced movements through simpler movements before progressing to complex skill sets.