Combat Sports in the Process of Physical Education of Senior Secondary School Students: Conceptual Foundations and Author's Approaches to Shaping the Teaching System

Abstract

Objective. The objective of the article is to provide a theoretical substantiation of the conceptual foundations of teaching martial arts in the process of physical education of senior secondary school students as a holistic pedagogical system that reconciles the educational potential of martial arts with the tasks of general secondary education, the age-related characteristics of 16–17-year-old students, and current international guidelines for quality physical education.

Methods. To achieve this objective, a set of theoretical methods was applied: analysis, synthesis, systematization, and generalization of scientific sources in pedagogy, theory of physical education, sport psychology, and motor learning theory; comparative analysis of national and international regulatory documents and physical education standards; and modeling, used to develop a structural-conceptual model of the methodological system.

Results. It was substantiated that the conceptual foundations of teaching combat sports constitute an integrated system of twenty-one interrelated principles that determine the competency-based orientation of the methodology, learner-centeredness, holistic personal development, staged learning, safety prioritization, pedagogically managed contact interaction, differentiation and inclusiveness, motivational support, the integration of combat sports and Eastern martial arts, scientifically grounded management of physical loads, formative assessment, teacher professional readiness, and the openness, adaptability, and variability of the methodological system. A structural-conceptual model was developed that integrates the target, theoretical-methodological, content, procedural-organizational, and assessment-resultative components into a coherent methodological system.

Conclusions. It is demonstrated that the proposed concept distinguishes the school-based elective martial arts module from narrowly specialized sports training, while preserving the subject authenticity of martial arts through partner interaction, situational variability, and the necessity of decision-making. The practical significance of the results lies in establishing a theoretical basis for the further design of the content, organizational-pedagogical conditions, and implementation technology of the methodological system for teaching martial arts in general secondary education institutions.