“Five” or “ten”: analysing a co-operative correction in Muay Thai coaching

Abstract

ABSTRACT Error-correction in sport coaching consists of the following phases: (a) correction initiation, (b) error-identification, (c) solution proposal, and (d) practice resumption. Framed by multimodal conversation analysis, this article adopts a single-case analysis to examine an extended correction sequence in Muay Thai coaching. First, I illustrate the opening phase in which the participants negotiate the norms regarding the training procedure. I then examine how the normative organisation of correction and the coach’s use of the previously-reported interactional practices are both fitted to the local contingencies of the setting. Finally, I demonstrate how the indexicality of Coach’s correction can be remedied by members’ practical knowledge about Muay Thai. I discuss that members’ methods may have diversified in sedimented landscapes as instances of correction accumulate, refining the way in which Muay Thai practitioners teach embodied skills that constitute the work of their community