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Brown and Loud

The following is an article I wrote for my Karate club news letter. I have posted for future reference and to high light the universal nature of development.

Dan Newsletter June 2008

Our June seminar went well after some minor hiccups. There is just no substitute to actually getting out on the floor and training. I have already seen major advances in the members that attended.

I am of the strong belief that there is a need for a class specifically designed for the senior members of the school. On several occasions during the June seminar, I referenced Mark Rippetoe and Lon Kilgore, two conditioning coaches I had the privilege of training with on my last trip to the United States. During my time with them, I learnt a great deal about what it takes to be a good instructor, but the number one lesson I took away was the need to develop programs that ensure continued improvement. In their book 'Practical Programming for Strength Training', Rippetoe and Kilgore discuss at great length the differences between training novices and elite athletes. Of course I realise that Soo Bahk Do is somewhat removed from strength training, I believe the beneficial programming concept can very easily be applied to martial arts.



The image above reproduced from page 17 of 'Practical Programming for Strength Training' illustrates the change in a student's adaptation (improvement) over the length of time they have trained. We can see this best demonstrated by the white belt and orange belt beginners, although improvement can be witnessed across all levels. But the improvement index is a logarithmic curve: the longer we train, the smaller our improvements will be. As an instructor, it is my job to make sure that each student continues to improve and that they do not plateau or, worse, regress in their development. To prevent this from happening, I feel we do not need to increase class time, but rather to increase exercise intensity and complexity; complexity, here, referring to analysis and refinement of movement.

Rippetoe and Kilgore divide athletes into four categories - Beginner: zero to 6 months training; Intermediate: 6 months to 2 years; Advanced: 2 to 3 years; and, Elite: over 4 years. Translating this scale to Soo Bahk Do, this would correspond as the following:

Beginner = Orange Belt
Intermediate = Green Belt
Advanced = Red Belt
Elite = Dan

I am currently working on programs for all belt groups to ensure we continue in our individual development. Training with other members with approximately the same experience is both challenging and beneficial. However, to ensure the highest benefit from our training programs, I feel we need to have specialised classes for each developmental level. Students with 3 years experience obviously need a different program to members with 3 months experience in order for all students to improve their skills.