Newsletter 1/2017
Black Belt Training Secrets
Newsletter Newsletter 1/2017
Black Belt Training Secrets
If you have been on international competitions recently, you must know Lukas by face. He is usually selling his books (if not competing himself) featuring the world’s most famous Jaroslaw Suska and other famous competitors, called the Black Belt books. He has a new project now, with another famous world star, the legendary coach Master Jerzy Jedut.
Lukas, after completing the set of the patterns books (http://tkd-blackbelt.com/glowna/41-black-belt-books-all.html) you are already working on the next project. Why have you decided on the Training Secrets to be the next after the Black Belt Project?
We are always open for our customers' feedback, so we simply asked them what do they want next. After our survey performed on Facebook we analyzed the results and got a clear picture that a tool for instructors is most expected.
Yes, exactly. I have participated in many seminars, courses, camps conducted by Master Jedut, and he always found a way to adjust the training to the group. In my career as a coach I have been using his ideas for exercises many times during my classes and people always loved it.
So, the idea was to simply put together the exercises in one place?
Well, at the beginning it might have looked like that, but when I started to talk to Master Jedut more and more I realized that he got something bigger in mind. First, the idea behind this project was to guide people through every aspect of Taekwon-do training. And we will do that in the whole series, but more than that – we want to give people tools to develop such skills, that will help them feel confident in and outside the dojang. We realized that now in Taekwon-do there is emphasis on sports competition, medals, winning - and we want to provide ideas that will help getting to the top, but that's not all we want to accomplish. There can be only one World Champion in one category. In the clubs, most of the students will not become world champions, will not be the very best – there is little space on the top. The whole group can’t fit there, but we can make the whole group feel confident, content and satisfied with their progress. I am not a World champion either, but I am not afraid when I'm walking through the streets at night. With this approach we want to get back to the roots of Taekwon-Do as a martial art. There are some situations where a World champion would lose in a real fight against a green belt. Sport competition is not everything.
So is it more traditional approach to Taekwon-Do? Who is your target with this project?
We are targeting mainly three groups – instructors, competitors and students who, for different reasons, are not pursuing sports career, but expect the trainings to prepare them for the real-life situations. First two groups are really close, because most instructors want their students to win in competitions, that's why project will include hundreds of exercises that will be helpful in sparring preparation.
How are they different from the ones that instructors might be already using?
Sometimes instructors on seminars and during the training use some specific combinations, some approach that worked for them, when they were competing. It is normal, because they want to give their students best solutions tested in actions. Of course it will work for some of them that have similar talents and physique as their instructors, but others might be disappointed with the training. Master Jedut in his career has been coaching many different competitors: tall, short, fast, strong, etc. During the training process he is always open to learn from the competitor. He gives some drills and then watches the competitor, deciding what will work for him the best; observes what is more natural for him and adjust the combinations to individual capabilities. We want to present many options of the exercise to suit different talents. Also, as I already mentioned, we want these exercises to prepare someone for the real fight, so there are some less complicated exercises, but very practical and useful once you master them. Those exercises mainly develop the strength of your techniques that can be performed in different circumstances. In sparring it is about gaining points, in real fight, it's about protecting yourself, so it's more about the strength than complicated techniques...
I see, so it's not only for competitors, but also for those who want to get to the bottom of what martial arts are all about - fight. What can we find in the first volume?
The first part includes the basic exercises that are the first on our journey. We have divided it into categories, such as:
Individual (with gear, without gear) - exercises for warming-up, speed, stamina, balance.
In pairs (with gear, without gear) - exercises that can be performed with a partner, some more complex, some with shields, elastic bands or with the use of your belt. Group exercises - more than two persons - some games for the whole group, some for three or more people.
In the first volume we gathered almost 250 different videos and we are already getting feedback that people are actually using it, love it and are waiting for more. Having so many exercises and training ideas in one place can boost our own creativity and people are saying that this production saves them a lot of time and also reminds them about useful exercises that they have once used, but then they have been forgotten.
What can we expect to be the content for the next parts of Black Belt Training Secrets?
Most people ask about sparring exercises so we will be providing them on the second volume. We start with the movements that is very important in sparring and then we go for the exercises with shields, pads and in gear.
I also want to mention that we are doing this to help instructors have bigger clubs. I mean - if you concentrate only on sport competition and future champions, you may lose the ones that are not talented, but still eager to train and stay in the club. Probably only a few percent of them will win medals, but you need a lot of people in your groups to stay in the market, because more people means more money and having more money means you can afford to take your competitors to more tournaments around the world, invest in marketing, new dojang, etc. So concentrating also on your 80 percent will help those 20 percent get better in a long run. We want these people to think; Ok, maybe I'm not a World champion material, but still I can be really good and learn how to fight. I can’t perform these crazy 360 kicks, but that's ok, my coach knows that and he can provide the drills that I will be good at. (Maybe less complicated but requiring more strength.)
Where we can learn more about the project?
Here you can learn about the Black Belt Training Secrets 1:
http://tkd-blackbelt.com/glowna/46-black-belt-training-secrets-vol-1.html
And here we started the pre-order for the next part:
http://tkd-blackbelt.com/glowna/48-bb-training-secrets-vol-2-jerzy-jedut.html
Additionally, with the code “aetfarticle” everyone gets 15% discount - available for a week. As always - I am open for any feedback, comments and requests. Program is in a very nice box, comes on an exclusive pendrive and it will work on PC, Mac and Android devices.
About Master Jerzy Jedut’s achievements as a coach from ITF Outstanding Personalities - http://www.taekwondoitf.org/itf-personalities/master-jerzy-jedut-poland/
Best Student’s Achievements:
