Wednesday, November 27, 2013

Research Findings: My reflection

In human endeavors  multitudes of philosophies abound. This is especially true when it comes to martial arts and even more specifically teaching martial arts to children and youth. I often questioned those that were proud of how few people could earn their black belt because of the harsh trials and tribulations. I may even have a tinge of this myself. That said, I concur that all students should not earn black belts. I disagree with the notion that the black belt requirements should be scaled or ratcheted down to accommodate individuals. In all of this there is an inherent conflict that is unresolved. If a martial arts teacher only promotes a fraction of his students then is it that he is a failure? Why cannot the teacher improve their teachings in order to promote a higher degree of success among students? Even with improved teaching what percentage of students could be promoted to black belt level; maybe 40%? Would you enroll your child in a school that had a 60% failure rate? Is that a good parenting decision? Is that a positive experience for a child? So why would I build an organization around such an activity that  generally delivers such deplorable results? What is the purpose and should the measure of the organization be, the number of black belts promoted, or the quality of the black belts, or some other measure?

These questions and more I set out  to investigate three years ago with the guidance from my colleagues Dr. Kent,  and the assistance Sara Kahn. Over the past three years we have been investigating the student experience at Zhang Sah. We inquired about how their minds and bodies changed while attending the program. We compared Zhang Sah students to other children attending sports programs in Philadelphia such as cycling, rowing, and others. We also measured our students up against national norms for fitness levels. What we discovered about the students who attend Zhang Sah is nothing short of inspirational.

The data reports that from a fitness perspective students who attend Zhang Sah improve core strength, develop flexibility, and lean muscle mass. Fit students are mostly healthy, they do better in school, and are developing athletic capacities that are transferable to other sports. Students report that they are committed, involved, and satisfied with their experience at Zhang Sah.  Students earned high marks when assessed for strengths that support positive youth development outcomes. They reported a strong sense of character, connection to family and school and peers, they demonstrated caring and empathy. Zhang Sah students recorded highest marks for school grades among those attending after school sports programs in Philadelphia. They reported a strong sense of self confidence and more importantly  they demonstrated coveted traits of resiliency.


A program that garners wellness and positive outcomes is an effective program from my vantage point. I find it assuring to know that no matter what level of martial arts training a student achieves at Zhang Sah that they are all benefiting in meaningful ways. I must not forget to mention that  the results indicated that boys and girls across all ethnicities and socioeconomic status achieved similar results. To be achieving great outcomes in an equitable fashion is and of itself a spectacular finding. Furthermore, our program just might be the best thing that child can do outside of school bar none. So I wouldn't expect the black belt test to get any easier anytime soon.

Followers