Are you encouraging your students to cross train?

[DWx]

For young students, if we want to get the best out of them athletically, we should be encouraging them to take part in a wide range of sports to develop a wide range of motor skills.

Studies have shown that young athletes who took part in multiple sports when young are more likely to succeed at elite level than those who specialized and only focused on one.

For example:

"95% of NFL quarterbacks (in 2014) played 2 or more sports in high school. 70% played 3 or more sports.

Athletes who played in three sports during their early teen years were "significantly more likely to compete at a national, compared with club, standard between the ages of 16 and 18 than those who practiced only one sport"

ESPN article

I'm a firm believer that as martial arts instructors teaching kids we're teaching them not just kicks and punches, but also about fitness and health in general. To create the best martial artists we should create the best athletes and to do this we should encourage them to take part in a wide variety of physical activities.

Thoughts? Do you encourage younger students to cross train? How about adults?

[Nidan Melbourne]

I haven't found many studies that relate specifically to Sports. However I have found Studies that relate more to periodisation and health overall.

Can you post links from Journals that relate to what you mentioned? I am curious to see what you found.

Cross-Training can be highly beneficial to students or even athletes that may lead to elite performances, of which i recommend more to Seniors than I do with the Juniors due to the associated Risks against the benefits. What I do instead with them [Juniors] is incorporate different exercises that allow for growth and that is safe then they can progress to multiple sports.

I always encourage Cross-Training for Martial Arts or even for their own Health. But what we also need to take into account is the risk of burn out or over-training, which often happens when they take on too many additional activities that places excessive stressors on the body. Personally I Cross-Trained whilst in High School in 4 different Sports (Karate, BJJ, Rugby and Basketball) which now I am down to 2.

[DWx]

This came from a course I took a couple of years ago with a strength and conditioning coach on youth development. This coach has worked with several Olympic Team GB sports (including TKD) and I believe currently works with one of the premier league football teams.

One of the main takeaway points was that, except for a handful of sports, early specialization does not benefit young athletes but hinders them. Young athletes that specialize early on may compete at very high levels in their youth, but they tend to drop off and burn out. The difference between elite and near-elite athletes at an adult level was the elite tended to have taken part in many different activities and specialize at late adolescence. Taking part in a variety of sports tends to produce a more rounded athlete who then can specialize later on in life rather than creating a swimmer, or a runner or a martial artist.

Re. burning out, the studies I read suggested that burn-out was less likely to occur when the child took part in multiple activities and did not focus too heavily on one. Mentally they were better as weren't focusing too narrowly on one area and had a wider experience, but also physically they were less likely to develop injury through overuse as a result of sports specific movements.

In terms of papers, here's a few:

Late specialization: the key to success in centimeters, grams, or seconds (cgs) sports

Moesch K, Elbe AM, Hauge ML, Wikman JM.

Scand J Med Sci Sports. 2011 Dec;21(6):e282-90.

DOI: 10.1111/j.1600-0838.2010.01280.x

Expertise in Ultra-Endurance Triathletes Early Sport Involvement, Training Structure, and the Theory of Deliberate Practice

Joseph Baker, Jean Côté & Janice Deakin

JOURNAL OF APPLIED SPORT PSYCHOLOGY, 17: 64–78, 2005

DOI: 10.1080/10413200590907577

Sports Specialization in Young Athletes - Evidence-Based Recommendations

Jayanthi et. al.

Sports Health. 2013 May; 5(3): 251–257.

doi: 10.1177/1941738112464626

Early Sport Specialization: Roots, Effectiveness, Risks

R. M. Malina

Current Sports Medicine Reports

November/December 2010 - Volume 9 - Issue 6 - pp 364-371

doi: 10.1249/JSR.0b013e3181fe3166

The following paper by Lloyd and Oliver also provides a good overview to latest ideas around the Youth Development Model:

The Youth Physical Development Model: A New Approach to Long-Term Athletic Development

Lloyd, Rhodri S. PhD, CSCS*D; Oliver, Jon L. PhD

Strength & Conditioning Journal

June 2012 - Volume 34 - Issue 3 - p 61–72

doi: 10.1519/SSC.0b013e31825760ea

[sensei8]

Am I encouraging my students to cross train? Yes, a wholeheartedly YES!!

I've been encouraging my students to do just that for as long as I can remember without reservation and/or ambiguity whatsoever!! Why? Shindokan, it being a very effective Karate style, it lacks one important element...EVERYTHING that's not Shindokan!!

My cross training began whenever I took up TKD in my high school days for many a reasons as I can imagine. I've not looked back since then, and I don't ever plan on looking back anytime soon.

I'll continue to cross train, and I'll also continue to encourage my students to cross train as often as they can!!

Cross training fills the voids left by other styles of the MA!!