Patrick Smith said:As far as the ranking levels go, it seems to me that if there are specific requirements for a level (floor planche, front lever, and back lever for example) then even if there were a lower level (tuck planche, tuck front lever, and tuck back lever for example), you could test for the level with the highest abilities you had. In other words, if you can do a planche instead of a tuck planche, why should you test for "tuck planche" level? You should be able to go straight to "planche" level.
This decreases the amount of money paid for the testing, though, which may present a problem for GB. Why not just add 30-50% of 1 level test per level skipped plus the charge for the level the person is testing for?
Example:
Bob wants to test for level 3, but doesn't want to test for 2 first. Say each test costs $50. Bob tests for 3 (does all skills required for level 3) but pays $50 for test 3 and 25$ extra for level 2 which he is skipping.
This way, you don't have to test for each level, but you do have to pay SOMETHING for each level progressed or skipped.
The main problem I can think of for this is that people will wait a long time before testing so they can get 50% off on most of the tests. The solution to this problem is to give them an incentive to test sooner rather than later. Then again, if you give them too much of an incentive, they might go too fast and get injured...
What do you think, Cory?
Don't philosophize too much into it until we release more details. The individuals tests won't be that expensive anyways.
Regardless, it is set in stone that everyone will test levels in order from level 1. If you don't want to test levels, you can pick and choose how you like; however, there is a strong training reason to make sure an individual can do each prior progression. You will hit a roadblock and be imbalanced later on; and very possibly injured too.
Keep in mind that all of Coach's champion athletes have had to progress along similar lines. If National Champions have to follow this to be successful, why would anyone think they're an exception? It's begging for disaster. The basics can get boring, but I can name a thousand other things every person does daily that are equally dull. But it pays off in the long term to master the basics and build a solid foundation.
