Teaching Fitness Around the WorldTeaching Fitness Around the WorldBy Lincoln Bryden During my 8 years of presenting I have met some wonderful people and presented at some great UK conventions. However one of the major perks of presenting for me, is being able to teach instructors from a variety of countries. So far I have been able to present in over 19 different countries ranging from a small convention with only 40 people in France, through to teaching my Ceroc Jive dancing class in front of 4000 people at the IDEA convention in Las Vegas! Learning the LingoI love the challenge of having one hour to convince a group of people who don’t understand me, firstly to like me and secondly to enjoy my choreography! One of the many questions I get asked is, “but if you don’t speak the language, how can you get people to understand your routines?”. Well, as they say, communication is over 60% non verbal, so I really concentrate on my non verbal body language! I also try to learn to count to 8 in the country that I teach in (except Russian, far too difficult!), as well as “left, right, forward, and back” as an ice breaker. Fortunately a grapevine is a grapevine is grapevine wherever you go! Getting StartedAnother question I get asked is “How do you get to present in all these countries?”. There does seem to be a sort of international network, and if you create a good reputation then you get invited to a variety of conventions. There are also some very large conventions, for example the IDEA convention in America, BODYLIFE convention in Germany, or the ASIAFIT convention in Hong Kong. If you get to present at these then there is a good chance that you will be seen and asked to present at another event in another country. I prefer to work with people and organisations that I like (it helps!) and networking at the most unusual times usually reaps the best rewards. For example in Hong Kong my room mate and I could not sleep due to jet lag, so we switched the lights on, introduced ourselves, and talked for 5 hours! From that I was invited to present in Mexico! Also many a convention invitation has taken place after a few glasses of wine (or something stronger!). International Fitness Trends This results in each country having presenters with different qualities. Some have phenomenal choreography, some have excellent teaching and cueing skills, others have an immense knowledge of health and fitness, and still others are awesome performers on stage. However, I do feel that UK presenters are among the best in the world, as we combine great teaching skills, original choreography, on stage presence, and superior performance skills. I think that you will agree that if you look at the Pure Energy Live line up you will be able to identify these skills present in all the instructors on offer. Highlights However the good far outweighs the bad and I consider myself to have been very fortunate to have seen the numerous countries that I have, met the wonderful people that I have and seen the variety of fitness trends and choreography styles that are present around the world. Hopefully I will be able to continue my journeys as I have a few more countries that I would love to present in, and some more choreography that I need to steal! |