Chinese Kuoshu Institute (UK) 英國中華國術學院

Virtue . Wisdom . Humility . Martial Arts

British Team Selection Process

Introduction

The Chinese Kuoshu Institute (CKI) is a selecting institution for the British Teams for Shuai Jiao (Chinese Wrestling) and the amateur and professional Kuoshu (National Chinese Martial Arts) Teams. We, therefore, operate a selection process which involves five stages before the candidate can be selected for national team training. The process involves: an interview; a physical assessment; and six months probation.

The assessment is challenging and rigorous, and not all candidates will be successful. For those candidates who are not successful, the CKI will provide advice and guidance on how to meet the minimum threshold requirements. Candidates may make up to 3 further attempts annually, to be selected. The CKI will also provide details of recruiting clubs that may be more suitable to the candidates skills, attributes and abilities.

Stage 1: Membership

National team membership through this process is only available to members of the CKI or its affiliates. Membership will provide students with a licence, insurance and membership of the governing bodies for Chinese martial arts. Candidates will then be eligible for the assessment and grading process. As a member of the CKI, the student may apply to join the national team training sessions. A student who meets the basic criteria for joining the CKI and has competed successfully at National level attaining at least second place (Silver medal) may immediately join the Stage 4: Probation Period.

Stage 2: Interview

An interview is conducted with an Instructor from the Chinese Kuoshu Institute (CKI). The interview normally takes 20 to 30 minutes. The CKI Instructors will ask a series of questions to elicit information to confirm the candidates suitability for national team traininig. The interview will cover areas including: why the candidate is interested in traditional Chinese martial arts; previous martial experience (if any); and physical attributes. The candidate will also be requested to provide contact details. Following the interview, successful candidates will be invited to participate in the next available physical assessment (stage 3).

Stage 3: Physical Assessment

The date, time and venue of the physical assessment will be confirmed with the candidates following the telephone interview. During the four hour session the candidates physical ability, coordination, endurance and flexibility will be assessed. The physical assessment is conducted by two instructors: one Instructor will demonstrate the exercises, the second Instructor will monitor the candidates performance against the threshold requirements. The physical assessment also establishes a baseline on which the successful candidate should improve during the probation period. Following the physical assessment, successful candidates will be invited to participate in the probation period (stage 4).

Stage 4: Probation and Minimum Attendance

The probation period will last for six (6) months where candidates are expected to attend 60% of the team training events; and six (6) out of ten (10) over a year. During that time the candidate will be required to attend one (1) mandatory team training session, to discuss: rules, regulations and code of conduct. Following the probation period, successful candidates will be invited to join the national team.

Stage 5: Tournaments

Training with the national team does not provide the student with an automatic right to represent Great Britain. They will be expected to compete at least once a year at a national level and achieve a minimum of second place (Silver medal), in their category, in order to retain their national team training status. They will normally compete at least once a year internationally.

Chinese Kuoshu Institute (UK) 英 國 中 華 國 術 學 院