Hi everyone,
After receiving an email requesting info on upcoming IKO ITC's, I felt it necessary to let anyone who was looking to attend an IKO Instructor Training Course in Perth, know that I am no longer affiliated nor is my school associated with IKO and as such will not be hosting any further Instructor Training Courses in the foreseeable future.
I apologise for any inconvenience as I know I told some of you we would be running a course in the coming months, this is no longer possible. Please visit the IKO website for upcoming course locations and dates if you wish to gain IKO accreditation.
As for our school, we are still running our lessons to the same high standard as we always have (which is a fundamental improvement over the IKO standards which we always felt were a little flawed), and will always continue to strive for better teaching techniques and tools to serve you better.
This does not mean we are ready to embrace the BKSA system either as I see failings in their system also.
Kind regards,
DM
Wow! I know IKO has been talked about a lot recently, especially the fees for instructors and schools. You always seem straight up with your posts and I imagine this decision was not taken lightly, so i would really like to know why you personally have dropped IKO. Also if I could push you for what you don't like regarding the BKSA, I ask this as an IKO instructor who was/is looking to go BSKA. Also I understand if you don't want to elaborate too much! Cheers.
Hi VWPete,
Not on the forum. If I find time tonight, I'll send you a PM.
Cheers mate,
DM
Hi Guys,
I've received several contacts from various people about putting together a new course to run alongside IKO and BKSA. I would like to think I can put together a better course than both of them and am willing to do the work hopefully over winter.
I was kinda thinking of making it open source but would be happy to run the odd training course for those who want to be trained. It's an idea I am kicking around. The money thing is the problem and so is quality control of the persons who would do the course, so I'm removing the money side of it.
I believe the course notes should be made public and a training course as being made optional on a paid basis (for the teachers time and gear). There are more bad schools and instructors than good ones and if my experience and work can go some way towards making this better, then that's a plus worth forsaking money and preventing others from monopolising the system.
Cheers,
DM
Great idea. Hopefully once you have it all worked out you will be able to offer it nationally.
Very interesting subject, have listened to several ideas that have been floating around this season, some worthwhile, some not so. Some by people who should'nt have an opinoin
and some by people who have earn't the respect within the industry. Please keep me up to speed with your ideas/plans,
Regards, Tony
This whole issue of an AKSA approved Australian standard for beginner instruction, instructor qualification and school accreditation has been a big ticket item on the AKSA wish list for longer than I have been involved with either AKSA or WAKSA. It will never happen with volunteer state reps who are already overloaded with managing the everyday functioning of our national association.
It is a move forward which MUST be taken on by those in the industry then handed back to AKSA for official accreditation.
IKO offer an excellent training program for both entry students and instructor students as well as a thorough prerequisite agenda for schools to be considered legitimate.
BKSA have an equally high level program covering all levels of kite instruction.
The problem is that IKO is a commercial entity which relies on profit making (like all businesses) to operate. BKSA is Britians equivalent of AKSA. It has govt funding as their accredited National Sporting Organisation so only requires break-even funding for any programs they operate - like school accreditation inspections.
It is a very simple exercise to cut & paste the best of the IKO & the BKSA (& others) programs to produce something for Australia which would hopefully improve on both in the final drafting.
BKSA reps were in Perth recently offering their full cooperation with a view to an Oz program being approved at national level which could also potentially be accredited by BKSA & IKO and many other international training organisations. This would mean that international recognition of OS qualifications could be mutually agreed allowing instructors to travel & work freely anywhere in the world. This has been a goal of the IKO since its inception. The commercial element is the big downfall there.
With people like Darren - and others who have already initiated the project - looking into a series of programs from beginner instruction right thru to school accreditation then it becomes a very simple exercise which, hopefully, will be widely accepted by the whole Oz kite school industry.
Huge thanks must be extended to the BKSA reps who came out in Jan. They offered advice and cooperation and showed just how straightforward and cost controlled an Oz program could be developed and made operable.
Hopefully by next season we will see an Australian, AKSA accredited program in place to bring some level of uniform professionalism back into the kite instruction industry.
Hi Phil,
Sorry mate, both IKO and BKSA systems are flawed and always have been. How each system is funded is a non issue. These systems are designed to give power and control to the few schools who pay the most amount of money. How is hording their intellectual property making things better for the greater community?
Reality is that despite schools gaining accreditations of either IKO and BKSA, many just carry on and do whatever they want, flagrantly flaut the system and abuse it for their own commercial gain, providing low quality tuition, illegal operations and in some cases dangerous scenarios. Neither system is doing anything about this as they strive for monopoly.
I don't expect what I am offering to be welcomed or to be popular with everyone. I dont really care. I will hand my work around to various people who know what they are doing for editing and comment before offering it to AKSA and any school who wants it. I will also make it available to anyone planning on teaching their mates as currently, bad instruction comes because guys just don't have better knowledge when teaching mates. I hope to improve ALL teaching with this work, not just schools who pay money to be a part of a system.
Cheers,
DM
I took the BKSA course and wanted my money back. The course was a total joke with no regard taken of local rules. Furthermore, I would not let any one the graduates in my class teach anyone I know.
The BKSA system is all about "promoting" kiteboarding and their schools. It is about getting as many people on the water as fast as possible in one big bad money grab.
Australia needs its own program, and who better to design it than Darren. Funding should come from AKSA and WAKSA membership fees. We Australians should be masters of our own destiny and not have anything to do with either BKSA or IKO.
Hi Gruezi,
Thanks for the support. I would like to make one thing clear. My goal is to work to provide a better option. For some people, it may be better to gain IKO or BKSA accreditation, neither will be going away any time soon and there is good info in both courses which is better than nothing.
I do not myself want to dominate or monopolise the teaching system, just offer an alternative. If AKSA wish to make it an endorsed system, then that's great, but the content will be freely available to all.
Thanks to all the emailers for the support.
Cheers,
DM
At this moment in time i'm sitting on the fence, i'm a ex iko level 2 instructor and still teach at present. I met Andy from bksa on the beach while he was here and although he came across very well, what bksa are offering is not even close (at the moment) to what iko can if they get there act together.
Now, the thought of Darren Marshall putting forward another option has got to be worthy of some serious attention, lets face it, love him or hate him, the guy knows his sh-t and also has the experience to back it up. I just hope some of the other senior instructors get involved !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Just my opion, Tony
well i put foward a proposal to group together all the schools in asia under the kite safe association back in november and was interested in working with the BKSA or AKSA. i ran into a bit of a hurdle with the insurance side of things which was required by the BKSA. insurance is not easy to get in asia.
i have been working on some ideas with a friend of mine and we have put some stuff up onhttp://www.kitesafeorganisation.com/demo/main.php
the main website will be
www.kitesafeassociation.com at this stage.
i initially did quite a bit of work on this project then high season started and it was put on the back burner. now i hope to have some more time to devote to the project. i have reps for most of the main kiting spots around asia. i hope to give anyone who has held an iko instructors licence for the last 2 years a new KSA licences in the coming months. i am hoping darren can provide some information so we can have some cross recognition.
I remember a certain shop a while back getting a lot of grief for not being "IKO certified" (even though they had better insurance and better lesson structure than IKO)... I wonder if everyone will now jump on Darrens case for not being IKO certified?...
p.s. I totally agree with Darrens moves and anyone else who does the same. IKO is the biggest load of sh!t ever.
