Parkway Panthers Condition in the Off Season With Karate Cross-training

The Parkway Panther Football Team and coaching staff just finished the Fall 07 season with one of the best in recent history, winning 8 and losing only 2 of their 10 games ~ nearly making it into the play-offs.  Head Coach Ed Kuhn credits a shift in traditional conditioning to a focus on Karate for the startling results.

Martial Arts have been used as a cross-training tool by many professional football teams since the 1970's.  "There are similarities between the martial arts and football, and cross-training has been successful on a number of levels including mind, body, and soul," according to Sensei Brad Rammel, Parkway District resident, who teaches at and owns Stone Tiger Dojo in Celina.

Early in 2007, Coach Kuhn challenged Sensei Rammel to create a program for the Panthers which would combine the "traditional" with martial arts to build stronger, more agile and better focused players. Through conditioning which includes focusing the mind, and training the body,  the goal was to teach the players to be passionate about their sport and successful on the field. 

A second degree black belt in Karate, Brad took the challenge and began researching, with the help of his daughter, Parkway Senior Bria Rammel and Parkway graduate Dustin Younker, who are also both black-belts. Bria and Coach Kuhn often talked at school about the possibility of such a program. Brad took the basics of self-defense including hand-to-hand combat drills and adapted it to the football field. The training program he created allows smaller players to handle bigger ones through body leverage and body positioning.

Once the program was ready, the coaches at Parkway were the first students in early February 2007.  Ed Kuhn, Bill and Greg Steinecker, Ron Searight, Barry Peel III,  Brian Fortkamp, Dave Bell, Steve Hughes and Matt Fisher began a once weekly program of aerobic and anaerobic conditioning with lots of stretching, calisthenics, sweating and pushing the limits all the time.  Before the start of the season, Sensei Rammel was asked to coach along with the rest of the Parkway staff!

Then at the end of February, the football players were invited to the same training. Brad taught them the drills that were to become an unusual pre-game warm-up routine for the Panther Fans. The boys learned quickly, and in the optional, off-season worked faithfully 1 day a week for 1-1/2 hours each session. "We saw the self-confidence level rise through-out the year as we prepared for  the new 2007 season. The boys learned that they were able to handle themselves against any opponent regardless of size.  They learned the power of strengthening mind, body and soul. " said Coach Kuhn. " The karate sessions have now become a 2 day a week routine. In addition, we continue lifting weights at Parkway High School 3 days a week."

In August 2007, the team, coaches, Sensei Rammel, and trainers, solidified their program with a trip to Bowling Green for a four day camp. In the presence of just each other, they unified their teamwork and brought themsleves together as "one" to begin the new season. Two-a-days training came the next week.  The boys who had faithfully studied the optional karate conditioning through the summer later noted that they found two-a-days a little easier because of their work.

Sensei Rammel reported that 13-22 athletes show up per session with some of the volleyball athletes now venturing into the program. "Martial arts is a proven cross training for any sports," he said.   He leads them in the drills and mixes-up the warm-ups to make them different. Parents have even joined in. And, some of the participants are using the class time to work toward a black belt. Players who are already in another sport usually don't come until that sport is over.

The results were amazing. "This program did the trick," says Coach Kuhn. "But we are still learning and  pushing our comfort levels and endurance. With our second year of football off-season conditioning underway, the team and staff are working on moves to make them more effective on the football field come Fall 08. We remain focused on a daily basis and remember our motto."

A Section of the Motto of the Parkway Football Team:

We never quit until the very end.
We believe in ourselves, each other, and the team.

We will not let each other down.

Coach Ed Kuhn was named Northwest District Co-Coach of the year in the Midwest Athletic Conference. He is a Parkway graduate of 1989 and played on the Panther football team. He is an art teacher at Parkway High School and yearbook advisor.

The University of Texas Longhorn Football Team is a Pro Team with Martial Arts conditioning.	Sensei Rammel works with a parent and Coach Kuhn.	Coach Kuhn does the drill.	Stretching is important and Dustin Younker, black belt oversees this session.
The Panther volleyball team joined the session.	Counting the reps is done in Japanese.	Bria Rammel, black belt, helps with the training.	Deliberate moves led by Sensei Rammel.