Michael Alan King
Having spent the first 35 years of my life basically living everywhere, in the last 10 years I have been a one-city-kind-of-guy. Trained and certified in Stockholm it’s been great, though one drawback is that I have not been aware of the bigger world of Pilates. In the four short months that this newsletter has been out, my point of view has expanded broadly and I have met so many fun and giving people. One of these people is Michael Alan King. I can guess that I’m one of a very few who didn’t know of Michael, but I can’t be completely alone in that, so I thought I’d write this short article about him to bring those of you who like me up to speed. If you happen to be in the majority, then maybe you’d like to know a little more about him.
Michael King has been described as “a passionate and perceptive missionary of movement”, and it’s ironic that his last name should be “King”, as his professional status isn’t far off. A trained dancer from the beginning, it was an injured back that lead him to Pilates. Michael’s first teacher was Alan Herdman, who is credited for having taken the Pilates method over the Atlantic and introduced it to England.
Alan said “Hello England, this is Pilates.”
And England responded “Well hello Pilates, how very nice to meet you.”
And then Pilates replied “I am charmed, we shall get along dashingly.”
And then, and then…whoa there Brett, that’s enough with the trying to be funny, you’ve got to get back to Michael because this is a very serious newsletter, so stop fooling around. Ahem…
Michael claims that it was from Alan that he learnt to be liberal in adapting the exercise repertoire. “All movement is good, but it has to be the right movement. A lot of people we train don’t have a strong, flexible body. Every day I say to myself, ‘Am I teaching appropriate movement?’”
In the early 80’s Michael opened his own studio ‘Body Control’ in association with Pineapple dance studio’s and was then recruited by Houston Ballet where he stayed for a decade. Houston Ballet sent Michael to broaden his scope around the states to train with Master Teachers such as Romana Kryzanowska, Carola Trier and later when Michael moved to Los Angles with Michael Podwal and Diane Severino with the Ron Fletcher Method. He basked in their passion for and knowledge of Pilates, and also realized that there was variation of interpretations of the Pilates method. “The only person who did truly authentic Pilates was Joseph Pilates. Everyone since then has developed an individual interpretation of The Method, depending on their background. Today we have many different practitioners teaching, physiotherapist, osteopaths, chiropractors, dancers, fitness instructors and each bring their background and knowledge into the work.”
One aspect that has gone a bit too far, according to Michael, is the separation that has occurred with the arrival of different Pilates brands. “Nowadays we have the Pilates equipment brands fighting for the market name and instructors are calling themselves after the equipment.” Michael is very passionate on this subject and says, “This drives me crazy, its like the 80’s in Aerobics when it was all about Nike and Reebok , both of which by the way are good shoes, but does not make the skill of the instructor. Of course we need good equipment but they are just tools we use, the skill is our knowledge and I feel we need to pass on the legacy of this great technique and the essence of this method.”
Michael has been everywhere and I’m not exaggerating. He has worked with hockey teams in Siberia, taught classes and workshops throughout Europe, Asia, Australia and New Zealand and has even trained an instructor in Tibet. With experience from having taught in over 60 countries, Michael has developed a vision of Pilates and in response has formulated a teacher training curriculum that he can call his own. He describes this program as evidence based which is taking current research and applying it to the teaching, for examples working with a Neutral Spine as well as “imprint “ when teaching the activation of the center, also using the activation of the core with either the pelvic floor or the TA (Transverse Abdominis) on a 25-30 % contraction and not together which is done in more classical Pilates.
“I have the deepest respect for Classical Pilates and know it and teach it when I can but the reality of it is we do not have Classical bodies coming to us today, we have people whose posture and lifestyle is not what is was when this method was created.
Students receive expert instruction and education in his method. Of course the students are expected to know the concepts and execution of the exercises, but a great emphasis is placed on reflective learning in his program as well, wherein the students are encouraged to look deeply and dare to question their own work. The aim is for them to be able to go out as instructors speaking from their own experience and understanding while teaching. “I do not want people leaving my courses saying, ‘Michael King says this, Michael King says that’, I want them to have the capacity to be able to think on their feet and to more truly respond to the situations presented to them.”
Despite the great exhilaration his success, popularity and wide field of experience have brought him, it is still the more simple activity of teaching individual clients that gives Michael the most satisfaction. “I have always loved teaching clients. It is what I have always done”. Not only does he love it, but finds it essential, “training instructors is great. But you need to do both to stay in touch with yourself. You can’t just train teachers without training clients. It is the client who teaches you how to cue, how to verbalize and how to demonstrate the work. They keep you in touch with the challenges of teaching.”
Michael’s studio today is in Sitges , just outside Barcelona Spain so when he is not traveling he is teaching there if you would like to take a session with him or one of his team.
You can meet Michael in the near future at the Zest Convention in London Sept 21/22, Moscow Sept 28/29 and St Petersburg 7/8 Dec. Also there is an End of Summer Camp at his Studio in Sitges August 30-Sept 1st. Visit Michael’s web site for more details.
Words by Brett Miller with LOTS of help from Jehane Lindley and Michael King