So after about 18 months of training I've just qualified as a group Observer. A committing but very worthwhile process, has definitely improved my riding and coaching skills and hopefully soon I'll have an associate and be able to start giving something back to the club.
The IAM (and all additional training organisations) seem to invoke some fairly negative responses in some threads on here. All I can say is that going through the process of training for the IAM test, and subsequently training as an observer, has made me a better, more thinking rider. Not an expert, not some kind of riding god, and certainly not invincible, but much better than I was before I started the process.
To anyone uncertain about whether to do further training with the IAM, or any other body, I would make the following points:
- Doing further training hopefully builds your skillset, but what matters is what you choose to do with those skills. For sure, some people pass their IAM/RoSPA etc test but still ride like twats. Fine, some IAM/RoSPA members are twats, just as some other bikers are twats and some people in general are twats. The fact that there are twats out there doesn't make the training any less valuable to those that choose to apply it to their riding.
- Most clubs that train club members to IAM test level are affiliated to the IAM, they are not the IAM themselves. Just like any club, they will probably have a certain ethos developed over time. This will not necessarily have anything to do with the IAM, or with other IAM affiliated clubs. If you don't think a certain club is for you, there may well be another that is a better fit. Don't write off all 'advanced' training based on the attitudes of specific riders or a specific club.
- 'Advanced' training does not mean slavishly following a book, it means being a thinking rider. The fact that some people who have passed 'Advanced' tests may seem to think they have a 'recipe' for riding doesn't mean that is what further training is about, and it doesn't make all IAM/RoSPA etc members twats, it just means that some might have missed the point.
For anyone thinking about further training, I would say approach it with an open mind and positive attitude, be prepared to change club/observer/instructor if you haven't found the right one for you, don't look for 'rules' to make you a better rider but suggestions to improve your riding plan and you will surely take away something useful from it.
My two cents!
. just remember you never stop learning, and dont fall into the trap of being an expert with views on other peoples riding.
