Raaff knows all the right moves for enhancing sports performance

20 February 2009 - Posted by James Raaff in In the press, News

James Raaff is among the rapidly growing number of South Africans who are passionate about golf. What singles him out from others is that, although he is not a coach, he is able to help both professional and recreational golfers optimise their performance.

While the primary focus of his business, James Raaff & Associates, is to train Pilates instructors, Raaff also uses this exercise discipline and his understanding of movement science to help sportspeople improve their game.  “The benefits that Pilates offers athletes in all types of sport have attracted great interest internationally in recent years. Several top national rugby sides, among others, use these exercises to increase their fitness, balance, strength and flexibility,” says Raaff, who once helped to design and integrate a Pilates programme into the South African rugby side’s training schedule.

Inspired by his love of golf, Raaff has recently added “golf therapy” to the services offered at his practice, to help enthusiasts improve their swing through heightened awareness of their bodily movements.

His approach differs from that of a coach in that his focus is not to improve performance through technical adjustments such as changing the grip or altering the golfing stance, but rather to observe underlying characteristic movements in the body itself that may be limiting sports performance or may lead to injury, After watching clients “tee-off” in his studio, he helps them to re-educate their bodies and minds using Pilates, a movement tool.
Raaff, a qualified biokineticist, says it has been scientifically proved that most muscular and skeletal discomfort comes from the way people habitually move. By improving their motor skills through Pilates training, they can learn more thoughtful movement, he says.

He has been closely observing and learning about the way sportspeople move ever since being coached as a gymnast in his schooldays, when his athletic prowess and mental and physical command of his body brought him to the brink of international competition.  Although a sports injury dashed his hopes of further progress in this arena, he has remained passionate about sport throughout his life, and brings the knowledge of biomechanics gained through his university studies and own experience to bear on his business.

Raaff decided after completing his schooling that sports science and physiology would be a natural course of study for him to follow. From the first semester at university he knew he was in the right professional field.  After three years of study, feeling that he had only just scratched the surface, he went on to read biokinetics, which “seemed like second nature”, earning a second honours followed by a  master’s degree at Stellenbosch University.

The simple act of taking a walk from his Cape Town home to the local delicatessen one day had a profound impact on his career aspirations.  Noticing some strange equipment visible through the window of a house, he was intrigued and walked straight in through the open front door.  By serendipity, he found himself in the city’s first Pilates studio.
A fascinating conversation with the studio owner culminated in Raaff offering his assistance as a biokineticist.  As his involvement with Pilates grew, so did his conviction of its power and benefits. He trained as an instructor, and later became the co-owner and ran classes at another Pilates studio.

During this period he worked for several years with a very experienced Canadian-trained Pilates instructor, Miriane Braaf.  Cape Town-born Braaf, a talented ballet dancer who had won a bursary to further her dancing career in Canada, had taken up Pilates after seriously injuring her back and being told that she would never dance again. Her Pilates exercise regime enabled her later to return to the stage, but she had come to love Pilates so much that she had decided to switch careers, becoming a certified instructor of the highest level before returning to Cape Town for a working stint. “Miriane and I did a lot of work together and I learned a great deal, as there are many layers to Pilates,” says Raaff.

The opportunity to acquire new knowledge is always welcomed by Raaff, who says: “While certain principles remain the same in Pilates training, if you are applying the same techniques you were a year ago, you need to examine your offering as an instructor.  In this field, you need to keep progressing.”

Raaff does this not only by keeping a finger on the pulse of market requirements through interaction with individual clients, but also by providing innovative solutions to help sportspeople enjoy their game with no muscle strain and plenty to gain.

Contact James Raaff and Associates on phone 021 465 2870 or email info@jamesraaffandassociates.com.