Issue link: https://www.massageandbodyworkdigital.com/i/78617
About Aaron Mattes Aaron Mattes received his bachelor's degree in physical education in 1970 and his master's degree in kinesiology and kinesiotherapy in 1972. He served as pitching coach for the University of Illinois baseball team, then directed kinesiotherapy clinics there and at the University of Toledo. His experience includes more than 200,000 hours in instruction, rehabilitation, athletic training, adapted physical education, sports medicine, training, and preventive programs. He is a registered kinesiotherapist and certified member of the American Kinesiotherapy Association. He is a licensed massage therapist and owns and directs Aaron L. Mattes Therapy in Sarasota, Florida, where he lives with his wife Judy. Q: During your 2011 Chicago seminar, you introduced Jeff Haggquist and Roger McNear as master instructors and announced that they were developing a new AIS certification process. Since AIS has never had certification, what led to this? AM: It's always been something I've wanted A to do, but just saying that you took my course and now you're certified doesn't mean much. We're working with people who have various types of education: PhDs, medical doctors, osteopaths, chiropractors, massage therapists with 6–7 month training programs, or personal trainers with a few days to a few weeks of education. We have people from so many different types of backgrounds that it's difficult to certify people unless everyone receives the same information and can thoroughly learn to do this work. It's a lot more work than meets the naked eye because it needs to meet the criteria provided by the national certification board. Haggquist and McNear are in charge of the certification development and getting it to the population. Q: How does it feel to see AIS take this next step? What do you hope to see happen? AM: It's been a lifetime. I've basically worked on it for more than 40 years. That's a long time to stay with something, especially as I'm getting older. It's making it more difficult for me to achieve it, so I need to include more people as best as I can. There were opportunities to do major studies on it, but things fell through for various reasons, so I've had some setbacks. We want to get some things proved through research and then give it to the National Institutes of Health or another suitable body. Then AIS will become more of a household name. It's the recognition of the entire rehabilitation and preventive world that we're interested in, so we need the right kinds of people involved in all aspects of it. Q: The AIS certification path includes two-day seminars using a new, more structured teaching format. How would you compare the longer seminars you have traditionally taught to the new, shorter seminars? AM: We cover a lot in the four- day seminars I've done, but I think now students will have a chance to break it down, work in smaller groups, and maybe learn it better. I think this extension will be a step up, obviously. Those who wanted to be really good Visit the newly designed ABMP.com. Log in. Explore. Enjoy. 77