Interesting. I'm not sure I had put those things together. But let me muse a bit about this topic and see if you agree, Steve.
StrongFirst techniques and movement standards are selected to guide our physical training practice so as to effectively build a stronger and more resilient human. You will get stronger in the exercise as you train it. However, getting stronger at the exercise -- heavier deadlift, heavier swings, meeting standards like Simple, Sinister, or the 5-min snatch -- is not the direct purpose of this method of training. They can serve as markers along the path to inform your progress, but the real purpose is beyond that. "Strength has a higher purpose" as a tenet of the StrongFirst code means we are training for something beyond the gym, beyond the standard, beyond the physical accomplishment. Taking care of a relative, rescuing someone in an emergency, helping out a friend, becoming a living kidney donor -- all examples of what we become more able to do through our training. Also, for any other type of physical endeavor, StrongFirst will help you build the foundation of strength upon which higher levels of performance can be built. You can be anything you want to be.... But you must be Strong First. (Of course, Pavel says it best here:
Strength Has a Greater Purpose | StrongFirst) While you certainly can develop and enjoy the attainment of physical goals and accomplishments along the way, with StrongFirst, those are secondary to the goal of becoming a better human and/or building something more from your base of strength.
So with regard to snatch technique, StrongFirst's technique may not be the best one for building the ability to do a long set of heavy snatches. One could certainly make the argument that GS or kettlebell sport technique is "better" in that way. In our opinion, StrongFirst snatch technique is the one that can be best employed to develop strength, power, resiliency, and a foundation of tensile strength. With the StrongFirst method, one can certainly work towards higher abilities -- ability to snatch heavier weight, ability to do higher reps within a given amount of time, ability to snatch longer sets before switching hands, etc. But the method itself isn't, at the outset, aimed at that.
In contrast, the GS technique is developed for the sport; for competition performance in the snatch. Everything about GS is aimed at developing the ability to snatch more, heavier, and more reps in a given time period. While you certainly can develop and enjoy the attainment of other things along the way (strength, power, conditioning, enjoyment of training, etc.), with GS those are secondary to the goal of building the ability to compete effectively in the sport.
I think my last 4 years of training in the sport of weightlifting has brought me a better understanding of these different orientations. Weightlifting, like GS, is all about getting better at the sport. You can train in weightlifting and not compete... you'll still get all the benefits of training -- health, strength, etc. But the goal of every training program is to get you better at the competition lifts: barbell snatch, and barbell clean and jerk. Techniques, programs, critiques, coach development -- all aimed at the end goal of competition performance. Although there are a lot of overlaps, StrongFirst is not oriented that way.
Really, it's a subtle difference that not everyone needs to be super aware of as they train or run these programs. But it make a lot of things make more sense about why things are the way they are. Why get stronger if we're not going to compete and test ourselves? Because strength has a higher purpose. As we orient towards that, we then have a bigger reason to become strong than competition.
