Retired from the Marine Corps after combat injury, turns to karate

[Bill Mattocks]

Retired from the Marine Corps after combat injury, recent Elizabethtown College grad pushes through pain with karate

Worth a read.

 

[hoshin1600]

something i have been thinking about for awhile now is how i can help veterans thru martial arts training. Sebastian Junger and psychologists have put forth the idea that part of PTSD is a lack of social support. that belonging to a close knit group could help with PTSD. i feel that martial arts or combatives training could really be of benefit to some. i feel the training would be good but also extending it out so the Vets end up being instructors themselves might be a good idea. i would really like to get a group together for training but i have no idea how to go about it.
i am not a veteran so i feel that i am not qualified to do this and i wont be respected in the way another veteran would be.....

 

[Bill Mattocks]

something i have been thinking about for awhile now is how i can help veterans thru martial arts training. Sebastian Junger and psychologists have put forth the idea that part of PTSD is a lack of social support. that belonging to a close knit group could help with PTSD. i feel that martial arts or combatives training could really be of benefit to some. i feel the training would be good but also extending it out so the Vets end up being instructors themselves might be a good idea. i would really like to get a group together for training but i have no idea how to go about it.
i am not a veteran so i feel that i am not qualified to do this and i wont be respected in the way another veteran would be.....

I don't think a person has to be a veteran to offer help to veterans. I know my nephew is experiencing a lot of issue post-Army, and he is trying to get martial arts training, but has no money to pay. A local dojo give him a couple of 'free lessons' but then told him he had to pay or he could not keep training, so he's back to no support again. I'd gladly train him but he's in Colorado and I'm in Michigan.

 

[MA_Student]

something i have been thinking about for awhile now is how i can help veterans thru martial arts training. Sebastian Junger and psychologists have put forth the idea that part of PTSD is a lack of social support. that belonging to a close knit group could help with PTSD. i feel that martial arts or combatives training could really be of benefit to some. i feel the training would be good but also extending it out so the Vets end up being instructors themselves might be a good idea. i would really like to get a group together for training but i have no idea how to go about it.
i am not a veteran so i feel that i am not qualified to do this and i wont be respected in the way another veteran would be.....

I may be totally wrong here and If I am I apologise but I don't think social support has much to do with it in some cases, I guess it can with some but I mean some people who get it are married with kids so it's not the only reason. Again this is just my opinion I'm no therapist or anything but my uncle was a soldier and he suffered with PTSD and he's married with 3 kids and has loads of friends.

 

[Monkey Turned Wolf]

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[JR 137]

Seido Juku does a veterans program at the headquarters dojo. Here’s a link...
The World Seido Karate Organization in New York City
There’s a contact email in there. Perhaps shoot them an email and ask how you could start one of your own?

 

[hoshin1600]

I may be totally wrong here and If I am I apologise but I don't think social support has much to do with it in some cases, I guess it can with some but I mean some people who get it are married with kids so it's not the only reason. Again this is just my opinion I'm no therapist or anything but my uncle was a soldier and he suffered with PTSD and he's married with 3 kids and has loads of friends.

i think your not understanding the problem. it is not family support, it is about being with people who "get it" who have been through it. by being with those who have also been there.

 

[hoshin1600]

I don't think a person has to be a veteran to offer help to veterans. I know my nephew is experiencing a lot of issue post-Army, and he is trying to get martial arts training, but has no money to pay. A local dojo give him a couple of 'free lessons' but then told him he had to pay or he could not keep training, so he's back to no support again. I'd gladly train him but he's in Colorado and I'm in Michigan.

see this bothers me. commercialism can ruin a good thing at times.

 

[Bill Mattocks]

Seido Juku does a veterans program at the headquarters dojo. Here’s a link...
The World Seido Karate Organization in New York City
There’s a contact email in there. Perhaps shoot them an email and ask how you could start one of your own?

I already directed my nephew to that email - they responded and were very nice. There is no dojo in Colorado. And I am in Michigan.

 

[JR 137]

Seido Juku’s honbu (headquarters) has a veterans program.
The World Seido Karate Organization in New York City

All the people I’ve met from honbu have been great people to deal with. If you email the link on the page, they could most likely give you some pointers. It’s run by a few vets, and I’m sure they’d help you help as many vets as possible.

Just a thought.

Edit: Somehow Bill Mattocks quoted an identical post I made earlier. Somehow I don’t see the post, but see the quote. Odd. Sorry for redundancy.

 

[JR 137]

I already directed my nephew to that email - they responded and were very nice. There is no dojo in Colorado. And I am in Michigan.

I was posting it because @hoshin1600 was talking about helping veterans somehow. I figured he could get some information and ideas from them.

Honbu in NYC is the only Seido dojo I know of with the program, although I’m sure the Westchester, NY branch does the same; both are owned and run by Tadashi Nakamura and family.

I think most other Seido dojos would probably honor it or at least make a deal of some sort, but they’re all independently owned and operated, so it would be a case by case thing IMO.

 

[JR 137]

see this bothers me. commercialism can ruin a good thing at times.

I agree, but at the end of the day, the dojo owner has bills to pay, mouths to feed, etc. If I ran a dojo and could afford to let a veteran or several veterans train for free, I’d do it. If I couldn’t afford to, then I’d feel bad, but wouldn’t be able to. Even pretty much every non-commercial dojo’s got overhead that needs to be paid.

 

[hoshin1600]

I agree, but at the end of the day, the dojo owner has bills to pay, mouths to feed, etc. If I ran a dojo and could afford to let a veteran or several veterans train for free, I’d do it. If I couldn’t afford to, then I’d feel bad, but wouldn’t be able to. Even pretty much every non-commercial dojo’s got overhead that needs to be paid.

I think your being a bit short sighted on this. The only case were turning someone away is acceptable to me is when there is limited space. For instance your teaching in your garage and already have 20 students that fill the space. Turning away a student due to an inability to pay is not looking at the overall picture. There are options. Can he trade lessons for work? Can he bring other paying students in by word of mouth? Can you leverage the situation in a way that would increase your business in other ways while keeping the integrity of the situation? Good will in business is a real thing with real returns. It is worth more than the month tuition.

EDIT :it has to be an honest inability to pay. Not being lazy and just wanting something for free.

 

[JR 137]

I think your being a bit short sighted on this. The only case were turning someone away is acceptable to me is when there is limited space. For instance your teaching in your garage and already have 20 students that fill the space. Turning away a student due to an inability to pay is not looking at the overall picture. There are options. Can he trade lessons for work? Can he bring other paying students in by word of mouth? Can you leverage the situation in a way that would increase your business in other ways while keeping the integrity of the situation? Good will in business is a real thing with real returns. It is worth more than the month tuition.

EDIT :it has to be an honest inability to pay. Not being lazy and just wanting something for free.

I considered all of those things when I initially posted, and I agree with you.

In just about any circumstances, one additional student wouldn’t cost anyone anything. The only way I could see it costing is if there was a waiting list of some sort, and the owner is losing money due to him taking a paying spot, if somehow the owner is operating in a gym/health club where he pays rent based on number of students, etc. Those are a stretch though.

On the other hand, the owner could have some concerns...
If he allows him to train for free, does this set a precedent? Does he tell his veteran friends, then they come and expect the same? Do others in the dojo who are paying to train become resentful? If there are other veterans training and paying, do they become resentful?

Here’s another spin: my father owns a garage. If a veteran comes in asking for him to fix his car for free (minus parts), should my father do it?

We don’t know the veteran nor how he approached the situation. I’ll give him the benefit of the doubt and say he approached it the right way, but was told no. The dojo owner doesn’t owe anyone anything.

If I owned a dojo and a veteran asked to train for free because he couldn’t afford it, under most circumstances I’d allow him to train. I’d ask him to help out any way he could - promote the school/referrals, use whatever skills he has to make the dojo better, etc. I wouldn’t take advantage by any means, but one hand washes the other. I’d also let him know that it was a temporary arrangement until he can reasonably afford to pay.

At the end of the day, a dojo is a business. Whenever there’s an exchange of goods or services for money, goods or services, no matter how much or how little, it’s a business. The business owner has the right to do whatever he feels is best for the business, regardless of if I or anyone else agrees with it.