The journey maybe be over

[terryl965]

Thanks everybody, Brian and all the rest you bring up some great points that I myself over looked. This is why we need a site like Martial Talk to tell people like me that get a little discourage to get back in there and do wjat I can for those that wish it.:asian:

 

[Kacey]

After forty something years of training I am seriously thinking about giving it up and letting my wife and others BB run the school. I believe this is best for the growth of the school. I tens to be too hard and too particular with every single movement. We have more people showing up for her classes and my other BB classes than mine. I still have my BB thqat come and then only 5 of the other students, everybody else says it is too hard for them and I require to much.

I gues I am venting because the journey of martial arts is for perfection which we know can never be. It is the lifetime of trainig to relize just haw low the expectation of the majority of people really are, they want everything handed to them and not to be pushed. For a commercial to make it you must have aftercare programs, summer camps, BB clubs, weapons clubs, fee;s for this and fee's for that. This has never been me and I just cannot bring mself to do it. So if I take a back seat and let the wife and a few BB run all these programs we will become what I do not want but for the school to stay we maust bring it in. What a delimma and how to figure out what to do.

Honestly - how lucky those few students are, who take the time and put forth the effort to attend your class. Those are the leaders in your class - and they deserve the attention that they get at that time.

Every month, every state technical director in Yom Chi holds a class for red and black belt students - the Colorado class was this morning. Only 8 students came this morning, out of 40 or 50 who could have come - and so what? It was a great class - we all got lots of individual attention, lots of personalized instruction, we worked on things that there aren't time for in regular classes - so what if other students didn't choose to come? They lost out - and we didn't.

This is something that I'm still working on myself - I-III Dans are instructors of color belt students, IV-VI Dans are instructors of black belts, and VII-IX Dans are instructors of instructors. That's a big change - and while it's not absolute, as I have my own class, which currently ranges from white belt to I Dan; my instructor, who is a VII Dan, has his own class, which currently currently runs from white belt to IV Dan, that's still something to think about.

As a master, you should be teaching other black belts how to teach. Sure, you should be able to step into any class at any time and crank it up a notch, or not, depending - but I also remember when I first started teaching, and how much more I learned by having to explain what was going on. Give your senior students the privilege of teaching, and step back and watch - then concentrate on improving their skills as instructors and senior students.

By the way - I sent you an email (not a PM) - please check it and let me know what you think.

 

[jks9199]

Just had another thought, prompted by Kacey's comments about learning when you begin teaching...

It's very easy to teach at your own level, even with students who don't have the basis to learn at that level yet. I've seen this in my own teaching; taking 2 or 3 lessons to teach a punch or block because we were teaching it to our own level of understanding -- not a beginners. I've actually backed off, and focused on almost "dumping" several techniques on them, then refining them over the next several lessons.

However, if I'm working with more advanced students, I can teach more refinement or more particular elements. You need that basic building block to add to, or you really frustrate newer students.

 

[Twin Fist]

Terry,
You need to be a teacher of teachers now anyway. if i was inyour posistion, I would just be teaching the Black belt Classes.

 

[matt.m]

I don't know what to say. Everyone hits a crossroads and it seems you are at one. However, don't be discouraged man. Look on the bright side, you have "Very dedicated students." that come to YOU! So, I feel your pain, I run a small class. But they don't miss and that is all that matters to me.

 

[igillman]

I am just going to re-iterate what some other people have said because that was my first thought when I read your post. You need to have a separate class that you teach for the people who want to do martial arts the way you do. It sounds like you already have at least 5 students who want to be in your special class.

 

[granfire]

After forty something years of training I am seriously thinking about giving it up and letting my wife and others BB run the school. I believe this is best for the growth of the school. I tens to be too hard and too particular with every single movement. We have more people showing up for her classes and my other BB classes than mine. I still have my BB thqat come and then only 5 of the other students, everybody else says it is too hard for them and I require to much.

I gues I am venting because the journey of martial arts is for perfection which we know can never be. It is the lifetime of trainig to relize just haw low the expectation of the majority of people really are, they want everything handed to them and not to be pushed. For a commercial to make it you must have aftercare programs, summer camps, BB clubs, weapons clubs, fee;s for this and fee's for that. This has never been me and I just cannot bring mself to do it. So if I take a back seat and let the wife and a few BB run all these programs we will become what I do not want but for the school to stay we maust bring it in. What a delimma and how to figure out what to do.

The journey is never over.

But you are in the lucky position to have other people run the school for you (ok, they can compare you to them, but being demanding isn't a bad thing as instructor) So you could make lemonade out of the situation and turn your lessons into the workout some people actually like. A couple of times a week...and kick back the rest of the time. (and periodiacally, in random intervals, take over a class from your peeps and sare the daylights out of your students)

OK, maybe too much Halloween exposure....

But as sad as it may seem at this point, I think it opens possibilities for you - as instructor - that where not possible being in the daily grind of the school. A couple of instructors in my area are trying to get some sort of inter organizational training group together, maybe something you would like to take a peek at?

 

[arnisador]

After forty something years of training I am seriously thinking about giving it up and letting my wife and others BB run the school. I believe this is best for the growth of the school. I tens to be too hard and too particular with every single movement.

You need a hierarchy. Have someone else train the beginners and send the black belts to you.

Have you considered training in a new art for a while? A few months of BJJ will open your eyes to new things and have you feeling like you're bringing something new and different to how you teach what you already "know". Train in the FMA for a year and then see how well your system's knife defenses really are. It'll be refreshing!

 

[Kwanjang]

Terry you are a leader first! And by the way, I agree, people want stuff handed to them. Like you, I tend to be detail oriented. Like you I have considered taking a back seat- to let my younger black belts run things.
I can totally appreciate how you feel!

For me, one of the first things I had to understand is everybody comes to us with their own uniqueness and potential. By no means am I trying to lecture you sir- I don't think you being tuff on technique is bad. Maybe it is in your class pre-frame.

After the last test at one of my schools, it was obvious no one had really practiced. I was a heartbeat away form getting up from my chair and say, Every body come back next month WHEN YOUR READY! So, we the instructing staff knew we had to come up some thing to help -and since implementing the student expectation sheet with 5 crucial expectations for the student. We made it a big poster a hung it on the wall. Seems like its been helping.

Never forget, Dr. John Maxwell says, "one is too small a number to acheive greatness. It takes teamwork to make your dream work." Let your wife and other BB help- embrace it- but please keep your chin up.

 

[StuartA]

Terry,

I think you need a break to revitalise yourself. Theres a bed and full board waiting for you at my house. Book your flight and let me know when you`ll arrive so I can come collect you from the airport.

Stuart

 

[myusername]

Sorry to hear about your dilemma Terry, I really hope it all turns out right for you. For what it's worth if I was currently looking for a new martial arts school and I noticed that they had a "technical master class" as part of the programme I would be making a bee line for it. You have a wealth of knowledge and it would be a real loss to the martial arts world if you stopped teaching.

 

[terryl965]

Thanks everybody my wife and the other BB's we hold the early classes and I will do the adult twice a week and hold three technical classes for those wishing to come. This is not easy for me since I have always been hands on.

 

[exile]

the martial arts needs it stalwarts, those that will go against current trends, question the docterines and have the qualifications/training to be taken seriously and remind us all of the worth of the hard long journey and what it all really means

Everyone has been on point with this particular idea, that Stuart has expressed in the bolded part. It's just so true....

Terry, what you're talking about is something that I talk about with my own instructor all the time. The downside of the MA's popularity is that students have been redefined as... customers. And the customer is (i) always right and (ii) is often more interested in appearance than reality. Deadly combination, of course.

Once upon a time, in the middle 1960s, say, MAs were done by a small minority, mostly dedicated lunatics who if you ever complained that you'd been hit in the head hard during practice, would have told you to count yourself lucky you hadn't been knocked unconscious. Joe Lewis and Skipper Mullins type training, when the idea that you would hold back from head shots would have made people's jaws drop. We've come a long way since then in terms of expanding the market... but how many McDojo Black Belt Clubbers would have lasted a week in someone like Lewis' school? The economic bottom line for schools is that they need numbers to keep out of the red, as you know better than most of us... but they're also the last place where 'old-school' hard martial arts, the kind that Itosu, Motobu and Miyagi had in mind, can be preserved. MA schools are commercial ventures, but they're also preservers of the MAs' combat legacy, from the days when they were practical combat techniques intended to keep ordinary people safe. That tradition seems to me to be lifeblood of the MAs, the thing that gives them their vitality, their pulse. Someone has to keep that conception alive, and who will if not the modern MA school? Many don't, but if even a few do in each generation, that legacy will be safe.

That's why I think the dual track people have been advising you to follow is the perfect solution, one that the giants of the past would look favorably on. Do what you need to to keep yourself viable, but keep the old-school hard MA flame alive for the benefit of the small but intense minority who value it. And I think you're ideally set up to do that, Terry.

Terry,

I think you need a break to revitalise yourself. Theres a bed and full board waiting for you at my house. Book your flight and let me know when you`ll arrive so I can come collect you from the airport.

Stuart

Make sure you take him out for some top-notch cask-conditioned ale, Stuart. Show him just how great a traditional English pub dedicated to outstanding beer can be!

 

[terryl965]

Terry,

I think you need a break to revitalise yourself. Theres a bed and full board waiting for you at my house. Book your flight and let me know when you`ll arrive so I can come collect you from the airport.

Stuart

I may need to see id I can arrange this early next year. Believe me if I can make it , I will be there.

 

[Deaf Smith]

Terry,

I'm gonna change the names of those involved to protect, well everyone.

Long time ago a grandmaster I was under had one heck of a school, or should I say schools. He had 13 of them in different cities in East Texas. He was a Grand Master at both TKD (Moo Duk Kwan) and Tang So Do (Moo Duk Kwan.)

He died at the age of 35 from tumors. It's tough dieing so young I tell you.

Anyway the whole thing broke up. Some who ran his schools wanted to stay in TKD, others did not like the direction (or whatever) and went to Tang So Do. Like most people who build up an empire, once they die, the empire falls appart.

One of them, a very outstanding martial artist, had a severe case of TB. That is True Believer. To him excelling was an end in itself. BTW I knew him and he was outstanding, and I've know alot of real good martial artist.

But.. over time he ended up with this philosophy that he picked the student, not the student picking his school. And if you didn't cut the mustard you didn't come to his school. He drove them pretty hard. He became overly harsh and in time the rumors were he was hitting his students, and I'm not talking about sparrng.

Well last I heard of him... wait, no one's heard of him in a while, if you get my drift.

So yes, take a break. Smell the roses. And realize that not many people get a dose of TB. And the few that do, well some get that dose pretty strong, some get it just a little bit. But one can get it to much and it starts hurting more than helping.

Deaf

 

[granfire]

Thanks everybody my wife and the other BB's we hold the early classes and I will do the adult twice a week and hold three technical classes for those wishing to come. This is not easy for me since I have always been hands on.

Sounds like a good schedule! You are still hands on, but this leaves you time to explore other facets of the journey!

 

[Brian S]

After forty something years of training I am seriously thinking about giving it up and letting my wife and others BB run the school. I believe this is best for the growth of the school. I tend to be too hard and too particular with every single movement. We have more people showing up for her classes and my other BB classes than mine. I still have my BB thqat come and then only 5 of the other students, everybody else says it is too hard for them and I require to much.

I gues I am venting because the journey of martial arts is for perfection which we know can never be. It is the lifetime of trainig to relize just how low the expectation of the majority of people really are, they want everything handed to them and not to be pushed. For a commercial to make it you must have aftercare programs, summer camps, BB clubs, weapons clubs, fees for this and fees for that. This has never been me and I just cannot bring mself to do it. So if I take a back seat and let the wife and a few BB run all these programs we will become what I do not want but for the school to stay we must bring it in. What a dilema and how to figure out what to do.

Well guess what, that's how you end up when you try to turn martial arts into a business. You end up sacrificing the art to please the public. IMO martial arts are for self preservation and if you want to do something for fitness then go do tae bo down the block! Personally, I like to weed out all the people who aren't willing to do hard training, eventually they will give up anyway when something else isn't what they think it should be. Lay it on the line from day one so that only the committed people will stay imo.

Do you really want to give blackbelts out to people who are just in good shape,but can't defend themselves? Do you want lots of crappy students or a few good ones?

"YEAH, I'm so n so's blackbelt student *does crappy halfassed sloppy roundkick*. " Um.....ok. And the people he shows will avoid your dojo like the plague!!

People have a preconceived concept of what martial arts is, and when the training doesn't fit into their little box then they want to complain or quit.

I think you should not change a thing except the name of the classes. TKD weiners fitness classes (Achieve the pinkbelt!!) vs. TKD self defense classes. Weed out the weiners imo. Probably not good for business though.

I feel your pain brother!! Do the right thing, not the easy thing!

 

[Daniel Sullivan]

Anything that I would have suggested has already been suggested, so I will stick with encouragement.

What you have to offer to students is not easily come by in this age of instant gratification. Do what you need to to revitalize, be it take a couple weeks off or take time to refocus on your own training, or whatever you do to revitalize yourself in general.

Then continue on, perhaps making your class the 'advanced' class. The students are not jumping ship; they're staying at your school and just going to classes other than your own, leaving you with a smaller class. No problem there. Just focus in on those students. They'll benefit from the smaller class size. And every so often, they should attend the 'regular class' so that the regular students can see what they've been missing.

Keep the faith, never give up, never surrender!

Daniel

 

[stickarts]

Change can be difficult but it is wise of you to recognize that you need a change. It may be the end of a routine that you are used to but it may also be the beginning of something new for you and maybe even better! You have so much experience to offer that i am sure there are a number of ways that you can still contribute, continue to grow, and to be happy. It may take some adjustments before you find your new way and thats ok.

 

[terryl965]

Change can be difficult but it is wise of you to recognize that you need a change. It may be the end of a routine that you are used to but it may also be the beginning of something new for you and maybe even better! You have so much experience to offer that i am sure there are a number of ways that you can still contribute, continue to grow, and to be happy. It may take some adjustments before you find your new way and thats ok.

Thank you Frank change is hard for me, been doing it the same way for thirty years. I am trying to do what is best for the school and the people of the school. I will find a niche somewhere I am sure.:asian: