Closed sessions

[theletch1]

I'd like to hear from the rest of you regarding "closed sessions". The instructor was discussing building a barrier in the front of the school that would block the view/access to the training floor so that the classes would closed sessions. His reasons for considering this are various....I think the biggy is some of the parents on the sideline getting protective when he has to discipline their child (no, no shinai involved), secondly our kwoon is in the same building as the local liqour store and we do on occassion get a drunk or two stumbling in to watch and on one occassion had one decide he was 10 feet tall and bullet proof. (learned a great wrist lock that night).

What do ya'll think? Good, bad, indifferent.

 

[DAC..florida]

Originally posted by theletch1
I'd like to hear from the rest of you regarding "closed sessions". The instructor was discussing building a barrier in the front of the school that would block the view/access to the training floor so that the classes would closed sessions. His reasons for considering this are various....I think the biggy is some of the parents on the sideline getting protective when he has to discipline their child (no, no shinai involved), secondly our kwoon is in the same building as the local liqour store and we do on occassion get a drunk or two stumbling in to watch and on one occassion had one decide he was 10 feet tall and bullet proof. (learned a great wrist lock that night).

What do ya'll think? Good, bad, indifferent.

As far as the closed sessions to keep out the parents thats tuff if they want to look on its kinda hard to stop them without looking like youre trying to hide something. :asian:



As far as the drunks good move, excellent way to deal with the 10 ft. tall drunk!:cheers: :cheers:


:yinyang:




:lasma:

 

[theletch1]

As far as the closed sessions to keep out the parents thats tuff if they want to look on its kinda hard to stop them without looking like youre trying to hide something

That's a whole other story.:shrug:

 

[Nightingale]

Parents have a right to know what's going on with their children. period.

I'd suggest that your instructor simply put up blinds that he can close on the front windows of the studio during class... that way, parents can still watch, and drunks can't.

 

[jfarnsworth]

Oh boy here this one goes again. There was a thread on here a few months ago that addressed this situation. It actually got pretty lengthy if I remember correctly. If someone knows which thread maybe they'll post it here. I took a few shots from people in my PM so I'm not going to put my answer back up here.

 

[RCastillo]

Originally posted by nightingale8472
Parents have a right to know what's going on with their children. period.

I'd suggest that your instructor simply put up blinds that he can close on the front windows of the studio during class... that way, parents can still watch, and drunks can't.

Hence, my reason why I don't teach children.(As I'm already a school teacher)

But, the Blinds are a great suggestion!

 

[Cthulhu]

Eh. We meet in a popular public park every Sunday to train and/or beat the crap out of each other with sticks. We've had everything from guys challenging our instructors to people wanting us to 'take care' of troublemakers for them.

However, this is very rare. Partly because people tend to mind their own business in the park, and probably also because they don't want to get too close to the flying rattan

My point is that...um...I guess I don't have one Basically, I've never trained in a 'closed session' atmosphere, so don't have anything to really base an opinion on.

Cthulhu

 

[RCastillo]

Originally posted by Cthulhu
Eh. We meet in a popular public park every Sunday to train and/or beat the crap out of each other with sticks. We've had everything from guys challenging our instructors to people wanting us to 'take care' of troublemakers for them.

However, this is very rare. Partly because people tend to mind their own business in the park, and probably also because they don't want to get too close to the flying rattan

My point is that...um...I guess I don't have one Basically, I've never trained in a 'closed session' atmosphere, so don't have anything to really base an opinion on.

Cthulhu

That's ok, with the "Rattan" that you mentioned, I'll keep walking past you guys when I see you in the park!:anic:

 

[Rich Parsons]

Originally posted by RCastillo
That's ok, with the "Rattan" that you mentioned, I'll keep walking past you guys when I see you in the park!:anic:

When I would be there watching intently, and wising I could join in

(* Please hit me too! *) :asian:

 

[Jill666]

It happens about once a month that people come by and decide to swagger in and make a challenge, and some parents just won't leave. :shrug:

We're just used to it-

One place I train on occasion used to be a dance studio and in addition to the nice floor, the mirrored wall and half-high bar, they had a wall of one-way glass. So people could watch from the lobby, but not cause a distraction.

If you want to sink a few bux on construction anyway, that might be an idea. Then things are a bit closed off, but visitors still can view the training.

 

[theletch1]

99% of the time the drunks aren't a problem, they usually stumble in, blink for a few seconds, realize there isn't a cash register in the front and stumble out. The big problem is parents getting upset when there child screws up and gets reprimanded. These are usually the same parents that came in with their child and said "Little Johnny has an attitude problem. I thought I'd put him in MA for some discipline." Makes ya wonder doesn't it. The blinds sound like a good, low cost idea. I'll suggest it monday night. Sifu had his measuring tape out when I left the kwoon today so he made have already thought of that one. Thanks for the input.:asian:

 

[RCastillo]

Originally posted by theletch1
99% of the time the drunks aren't a problem, they usually stumble in, blink for a few seconds, realize there isn't a cash register in the front and stumble out. The big problem is parents getting upset when there child screws up and gets reprimanded. These are usually the same parents that came in with their child and said "Little Johnny has an attitude problem. I thought I'd put him in MA for some discipline." Makes ya wonder doesn't it. The blinds sound like a good, low cost idea. I'll suggest it monday night. Sifu had his measuring tape out when I left the kwoon today so he made have already thought of that one. Thanks for the input.:asian:

Uhhhh, make sure the blinds are made of steel!

 

[Yari]

Originally posted by nightingale8472
Parents have a right to know what's going on with their children. period.

I'd suggest that your instructor simply put up blinds that he can close on the front windows of the studio during class... that way, parents can still watch, and drunks can't.

I totaly agree...

We have a bench for the parents, and they are told to keep quiet.


/Yari

 

[Kenpo Yahoo]

I agree, parents have the right to see what is going on with their child. The best thing you can do is tell them up front what to expect when "little Johnny" mis-behaves. If the Parents cause a scene or disrupt the class give them a warning. If they do it a couple of times tell them that if they can't behave they won't be allowed in the building while their child trains, if they don't like it they can pull their child from your school. Getting rid of one student and an over excited parent is way cheaper than building a wall, plus it sets an example for the other students and parents. Just don't be emotional about how it is handled and you'll be fine.

 

[tarabos]

i have to say that i cannot relate to the situation of parents or just the general public rolling in off the street to disturb our classes.

we have a pretty ideal situation classroom wise. first of all, the school is on the second story of the building we are in, so there aren't any lookie lou's peeking in or poking fun at any students from the sidewalk outside.

then when you come up into the lobby of the school, you are able to see everything that is happening in the main classroom through a large window. there are plenty of seats to either sit and watch the class or sit and read a book or get some work done as most of the parents do.

i think this is good for newcomers as well as they aren't as worried about stepping on a mat with shoes...not that we would care, we don't have mats...or interrupting a class at an innapropriate time.

 

[Michael Billings]

Anyone can watch, heck, if they sign a waiver they can participate on my dime. Parents absolutely and legally have the right to watch any activity in which their minor child participates in. As Ricardo probably knows, parents can even audit a class in Texas, with the Principal's permisso. Usually this is for a brief specified period of time.

Drunks stumbling in is another matter. My school is wide open. So far no drunks and no challenges in the 6 years I have been open. A few looked in, then decided to leave. Can't imagine why? Get Gary Swan or Brian Duffy to tell the story of the drunk on South Lamar harassing Sifu Swan as they closed one night. There was a bar, ahem, I mean a gentleman's club upstairs at the time. What a place to locate a Kenpo school, right under a bar named "The Second Story". This would have been in the early to mid 1970's. Hee-hee.

-Michael