The way you describe the problem here, they sound uninspired, and maybe bored. I might be off, but consider what they are working on at that point in their training. Does it get more technical and less physical at that point? Is there a sharp drop-off in new stuff to work on? Are they spending too much time working on what the lower belts need, so they're not getting to work on what they need to progress?
Maybe consider....dojos open and close as much, or even more, than restaurants. The kids classes often pay the bills. The number one goal of a dojo isn't really teaching quality Martial Arts, it's staying open so it can teach quality Martial Arts. It's a seriously tough racket running a Martial Arts school.
Buka, I sincerely love your positive attitude and the joy you have for martial arts. I hear what you're saying here and re-reading my post I think it could come off as negative and could be offensive to school owners who want to teach quality martial arts to adults as well as kids and are doing what they can to keep afloat and I'm not trying to do that. As the owner of a small strength training gym I understand that it's hard to keep something like a martial arts school going.
Wow. And that "wow" is meant as a sincere and heart felt compliment.
People train for different reasons and the instructor establishes the training culture for the class. Training cultures vary in focus and energy/vibes. For example, my Kali class keeps things loose and informal, but my kickboxing class is very strict and regimented. I don't believe either one is wrong, but they both provide a different flavor of training. It sounds that you want a more serious training culture than what you have. You could speak to the students about some of the issues you've seen and implement the standards you want your class to rise to. Just be aware your class size might decrease when you implement higher standards.
How true. But if you take out the word "training," it becomes even more true. (I going to take this thread off in a different direction here and talk about the bigger picture. Forgive my ruminations.)
When I was in high school, my CMA class started with almost 100 students (from my year). At the end of that year, there were about 50 left. After 3 years, there were about 20 left.
I agree that a culture of mutual respect is neccessary for productive training. We covered this in another thread of the breakdown of the percent of responsiblity between student and instructor.
It's disappointing to see a student squander the opportunity an instructor offers. We know what he's missing, but you can't teach someone who doesn't want to learn. And, as you say, our time in valuable.
Yes, it seems most schools are MMA type gyms, or kids class oriented. It seems TMA are only sought after by a very small percentage of people. Unfortunately.
This is hubris. People aren't very individual when you know the principles at play. Flesh is flesh so to speak. The task demands from the individual not the other way around. Know the principles and develop in different order with different intensities and frequencies depending on how 'initiated' one is and what their focus is at the time, but there is much the same to look at year in and year out, month in and month out, even hour in and hour out.
For me, it's not how they develop but rather that they actually do develop and for that to happen the student has to put in effort to some level. I have literally had older teens and adults ask me how much it would cost them to "just get the next belt" without actually training. We don't even have regular testing fees and often don't even wear full uniform or belts during the summer so why they thought this was even an option is beyond me. I had 15 year old quit because I wouldn't give him the option to pay to fast track to a black belt in less than 6 months. I don't care if a person can kick high, or jump, or anything physical I just want students that put in a serious effort and are actually willing to try. Thats it, just honestly try their best. If you start off and can't even touch your knees when stretching but after 2 months you can then in my book that is progress and shows that the student was actually trying. Most of the students I currently have in our martial arts program are all serious students, they may not look the best, or be the best fighters but they all honestly try their hardest to improve, however most of them are under 16 or over 35. We have had many young adults come in just this year that try it for a few months then decide it's too hard and quit. We always give free trials to all new students so it's not like they don't know what they are signing up for.
What's wrong with slowing down for a student who doesn't get things as fast as others? Is your class only for fit young men aiming to be pro fighters?
I don't see how that describes "a bad apple". She's a slower-learning student than most. I've seen some of those folks go on to be more proficient than the fast learners (many of whom simply wouldn't stick with it once things got hard).
