Problem with studio - what would you do?

[T.Durden]

A few months ago I wrote a thread about not getting my solid Black Belt in TKD from a crooked instructor.
Well at my church a family owns a struggling TKD school, one of which i trained at while i was younger for about a month.
After talking to each other we came to a deal - I teach and assist their classes since my belt is technically a blackbelt, and they'll straighten out my paper work and get my proper black belt and all of that.
but get this - i havent done any forms or testing training in nearly 8 years: so forms are pretty much out the window, but since i've been fighting since then my sparring / self defence is top of the line.

well in the last few months all i've been doing is helping out, with no real training or even a direction on what i need to do to get my belt. i've taken my time and helped them put together a haunted house in the studio, i've ran arrands and promoted flyers and every little detail that i could have upheld for them.

on my end i have no received the best direction, nor have i gotten any straight answer on what i need to do. so they set a test date and tried to test me on all my forms and all that..unfortunitely i had next to no training on this subject so it came off sloppy. secondly during the 'test' it was suggested that they wont finish it, because they want the younger belts to watch me break bricks and boards to keep them interested as students.
basically everything i am doing is to benifit them one way or another. they even told me that they'll let me run my own ground fighting class, which has yet to happen. i confronted them last night and wanted a solid answer on what i need to study on/concentrate on but again the answer keeps changing and the focus is on something else. now they want a written 4 page report printed and turned in soon.

so now im like to hell with this. i have another team of fighters in the area that want me to join them and cage fight / train to cage fight. it's faster, easier and has less mind games.

i realize this school is struggling and needs all the help it can get, but stringing me along for months sucks. they have the feeling something is up so they are all over me every where i go..what would you do? would you stay or go?

 

[terryl965]

Sit down with them and voice your concern but remember in the end it is there school and you are there student for now.

 

[Phoenix44]

You've invested four months in this place, and it isn't working out. Personally, I wouldn't want to teach at a studio where the head instructor/owner didn't want all the instructors actively training and advancing in their own skills; or where the head instructor didn't also train. This should be a priority at any decent school.

So you've learned a few things about running a studio. These owners are obviously not going to help you--it isn't their priority. Move on. Find a place where you can advance. That's what I would do.

 

[T.Durden]

I feel pretty bad about it because they were basically trying to rebuild their school around my help. they have no instructors and since I Have the ability to lead and train i was doing alot of it.

however their focus is flying out of town weekly and making everything we do about getting / keeping business and when asked about training time to straighten ME out, 'we'll do that later'.

I realize that their school belongs to them and they can do what they want to, which is why i've been thinking about just saving my time and pulling my kids out of the kids course: unfortunitely they are getting the same feeling and are blowing up my phone now when im not there and even popped up on me at church trying to take me out to lunch or what ever.
all i want is what we agreed on but there is so much going on that i feel like they arnt focused enough on their prioritys and that is something they have to learn, i can't tell them what their prioritys should be !

 

[terryl965]

Sir seriously sit them down over lunch they want to take you out let them and decuss what is on your mind. Nothing here can change what a good converstation can do.

 

[Kacey]

I agree with Terry - you need to talk to them. Offering to buy you lunch is great - but if that's not the pay-back you want for teaching at their school, then they need to know what is. Ask for a training schedule - so many hours of training for you = so many hours you'll teach - and make it clear, at least in the beginning, that your training has to happen before you teach anything. At that point, they will either train you, or you'll know it's not going to happen.

This is a rough situation to be in - good luck to you, and let us know what happens.

 

[T.Durden]

I will let you guys know how it turns out for sure. right now feels like im being strung along until they have more money in their pockets. I think I'll wait until the air is clear and it's nice and peaceful to break things down.

 

[MJS]

Good luck with everything. I agree with what has already been said. You really do need to sit down and talk with the instructors, and voice your concerns.

Mike

 

[Brian R. VanCise]

I would suggest sitting down with them and letting them know how you feel and what you want out of the relationship. Then you can also listen to their point of view and come to some kind of mutual understanding. No matter what happens good luck in your training.

 

[chinto01]

I agree with everyone else here. In a respectful manner I would voice your concerns and ask them which direction they plan on going in the future. If their answers seem vague or not what you are looking for then it may be time to move on.

Good luck in whatever you do.

In the spirit of bushido!

Rob

 

[jkn75]

Having recently run into problems with a boss, I would reccommend putting everything in writing. It doesn't necessarily have to be a contract, but something that you both can look at and say, " I am doing this in return for that". For your help, there should be some return, are you still paying for your kids to train? Can you run your own seminars and give a cut to the owner for the space (say 20%) and keep the rest? If the school owner will not fulfill his part of the bargain, you shouldn't feel obligated to stay. At this point you have not seen much return for your investment of hard work and time but maybe it will come back to you in the future (percentage of profits from the school, training time, reimbursement of travel expenses to train with a master, etc.)

 

[dragonswordkata]

I would suggest you evaluate what you want from this situation and diplomaticly lay down the law as to what you would like to see and when, but more importantly what do you want as a martial artist.
Do you really want to teach TKD, or the more agressive arts? Is there guilt and unfair pressure for you to do this? Have you though about opening your own school where you could focus on the fighting and earn you BB while you teach? Are there other TKD teachers in the area you could aproch and see if they would work with you? Just some ideas. I hope you'll let us know what path you chose.

 

[kroh]

Definately some good advice going on here. Let us know how you make out.

In the end...It should not be about them,

...it should be about you.

Regards,
Walt

 

[CuongNhuka]

I would tell them this: "Alright, heres the deal. I've been training with you for a few months now, and you have never told me what I need to do for my test. Anouther school wants me to train with them. So, either tell me what I need to do for my test, or I'm leaving. Simple as that." And then not give them a second to do anything else until they give you a striaght answer. If they say "well, we're going to have you do X, Y, and Z". Train X, Y, and Z. And if they change it, well I think cage fighting would be fun to train in.

good luck

 

[cswinsf23]

Sir seriously sit them down over lunch they want to take you out let them and decuss what is on your mind. Nothing here can change what a good converstation can do.

+1

 

[scottt]

I would tell them this: "Alright, heres the deal. I've been training with you for a few months now, and you have never told me what I need to do for my test. Anouther school wants me to train with them. So, either tell me what I need to do for my test, or I'm leaving. Simple as that." And then not give them a second to do anything else until they give you a striaght answer. If they say "well, we're going to have you do X, Y, and Z". Train X, Y, and Z. And if they change it, well I think cage fighting would be fun to train in.

good luck

Yeah, this kind of response makes sense. I am wondering through this thread, what were you expecting on the test? I mean, I know they didn't tell you, but I think most formal TMA tests include forms. Breaking is not uncommon, but varies a lot by school. Writing an essay is always required on bb tests in our school, but normally the person has a few months to work on it.

Also, if I were the instructor in this case I would not have bothered scheduling the test because they should have known what the outcome was going to be. Or maybe they actually didn't care what the test results look like as long as you show up for it?