KempoTiger

You going to be open on Sundays? Who else here teaches on Sunday? My school teaches on Sundays. We're open 7 days a week, and are being forced to open earlier and stay later just because our student count keeps rising, and we need to split the classes. <<<>>>

You going to be open on Sundays? Who else here teaches on Sunday? My school teaches on Sundays. We're open 7 days a week, and are being forced to open earlier and stay later just because our student count keeps rising, and we need to split the classes.

I loved that early takedown in the second video....guy tries an aerial spin kick in a fight like that. Was so satisfying seeing him hit the mat

heh, funny brutal looking stuff. The music is a bit much though, and that sounds like some cheesy sound effects

Oh and another suggestion, if you don't already I would suggest incorporating games at the end of kids classes. At my school we have an array of games that we've developed through the years. Most of these games are karate related somehow and make them work on different things such as coordination, focus, teamwork, or even fighting tact. Other games of course are just fun By adding games to the end of classes, children regardless of whether they're enjoying the material or not will have something to look forward to and will continue to come to class. To use the game to get your students more motivated about class, you can tell them that they can have an extra long game on a certain day if they work hard in class, or let them pick the game for the day if they remember a certain amount of moves. Combining this with traditional motivational tools can help get your students back on track and excited about going to class again rather than having them just up and stop taking classes because they'd rather play video games or hang out in the pool all summer long. (and yes expect to lose a substantial # of child students in the summer if you haven't figured that out yet....nice weather destroys childrens will to go to class....the way around that is having beach classes ) Whatever you do, just remember that students quitting 9 out of 10 times isn't your fault, so don't take it so hard. If you want some ideas for games, I quite literally have a book written on them, so just PM me.

heh, get used to it. I've been teaching for 6 years and training for 8. Guess how many students are still training that I started with? 6. The amount of focus, and discpline it takes to achieve a black belt in my school isn't so easy, and I believe it's the same way in your school, so expect a number like 1 in a 100 making it all the way to black belt. Also children are finicky and will tend to just drop things at the moment it becomes boring. I tend to try and keep each student excited about what's they're doing by finding out about them individually and making it more appealing depending on their personality or what they wish to aspire to. Keep in mind as well that around the blue-purple belt area, I think every system with a belt system loses students around there. That's when the material begins to pile up and forgetting stuff begins to take a toll on their confidence and enthusiasm. I would suggest implementing a review class once or twice a month, as well as encouraging your students to come to you if they're facing any difficulties. You'd be surprised at how easy a private lesson or a simple talk can motivate your students to go farther, and help retain your student count. Good luck!

I think I just watched the clip you saw (the one with the guy doing the super slow striking bunkai on his parter?) If thats the one, well thats not a good depiction of the art. He was doing the movements incredibly slow to show what he's doing and to make it look all flowery and pretty for the crowd. Real Wing Chun fighting includes incredibly fast hand strikes to vital areas such as the throat (like the guy kept doing in the video in slow-mo) and receiving/intercepting your opponents strikes/energy, and dishing it right back to him. I've been dying to really train in it for years now but haven't been able to make the time (I took a free seminar a while back where I learned some techniques).

Thanks

heh, I've seen plenty of schools that center around the flashy movie fighting stuff. I remember seeing some really cool stuff online at a friends house, and it turns out the kid that was doing it trained at a school called "Sharky's Karate/Martial Arts" or something like that, and they have an entire class for movie stunt stuff like spin kicks, aerial kicks, flips, kipups and more. Of course if they want to learn how to REALLY fight then yes they are in for a much rude awakening and dissapointing experience

A chinese straight sword and a Tai Chi sword?

Just saying hello; I'm a 2nd Degree Black belt in Kempo, and currently work as a full time instructor. I recently got a web page up and running about the Dojo I teach at ( https://www.whitetigerkempo.com ) in case anyone was curious. I've been training for about 8 years now, and I've just begun training in the art of the Katana. Pretty much liking that so far, for I've already learned a bit of the other typical weapons such as Nunchaku, Broadsword, Staff etc....Gonna stick to this and perhaps learn how to use Sai's on the side. anyway, hello -Ktiger

Heh, I'm at my dojo roughly 25-30 hrs a week working, with about 3 of those training, with another 2 hrs a week training when the dojo's not open with other black belts outside of the regular schedule. So I suppose I train 5 hrs a week, but aside from that I live there

You serious!? Take it, take it! When I first started out in my dojo we only had 20 students, and those were the best days because when you have that few students, you get all the personal attention in the world. And when it comes to the instructor being your partner, I'd take the instructor over another student any day. If anything that will expediate your learning and understanding rather than slow you down. Like I said, if you haven't done it already, go for it and take it now before that school really gets off it's feet and you end up training alongside 100 other students

Thanks Exactly.

Very well put, and don't get me wrong I have no problem breaking away from "true" styles. But if you look at virtually ANY style, it has changed and improved one way or another since it's founding (usually because what was once taught was found to be impractical). This is also why I began training in Kempo, simply because the system of it I train in encompasses many different avenues of techniques making the system flexible enough for anyone to utilize. It just kinda hit me now, that most martial arts schools train essentially the same thing when it comes to fighting -assuming they train their students to actually fight- but as far as pretty kata's and the like, THEN the feel of the class changes. But I suppose this comes down to what my friend claims to do, and that is train in "No style" but rather just learn to fight by using what works and forgetting the rest. Also kinda like what Bruce Lee was trying to teach everyone in the Game of Death

I fully understand and agree with what you're saying but I think I didn't clarify my point enough. The concept of quitting your job is always an unspoken variable on the table when it comes to any job. In an environment such as a dojo, employees are (usually) far far less expendable than in other businesses simply because of the required personal nature of the business. Having an experienced instructor leave your ranks over petty political garbage isn't something most Dojo chain owners want to deal with. I said in my initial response that the first plan of action would be to issue a complaint to the next higher person in charge. BUT if they didn't do anything about it, and you felt that you working was doing nothing but promoting a Mcdojoesque (I can make up words!) business then leaving would be something I wouldn't exactly hesitate to do. As far as this persons "legal" stand, well of course there's nothing within the legal system he can do about it. What law was ever written that defined the requirements for advancement in a martial arts school? No one ever suggested legal action, but rather political action by trying to get him removed from his position and/or fired. I suggested that if those higher were to ignore him, then to just leave or at least threaten to leave.

That thread below with the guy defending TKD got me thinking....what makes a style...a style? I mean any school can claim to teach but what if that school doesn't follow the typical training dogma or stereotypes? For example what if a Muay Thai school incorporated alot of groundword into their fighting? Or a BJJ school focused alot on point sparring or boxing drills? Are they still teaching the style, or just adding stuff to their classes? I know for me, my kempo system doesn't focus on alot of groundwork, by myself and a few other black belts train groundword on our own and with other BJJ guys which we then work into our regular classes. Our students to the best of their knowlege are learning "Kempo" groundwork. Which then leads to the question, what makes a style a style? (then again I suppose Kempo is a bad example, because Kempo's staple is absorbing techniques from other systems) So anyway that guy below claims that his TKD school works alot of join locks and hand fighting drills into their training. Are they in fact still teaching an improved form of TKD, or are they merely teaching practical techniques under the guise of the name of an impractical system?

Karate25, you make some very good points, and I have to say I almost spit out my drink when you said that comment about Black belts asking lower ranks how moves go again....oh man if I see something like that again it'll be too soon The problem is, is that there's a fine line to walk between making the system easy to digest and making the system effective. And there's only so much leeway that a non-owner instructor can take liberty of. Most dojo's that strike it big and spread their schools around tend to follow a process of watering down their system in order to pull in more students and more money. I mean who wants 5 awesome students when you can have 50 mediocre ones that feel just as confident in their ability as those 5 would have been? I suppose I'm comming off as quite a bit cynical and egotistical but I suppose I'm a bit jaded after seeing quite a few things in other schools. But anyway the worst part is, is when students break away from their Dojo to open their own schools....only to follow the same process and have their students leave them in a few decades once the money becomes more important than the art.

and for the record I take watering down systems and "Mcdojoism" very seriously, as they are some of the most pitiful things I've seen happen to some very great organizations. As it stands any changes that I'm told to make in the system to make it "easier" for students to learn, at the expense of effectiveness I simply ignore and don't make. Lowering the bar brings in more money, but devalues the belt, the system, gives students a false sense of security, and any respect a dojo can hope to retain. Call me old fashioned

Mutiny? Nah, I call it a necessary bargaining chip when you finally hit that point in your training when you realize that not everything about your dojo is all smiles and for lack of a better word, "kosher." I have the utmost respect and loyalty to my Sensei and my dojo, but as far as organizations go, I've never found one whether it be a karate school, or any other business for that matter that's truly put what's really important before the politics and the money. Although I have little to no problems at all with my school or system I know that if I were to dig a little deeper I'd find things I didn't like. It's human nature....or at least American businessman nature

...what seemingly nearly every Martial Arts school degenerates into once they become successful. Water down the system and coddle the unmotivated students folks! Keep handin out belts.

hrmm....good idea. But what sort of company would do something like that? I'd look up some local places but I'm not sure what kind of business to look for. And the patch is roughly 7 by 11 inches.

and polls show.......no one has any ideas

I just designed my own patch that I would like to have made into my own personal one for the back of my gi.....only problem is, all of the companies that create custom patches require a 100 patch minimum to purchase. Anyone know of somewhere else I could to just make one? A shame too, because my friend knew someone who did this, only that she now apparently has lost touch with him......blast! *snaps fingers*

google it? http://www.martialartsmart.net/pr-dp11.html here's one I found. *shrugs*