Balrog

Acrobatic, yes. Martial artist with control of techniques, highly debatable, and my vote would be no.

There is no such thing as dirty tactics. There's only winning tactics. If I'm in a self-defense situation, I'll do whatever I need to do to win. And that fits right in with the philosophy that the definition of a fair fight is: I win!

I cannot emphasize how critical a solid business plan will be. You will need to do a ton of homework and learn about advertising, floor space rental, etc. etc. I strongly recommend that you attend one or more new business startup seminars. These are usually offered through local colleges and/or the SBA. It will be money well spent.

This was handled reasonably well. However, I think a closed door session with the parent is in order, where mom gets a little education as to who is in charge on the floor. In addition, more CYA than anything, I would have all the instructors and higher ranked students present write up the incident and keep it on file, in case mom decides that soccer didn't cause the problem, the school did. Another closed door session is in order here, wherein the loudmouth is educated as to who is in charge on the floor. With this type of situation, however, you have a more serious problem than the loudmouth mom. This guy will potentially injure someone in class unless he has an attitude change, and that change needs to happen quickly or he needs to take a hike, IMNSHO.

Excellent post. I think you hit the nail squarely on the head with your descriptions of artisan, manager and consultant and how that applies to martial arts schools. Thanks!

FWIW, I looked at both of them and was unimpressed. You I know, online anyway. Just what didn't immpress you about them? And if you didn't have the ATA's business tips and backing, who would you go thru, if anyone? The orientation is all about extracting as much money out of the student as you can without being arrested for robbery. I don't need to pay someone $200 a month to be told how to jerk my students around; I think I could figure that out for myself. Frankly, ATA's getting to be the same way. All I use from them is flyers for the most part. And I don't use that many of them because they are almost all kid oriented and I want adults to feel welcome in my school as well. I don't follow their suggested marketing plans all that closely and as a result, I do very, very few paid seminars. I think that the stuff taught in the seminars is supposed to be taught in class, not added on for extra dough. My paid seminars are all extra-curricular, like SHARP. There are those who would say (and have said) that is why my school is small and struggling. And to some degree, they would be correct. If I were willing to sell out my principles, I could probably have 250+ students on the floor by next August. If I did, I sure wouldn't lie awake at night wondering how the rent is going to be paid this month. I just wouldn't be able to sleep for other reasons. My $0.02 worth....

In ATA, we have the Songahm Spirit oath. At the beginning of the class or event, we say: At the end of the class or event, we say: Seven very good concepts to live a life by, IMNSHO.

Good grief, no. You guys have snow up there. Anything under 70 degrees Fahrenheit isn't fit for human beings to live in. Ever think about moving to Texas?? I'd love to have you in my school.

FWIW, I looked at both of them and was unimpressed.

Never block with your face. Today not possible, tomorrow possible. Perseverance is the key - never give up. Don't be like the guy who got discouraged and quit after inventing 6-Up.

That's like saying one should switch from training while breathing to training without breathing. You can never do the basics often enough. They are your support and foundation.

Not so, Grasshopper. ATA does teach groundfighting, but not as the primary course of instruction. We learn other martial arts, such as Escrima or grappling, simply to become more rounded martial artists, not to become expert in them. And some people have really taken to groundfighting or sticks or whatever and actually become very proficient in them. An analogy would be college: Taekwondo is our major. The other things, like groundfighting, are electives that support the major and make us a better overall student. If we like the elective enough, we might take more classes in it and maybe make it a second major.

Ummm... by performing or recording it. In the U.S., all artists have an automatic copyright on each original piece they make, whether it's a painting, a film, a song, or a form. If I perform or record a Pearl Jam song and they find out about it, I'm sure they would sue me because their songs are both art and copyrighted. Sure, everyone can enjoy the song, just don't record or perform it without their permission (which would involve $$). I guess that's fair because they have to make a living and can't just give everything away. You can optionally register your "work of art" (painting, song, software, book, form, etc) with the Library of Congress to officially record your copyright. That makes it easier to prove that it's yours in a lawsuit. The ATA feels that the forms they developed are valuable and proprietary to their system, so they protect them. That also helps them control the quality of the forms. Good explanation. And your last sentence is dead on target.

how long did it take you to become 5th degree, white to black..... just curious I started with ATA in July of 1987 as a White Belt. I tested for Fifth Degree in June of 2004.

In ATA, everyone tests for rank. Everyone. That means that at World Championships or the two big National tournaments, you will get to see the high ranks either midterming or actually testing for rank. And it's a sight to see, believe me. The forms flow, the board breaks are challenging and the sparring is incredible.

Basics, basics and more basics. If I'm pressed for time, I'll pick one thing and work on it. It might be nothing more than making sure I get the correct pivot on my side kick. If I have more time available, I'll run through the low rank forms and then through the Black Belt forms up to my rank. That, in and of itself, will have me pouring sweat out my ears. Then I get into the weapons forms, and when I'm finished, I'm ready for oxygen and CPR.

Yes. I know Grandmaster S. H. Lee of the ATA and see him on a regular basis. I also know Chief Masters Robert Allemier, In Ho Lee and William Clark as well. I've trained with all of them in some way over the years, and they are tremendous instructors.

Actually, to resurrect an old thread here.... ATA used to teach Gen. Choi's forms: Chun-ji, Tan-Gun, etc. from the Chang Hun style. However, Master (at that time, later Grandmaster) H. U. Lee, the founder of the ATA, wanted to return to the traditional Korean kicking aspects of the martial art. He began developing a new style which emphasized kicking, balance of technique between the right and left sides of the body, and self-discipline in that the forms all start and end on the same spot, so your techniques have to be constant. The first three forms were shown to the instructors at Leadership Camp in 1983 and the ATA began to transition to the new style, which he called Songahm (Pine Tree). The rest of the forms were developed and phased in over time, with the last form, for 9th Degree Black Belt, being introduced and demonstrated in 1994 at the 25th Anniversary of the ATA.

Private? Not in the slightest. My school is open to anyone. I have big windows where people passing by can see us training. There's nothing private about it, and it most assuredly is not a country club.

It's also knowing when not to use your physical skills, and sometimes that's even harder to do.

Two reasons, primarily. The first is from a business/financial aspect. ATA has an excelllent reputation for safety in tournaments. As a result, the tournament host can get insurance for the tournament at a lower premium. If we opened the tournament up, we'd lose that. The last open tournament that I attended had contracted with a private EMS service to provide first aid; the medics had to call for assistance because of the number of injuries and the company was shuttling ambulances back and forth to the site. The second is skill. We compete with the Songahm style forms. The judges know those forms front and back. As a result, the scores you get are very specific, with one judge scoring kicks and stances, one judge scoring hand techniques and one judge scoring overall performance. With non-ATA competitors, we would have the same problem that open tournaments have, where you might have a karate stylist, a kung-fu stylist and a Muy Thai stylist trying to judge a Korean stylist's form. Nobody knows what the form is or even if it's being done correctly or made up on the fly.

Really? Care to justify that statement? What is it based on? There is an argument to be made that any belt color other than white or black could be considered McDojo if you really want to stretch the point. The different colored belts are nothing more than a visible indicator of the progress toward the goal of black belt. The actual color doesn't matter, it's what it stands for within the style.

IMNSHO, we have the movie industry to thank for this, with the hundreds and hundreds of movies that portray martial artists as people who swagger down the street, kicking everybody else's butt right, left and sideways. And sad to say, there is a significant portion of our population that tends to think that is normal, acceptable behaviour.

Wow. That young man is a true martial artist in every sense of the term.

Yep, I've got one of the oars. See? We're a small school trying to grow. I don't want to get rich off of Taekwondo, I just want to have the school run in the black. Our problem is staffing; we need to open afternoon classes, but I don't have an instructor available because we all have day jobs. Catch-22 sort of thing. Perseverance is the key.