BudoTiger

exactly. you have to take many things into concideration to determine price. even around here some of the schools that teach in business complexes charge as much as $100 or more a month because of rent. and we are an hour from los angeles. its even more out there.

i havent used them but everything i have heard is that its an excellent learning tool. i want to get the one for japanese to learn that.

at my previous school no one tested until their instructor thought they were ready ( we had multiople instructors and all students got private lessons). i think thats how it should be. even with schools that only have group classes. just because a person can do the requirements for the next rank doesn't mean they are ready for that rank. when we had a test you were invited. it wasn't for the entire dojo and usually was on a separate night from classes. even then there were students that were invited that didn't always perform up to standards and were failed. those were then retested on the next test, but didn't have to pay the test fee. like i said before my opinion is testing is an earned privelage not a given right just because you are taking the classes. when i go into a school and they have a set test date every moth where everyone in the dojo tests that right there is a turn off for me. sorry but thats how i feel about it. if that works for others thats fine. but doesn't for me.

that part sounds kinda hinky to me. unless it means more classes, i.e. advanced classes in addition to the beginning classes, then i could possibly see that. like i said if you enjoy doing it and can afford it go for it. as far as gym membership you will probably get just as much if not more of a work out than at the gym depending on the class.

the ultimate martial arts is the one that works for YOU as an individual.

if the student doesn't know the material then he shouldnt test. that is one thing i dont like about having a set test schedule where you test everyone in the dojo every 8 weeks or what ever. you watch your students. when you have enough to test, say about 10, you INVITE those 10 (or how ever many) to test. testing is a privelege earned NOT a right. too many people in todays society want things handed to them. if the student is lazy and doesnt wanna work for it then they dont test its that simple. if they want to go some where else where they will be tested then thats fine, BUT they are the ones that will know whether or not they EARNED that belt around their waist.

we took our 2 girls out dressed as princesses. got back in about 830 thinking we would be back in time to hand out osme candy. by the time we got home there was a single trick or treater out!!! i was SHOCKED! anyway after that sat up until 3 am watching the live ghost hunters investigation of the waverly sanatorium in ky. on sci/fi.

if the schools didn't worry about making a profit they wouldn't stay in business very long. thats where you have the ones that are open one day and disappear the next. and trust me you CAN worry about making a profit AND teach quality material. i seen it every day for 4 years. people seem to want to bad mouth successful people all the time. i dont know if its jealousy or what, but it's not just in the martial arts world. people do not go into ANY business to not make a profit. even if its a part time school it STILL needs to make a profit to stay in business. as far as people that teach out of their homes or parks or what ever thats fine, but me personally i don't want to take lessons that way. too many things can happen. i would rather train with someone who either runs a program through the city such as i am doing now or a successful school that has been open for a number of years and i know isn't going any where any time soon. people can think what they want, but bottom line is it takes money to run a business. to make money you have to worry about money. its a never ending circle. like yin and yang. cant have one without the other.

in the style of shaolin kempo i studied the average was about 5 years. some did it sooner some took longer. shukokai my understanding is average is 2-3 years.

if you have the dvd watch the special features. it talks about that. corey yuen who does most of the choreography with jet li in his movies was trained in baqua i think. they decided to use the two because the characters were so different and the styles were such a contrast. he studied them both enough to make the movements fluid, but it is all choreographed. (the one is one of my favorite movies. have watched it probably 1000 times. lmao)

like it or not a school HAS to make money to stay in business. i see people complaining all the time about a school making money, how much they charge, the amount they charge meaning the martial arts is watered down or they are a mcdojo.... it's silly. for a school to stay in buisness and continue to grow means it has to charge enough to not only keep the equipment in good repair, pay the bills, pay any instructors, BUT it STILL needs to make a profit. now depending on what area its in and the location THAT will dictate how much the instructor may charge to keep the school in business. i have been helping my sensei in trying to find a location for a permanent school instead of doing the program through the city and let me tell you rent ain't cheap in this area. for 1600 sq ft the ave cost is about $4500 a month. now even with 50 students he would have to charge a MINIMUM of $100 per student JUST to pay the rent. my old school the shopping center they were in the dojo was i believe about 4500 sq ft maybe smaller i cant remember. the tuition there was any where between $150 a month to $200 a month with the ave being i think $185. there was 180 students. now between paying myself and the chief instructor (both full time 40+ hours a week), 3 part time instructors that only got paid per student they taught, the rent, advertising, equipment, etc the school was just barely making the overhead some months. to the point that all but the chief instructor was going on a commission for teaching salary. now just because a school charges a high amount doe not mean they are watering down the training. i have watched some other schools and my old school is alot harder as far as some of the training goes. not all but some. the material was by no means watered down. it was taught very different for kids to help them get it down but still not watered down. the thing you need to think about is.. 1. do YOU enjoy the school and think it is worth it... 2. can you afford it with no problem.. if you can answer yes to BOTH not one or the other then go for it.

i listen to alot of diffrent styles of music being a musician also....i can pick at least 2-3 songs from every band i like.. some faves include metallica - st anger or for whom the bell tolls, machine head - clenching the fists of dissent, exodus good day to die, slayer - reigning blood, marilyn manson - fight song or mob scene, lynyrd skynyrd - simple man or down south jukin' more than i can list here for sure, but you get the idea....

it wasn't really a reply to anyones post so much as it was reaffirming what you and i think someone else said.

we are all human and all have or faults. like the bible says "let he who is without sin (fault) cast the first stone" it's impossible. no one is without fault. just because he was a little arrogant or what ever doesn't take away from his ability. as far as where would he be today? thats like asking where would jimi hendrix's guitar playing be today. no one will ever know.

yeah seems like i have heard about it somewhere, possibly black belt also, but can't remember.