Orginazations

[ronryu]

What is your opinion on governing orginazations from a school stand point. recently the organization that i was a part of has merged wiht anotther that i have questions about. I am a traditional shito ryu stylist of about 20 or so years and currently a sandan. I have looked into other organizations but they are either too expesive or the nearest dojo is several states away. so back to the question. Does it help to be a part of one of the organizations or do people even care.

[Squawman]

The reason for an organization and I mean local or nation wide schools being together is so the person that calls himself the "founder or president" can make money by not doing anything. Our school just got out of an association that we belonged to from the beginning and lasted almost 10 years. We did alot of things as an association in the beginning like testing and seminars but the other schools were very closed minded and didn't like changing there curriculum to make a better martial artist. Martial artists can be very egotistical so nobody wanted to listen to other ideas. So as the years passed we got nothing out of the association and still had to pay monthly dues. So they can do their own thing but the funny part is that alot of them still call us aking for advice on running a successful school.

[equaninimus]

There are advantages to org membership, like having folks to call upon for seminars, dan recognition, etc....

 

May I ask what organization you guys are a part of? If you are doing Motobu-Ha Shito, are you members of Seishin Kai or Kuniba Kai? There are also other options, though they would probably involve changing the curriculum, like affiliating with Itosu Kai, or the WKF Shito Kai, or even Hayashi-Ha. I think Demura,Fumio in LA has founded an organization since splitting with Itosu Kai year before last, and he is certainly a reputable person to be associated with.

[ronryu]

I was a part of the Kita kaze bujutsu kai . before that we were part of the international karate kobudo union and befor that national karate jujutsu union and befor that seishinkai. as you can see there have been several splits mainly due to the founder dieing or the new soke changing things not compatiable to the origanal teachings. the organization that the organization i s merging into is the chikubukai. I have checked wiht the other orginazations and could not find a rep or school near my location or they were to expensive.

[AndrewGreen]

No real benefit, no one cares.

 

99% of the people that walk in your door won't even know that there is such a thing.

 

What it will do is restrict what and how you teach, not something I want.

[equaninimus]

It also depends on whether or not membership in an organization is neccesary for traing at large seminars, or for training at the Hombu in Japan (if there is one). Joe avearage off the street cannot walk into the Seibukan dojo in Naha and just train with the class. An organization member can get permission to do so. If the costs outweight the benefits, bot professional and financial, then stay independent, but be prepared to deal with the (very few) diffculties that can arise from this. I would think that as long as you still have a good relationship with your instructor going independent won't casue too much harm

[delta1]

One of the organizations I belong to just split. The head of the old org was a well known and respected martial artist. But the instructors did not think they were getting much back for their, and their students, affiliation. So they split off, with the idea that they would return more in the way of school and instructor support, information and affordable, quality seminars for everyone. It has been an emense success. Almost immediately they were coast to coast as well as international. And I've heard no one complain. So, if enough school owners and instructors believe as you do, you might look into forming your own organization- providing, of course, you can find someone qualified to head it who shares your goals.

 

Note: I didn't name the organization(s) involved, or any names, because I don't want to get into specific politics. My point is simply that this is an option that has worked for others.

[TangSooGuy]

Some are good, some are bad. I really don't think you can generalize one way or another.

 

I happen to belong to a fairly large organization, but I've never had anything but good experiences with it. It provides us with a standard curriculum and testing requirements, numerous training opportunities with highly skilled martial artists, well run tournaments that are for the most part free of the political crap rampant in most open tournaments, internationally recognized certification, a network of schools and instructors that provides with an opportunity to train in most places (vacation, moving, etc), a true extended family of which I'm glad to be a part, a training program for future instructors, knowing that there are qualified black belt instructors from other schools in my area that can cover my classes if the need arises, and the list goes on and on...

 

Sure there are political issues that rear their ugly heads now and again, but for the most part you can avoid being involved in them. Our Association was recently awarded non-profit status actually, so it's not always about the money...and they stay out of the day-to-day operations of member studios, unless there is something horribly wrong happening.

 

It costs me a whopping $50 a year to register my studio, and I'm a lifetime member, so annual membership fees are non-existent for me...

 

There are fees associated with being part of certain Instructor's classes, and for annual Instructor certification renewal, but they are minimal, and truthfully, for me the benefits to myself and the opportunities for my students FAR outweigh any negatives that might exist.

[ronryu]

Thank you for all of your replys. I am starting to lean towards not doing an organization right now due to I have sevealr students taht want to cross test for rank from shotokan to shito ryu. With the new orginazation dan ranks are rarther high $100 per dan rank some of these guys are sandan now it just dosent seem right to have to pay $300 for a piece of papper to hang on the wall.

[Practice is the key _]

It has its owna advantages, it up what you are doing and become successful arlight.