im in a McDojo!!

[lucifersdad]

thanks for all the advice, the trouble is ive been with this organisation for about 12 years and i still have loyalty if not to my instructor then definatly to my students, when ive tried to ask him about changes that are going on i get the classic avoidence of "im a bit busy, can we talk later?"

maybe you guys are right, i should cut and run!

[Chaz]

Run! A 30 year practitioner and only a 5th dan! RUN!!!

[lucifersdad]

in his defence he spent a lot of years studying muchin-do karate and then his club, as did most muchin-do clubs, swapped to wado ryu as the styles are very similar, and he unlike many went back to white belt and started again rather than keeping the dan grades he already had.

plus, we have very strict time frames for gradings and i dont think a 5th dan is particulaly low for thirty years training im only a second dan and have been training 12 years?

are these low grades for the time?

[Shorin Ryuu]

Rank being what it is, I wouldn't say someone's a bad instructor if they've spent 30 years training and are a fifth dan. What you should focus is on the 30 years and how he did them, not the fifth dan. Spent wisely, 30 years means quite a lot.

Keep pushing the issue if he tries to avoid it. You're his student and it's his job to take care of you. You also take care of his students, so there is another layer of obligation he has towards you. If he doesn't want to discuss it, there's obviously something wrong. If you don't push the issue, you'll never know if it's just a very brief phase he's going through or if it's something more permanent.

From what you tell us, it seems like a change in training locale may be in order...

[Smurf]

It does sound like he's trying to revitalise his school with the kickboxing craze as I heard someone else say. It's a very stylish thing to be into nowadays and a lot of traditional schools will now x-train with thai boxing, kickboxing, or boxing to strengthen what is already a strong art.

What is definitely unacceptable is his attitude to your questions.

I'd give it one last try and maybe arrange to meet him for lunch or something. If that fails then move on and keep in contact with your students making sure they understand you are still around for questions or advice. Don't ask them to follow you as that can lead to embarrasment all round. if they want to come then they will contact and ask you in their own time.

Good luck with it all. I do not envy your position on this one

[CloudDragon]

Yikes, kickboxing is already on the decline in my area, as XMA is flaring up like a boil of the butt of good martial arts...

I would try to contact your organization and see about starting your own dojo. That way you should have an instructor over you that will have time (though will probably be harder to meet with) to train with.

[Muaythaiboxer]

i think you should do what you think is right and not put to much infacice on what other people think.