training with two masters

[masterintraining]

my mother came home today and told me that at work she had met a man who teaches kung-fu at a highly popular school in are area. When my mother told him how i train in mantis kung-fu and will test for black in june he said that i could also train with him as well as my current sifu if i want to learn even more martial arts. He knows of my sifu and has also met him before.

But here lies the problem, i hav trained with my sifu for almost 4 years now and the instructors there hav taught me very much. though i would like to broaden my Horizon in Martial arts i just feel that training with another master even though i still train with my sifu would be betrayel.

I no some people on this site have done this many times,and think nothing of it. but i practice at a small school and have naturaly grown close to the instructors. I was planning on learning more styles eventually especially since i will be moving to attend collage in about 2 years, but i wasnt planning on learning anything new until then. Not to mention i always wanderd what would i do if my sifu wanted to go to a tournament or something that the other school was going to. i guess i kinda feel like Danielson in Karate kid part 3.(especially since my Names Daniel lol. ) has any1 ever been in this dilema besides me. i kinda want to learn more without havin to wait to collage, but i keep remembering that"no samurai has two masters" what should i do?

Edited October 30, 2007 by masterintraining

[dete]

I'm an instructor & I encouraged my students to go study at other places.

There is no betraying if your intentions are pure & your considerate.

If you spoke to your instructor and he said go ahead, and then he changed and started to treat you bad (is this what you fear) then wouldn't you want to know that he would do this?

[SBN Doug]

Well, is this new guy teaching a different style of KF, or is he also Mantis? If it's a different style, then I agree with dete. However, just because he offered through your mother doesn't mean you will like his style of teaching. Have a conversation with your current instructor about your thoughts after black. He may already have a new curriculum he planned to teach after you reach black.

[ninjanurse]

Proceed carefully here! Having faith in your instructor is very important and doubt can poison the waters. This guy may not have good intentions, especially if he says you can only learn more from him, etc. My advice would be to stay the course, achieve your Black, and then explore his offer.

[whitematt]

Highly popular school...? As in big school, lots of students? To me this sounds like a recruiting tactic, thinly veiled as a gesture of goodwill.

I also agree that if he is teaching a similar style, is there really much benefit?

[ps1]

Lots of good advice here. I agree with ninjanurse that you should first concentrate your efforts on achieving your black belt/sash ect...

Once you have your black, see if the offer is still valid. Be sure to communicate the information to your current sifu before starting anything. I've found most instructors get upset because they feel they were lied to. Also, if the other guy is Mantis too...I wouldn't bother going. If he is another system, I doubt your current sifu would mind.

Also, others have pointed out that the other guy may just be looking for a way to pull in a skilled person. Be careful of him offering for you to teach classes and such. Because you would then become competition for your current school...which you would not want.

In the end it's all about communication. Be sure to lay down the ground rules and communicate with your current sifu the entire time. While I'm not of the opinion that his permission is required, it certainly makes things easier.

[bushido_man96]

If your current instructor's reaction is what concerns you, then take some time to speak with him about it. If the two know each other, then perhaps he won't mind you working with him. Especially if he has something unique or different to teach you. If your current instructor doesn't want you to do it, then you can choose not to.

People mention things like "betrayal" or "disloyal" all the time in the Martial Arts circles. I say, in the end, it is your journey, and no one elses. Only you can decide which path you will take.

[masterintraining]

the school i go to trains in tan-tui mantis, shaolin mantis, plum flower mantis, and taji mantis, and tai-chi

the school i was given a offer at teaches Hung gar, shua chiao, tai-chi, san-shou, and angry monkey.

if i was to do ths it would indeed be after black sash, but thats a if im still debating.

here is there site

http://www.shaolininstitute.com

[Jay]

You should train if you have the time to limit yourself just to one teacher and one style would be ignorant. If you dont like it then so what, carry on with your current training but i think that in order to improve as a martial artist you need to find out what this other guy and school is like

[ps1]

Living in North East Ohio and having trained Chuan Fa for some time I can tell you I have met some of the people from that school. They always seemed very respectable toward others in tournaments. For whatever it's worth, I would think their intentions are good.