Karate Schools today...

[ironsifu]

I surely don't want to run a hardcore dojo, I want to run an operationally solid dojo that's teaching effective techniques! I don't think that Loyota Michida and the like in the octagon is essential to see the resurge of students to ones school. What's needed is instructors that CAN teach!

I'm a firm believer that part of the biggest problem is that the instructor(s) can't teach! Sorry, but, that's what I see, imho!

i agree with you, but i dont think poor teaching is the worst problem. many great masters have put out some very great students, and they dont "teach well" by our standards of teaching. in the west, we question, we challenge our teacher's ideas, we control our education by moving from school to school/teacher to teacher/style to style. back home, we listen to our teachers and we make our teacher's methods work, by working harder, training more, and drilling the same techniques until we can use them against anyone.

it is a combination of things,

1. teachers who are good at martial arts, but bad at business. they don't like to collect money, they show favorite students (which is actually a tradition in many schools), they promote when they are ready, not when the student things he's ready. these things might be good for skill, but bad for business.

2. teachers worry more about keeping a student longer then what is the best way to bring skill out of these students. so, your retention is better, but now the students' sparring skill is weak.

3. many people think they are the master, because they are spending money. recently i lost a student who'se mother believes her son is ready for a black belt (he came as a brown belt). he is good (for a brown belt) by local standards, but where i come from, he is a good yellow belter. there is so much more to learn, so much more he can develop, but just because he's better than mc dojo black belts, they believe they can demand a belt. i am sure, he can walk into another dojo that will do it, for the $300 test fee or whatever. when the student believes he is the boss, you have already failed in learning.

4. many schools are not marketing correctly. you cant market a fighting school like a day care. and you cant market good teaching like a 99 cents hamburger. either you are the cheapest guy in town, the best fighter in town, the ONLY _____ style in town, but yo have to find the best way to find the kind of students who want what you teach.

5. when teachers are worried about paying bills, you won't get good instruction, no matter how good he is. he needs focus, he needs to be happy, and to be comfortable. these are emotional things, but teachers are human. imagine you come to work every day, and on pay day, there is no paycheck for you. many schools have this, when students quit, or dont pay their bills. now imagine you cant quit this job. how will you work? as hard as you can? or with a fake smile? good martial arts is a hard business, because 90% (i make this number up because i dont know what the number is) of the martial arts students are not serious. so we have to find good students who want more than mc dojo.

[sensei8]

Ironsifu,

Good points in your latest post! Your meaning and intent is well received and understood.

One of the major ingredients in..."Not all Black Belts can teach" is when an instructor can't even make the simpliest thing understood by his/her students. This is bad!

Some instructors can't even describe, in any shape, way, and/or form, how one can make a PB&J sandwhich. Yes, showing in action is great, but, it's only one half, or even better yet; one slice of bread for the PB&J sandwhich. So, in the end, the student HAS to make do by just folding over that one slice of bread to form half a sandwhich. In the martial arts, half is NOT better than nothing...it's the same thing...an incomplete sandwhich. Yes, hunger will be thwarted for the time being, but sooner or later that hunger will overtake the student.

In the end, word of mouth is still the best advertisement. But, only favorable words will bring students.

I do see the fine line but many don't and this not only locks the door to the school, but, it throws the key away. Every instructor, every person in any business should read "Who Moved My Cheese?" I believe that it's the nucleus of any business...CHANGE, and the adaptation to change!

[bushido_man96]

I think that there are different ways to look at what is "hard core" and what is not.

Some will think of it as the body conditioning type of training, with full contact, padless sparring.

Others will think of it as lots of traditional line training in basics and forms, with lots of attention paid to technical ability. Sparring will likely be invovled as well, but it may not be the "blood and guts" style of sparring.

Both have their merits, and both can offer good training. I'm sure that there are many more ways of training that can fall into the mold of good training, as well.

So, it is important as a student, to decide what you want your training to be like, and seek the instructor/school that offers it.