Teach For Free?!?

[Montana]

I have wondered this myself. I do remember at one time hearing of a school owner in california whos previous instructors sued him and won.

I'm not a lawyer, but my guess is the instructor/owner had their student teaching a LOT without being present, and for a long period of time, probably after some discussion between the two on compensation, which was denied by the instructor/owner.

My guess anyway.

I make it a requirement for advancement from 3rd kyu and above that part of their training involves teaching the class periodically. I require them to take several classes/month and teach the entire class from start to finish, plus to take beginners at times aside and start them on their basics, or to assist them with issues they are having doing something (kata, basics, whatever). I also have a policy in effect that when a student reaches shodan in my dojo, I no longer charge them for classes, but instead expect them to work even harder on their training and to help in class when needed. Basically, I'm training them to start their own dojo some day, if they are so inclined (not required at all).

[usc96]

We don't have a volunteer teaching requirement that I know of? Then again, we have a good number of doctors and lawyers who are billing $300 - $500 an hour at their private practice, so requiring 500 hours a year of volunteer instruction to advance to the next belt might be a problem.

That being said, the black belts (when available) do help out with the underbelt testing, so maybe that counts?

[algernon]

The beauty of volunteerism is that anyone may do whatever they like without compensation.

If the problem comes from requiring students to teach, it is easily resolved when one stops imagining a division between students and teachers. There is no better aid for learning (both retention and comprehension) than teaching. The student who is teaching is getting much more out of the class than those who are being taught. Using teaching as a promotion requirement for higher ranks is akin to requiring minimum class attendance for lower ranks; the most advanced students have gotten all that they can out of their regular classes, and require a more effective learning mechanism (specifically, teaching) to advance their understanding of their art.