Any other non-association instructors out there?

[BlueWaveKarate]

Just curious about this. I started off teaching under an association's auspices, then wanted to train in a different way than they did, and my students followed me. (I gave them the option, of course, without hard feelings.)

So now we are an independent club and I'm the leader. It's great, and I really enjoy the freedom to develop and share my own understanding of karate.

Just wondering if any of you are independent teachers and what challenges/perks have you found along the way?

[Wastelander]

Just curious about this. I started off teaching under an association's auspices, then wanted to train in a different way than they did, and my students followed me. (I gave them the option, of course, without hard feelings.)

So now we are an independent club and I'm the leader. It's great, and I really enjoy the freedom to develop and share my own understanding of karate.

Just wondering if any of you are independent teachers and what challenges/perks have you found along the way?

We are part of an international organization that is headquartered in Okinawa, and I imagine we will probably continue to be part of it unless something drastic happens. The Shorinkan is really pretty relaxed when it comes to how you run your dojo and what you teach, as long as you include all the kata of the system and the yakusoku kumite sets, and the association fees are low. If they were to increase the fees too much, or become too strict, we might leave, but as it stands they aren't really stopping us from doing what we want to do.

I will be honest, I probably won't be part of an organization if I ever break off on my own to teach. Even with the Shorinkan being as relaxed as it is, I don't really see value in the yakusoku kumite sets (as a whole--they have some good parts, but those could be short drills) and I feel that there are too many kata to really facilitate a deep study of their applications. I would like to completely cut out the yakusoku kumite sets, the Kihon kata, Fukyu no Kata, the Pinan kata, Passai Sho, Kusanku Sho, Chinto, Gojushiho, and Go-Rin. That would leave me with the Naihanchi kata, Passai Dai, and Kusanku Dai. I might also include Seiunchin, because I feel it compliments Naihanchi very well, despite being a Naha-te kata. That would still leave me with a very large amount of material, but not so much that you would have to skip over entire kata in your application studies.

In the end, I think you can get away without being part of an organization as long as your lineage is still able to be confirmed. If any student or potential student of yours can call up your instructor or look on their website and confirm that you earned the rank you claim from them, and that can be traced back through a legitimate lineage, then I don't think you'll have any trouble. The only time I think you would have a problem is if your instructor were to "disown" you for leaving the organization, and start telling people you never trained with them or never earned the rank you claim.

[xo-karate]

Independence means also being alone. You don't have a senior to give you grades. The belt you have is your final.

This is not a problem if you don't care about belts and your student trust you with out external signs like dan's.

Also it's demanding to develop your own skills by your self - not impossible but a challenge:-)

I am an independent retired instructor and maybe in future I'll start a new club. I don't know if I'll join any association. (Maybe I'll work under IMAS - Institute of Martial Arts and Science

[mal103]

We are "under" a generic MA organisation, we abide by their policies but don't ever get enforced upon us what we should or shouldn't teach, so long as we have a Style Syllabus as a minimum and follow the rules then they are happy. Most rules we are more than happy to stick with anyway as they make perfect sense.

We use this as a selling point for the club as we have things like child protection policies, CRB, insurance etc, we also have a line of complaint should anyone not be happy with something.

Nearby there is a Nidan (self graded we think) who runs a one man band, if the teaching is good then that's also fine. Handing out belts/gradings to Kyu students is fine with just your name on but as students progress they may like to see the signature of an approved grading officer by xxxx org/assoc. To gain a Brown or Black belt then the next natural step is to go and compare it with others to see if you are at the same standard.

Out of all of the orgs and associations there must be one that suits your needs?

[BlueWaveKarate]

Thanks for the input so far everyone. Here are a few additions to the discussion being started:

Re: My Rank Recognition: I like karate for karate's sake, don't care about rank much. I've seen enough iffy sixth dans and some unbelievable first dans to realize it's all in the mind of the awarder and awardee.

Re: Association Recognition: Call me naive or simple, but I practice with my club for my own joy. If a student doesn't like my material, association cred wouldn't help, and if a student DID like my material but was turned off that I wasn't affiliated, I'd ask them why and to make their free decision.

So fellow independent instructors, care to chime in? Seems like the above have so far been from those with orgs they like/tolerate.

[pittbullJudoka]

There are pros and cons to every situation. As a non federation instructor you can set your sylibus to your liking such as teaching the kata you feel are the most important, spar the way you like whether that be full range or point, you can incorporate grappling if you see fit, set you own requirement belt by belt.

The down side is if you don't have senior instructors to look to you are forever stuck at your present rank unless you are into self promotion. Also you students can see there maximum achievable rank ( this goes back to self promotion ). If you students move away from your area they will have a hard time getting others to recognize and respect their rank without association certificates.

You may want to look into Abernathy's new association seems to fit what you are looking for.

[hammer]

The TKD club I've been a part of for 13+ years has no affiliations...and they don't matter to me. The head master is at a high rank, so if I plateau at a rank in the club it's because I don't want to go further, not because I can't.

If I ever moved out of the area and had to join another school I would not be insulted if I had to be a white belt in the back of the class. Would have to say that I'd make a pretty good white belt but who knows.

It all depends on what you want out of MA...if you want some kind of "official" recognition then be a part of an association. If it doesn't matter then don't worry about not having the affiliation.

[mal103]

Sorry if I came across a bit negative.

We know of a club who are going it alone and probably other MA type clubs. They are charging insurance but don't pass on the details, they grade at will but judging by the standard of students who have come our way they do not come up to the skills level.

I would rather see all clubs be forced to be linked to an org or assoc if it would stop the practice above and prevent the mcdojo's from giving us all a bad name. ONLY if it brought the standards up but didn't restrict anyone from exploring their art or passion.

As a side note we add grappling, change syllabus, change/add Kumite sets, self defence and anything else we see fit. We also don't have to pay them a fortune!

I've taken my grade book + insurance along to other clubs/orgs and been made welcome.

[kensei]

This is about as old a debate as their is...next to which Style do I train in. I have been on both sides of the fence and I can say I dont mind being with a group or being independent with like minded clubs in the area....but being in a group does open up alot more training options and rank options.

But you do have to follow others rules....its up to you what you feel is best for you...weigh the options and see what works best for you....also remember that different groups have different benefits. Big, old groups have the recognition, but are often weighed down in dogma and old protocals, new groups are fresher but often have a juvinille mentality when it comes to politics. just my experience and this is way general.

Look about and see what options you have then go for the ones that fit you best.

[JGarner890]

I do not or have ever belonged to an association or federation, or do I ever plan on it. I like to teach my way and not having others be incharge of the way I teach or what I teach MY school.

The rank you have is not your final either, so the guy that said that above is wrong. In the martial arts you find people that are higher rank and they test you. I have done it and my instructor has done it.