It's A Long Lasting Relationship!!

[Luther unleashed]

I'd say that even if you love it, that probably isn't enough. You have to learn to be resilient in the face of students & parents who will question your business practices, teaching tactics, etc., as well as the ups & downs of running a business. One puts their heart & soul into teaching, yet students leave. They don't all hold your Art with the same reverence as you do. Yet, you have to continue to love your Art enough for yourself & for them. You have to be loyal to your students, & hope they return the respect. Loving for oneself is not enough when one teaches. You have to love it for your students, also.

It may sound as if I'm disillusioned with teaching after running a school for 10 years. I assure you that I am not. But I did get my eyes opened & much more appreciative of my instructors that I've had over the years. It is not an easy business to be in. It takes perseverance to weather a lot of storms. I was much stronger than I ever thought I was, or needed to be as a teacher.

Pretty deep. Over the last year and a half in business I have had some faces that I'm used to seeing every day for many months, leave. Some with no warning, just stopped showing up and I had to call (I always think calling is the right thing to do and I ALMOST always do it), some have told me they don't want to do it anymore, some have told me that the time isn't good anymore because of their schedule. It is hard to give your students so much and have many, over time, walk away as if you we nothing, a passing phase or something of the like. I sometimes think a buisness like a restaurant would be better, or even a barber shop. My wife is a hair stylist and as long as her clients live in the same area, and like her skills, they continue to come. It's a different beast, no hard work, no complicated things to remember, no battling with physical limitations... Just relaxing, gossiping and looking good.

In martial arts some instructors like myself call students and their families, your martial arts families BUT so easy they can walk away. Wow what you said hit the nail on the head as I have been feeling like that lately and dedication is defiantly needed on a huge level. Thanks for the post, really hit home.