magikchiongson Posted January 18, 2003 Posted January 18, 2003 Several years ago, while taking Kung Fu. I made a big mistake by signing a contract, I was young and stupid then. Anyways, I was in it for several months and I enjoyed it very much. However one day, this big ass SUV decided to have a Martial Arts competition with my crappy Metro. That's like Tank Abott fighting Richard Simmons. Anyways, my car gets destroyed, we destroy parts of a person's house and I'm left with a serious leg injury, no car, and paying for whatever amount my insurance can't cover. I was working at a car wash at that time, so basically I'm screwed. So I call my dear "sifu" and ask him if I can cancel our contract since, I'll be in a cast for a couple of months and basically broke as hell. He says no, I"m like huh? WTF? he says pay or your credit is ruined. So of course I can't pay, because I have more pressing things to pay for, like a new car, medical bills, school ohh and that little thing called FOOD. That goes against my credit report and I have collecting agencies after me for Kung Fu payments in months i didn't even attend class in. What a nightmare, if you're operating your own School don't be an A$$ like that. If you're a student be careful before you sign that contract. I own you.
Kensai Posted January 18, 2003 Posted January 18, 2003 That is very sad. Well atleast you are sorted now and you will know better not to sign anything. Personally, I hate mcdojo's because they ruin the credability of good Martial Arts and good martial arts instructors. This then leaves Traditional Martial arts in the hole. As unfortunately it is TMA that are mcdojoised, especially the more popular styles like TKD (Olympic rules), certain styles of Karate, Judo and Kung Fu styles like Wing Chun. There are lots of great teachers out there, but these guys that can earn up to $125 an HOUR tar the rest of the MA community. Not the mention the actual MARTIAL aspect of MARTIAL ARTS. Saddly its only a matter of time before the styles that were considered mcdojo prof like BJJ,MT,MMA et la become the same way. I hate these guys to. But the excuse that "everyone has to make a living" does not bode well with me.
magikchiongson Posted January 18, 2003 Author Posted January 18, 2003 Yup, no style is Mcdojo proof. Its a strange problem. If you are a teacher, you want to make sure that your student is commited and won't leave untill their training is complete. Because you don't want a partially trained student running around saying they learned MA from you, because that will give your school a bad rep when they get their a$$ beat down. I think that's what has happened to TMA, partially trained people opening their own Schools, each generation is subsequently getting diluted. However, we live in an era were long term commitment is represented by contracts and monetary issues. A TMA practioners challenge today, is how do you show your commitment to a "real" Master without getting screwed over by contracts? I own you.
karatekid1975 Posted January 18, 2003 Posted January 18, 2003 My new dojang doesn't have contracts at all. That alone draws in students. Once they find out the stuff we learn, it keeps them there. I'm no teacher, or even a black belt, but I say this is the way to go We learn traditional TKD. This includes the stuff that was taken out for "sport," like joint locks, throws, take downs, self defense, ect. Not just kicking and punching. Not all TKD is bad, but the good schools are few and far between. Sad ..... very sad. The McDojos definitely gave TKD a bad name and it's a shame. Laurie F
rabid hamster Posted January 18, 2003 Posted January 18, 2003 hey karatekid how did you get out of the contract for your other TKD school? (or how do you plan to if you haven't already?) It is only with the heart that one can see clearly, for the most essential things are invisible to the eye.
Kensai Posted January 18, 2003 Posted January 18, 2003 You cant force students to commit and you should'nt. If they dont want to be their then they wont be very good students. There is no such thing as "complete training", there is always more to do.
Defender Posted January 18, 2003 Posted January 18, 2003 I have had a great number of teachers.... however the one that i respect most is my Karate sensei. He had a brain hemerage when he was younger but went on and overcame it and got his blackbelt eventually reaching 4th Dan. His club is small and often even struggles to pay its bills although like all clubs sometimes it can quickly grow in size. However every session, no matter how well the club is doing he pays just as much as every student and then goes on to teach the class. Rather than take the money he in fact pays himself and takes all the money at the end to either pay for the hall, facilities or to get a guest speaker / teacher to come and visit. He also is a stunning teacher and strongly dislikes Mcdojo's as i feel most people do; he keeps the prices to the lowest possible that the club can survive on and asks people only to pay for sessions they attend rather than sign contracts and pay per month. If a member of the club is going through financial difficulties then the sensei understands and tries to make an exception for them. Let fire burn and waters rage. Air spin and earth engulf. Let darkness fall and light reveal. Let demons yell and angels sing. I care not. Threaten those i defend and i will make sure that you fail
Pacificshore Posted January 19, 2003 Posted January 19, 2003 A friend of mine who is a BB in TKD became an instructor at the school he was attending. Eventually they branched out and made him the head instructor at the new school. They were big into contracts and belt programs. It was amazing to hear many of the stories he shared with me in regards to the dojo he ran. There were many times he would tell me how parents would drop thousands of dollars for their kids to belong to the "blackbelt" club. One parent cashed out some CD's just to pay for her son to be in the "blackbelt" club. My friend, although not openly, tried to discourage the parent about spending so much money on her young son, but she insisted in paying out all that dough. My friend was conflicted for the longest time, but it was not his school to set up how it was operated. On the one hand he made bucks for it and the owners, but on the other he felt crappy. He finally is no longer associated with the TKD school, and has come back to his home in the art of kempo Di'DaDeeeee!!!Mind of Mencia
Mr. Clark Posted January 25, 2003 Posted January 25, 2003 You should've challenged your "sifu" to a sparring session and kicked his ass all over the place in front of his students. That would help in ruining HIS credit with the who pay him to learn kung-fooey. Giovanni
K_Diddy Posted January 26, 2003 Posted January 26, 2003 Sometimes that is the ONLY way Mr. Clark,as sad as it seems.peace
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