Starting from scratch :(

I have been studying Lau Gar in the UK for nearly 3 years now and have generally loved it,had an excellent teacher and started with 3/4 classes each week.There has always been a good club dynamic,have made some great friends and have achieved things I really didn't have a clue about when I started.

Recently my teacher has been changing the class,and hasn't been able to make a decision about how many classes to do and has talked about either quitting classes completely or giving us private sessions .After me worrying for a while about this he announced last week that everything would carry on as normal with the 2 sessions,which I was hugely relieved about.However,last night only 6 of us turned up to class and at the end he announced that he was finishing the class on a Monday because of numbers.

He said he doesn't want the class to big but then finishes it when he have a quiet night.:confused: This now means I just have 1 training session a week and I really don't think it's enough.Yes I can do my own training but its coming up to winter and trying to get a venue for a few of us is too hard. He has said he will do private sessions but I don't want to,both financially and out pf principal really.

Thing is there aren't many kung fu clubs around.There is a Hung Gar club about 25 miles away and a "Northern Shaolin" club the same distance,but it seems a bit vague.The Hung club looks ok so I may check it out.

Thing is the thought of starting another style from scratch scares me a bit. I know I now have the basics and the last few years haven't been wasted but I just feel completely deflated and pretty disillusioned right now.My teacher is a great guy and I completely understand he has a job and other commitments,but I don't know,I just feel pretty crap right now. :(


Moan over.

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Originally Posted by Su Lin

Yes I can do my own training but its coming up to winter and trying to get a venue for a few of us is too hard.

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Really? I've been in the same situation before: are there no church halls or schools or anything nearby?

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He has said he will do private sessions but I don't want to,both financially and out pf principal really.

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Why not out of principle? Sounds good to me if your teacher's good!

We have tried getting church halls/community centres but they are booked up all the time.There's one place we are trying to get a block booking with at the moment but we are on a waiting list.

The principle thing is down to him having enough students to run a class but only doing private sessions,to me this just doesn't seem practical.He says he has too many things on and then would rather organise private sessions with us,taking up more of his time ,rather than doing a class with 8 or so of us in.Just doesn't seem to make sense.It's mainly financial,I can't afford the £25 per session he charges.

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Originally Posted by Su Lin

The principle thing is down to him having enough students to run a class but only doing private sessions,to me this just doesn't seem practical.He says he has too many things on and then would rather organise private sessions with us,taking up more of his time ,rather than doing a class with 8 or so of us in.Just doesn't seem to make sense.It's mainly financial,I can't afford the £25 per session he charges.

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Yeah, I mean, that's probably financial more than a time thing, for him. But at the same time, if he's good, is it worth it? If you can't afford it, ask him if he'll do semi-private for say three students, paying him the same (that's what I did in a similar situation). If he really doesn't go for that after you've been loyal to him for three years, he's probably just shafting you.

Yeah I completely see your point.It may be worth asking him.I just hate getting messed around and am pretty naffed off today.Yes he is an excellent teacher and I want to stay with the club and carry on my training.There are 3 of us who are on the same level atm so we think we will have a chat with him.
It may be that in the future one of the guys can start taking a beginners class for him so it helps with time constraints etc.

I was pretty lucky though: my teacher couldn't stand big organsiation's politics, wanted out of the limelight, and just wanted to keep his club small. At the same time, because of this (partly) he was in financial dire straights, and we wanted to stick with him, so while we were waiting for him to find a reasonable new venue (which he did quite soon) I got him on privates and semi-privates, and he was always good and enthusiastic enough to go over by one or two hours (in a two-hour lesson!) sometimes even continuing the whole day!

Even after he found a new place, I was already bitten by the quality of the private teaching (and the free hours!) so I continued anyway.

That's good to know! I think it's hard for him really as he doesn't really have anyone to talk to about it even though he chatted to us about the possibilities.

Thanks for being a voice of reason anyway :)

who is the hung teacher ?


try a muay thai class also ,theirs plenty up north

don't be afraid of starting over, i've done it 3 times in 25 years and the latest is the working well for me.

if you start over enough times you realize that there's less differences than similarities if it's taught correctly.

I can sympathise with your teacher though, i'm going through the same thing.


good luck

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Originally Posted by golden arhat

who is the hung teacher ?


try a muay thai class also ,theirs plenty up north

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The website is www.wyrekungfu.co.uk

Yeah I have found a thai gym about 20 miles away,Shor Chana,has a good rep.Also found an MMA place too.I could be a female Cung Le :D

lol good

stay away from master ang if at all possible


and yeah u should so do mma

u should come manch and train with us some time (y)

I knew you were going to tell me to stay away from him!I have heard only bad things about him actually.

I'll add you to the list of schools I have been invited to for training :D:D

Where is it you train again?

I don`t know about the UK, but in the US you can generally rent a storage facility for around $50.00 a month. Split 3-4 ways it`s not too bad. Many of them are available with heat and have 24 hr access too. In the US lots of sizes are available.

If you can`t find anyplace else it might give you a nice temperary fix. I had a friend who`s bandrentedonetostore thier equipment and rehearse in.

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Originally Posted by Su Lin

I knew you were going to tell me to stay away from him!I have heard only bad things about him actually.

I'll add you to the list of schools I have been invited to for training :D:D

Where is it you train again?

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u havent been training for 6 weeks odd cos my arm simply doesnt work properly anymore since i dislocated my elbow
need physio :/

but yeah

12 newton street

central manchester

van dang martial arts

if u go into the shop and ask for the mma class they should show u where it is as there are many schools within the complex

lol

Go over what you have been training. Just because you get to the end of a form shouldn't necessarily mean you are done with the form. Speed, Power, Accuracy, Breathing, Flexibility, steadiness...might go into at least some techniques. Each can be adjusted each use. Preferred consistancy and determining appropriate at-the-moment adjustments might happen with investigating the technique (doing).

Without classes you still have lessons. These can/might should be reviewed.

Understanding motion might be worthwhile, it's not just moving (to me). Relating also, weight, timing, speed, angle, impact, glance/deflect, pain, exits, tools available...kind of seem involved with practice. You might still be able to practice and develop.

Not so much as you being the next female someone-we -all-know, as being the next someone-we-would-like-to-be.

I No_Know

25 miles? That's nuts. Really, if it's classes at university that's keeping you from 'professional teaching', practice with your clasmates on your own till spots open up. That won't be for what, a few months? You guys know something about it, so you can watch 2 people fight and make suggestions.

Yeah,it's too far away to be training there regularly.

I have a better picture of what is going on now with my teacher and it looks as though he won't be quitting completely (fingers crossed). I was just pretty upset last week at the thought of classes ending and really don't want to have to go somewhere else as I think I would struggle to find a club I like as much as my current one.

A few of us are getting together at the park tomorrow for some training if the weather holds up. Outdoor training with the English weather system can be interesting :D

Well ,my situation hasn't improved too much as my normal classes have stopped while my teacher finds a new venue. I'm still training when I can with a couple of the fellas and.......................



















I started MMA.:o;)

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Originally Posted by Su Lin

Well ,my situation hasn't improved too much as my normal classes have stopped while my teacher finds a new venue. I'm still training when I can with a couple of the fellas and.......................



















I started MMA.:o;)

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That's good. Gives you a place to test your Kung Fu out to see what works best for you. Also you'll get to train the different ranges.
Good luck to you.

It is really good actually, and interestingly one of my teachers studied kung fu- immediately showed us an application of one of our moves in getting someone to the ground :D

It also seems I am more confident at groundwork,possibly ,than my stand up. We'll see how it goes anyway as it's hard to tell after such a short time.

if you really like your current teacher, you may stick with him or her, no matter what.

things may always come/turn around.

;)

I'm hoping so :)

Starting over is easy I've done it several times, no big deal. And you're never really starting over from scratch.

Hi people

The exact same thing has just happened to me. My sifu does run other classes but they are too far away (I travelled 2 hours to my last one).

I really dont want to train in anything other than mantis so I am basically biding my time in a hope that he might restart the class.

I live in london so there isn't a lack of places to practice. As this is the case I am basically reworking to perfection everything that I know.

I think that this is a feesible option if you have gathered enough material over the last 3 years.

Also you could join a muay thai club or something simular just to keep the sparring/partner work up.

Craig