What should I do?

[Water Dragon]

pm me vapour. I know a little bit about running a public Taiji program on campus.

[Repulsive Monkey]

I think this is pittiful, and that your intention here is is totally awry (well at least your instructors is anyway!).
When you say he doesn't like teaching the old and unfit what kind of advert is that. Wang Shu Jin was famed for taking the elderly and the unfit and turning them into very skilled fighters, read, If you want a laugh, of how Bruce Frantzis got trounced by the elderly when studying very briefly with Wang Shu jin.

I think it's deplorable when you say that you are just going to cobble some bits and pieces together and then teach the real stuff at a later date whilst still taking their money from them, there's a word for that you know.....robbery!!!

What has been mentioned here is motivation and what one's intent is, and this is the foundation to whether or not you will make a legitimate sucess. If the success you seek is in money then there are easier and quicker ways to make money, but please do not tarnish the respectable quality of genuine Taiji teachers with your money making intent. It seems like nothing positive is coming of this because the root of it in itself has no positive foundation.

Plus who said that Cheng Man-ching wasn't martial??? Back in Taiwan he not only totally trounced other Taiji practitioners but Eagle claw, White Crane, and other styled Masters too, it sound slike that you haven't been taught Cheng's Taiji completely.

And teaching Push-Hands in a competition style because it looks martial is an insult to real Taiji teachers. No benefit whatsoever will be be reaped by your students by learning the competition push-hands namely because it contains no benefits whatsoever of genuine Push-hands.

What is it exactly you want to embue in your students??
I seriously question your motivation and intentions here. Are you teaching to be of benefit to your students, or are you teaching so that you can benefit from your students??

[jun_erh]

vapour- My angle is just based out of my own cynical view of martial arts schools. One guy who I really think got it right was my kuo shu teacher (who doesn't have a website, which is significant but anyway..) he taught like 8 of us for like 60 a month. and he did private training with people who payed alot more. and he had a regular job. It seems like with a school, you either struggle teaching the "real deal" or you play up the health aspect and more martially inclined people lose interest. This is just my experience.

there is more than one way to skin a cat!

[Vapour]

Originally posted by Repulsive Monkey
I think this is pittiful, and that your intention here is is totally awry (well at least your instructors is anyway!).
When you say he doesn't like teaching the old and unfit what kind of advert is that. Wang Shu Jin was famed for taking the elderly and the unfit and turning them into very skilled fighters, read, If you want a laugh, of how Bruce Frantzis got trounced by the elderly when studying very briefly with Wang Shu jin.

I think it's deplorable when you say that you are just going to cobble some bits and pieces together and then teach the real stuff at a later date whilst still taking their money from them, there's a word for that you know.....robbery!!!

What has been mentioned here is motivation and what one's intent is, and this is the foundation to whether or not you will make a legitimate sucess. If the success you seek is in money then there are easier and quicker ways to make money, but please do not tarnish the respectable quality of genuine Taiji teachers with your money making intent. It seems like nothing positive is coming of this because the root of it in itself has no positive foundation.

Plus who said that Cheng Man-ching wasn't martial??? Back in Taiwan he not only totally trounced other Taiji practitioners but Eagle claw, White Crane, and other styled Masters too, it sound slike that you haven't been taught Cheng's Taiji completely.

And teaching Push-Hands in a competition style because it looks martial is an insult to real Taiji teachers. No benefit whatsoever will be be reaped by your students by learning the competition push-hands namely because it contains no benefits whatsoever of genuine Push-hands.

What is it exactly you want to embue in your students??
I seriously question your motivation and intentions here. Are you teaching to be of benefit to your students, or are you teaching so that you can benefit from your students??

Firstly, I do know more than few martial artist who can trounce me even at their 60s. But these people are training since they are child. If someone is old and unfit and never done martial arts, even this person spend serious dedication and commitmment, just becoming moderately skilled martial artist is a big IF. If someone is teaching taijiquan as health exercise, this is perfectly o.k. But if you practice taijiquan as martial arts, it is not. Sure one or two class out of ten is o.k. but if all of your students are like that, it is truly depressive situation.

Secondly, I never said CMC is not martial but it certainly doesn't appear to be martial because it is one of the softest style of taijiquan.

Thirdly, I'm not cheating prospective students because, I'm giving them exactly what they want, that is taichichuna as pure quigong exercise. They usually feel cheated when we teach taichichuan as martial arts because that is not what they expect. I also make it amply clear in that class that there is another class for martial (wushu) taichichuan.

Lastly, I spend two days collecting signature and student ID number in fresher's fair. I also print flyer and I'm going to distribute this in students halls for promotion. Then I went around everywhere looking for place where we can train free. I don't get ****ing dime from this. So if you think I'm greedy, you must be ****ing saint.

[8gates]

Vapour:

Secondly, I never said CMC is not martial but it certainly doesn't appear to be martial because it is one of the softest style of taijiquan.

Whoops, have to edit, then re-reply. lol
I'm not trying to start things things up, and I do feel bad about your situation... but if my Uncle was alive, you could see how "martial" "CMC" Tai Chi is, I know first hand, because he began to teach me when I was about 11yrs old.. I still practice the 8gates or 13gates if you want to include the movements...

Speaking of which..
How about showing your students, just the 13 movements or 13 gates that is in all forms of Tai Chi?

You could do those all of those movements in a form.. or seperate, or for self defense if people wanted to do that aspect...

Just my 2 cents..
I do hope things get better for you.

[Vapour]

Thanks. That's is an another problem I was thinking.

If we promote our class constantly, we are going to get steady stream of new students. If we try to teach the form from the beggining to the end, the class have to be split into different groups all the times depending of the level of progression of form learning. This is not practical, IMO.

I'm thinking that instead of trying to teach the form from the beginning, teach the posture or section of form independently and randomly in our class without giving much regard to the sequence of the form. Initially, we limit our selection to basic posture and movement to fundamental 13 movemets/posture and 5 animals, of course.

Though the student may not initially learn the form in continuous sequence, eventually, if they attend enough of our class, they will learn all the components of the form so puting the form together can be done by some special lesson(s).

Oh, and we do have very short form called businessmen form. It's basically repeat the sequence of grasping sparrow's tail and single whip repeatedly.