Starting from scratch :(

[Su Lin]

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. 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.

[Mr Punch]

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.

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

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

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

[Su Lin]

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.

[Mr Punch]

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.

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.

[Su Lin]

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.

[Mr Punch]

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.