Mr. T invented fools, then feeling bad about it, invented pity
http://www.cansfordan.com
http://www.fightfordan.com
sorry, I should have been clearer - I don't know of any places specifically, just suggesting that rec centers / VFW / American Legion Halls are good places to think about as opposed to public school gyms, which you usually need an in to get into these days what with all the liability stuff; as far as places that I have an in, unfortunately they are all in western Nassau (e.g. - Valley Stream) where i had worked for ~~5 years up until last year, but that really doesn't apply in terms of a more central location (which also kinda rules out Adelphi); currently I am in one school in Syosset which is closer to the Suffolk border, but I'm kind of new there, so I don't have much traction yet, but I will certainly feel it out; also, I'll talk to my dad and see if he knows anyone or has any ideas for that area;
probably the easiest thing would be just to look at a map of LI, see what villages are located centrally, and start calling around to find out what sort of rec centers they have to rent out (and if they would be willing to give a fee discount / waiver for charity events);
and it would definitely be good to come up with a definitive of who is going to teach and what they are going to do;
I'll be happy to offer my school for this and I can get most of the Marketing and Public Relations done as well. I will not be available April 19-27, but May is open and other than June 18-24, I'm free as well.
I'll be happy to teach a 1-2 hour block and I'll make sure we get some TV exposure as well. I have a some friends who are very charitable who will help to support such an event and help with the PR.
We can easily fit about 40+ people at a time for training.
Let me know.
Please email me directly with the plan.
kungfu531@aol.com
MP
Mr. T invented fools, then feeling bad about it, invented pity
http://www.cansfordan.com
http://www.fightfordan.com
ok-so if we stay on LI-Mike has graciously offered his school which is a bit more Nassau then middle of the two-he says he can hold 40 +
Dave has been gracious also in offering his school-
where do you think we will get the most people from?
Mike has also offered to teach-if we have 5 sifus-as of now Me,Mike,Chris are set-and we get 2 more at 2 hours each-that's 10 hours of teaching we need at least a 15 minute break in between each teacher-
so each person brings 5 of their students-thats 25 before the public if any show up at all
Chris-Chi Gung-
Mike Parella-?
John-Probably Chum Kiu and applications
I'll do a seminar (or two) also
We can also do events at BOTH Mike and my school you know
Choy Lay Fut or Lama, whichever.
And yes, we can do Dave's school and mine, no problem. I'll have at least 10 or 15 students attend. I'll cap mine at 15 so we can get some diverse groups of people. I think have each guy teach between 1 and 2 hours (possibly 1.5 each with 15 min breaks.) No one is going to stay for 10 hours of training, but people would stay for 4-6. You are not trying to teach to much in 1.5 hours. Students will get a little stir crazy after a few hours.
Are you (?) expecting to keep people for the whole time, or they show up for what they want to train in?? And what is the price point??
Schools can not only have people attend, but each school involved (sifu) can get thier students to donate/raise money individually. This way, the seminar can generate 4X the money...
Just some ideas.
MP.
ok, so it seems like we have a space, and an excellent one at that (lots of parking too!)
I would suggest that each seminar be no more than an hour: like that, someone could come and get a nice variety of different teachings, and it also allows more people to teach and in a shorter overall period (I mean, we already have 6 people offering to do stuff, and a very nice variety at that, and that's just from one thread on one forum - I can't imagine more people wouldn't volunteer if this gets some public exposure); also, if someone wants to do the first 2 hours, then take a break and then do another 2 hours, it's only and hour in between; and you can also charge accordingly: people can pay for one, two, three, four seminars, or do the whole day at a discount rate etc.;
I mean, in an hour you can still do a lot - maybe not a whole form, but take a few sequences and break them down; or teach a "mini-form" that gives people a flavor of what you do; i mean, even though the point is charitable, it is also an opportunity for people to gain some exposure, so think of it as sort of an intro to what you do?
(caveat: I'm obviously no businessman, so certainly I defer to those with much more experience than I have - just throwing some ideas out is all)
if it was just one price-that way nobody has to be the kung fu police or monitor on any level-for a one day seminar-with 6 sifu's teaching a smorgasboard of techniques/forms etc-for a good cause-people will stay and pay(from my experiences with these type of things)--
Make it 50-75 bucks for the day of Kung Fu-which is affordable and not insulting-and raises some money for you-which is also about the cost of a one on one private lesson for the hour with most people-
2 Places is awesome if we can pull it off-
I agree-let's limit this to the 6-which is 6 hours of teaching on the short end-and we have a schedule set up so if people ONLY want to come for one class they know what time it is-but the point is to raise money and give them a taste of other stuff they may not get or be exposed to otherwise all in one place
If we get others who want to teach-for free-(and the students they bring pay),they can have first shot at the next one if we do two-
Ok, so lets lay this out;
Here's how I see it;
6 - people teaching
6 - 55 min. blocks, (5 min break in between)
Make it a flat price of $50 with a 100% of proceeds going to help this gentleman' ailing son.
Cap the day at 40 (possibly 45) people - that's $2K ($2,250) raised. Not including any donations from students and their families that we can collect. I will estimate the money raised at at least $4000 - $5,000 - I will contribute $100 from my school, not to mention hitting up my students for some loot.
I'll get the PR and advertising/marketing done for free - Radio/TV/Newspapers to cover event.
We need a few weeks to promote and to pick a date:
Were does this guy live?? If he's not local (haven't checked yet), we'll do a video conference with him and get one of those GIANT Checks to present to him.
I'll also film the event, and have the DVD for sale on the internet - with 100% of proceeds going to the needy family. That might bring in a few grand in residual income for quite awhile. (6 KF Masters 6 KF Styles - Fight Lukemia...blah blah blah) I think will sell quite well.
The date:
Here are some suggestions;
May
11th
18th
June
8th
15th
(I vote for June 8th)
These are all Sundays.
OKAY - Here's what we need.
John - Contact me today at the school after 12:00 PM 516 739-8888. Please aquire all the contact info for the father and his family.
Chris - I'll call you before I chat with John - we'll coordinate times, dates etc.
INSTRUCTORS who want to be involved - send me an email, (Check the dates first)
and give me your contact info and styles taught (website would be helpful)
Not being bossy, just organized. We will all work on this as a team.
Speak to everyone soon.
MP
Mr. T invented fools, then feeling bad about it, invented pity
http://www.cansfordan.com
http://www.fightfordan.com
Guys-the 8th is my wedding anniversary-hmm-maybe it's time I did get that divorce-good excuse-LOL!-I'LL BE AWAY FROM THE 6-THE 13TH of June-any of the other dates are fine-but I like June myself-
Now I want to be in this-but if that's the date that works for everybody then so be it-
I think 50 is cheap,but ok-and I understand the thought process-all good extra ideas Mike-talk to you later-I WOULD WANT AT LEAST 2 WEEKS OF ADVERTISING THIS-THAT WAY THEY SEE IT-AND SEE IT AGAIN-
that's Father's day-probably not the best idea-at least for me-
and May 11th is Mother's day-also probably a bad-or worse-idea
Let's go with June 29th then. Graduations are finished by then so peoples schedules should be free, plus summer vacation hasn't really started yet.
We should firm up the date today, a good first goal.
June 29th is fine, actually it's perfect for me
as far as content, I now have a better idea of what to do: it will be taiji partnering stuff, but from a slightly different perspective than typical push hands - the reason I decided to do it is that it will be more fun than learning solo qigong, and more "martially" oriented in a way (I'll call it "Meandering Lazily Between Root and Sky: Dynamic Centering in Partnered Taiji Practice")
the only catch, regrettably, is that I cannot consent to it being videotaped - I apologize for being a stick-in-the-mud about this, it's just very simple: a lot of it is my teacher's original material and one of the agreements we make with him when we are given permission to teach his "stuff" (and a lot of it is actually original, based on his personal research into taiji / qigong) is that we cannot do anything instructional on video for public distribution (he has almost no "rules", but the few he has, he is a stickler for); also, if we ever did put anything that we have put on tape (e.g. - non-instructional demonstration), it would have to be something that we would have sole editorial and distributional control over, which obviously wouldn't be the case here; again, I am sorry about this, and I don't want this issue to derail what is otherwise a great idea: the two options are that my part wouldn't be included in the filmed version, or, if that doesn't work as far as generating maximal revenues, then certainly someone else could take my place (whatever works for the "team", I am happy to go along with)
so, I am in for date and content, just depends on what the verdict is about the video part; and as soon as we have promotional materials available I will blitz all the peeps I mentioned earlier with the info
oh, BTW - personally, I would give people the option of taking 1, 2, 3 or unlimited / all day: charge $30 for one, $40 for 2, $50 for 3 and $60 for unlimited, just a suggestion...and I'm sure keeping track of it isn't hard (and I highly doubt anyone will want to cheat on this): you mail out 1, 2 or 3 "vouchers" with each paid application that they hand to someone at the door at the start of each hour and for unlimited they get a badge they can wear all day long, so they can come and go as they please; that way, you don't fill up extra spaces - in other words, if it's a flat fee for all day and they only want to take one seminar, that's not only excessive but also, you don't know if they are going to do one hour or all day, so they may actually take a space away from someone else who wants to do a seminar that they wouldn't attend anyway, but you can't let the other person in because because you'd have to allow that the first person might take all six and leave room for them to do so, so you could loose money that way
Last edited by cjurakpt; 03-31-2008 at 12:01 PM.