Keeping students long term as opposed to the short term

[hskwarrior]

I would not train in someone's garage and that is my preference.

I'd just like to understand you. care to expound on this?

Do I look down on people in the ghetto? I look up to the people who leave
the ghetto to make a better life for themselves. We are not really going to get into this are we? "Ghetto" is a slang for many negative things but the slang is not directly linked to ghettos or people living in them.
Reply With Quote

The answer to the question lay in the method (words you choose to use) you try to explain yourself. i'm getting a clear pic. its all good.

[Jimbo]

I no longer teach, but I did for four years, and it was in a park. It was a small group, started with 3 students, went up to 7 for a good period, then back down to the original 3. Sure, training in the park is not for everyone, but for some that's what they've got. You can either make the best of it or you can't. A facility with all the amenities is great, but in the end it comes down to the quality of the instruction, and the teacher and his students. My group stayed pretty consistent throughout that time. Yeah, it's hot in the summer and cold in the winter (we were right facing the ocean). During their time with me, they compared very well with studio-trained students.

It was a good way to decide if teaching was something I really wanted to pursue, without the commitment of trying to open a school. MA schools open all the time, and also close all the time, too. Lots of new schools never last even two years, let alone four. In the end, it turned out that being a professional teacher wasn't what I really wanted, so when we disbanded, there were no financial hardships to suffer. Some of my students decided they got what they needed from MA from our time together; others moved on; I even gave my approval for one to study under another CLF teacher.

Training in a park, we had to deal with all kinds of things; heat, cold, wind, fog, darkness (at night we used camping lanterns), transporting training gear, etc. Occasional but rare gawkers. Only rarely was class canceled due to rain. Some other people besides the group of 7 came and went; that's fine with me. Training outside isn't everyone's cup of tea.

[ManilaCrane]

I no longer teach, but I did for four years, and it was in a park. It was a small group, started with 3 students, went up to 7 for a good period, then back down to the original 3. Sure, training in the park is not for everyone, but for some that's what they've got. You can either make the best of it or you can't. A facility with all the amenities is great, but in the end it comes down to the quality of the instruction, and the teacher and his students. My group stayed pretty consistent throughout that time. Yeah, it's hot in the summer and cold in the winter (we were right facing the ocean). During their time with me, they compared very well with studio-trained students.

It was a good way to decide if teaching was something I really wanted to pursue, without the commitment of trying to open a school. MA schools open all the time, and also close all the time, too. Lots of new schools never last even two years, let alone four. In the end, it turned out that being a professional teacher wasn't what I really wanted, so when we disbanded, there were no financial hardships to suffer. Some of my students decided they got what they needed from MA from our time together; others moved on; I even gave my approval for one to study under another CLF teacher.

Training in a park, we had to deal with all kinds of things; heat, cold, wind, fog, darkness (at night we used camping lanterns), transporting training gear, etc. Occasional but rare gawkers. Only rarely was class canceled due to rain. Some other people besides the group of 7 came and went; that's fine with me. Training outside isn't everyone's cup of tea.

Training in the park is better! My whole kung fu class trains in the park plus it saves money for the sifu since owning a school building is expensive. Plus training along side nature is quite beneficial as well!

[Hebrew Hammer]

[QUOTE=bawang;1029065]why not give your students blowjobs?you teach a poor mans art but make fun of poor people. im confuse.
thatll make a lot of monies. increase school profit 1000% QUOTE]

LOL...where's this school? I'll sign a year contract and never miss a class! I'm hoping the sifu is female...

[hskwarrior]

LOL...where's this school? I'll sign a year contract and never miss a class! I'm hoping the sifu is female...

so are you saying if its a male teacher you'd still sign up? :P

[David Jamieson]

Nobody "keeps" their students long term.

Students decide to stay on even after the law of diminishing returns has kicked in.
And it happens no matter what you are training in. You will come to a point where you pick stuff and train that and cycle it.

You internalize it further and further. Many enjoy their relationship with the teacher as well and take on assistant teaching duties and branch off under the direction of their teacher.

If you like your teacher quite a lot, it is a relationship you'll usually keep your whole life. It's not like anyone is forcing anyone else to stay somewhere.

That's victim thinking. Never productive.

[mooyingmantis]

I have taught martial arts for over 32 years. Most of it has been done in two locations (Ft. Wayne, Indiana and North Canton, Ohio) out of two garages that I remodeled into kung fu studios. If you have seen my videos on YouTube, they were shot in my two car garage that was converted into my studio. Standing in my studio, you would not believe it had been a garage.

I am cheap, I will not pay to rent a building when I do not have to rent one. Heating the space is simple and has only a minimal cost.

As far as the original subject, I have two students that have been with me for 32 years. Many others have come and gone. Many more will I am sure.

Since I prefer to teach only the real deal to a small group, I rarely accept more than five students at a time. And since I have a vocation, I do not charge for lessons. Students pay me back by training very hard. If they do not train hard I show them the door.

I make one promise to my students. I will teach them what I know, in the most efficient way possible without adding BS. I give them quality and quantity. They repay me by being the absolute best that they can be.

My way may not be for everyone, but it works for me.

[hskwarrior]

now THAT i can totally appreciate

[Jimbo]

Training in the park is better! My whole kung fu class trains in the park plus it saves money for the sifu since owning a school building is expensive. Plus training along side nature is quite beneficial as well!

Yeah, there were a lot of positives about outdoor training, too. One time we even saw a baby whale that surfaced near the rocks not more than 30 feet from where we were training. Some of my students mentioned to me they actually preferred training outside.

When some people talk about others training in a park, it's often spoken of condescendingly, as in "park kung fu" or "park taiji." Or "backyard kung fu." Without any consideration as to individual quality of the teacher or his/her class.
Not having overhead with a school does not always equate to half-@ssed training. I ran my class hard and organized, and because it was a small group and I was very familiar with everyone, each and every student received careful attention.

[Yum Cha]

I was not talking about you or anyone in particular so you should not take offense.

I would not train in someone's garage and that is my preference.

Do I look down on people in the ghetto? I look up to the people who leave
the ghetto to make a better life for themselves. We are not really going to get into this are we? "Ghetto" is a slang for many negative things but the slang is not directly linked to ghettos or people living in them.

So, how them Shaolin Do lessons coming along?

You even made Bawang come out and slap you around, not a bad effort!

Outdoor training, or 'informal' training if you wish has a lot more going for it than you think. Nobody can teach you anything better than to take responsibility for your own training in its most basic sense. How many crutches do you have, or need?

Take away the economic imperative, and things change a lot, but, horses for courses, no matter who you are, if you can't find your niche and put in the hours, it doesn't matter what you are NOT doing.

[MysteriousPower]

Have I truly injured all of your flowery sensibilities? I did not know I could project my qi so far!

Look guys. That was not the point of this thread. Start another thread about the pros and cons of training in a park. I was gearing this thread more toward those Kung Fu people who mix pressure testing in with their training. I feel like all the old people who do push hands invaded my thread.

I merely said that I was never interested in training in a park or a garage. Let us all take a chill pill. I have done a little park training and I have noticed that the quality was not so good. This is natural since, due to lack of needing to pay the rent, these teachers were not motivated to teach better material. In an actual school a teacher has to be creative in order to keep students which involves constantly modifying the curriculum. So you guys got some good training in a park? Great! But that is not what this thread is about.


This thread is about how the rougher schools keep students long term.

[hskwarrior]

Have I truly injured all of your flowery sensibilities?

Not mine. but when you think you're more superior because you are not GHETTO....you are going to run into a few walls. when i hear that, immediately i hear supremist. and in my book, only god is supreme.

I merely said that I was never interested in training in a park or a garage.

and yet you still haven't said why. i'd like to hear what you can learn in a building differently than outside

This thread is about how the rougher schools keep students long term.

because as a non commercial school we don't have to trap students with contracts. we have the choice to waive dues if money is really tight for certain students. IMO, you get the real deal from a park or garage teacher because he is not bound to LIABILITY as does the commercial school.

[San Soo Sifu]

Tim Cartmell learned his Internal Kung-Fu from Chinese masters in both Hong Kong and Taiwan... in parks.

Nobody on this message board would claim that Tim Cartmell isn't the real deal. So, there goes your theory that training in a park produces less quality.

[MysteriousPower]

Tim Cartmell learned his Internal Kung-Fu from Chinese masters in both Hong Kong and Taiwan... in parks.

Nobody on this message board would claim that Tim Cartmell isn't the real deal. So, there goes your theory that training in a park produces less quality.

When Tim Cartmell was doing hsing I with Hsu Hong Chi he was doing breakfalls, rolling breakfalls, judo type sparring involving throws only, and full contact sparring. Do you actually think they transported mats to a public park and all the students did these activities outside?? His park training probably involved a lot of form training which is what I tend to see in the parks.

[hskwarrior]

His park training probably involved a lot of form training which is what I tend to see in the parks.

the grass at a park works equally as good as matts...only you get more dirty.