Telling it like it is may have cost me a student

[Ray Pina]

I told him while training after lunch, do you like eating or drinking? ..... you NEED both.

He's been quick to pick up the hands and shows too much of an interest to move the hands, but get him to shrimp out or bridge well and he becomes like a sludge.

I told him, I'm not going to kill him with cardio, but when it comes to the ground you have to move your ass. The drills alone are cardio crunchers.

He got tired of working side control and called it a day and left the boxing gloves I've been letting him borrow behind.

I showed him, how if he can't escape side control I'm going to punish him there, shoulder plant his face into the ground, tug on his hips, give him knee on belly.... just so he quits and I can take an arm and crank it. You have to fight to survive from there. You have to be comfortable with weight, pressure and you have to have the cardio and will to endure.

Its not city college either. I would love to teach him just the hands, because I would like to have someone work them with, but it's not right. It's irresponsible to built something half way.

[sanjuro_ronin]

I don't compromising in my teaching and yes, because of that I have lost students in the past.
Such is life.

[Lucas]

hopefully he comes around man. a person would do well by learning what you have to offer.

[David Jamieson]

Well that's one.

Just put a check mark on it.

[TenTigers]

With a professional school, you will still have 5% dropout rate.
My SPM teacher has had the same three students (myself included) for the past six years, but I have seen everyone else come and go.
Get used to it, it's a numbers thing.
Don't take it personally either, otherwise you will drive yourself nuts.
It's just the nature of the beast.

[Ray Pina]

I'll think he'll be back.

He's 14 and he's focused on doing well in school -- which I'm stoked about -- so missing a lot to study and do kid things.

He's not consistent with class but he's picked up the hands pretty well already. Gets the general idea.... which is awesome because it's not complex.

The ground is tough. Especially on the grass and with sneakers. It's not easy to replace the guard and it's boring. But I won't teach him more than Kimura from side control until he has replacing the guard down cold. I showed him how to sit out too and attack the arm.... it's not sinking in as well because he's tired/bored and he's not focusing. He quit inside.

He'll be back.

[RWilson]

I told him while training after lunch, do you like eating or drinking? ..... you NEED both.

He's been quick to pick up the hands and shows too much of an interest to move the hands, but get him to shrimp out or bridge well and he becomes like a sludge.

I told him, I'm not going to kill him with cardio, but when it comes to the ground you have to move your ass. The drills alone are cardio crunchers.

He got tired of working side control and called it a day and left the boxing gloves I've been letting him borrow behind.

I showed him, how if he can't escape side control I'm going to punish him there, shoulder plant his face into the ground, tug on his hips, give him knee on belly.... just so he quits and I can take an arm and crank it. You have to fight to survive from there. You have to be comfortable with weight, pressure and you have to have the cardio and will to endure.

Its not city college either. I would love to teach him just the hands, because I would like to have someone work them with, but it's not right. It's irresponsible to built something half way.

Teach him what he wants not what you think he should learn. He can always go elsewhere like a boxing gym.

You sound like mostly a bjj guy and there is nothing wrong with that. Maybe you have limited stand up training to teach him and want to supplement with bjj. Is that the real issue? Look, not everyone wants to roll and around and hump like a bunch of gay guys. And with the way you were saying your gi smelled I would not want to roll either. No offense.

Do not make the same mistake that angered you about your past kung fu teachers. You stated you wanted to fight but you had to do dragon dancing and forms. Not everyone is a BJ Penn(bjj genius?). Different tastes in different training makes BJ Penn a great bjj guy, Anderson Silva a great striker, Chuck Liddell a great wrestler/striker with good takedown defense.

[MightyB]

Ask yourself: What are my goals, why do I teach?

Ask a new student: Why do you want to study martial arts? What do you hope to get out of training with me?

Read this book.

[GeneChing]

Maybe the student is posting on some forum "Telling it like it is may have cost me a coach".

In all seriousness, the teacher/student relationship is like any other. Sometimes you bond for life. Most of the time, you have a little fling and move on. It takes two to tango and sometimes the chemistry just isn't there.

I never kept track of all the students that left me. I only keep track of the ones who stayed. And on the flip side, I've had dozens of teachers too.

[Ray Pina]

No. The issue is, right now, stand up is easy. We're doing boxing drills, breaking a sweat, but I haven't made him go through rounds on the bag. We aren't sparring yet. It's fun and exciting and it's been taking up 85% of our time.... he needs to know how to escape side control if he wants to train with me.

When we spar, if I take him down and get side control and the action stops.... it's no fun for me. My teaching him for free is an investment in my time to train a good training partner. If he wants to learn how to fight and train, that's the deal.

He's going to eat a punch from time to time. So am I.... and I won't be wearing headgear.

He's going to be able to do this in his sleep: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QOVDfqpIk9k .... no ifs ands or butts about it.

If he was training in a gym, he's spend 20 mins doing nothing but this with his classmates. He's just got me..... and he's going to do it and learn it or quit. Which is fine with me too. I already know how to escape and replace the guard.

My issue with my experience with TCMA isn't that I wasn't getting what I was being sold... what I was buying was not capable of achieving my goals. I no longer blame schools or sifus for not preparing me for competitive fighting. They never made that claim.... just from my experience with karate growing up, I kind of expected it.

[taai gihk yahn]

When we spar, if I take him down and get side control and the action stops.... it's no fun for me. My teaching him for free is an investment in my time to train a good training partner.

ur 38 (or so) w a lifetime of MA training, and a 14 y/o kid w no experience is the one u pick as a potential "good training partner"? did every other MA guy move off the island?

[Robinhood]

Sounds like the kid is not interested in doing cage fighting, teach him stand up skills until he is ready or wants to roll around on the ground.

If you know two persons contact interplay skills standing up , maybe teach him those first, to develop his balance and structure and keep him interested.

[Dragonzbane76]

I never kept track of all the students that left me. I only keep track of the ones who stayed.

great tag line.

[hskwarrior]

Sounds like the kid is not interested in doing cage fighting, teach him stand up skills until he is ready or wants to roll around on the ground.

Ray doesn't seem to digest that. WE ALL keep telling him not everyone wants to be a cage fighter.Some people just want to be able to protect themselves. Some people just want to play sunday football at the park, some people want to play tennis at the park. He has to come to grips with the fact that fighting breeds violence in some cases and not everyone has a violent thread in them.

[omarthefish]

I stumbled onto this clip the other day from Ray's class. . .

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_MBib...eature=related