TCMA Survival

[Jimbo]

Great points, guys!

I taught my own group for 4 years, but stopped teaching ten years ago. I came to the realization that I'm a much better practitioner than a teacher. While admittedly I am very competent at teaching MA, I was NOT very competent, nor comfortable at, promoting myself/my art commercially.

I would imagine that's true of a lot of people who intend to teach MA. Your business acumen must be at least as highly developed as your knowledge and ability at MA, even more so. You see it a lot; someone with fairly mediocre MA ability and understanding who runs a highly successful chain of commercial schools, because he is a very good businessman. He understands how to promote and market himself and his product. Most likely hires different 'coaches' to teach different aspects of MA for him (grappling, sanda, competitive forms, point tag, push hands, etc.), and he himself essentially becomes a figurehead. His schools will have very professional facilities, have contracts, and are open all day every day. He has no other profession/day job; this IS his livelihood. The school also has dedicated top students who will also make MA their livelihood, take professional business courses (the same that their teacher did), and have an organized business plan to appeal to all types of students, especially kids. They gain experience in the business and in teaching, then go on to open their own branch schools.

I lacked that business savvy, which is why I never had a "brick and mortar" location. My core group was small, but remained steady for the 4 years. They included two black belts in Goju-ryu (coincidentally; both were from different schools). Others came and went. But I couldn't grow my school beyond a core group. I did not understand how to effectively advertise myself or my services. I did not open my teachings to people under 18. I did have my students occasionally enter competitions when they came around, with varying success. Actually, some did very well; one won a championship her first or second time out.

IMO and experience, being a teacher is a LOT harder than being a student. If only instructing, sparring, correcting, etc., we're all there is to it, yes it would be simple. But in reality, to really be a successful teacher, especially nowadays, requires knowledge and competence in MANY things. Also, passing down an art isn't for everyone. It's a lot of time and responsibility that not everyone enjoys taking on. I learned a lot and grew a lot as a MAist from my experience as a teacher. But I personally never felt comfortable as 'Sifu', and never intended on making MA my career.