# If you're absent during my struggle, don't expect to be present during my success!



## Datu Tim Hartman (Aug 8, 2014)

So for decades Ive been hosting seminars, camps and tournaments. In addition Ive been teaching seminars around the world. Ill travel any distance and pay any fair price for my training. I also attend and host events to help promote the Filipino Martial Arts community. During that process I helped create martial art communities such as Martial Talk, FMATalk and FMATalk Live. Ive also helped school owners with making their schools more profitable, even to the point preventing them from closing their doors for good. 


During this journey Ive noticed a pattern forming. It seems that my efforts are mostly one sided. Ive freely offered my help but few seem interested in reciprocating. I have hosted many instructors in my school and only a handful have ever tried to repay my efforts. And now people want me to put together seminar tours for them. So I have a question for all of you who want my help Whats in it for me? My business is to help me put food on the table for me and my family, not to bail out others who know nothing about the martial business industry. 


So here is how its going to go from now on. If you want my assistance you need to bring something to the table. If not, youll have to pay my consulting fee. No more showing up to a Hartman event for a payday! Dont get me wrong, Ill still bring in people to further my students and my education. What is coming to an end is using me to promote yourself with no intention of reciprocating one way or another. 


So says The Datu


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## Buka (Aug 9, 2014)

I feel you, brother. I kind of wish I didn't. But you know how people are, or at least how they behave.

You love the Arts, plain and simple. I'll bet you don't even have a choice about loving the Arts anymore, it's just part of your bones now. It's not your job, not your hobby, not what you do for exercise or even for fun. It's just who you are.

I think we all have to remind ourselves that it should be a two way street. But, hell, we're going to go down that street either way. Hang in and keep smiling. Then charge the bastards double.


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## DrBarber (Aug 9, 2014)

Datu Tim Hartman said:


> So for decades Ive been hosting seminars, camps and tournaments. In addition Ive been teaching seminars around the world. Ill travel any distance and pay any fair price for my training. I also attend and host events to help promote the Filipino Martial Arts community. During that process I helped create martial art communities such as Martial Talk, FMATalk and FMATalk Live. Ive also helped school owners with making their schools more profitable, even to the point preventing them from closing their doors for good.
> 
> 
> During this journey Ive noticed a pattern forming. It seems that my efforts are mostly one sided. Ive freely offered my help but few seem interested in reciprocating. I have hosted many instructors in my school and only a handful have ever tried to repay my efforts. And now people want me to put together seminar tours for them. So I have a question for all of you who want my help Whats in it for me? My business is to help me put food on the table for me and my family, not to bail out others who know nothing about the martial business industry.
> ...



Wow!!!  That is a quite a statement .  Could you, would you be more specific, give a couple of examples so that I can better understand your particular concern(s)?
It seems to me that you have, in very general terms, a situation that is similar to people such as Terry Wareham, Fred Delenberger, Dan Anderson, Michael Bates, 
Richard Roy, Bram Frank and Joe Breidenstein among others with regard to the Modern Arnis world and FMA.  I am not saying that you are wrong.  I am saying 
that you are not alone if I am reading your very generalized statement correctly in terms of your intent.

With all due respect from one Datu to another,

Jerome Barber, Ed. D.


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## arnisador (Aug 13, 2014)

Terry Wareham worked very hard!

A lot of people in many areas have this problem--wanting free work, free advice, free promotion from a creative professional--and one does need to stop that at some point, or at least cut way back on it.


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## DrBarber (Aug 25, 2014)

arnisador said:


> Terry Wareham worked very hard!
> 
> A lot of people in many areas have this problem--wanting free work, free advice, free promotion from a creative professional--and one does need to stop that at some point, or at least cut way back on it.



Hello Jeff,

That was my point - a lot of people worked extremely hard promoting Modern Arnis and helping Professor grow the system in terms of making people aware of the art.
Everyone of them was overlooked and ignored as newer people joined the fold and only saw Modern Arnis from their own limited perspective as well as the tendency to
believe that ONLY Professor could show the art properly... a number people posted that sentiment on this forum quite frequently.

Sincerely,

Jerome


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## Xue Sheng (Aug 25, 2014)

arnisador said:


> Terry Wareham worked very hard!
> 
> A lot of people in many areas have this problem--wanting free work, free advice, free promotion from a creative professional--and one does need to stop that at some point, or at least cut way back on it.



If you are a professional at anything, be that computers, medicine, Martial Arts, auto mechanics, landscaping, etc. people are gong to want and try and get things for free and you are absolutely right --





> one does need to stop that at some point, or at least cut way back on it


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## Rich Parsons (Aug 25, 2014)

Xue Sheng said:


> If you are a professional at anything, be that computers, medicine, Martial Arts, auto mechanics, landscaping, etc. people are gong to want and try and get things for free and you are absolutely right --



You mean people ask me for help on their computer / laptop and their car all the time. I have BS and MS in Comp Sci and work for an automotive company. Wow, who would have thought. /* end sarcasm */


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## Xue Sheng (Aug 25, 2014)

Rich Parsons said:


> You mean people ask me for help on their computer / laptop and their car all the time. I have BS and MS in Comp Sci and work for an automotive company. Wow, who would have thought. /* end sarcasm */



speaking as an ex-auto mechanic who became a computer tech.... I realize it is hard to believe, but people do actually do that


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