Our school was previously run for 27 years as a "for profit business" but the owner worked a very well paid full time job besides running the school so 100% of the school's income went to paying bills to keep the doors open. For that time we never had more than 30 or so students max with about 8-10 on the floor at any given time (broken up by age). We had very high standards during this 27ish years to the point that many students would go a year or more without testing for the next rank because they just weren't putting in the effort to make changes. Our rule has always been that you don't have to be gifted or be an A+ student but you have to at least make noticeable measurable changes based on the feedback given by the instructor. If those changes weren't made then you didn't test so a lot of our 10 years and up age group don't last more than a year because they can go to the school 12 miles away and literally just pay $40 for a new belt every 2-3 months. I took over 3 years ago as the owner and head instructor and want to try to run the school as a successful business while maintaining our standards but for every one student that actually tries it seems like 4-5 quit because they can get the belt at the "Taekwondo" daycare on the other side of town. This is not an exageration, I had a mom of a 12 and 14 year old ask me why her 12 year old daughter was eligible to test in 2 days but her son wasn't. Her 14 year old son puts in no effort, clearly doesn't want to be there and is always disruptive to the point of having to send him off the floor frequently during class. When I (as tactfully and respectfully as possible) told her this and that we need to see changes made she actually said, and this quote will forever be burned into my memory "well the *name redacted* taekwondo school on the south side gives the students new belts every 3 months. If its just a matter of payment, I have the money." It really seams like this is how the "business" of MA is run.
I guess it can be tough to process and explain. Since no one here saw the exchange with the parent or have worked out with the kid, it is hard to give absolute advice.
I fully believe a person (instructor) has to be very, very sure their standards are real, attainable, and not overly subjective. A Lot of this can be accomplished through the tournament scene, as well as having experience in more than one style/school/system, or experience in other sports/life experiences, etc... In short, exposure. This, in no way says your current method is wrong. I have no way of knowing that for certain.
Like it or not, everything evolves. This includes martial arts training. This does Not mean sacrificing quality and standard. Honestly, much more the opposite.
The world has been exposed to the martial arts for some time now. More importantly, the martial arts have been exposed to the world. Because of this exposure, there has been cross pollination with other sports and other styles of training. This has led to refinement and improvement in the teaching model(s). There has also been great improvement in the training tools and training methods.
To be clear, this has nothing to do with tradition or traditional methods that have withstood the test of time (and to be sure, there are many). In this regard, what I heard in your last post sounded more like a /teacher/teaching issue, not a martial art issue (just being candidly honest). I do not know of any instructor who has/had trying students. It is just the nature of the beast in a service industry.
My GM often says something along the lines of "I give you the information" and will sometimes just leave it right there. But he is very educated and wise enough to know when a person (kids, struggling adults, etc...) will not understand a statement like that. I suspect your training method may be along this line, which I fully get, but as the instructor you have to be able to translate the statement into something tangible for people who just are not ready to hear it. Yes, that can be very, very tough.
We are all guilty of heralding our past. Looking back has a way of making things 'shine' a little more.
To this point, can you honestly say
everyone in your 30-person school size were all equally talented? Did all exceeded or did they leave on their own or just be kicked out? I sincerely hope not.
Some have talked about comparing different styles (striking vs. grappling, etc...). This is just a very hard thing to do across the entire canvas. And frankly, unfair. We teach and hold the standards for our respective school/style and do not throw stones. Period. Easier said than done sometimes.
When you say, "Our rule has always been that you don't have to be gifted or be an A+ student but you have to at least make noticeable measurable changes based on the feedback given by the instructor." this makes sense to me and I would call this the most common standard out there. But it goes against some of your other comments (I fully understand I am writing based on what you said, not what I have seen).
If I understand correctly, you have recently taken the helm at your longtime school. A wonderful opportunity. Does this include full ownership and business/financial responsibility/liability? If so, (again, not knowing your background) I suggest you look into sport business training. This can come from your system, local college, business associates, making business connections (CoC, etc...), or just digging in and doing the research and learning on your own. The latter is a hard path.
One of my favorite sayings: "" That is the way we always done it!" is a recipe for disaster.""
To be certain, I am not a fan of play time or after school classes for kids. However, depending on your demographics and the desire to be a truly for-profit school, it can be done right and make a ton of money. Plus, it can build the kind of future clientele you want. Or it can drive kids away and they (and others) will never come back.
I am also not a fan of automatic testing or very, very long testing windows (unless that is just a style's historical model). Automatic testing speaks for itself I believe but very, very long testing windows speaks more to an instructor/school owner issue more often to me. The 'standard' must be
felt more than stated in every class. Expectation has to be felt. Not with a presence of fear, but more of anticipation. On top of that, reaching/meeting the standard (or best in a person) has to be drawn out of some people, from areas they may not have even know they had. Man, oh man is that fun and exciting as an instructor/coach! Hell, I am getting excited just talking about it!
To my comment about business classes, this is a good applicable area. Measuring success by the negatives is historically more accurate and informative. You already have some measurable negatives to use as information. So, what are they telling you? How to use this information to help improve your business model? This is also where the "that's how we always" did it" moniker should indicate a need for possible change.
I wish you the best with your school. I hope you stay in touch and let us know how it goes. I am here to help in any way I can.
