First Demos

[tshadowchaser]

Most of us have done demonstrations at one time or another, so I would like to hear some stories of the first demonstration you where in or that you presented.
1.Things like was it :an all adult , a kid, or a mixed group.
2. what type of things where shown/presented
3. was the school well established or new

AND what you would suggest for a beginning school do do for a demo depending on number 1 above

 

[Kung Fu Wang]

2. what type of things where shown/presented ...

When Bruce Lee was still alive, people loved to watch this kind of demo.

 

[tshadowchaser]

Wow I am really surprised that NO ONE care to comment in this thread. Surly some of you must have ben in demos at some time in your time in the arts.
I know this is not a political discussion but hey this site is called Martialtalk and I thought some discussion on something concerning the arts would be appropriate.

 

[tshadowchaser]

Ok , my first demo was while I was in TKD MDK back in the early 70. We where a new school with all the students in one class. there where 3 adults and 4 kids. We did a couple basic forms, some kicking ( big surprise there) and a little sparring. Nothing spectacular but being as it was the only school within 50 miles most people had never seen anything in the arts so they where some what impresses.
My first demo in the 2nd system I learned was a little different. It was given outside on the walk at Weirs Beach in NH. My instructor did call each of us up and we would do a form or a self defense maybe a two man form . He demonstrated several weapons and broke concrete or wood with the weapons then did a apple and cucumber cut with his sword. The sparring we did that day was darn near full contact.

 

[Kung Fu Wang]

Many years ago I gave a demo in local TV station. After I finished my solo form performance, the TV reporter said, "Kung Fu is like dancing ..." That was the last time I would even demonstrate "solo form". In another event someone asked me to give a MA demo. I said, "I don't have demo partner". That person didn't understand why I would need demo partner for.

 

[WaterGal]

The first time I did a demo, I was so nervous (it was outdoors, loud, hundreds of people watching etc) that I messed up an easy color belt form by turning the wrong direction. It was pretty embarrassing, though I'm sure 90%+ of the audience didn't know!

That demo was with an established school who had done other demos before, with a mix of adults and kids. The material that was shown was a mix of TKD & Kumdo forms and sparring, board breaking, and demonstrations of HKD self-defense techniques.

If your school is just getting started with demos, I'd recommend doing things that look exciting. Audiences love board breaks and sparring. Forms are okay, but like someone else said, they can look like dancing, so I wouldn't recommend doing them for a long time. Also: practice, practice, practice. Whatever you're going to do, plan it out and have the group rehearse the whole thing ahead of time at least a few times.

 

[tshadowchaser]

Actually my son and one of my students have been teaching the youth class and are giving a demo for one of the elementary schools in town, at the schools fair in May.

I have tried to give suggestions but I want them to figure it out. This will be another learning experience for the instructors and hopefully for the students as well as a fun one

heck its been well over forty years since my first one

 

[wingchun100]

Most of us have done demonstrations at one time or another, so I would like to hear some stories of the first demonstration you where in or that you presented.
1.Things like was it :an all adult , a kid, or a mixed group.
2. what type of things where shown/presented
3. was the school well established or new

AND what you would suggest for a beginning school do do for a demo depending on number 1 above

1. Sifu's school was contacted by some group raising money to fight MS, so it was a mixed crowd.
2. We did sil lum tao, chum kiu, and a drill involving pak sao, tan sao and fak sao. Sifu did the wooden dummy form.
3. I believe the school had been around for 3 years by this time.

I don't know how you would vary things up if it were kids versus adult, but I think a demo should show a form or two, and then show how techniques from the style apply to the kind of attacks you are likely to face in a street fight or self-defense situation. Maybe with kids you would focus more on discipline instead of scarring them with a brutal self-defense counter LOL. That is the only thing I didn't like about our demo: we did wing chun versus wing chun, not wing chun versus your average alpha male bar brawler.

 

[tshadowchaser]

forgot to mention I only have my students go to tournaments that benefit some charity