I know this may vary from one martial art to the other but Im curious to get some feedback. I was discussing with a friend of mine how much experience is required to start your own club while maintaining credibilty. Would you train at a school where the owner/operator has had 10 years of martial arts training? Or 15 years? I know technically you could start a club after a couple of years training, as Im sure some shonks have done over the years, but Im thinking more along the lines of a reputable club. Also from a non martial artists point of view, would the average joe on the street join a club where the instructor has 10 years experience and feel that his instructor is adequately trained. Im not about to ever start a club myself, but Im curious on feedback because Ive discussed this with a few people and have got answers ranging fro 5 years through to 30 years. Thanks in advance.
Let me start by saying that ten years experience in anything is, frankly, plenty. No other industry places expectations of fifteen to twenty years on its members in order to open their own shop. Does it help? Sure it does. But a decade should be enough. I'd say I'd watch a few classes and see what I think.
Having said that, some of it depends on the capacity that the person starting the club intends to serve. Take a guy or gal who is second dan. Are they the owner/operator with more qualified instructors (say 5th dan or higher) working for them? In this case, lets say that the second dan is a very good manager who has the skills to operate the business end of the school. This makes him or her 'qualified' by virtue of having a more experienced teaching staff and him/herself handling the part of the business that they are actuallly more qualified to handle.
Now, if the second dan is the top dog in the school, I'd be wary of it, though again, I'd watch a few classes to see what I think. Now, this is assuming a second dan who is second dan because they haven't been doing it long enough to be third. A second dan who has trained continuously for a decade
after getting his second dan would be a different story (and would raise a
different set of questions).
Another question is the nature of the club. Since you say 'club', if the club is simply a group of guys and gals getting together to train with no pretense of having 'master' instructors, then I'd say ten years is more than ample; five years is probably plenty.
If it is an MMA club or a sport-only TKD club, I'd be judging the club on what I see and the success of its members in competition.
I don't feel that there is a hard/fast rule of time vs. qualified. A great deal depends on the art (15284 techniques or 100) and in many cases, the individual. Some people just get it. Also, some with decades of experience are still lousy teachers. So the guy has time in grade and can do his kata with zen like calm. Can he communicate the material effectively to his students? By effectively, I mean more than just 'do like I do' and hope that the entire class is comprised of visual learners. Can he handle a class that isn't picture perfect? How does he handle students who don't 'get it' like he did?
There is a whole skillset that goes with teaching that is separate from the skill set that one needs to practice it. Not to mention a whole skill set that goes with running a club/school. To open his own club, he has to be a black belt in his teaching and administrative skills as well as a blackbelt in his art. If not, then he is not qualified, regardless of his credentials.
Daniel
