Maybe it is time to leave

[Manny]

Terry mi friend, I can feel your pain, I've been feeling to in some diferent way but related. I hope I can explain myself here cause English is hard on me. I'm a little tired too of the BS in TKD, TKD is not what it used to be at least for me, so many olimpic things, so many KKW things and the way of taught TKD is these days is like a sports center family tipe.

Something I would like to do, for me and for my TKD is to have a small dojang where I can teach man and woman alike, I'm not talking about kids but full grown people from 25 and ahead. My teaching method would be the old one where martiality is the THING and where SD is tyhe THING, nothing about sports.

Also in my dojang I will invite another senseis from another backgrounds to teach us techs of their MA, what about of a judo class or aikido seminar for beginners?.

My dojoang will be small but rich in dedication, I will only teach a few ones not for the money but for love to the art.

You have your dojang, maybe you need to focus on a small class with few pupils that really want to train in a diferent way.

Hugs to you my friend, I really respect you.

Manny

 

[NPTKD]

You can't be very everyone's everthing! Reach the ones you can reach, take bride in the ones that stay and commit, remember the ones who leave with a smile. I used to get so upset over the samethings mentioned here. I took a long time to finally see that it really isn't me or the way I teach. It is the way this country has become. Rarely do people commit to things or each other for very long. As for children, they are ment to try alot of different things in their childhood. Don't take it personal. They are just growing up. Don't change the way you teach or do things in your school for the sake of a few. It will come back to get you later when those few move on. I Grandmasters class, class schedule,drills and location have been the same for 25 years that I have trained ( he was there before that) and he is still making a living. He never chage a thing... But some can't handle that much of the same. THAT IS WHY BEING A 2,3,4,5,6 etc. BB IS SO DAM IMPORTANT! few can commit!

Good Luck.... I wish you well!

 

[Xue Sheng]

Terry

There was a rather impressive Hapkido/TKD school near me and the man in charge, after many years, left and sold it to his students for much the same thing you are talking about. For me it is very sad to see the good ones go and the bad ones take over, now they teach bad TKD bad Hapkido and have added bad taijiquan. It is hard, lord knows I am fighting a losing battle with taiji as a martial art and my Sifu has given up as well as far as anyone after me. He now teaches only form. But taiji is, IMO, much further gone than TKD. I was TKD and I loved TKD and after my injuries healed I wanted to go back to TKD but all I found were lack luster teachers that were more interested in cash, rank and points sparing than the art itself.

Don’t give up and don’t quit unless deep down inside you know it is the right thing to do, if that is the case then it is time and you can happily walk away. But if it is not then it might be time to do something about it and that may be downsizing or becoming a student again as Twin Fist suggests. I try to look at just about everything as a student these days and I also try to not be all that concerned about the other guy and what he is (or in most cases) is not teaching. I don’t have a school like you do but I do teach for my Sifu from time to time and I usually teach push hands and if some want to learn what it is and that is great so show them, if they don’t that’s fine too. But I know what I want to teach and I teach it and that is all.

I hope you don’t let the Bastards win this one but, like I said, if you know, deep down inside it is time to stop then you can and no one has won anything but you and you can be happy about it, other wise I say keep fighting and showing people what real TKD is... teach what you want, not what those that have no clue want you to teach.

 

[dancingalone]

Terry, I wouldn't compromise. Continue to promote your class as a serious one where the focus is on learning and improvement and fitness. If you do your marketing diligently, the students who DO want what your offering will be knocking on your doors soon enough. The students you have that are unhappy should be politely directed to the earlier classes. You're already bending backwards for them - no need to do more.

As hopefully, a story of encouragement, I made up my mind when I started teaching to only teach adults, and the atmosphere would be a tough minded one with plenty of bruises to go around. I didn't want to teach for a living, but I did want training partners for myself and how better to obtain those than by cultivating some fellow karate-ka? My small school has been open for 8 years now and it's more popular than ever. I have a waiting list since I will not accept more students than the 16 I have already.

Granted, I'm sure I don't have the monetary pressures you may have since my dojo is an add-on room in my home. But it can be done. There ARE people out there that want to train a traditional style in a demanding but rewarding climate.

 

[bluekey88]

Terry,
I'm sorry you find yourself at this tough crossroads. I don't have much in the way of useful advice that hasn't already been said by others in this thread. You need to do what is right for you, but I ask that you really consider hanging in there...we need good teachers out there. Losing your knowledge, expereince and love of the art would be a tragedy...on the other hand, if you're too burned out to teach...that's is an equal tragedy.

Talk with yiour students...right now, this is your school. Just becuase your students have a stake in what happens there doesn't mean they have the final say. I wish I lived a fair bit closer, I'd love to come down and train...sounds like your class would be a blast and a half

Hang in there and I will pray that you find clearness on this matter in short order.

Peace,
Erik

 

[d1jinx]

Terry,
I do not know you but from what i have read you are a dedicated TRUE master. One that WE need. Too many "young" masters and outright BAD instructors open schools every day. we see them at venues and meets. Thier students reflect the garbage they teach. If we bow out and let these types continue to teach, the art we all love and has been a part of our lives will be lost. Taekwondo has lost the value it once had. This pitter patter sport that it has become is not what i learned. Its notwhat i teach. Do NOT let USAT or any other org change you, your style of teaching, or your values. I do Kukkiwon, but my standards are higher. I am a USAT participant. I do and teach my way, and participate in thier events. I do not teach their way. When i took the LVL 1 seminar the first year it came out, I participated. I will not change to thier way they were trying to tell us we had too. My life dont depend on them or anyone else. so dont let thier BS get at u. realistcally no one of us will produce olympians anyway so who cares what they do. they need us and will see the light or fail.
as for teaching and appeasing to the masses, this is what our culture has become. screw that. It's your school and your way. they dont lie it, step.... but saying that, it is always good to mixit up a bit to keep it interesting for everyone. you can make some nights fun and still stick to your values. people will respect that. you are always gonna have the ones who dont have the amount of devotion that we would like. you might not want them there, but your students need them there. the more students that surroundthem, the better it will make them. they need people to push them to the next level. lets face it, most students compare them selves to eachother. they measure their progress by those around them. just think of them as "training partners" for your dedicated students.
I can understand the lack of interest, it happens. set your instructors strait. give them a cirriculumn to follow, then step back and let them do thier thing. take a break and maybe show up randomly to check up on them, and possibly put a foot in thier @$$ if they are not doing it you way. But dont sell your school. Dont downsize. You have earned the right to step back and oversee what you have built. And pick one day a week that you will teach, make it a special class, and not an everyday type class. you will have the dedicated ones their, because you are teaching it. good luck and dont .... please dont.... let it go for any reason other that financial. Thats another problemthat sometimes happens. hopefully not the case here.
I have been a BB for only 19 years. I can only hope to achieve what you have acheived.
Thank you for 40 years of dedication and preservation of OUR art.

 

[Dave Leverich]

Terry,
maybe it might help if you start being a student instead of the Master. When I started kajukembo, I felt refreshed, because i was learning again, and it made me a better teacher because i was more aware of my body.

Plus, it made my attitude better, and that is infectious.

seriously, give it some thought.

I was going to say the same thing.
25 years of TKD and I was kind of burnt as well. Now in MMA I'm a new kid (only a couple years in) and it's great! I find that I think I'll rank all the way in BJJ, and the MMA side just gives me an amazing workout and really rolled back the clock.

Have you thought of becoming a student again, in a truly foreign (to you) art?

 

[Cirdan]

I have been in Martial Arts for over forty years and I do believe it is time for me to get out. With all the BS that goes with running a school and trying to make everyone happy, I am mesible. I do not know what to do but sell the school and maybe start a private one a little smaller for those that wish to train without all the BS of running a school.

Do it. It is what you need. It is what students need. It is what your art needs.

 

[Laurentkd]

To respond to just one part of your post:
If you have people asking for your class to be easier tell them they can go to the kiddie class!! If I remember correctly, you let your other instructors teach most of the classes and you have a couple hard core that you teach. If that is right, you are offering easy, fun classes, don't let a couple complainers take YOUR class away from you! That may seem harsh, but you are trying your best to please everyone, you have to please yourself sometime or you will have no desire to be there. Keep your class the way you want it. Even if you only have one or two students show up for that session it will be worth it.
Good luck sir!

 

[Joab]

Sorry to hear about all of this. Students are talking back to you? Kick them out! You don't have to put up with such things. I would recommend teaching only those you want to teach. But in this economy it might be hard to survive with those few. If you can do it, and you will have fun again. I feel for you, I'll pray for you.

 

[karatemom]

 

[Miles]

Terry,

Just getting back from vacation and I saw your post. I understand your frustration and hope that whatever you decide, you are at peace with it. I feel that your school may close but you will never cease being a martial artist. If you can continue to train a few hard-core students in a commercial or non-commercial basis, you may be happier. I wish you peace my friend!

 

[dortiz]

Terry,
I got fed up with TKD for a couple of years and focused on my Hapkido training. With that new found love I found it easy to find what I also love in my TKD and return to it full time.
Usually its about fixing what we can really fix, and thats ourselves. Once you do that everything else will come back together. Find what you need fixing for you and go from there.
Its all a journey.

Dave O.