Spreading the art....
IMHO it's all about integrity. Stand by. I'm going rambling...
Spreading the art is more than teaching for the sake of teaching. It's more than enrolment numbers. It's the quality of the product you put out that matters. You can teach, or you can inspire. Which would you rather do?
In teaching, is rank more important than skill? Are you more concerned with the development of your students rather than your reputation and finances?
Is martial arts your vocation, or avocation?
Do you expect your students to worship you the way you worshipped your instructor?
Do you belittle and criticize other instructors openly and avoid them when they find out about your behavior, or do you tell your students that everyone hase something to offer and invite them to see what other instructors have to offer?
Do you brag about how tough you are, but avoid confrontation with the people who you spoke ill of?
Do you teach martial arts because it's the only marketable skill you have and you got tired of washing dishes at the pizza joint?
Do you talk about "real" combat when you have never seen it? (see
www.phonyveterans.com)
Are you honest in presenting your material? For example: Do you "create" a "new" system by taking techniques from a famous instuctor and renaming it something like "mano y baraw" and calling it your own original knife fighting method, or do you simply borrow drills from other systems and tell your students "this drill is from XXX system, and I dicided to include it because it has value"?
In selling books, videos and the like, do you charge $60 for a $10 product?
Do you give $30 worth of instruction at seminars that cost students $100 or more to attend, or do you charge nothing for knowledge that is priceless?
Is your wallet full and your heart empty?
I suppose I could go on and on for days, but I'll stop there. I'm done philosophizing.
Paul Janulis touch on this earlier in the thread; It's not about how many people you teach, or how many products you sell. It's about the lasting impression you leave on people and how honest you are with your students and yourself.
Submitted respectfully,
Tim Kashino