From: snorthc@relay.nswc.navy.mil (Stephen Northcutt - K31)
Newsgroups: rec.martial-arts
Subject: Re: Charging for training?
Date: 17 Nov 92 13:16:58 GMT
Reply-To: snorthc@relay.nswc.navy.mil
Organization: Naval Surface Warfare Center

>I too was surprised at the way martial arts are taught in the USA.
Lots of posts about my instructor charges a nickle a year.

OK fine.  I would just like to point out that it is not possible
to prove that $$$ ::= lesser training (or the converse).  I am
an instructor of martial arts.  I work for a commercial school.
Over the years I have posted about:
	- sleepovers, where we train for hours in focus groups,
they use games that teach certain skills, then pretend to go to sleep.
	- special seminars including:
		+ weapons
		+ how to deal with bullies
		+ women self defense
		+ breaking skills
	- training outdoors in all seasons
	- training in the river
	- entering in a marching band competition and using it
	as one Looooong basics training floor
	- special classes for kids with learning disabilities
	esp ADD, ADHD.
	- mock tournaments (shiais (sp?) where we invite affiliated
	schools and compete for nothing but applause and then
	we all sit down on the floor for a pot luck dinner
	- Coaching (and being fired as coach) of the tournament
	competition group

Now this school also teaches all the required techniques for both
WTF and ITF BBs.  Note well, it is only possible to do all this
because we a rich fat commerical school with a lot of students
who are all from fairly wealth families who can afford to pay for
their schools tuition so that instructors like me can be paid, so
that each kid can have their own sparring gear, so that they can
afford for their kids to travel to enter tournaments, so we can
afford to have visiting highly ranked Masters like Chong Su Kim 
give seminars.  These sorts of things take $$$.

Now lest anyone claim that I am socially insensitive, I am still
smarting from my failure to open up a branch school that could
be available for free, to almost no money in a less fortunate part
of the city.  I put a lot of time in, trying to get insurance,
hold harmless clauses for the landlord, get the uniforms at a
reasonable price and so forth.  It is very hard to put a package
together that doesn't require charging at least $30.00 month and
doesn't require a minimum of 20 students or you go broke.

Nor does a school have to do all the things we do, to be a good
MA school.  The point is, these are extras, and we are blessed to
be able to offer them.

Note carefully the transition inserted here <:-)>

Clearly the most important extra we are able to offer is a
very ancient and potent chi gung training that enables the
practioner to absorb heat and flames with no apparent damage.
Good thing I have studied this faithfully, I suspect I'm gonna
need it!

To summarize, I am proud and honored to be a licensed authorized
instructor* under the Meik Do Sy$tem (tm).  Say what you will about
your dedicated and impoverished instructor, but years of study
have taught us the simple truth:
	The more you pay, the more you learn.

I realize that it is unusual for a mere silver belt to be an
instructor, but I bought, I mean earned my license from CEO $en$ei
Jeff himself.