Hello all. I have often wondered wether Martial Arts are becoming to comercialised in the post-modern age, particularly in the west. I feel that much of the underlining philosophy of the arts are lost when they become competing franchises, more concerned with money than teaching. I would like to know what everyone else thinks. For the last couple of months I have been running a kind of Martial Arts community. We train in a central city park, so there is no cost for hiring a venue. Basically, everyone gets together, beginers and experienced Martial Artists alike to share and learn for free. In this way, I believe it retains the spirit of the Martial Arts and is more productive than any other dojo I have ever trained with.
Unless Martial Arts were passed down within a family, training has always been paid for, maybe not by the student (lords would have had their heads of army and training etc) , but someone has to pay the instructor for his time and expertise. No one would expect a music tutor or driving instructor to give up his time for free, so why should a martial arts instructor. This however does mean that the instructor should have good teaching skill's and be 'value for money'. Like with music you can always get together and 'jam' with your friends and this can be a valueable learning tool, however this does not take the value away from a good instructor. Also the instructor is responsible for hiring the hall, providing equipement, gradings if needed, insurance and first aid cover, as well as having police checks etc to ensure his 'suitability'. All these things have to be paid for.
Devoken, thats awesome you have that martial arts group. I wish there was something like that around here for me. But i dont think theres anything wrong with making martial-arts a business, just as long as you dont become to consumed with the money over the teaching, theres nothing wrong with it i suppose.
Yeah, Devoken, that's a great idea! Martial Arts Communism. There is a strong parallel between MA and music tuition - lots of people seem not to be aware of this (the ones who turn up to a class expecting to be experts immediately - would you expect to play the piano perfectly from day one? No, you'd feel lucky to manage "London's Burning"). There's nothing really wrong with paying for MA tuition, the problem is when the money is more important than the MA (>>cough<<GKR>>cough<<)
I have a similar MA community around me - except mine has exactly 3 members, and I of all people am the most senior member, having achieved the giddy heights of 'beginner' in FMA. Well, we're working on it anyway
About costs This is from a post I made earlier (http://www.martialartsplanet.com/fo...&highlight=cost) but it gives an idea what your money goes for... "Some schools are expensive, especially the ones that are out to make a profit. However, a local school does need money to survive. In a case like the school where I train, my master has a full time job in construction but loves teaching martial arts. He likes to have lots of classes so he can cover lots of different levels and topics. The problem is that he needs a place to train (as well as insurance). He isn't going to pay the bills out of his pocket. Keep in mind that money is also needed to improve your dojang... padded tiles/mats are expensive. Those heavy bags/paddles/targets cost a lot. Rent, utilities and insurance drive the price up as well. The instructor should be reimbursed for time, gasoline and costs (that in my mind is just good manners). Speaking of paperwork costs... if you are affiliated with a federation, your master pays charter fees, which can be pretty high. In return for the fees, you get many benefits: 1. Rank certification beyond just your school (e.g. if you are dan ranked with the Kukkiwon, you hold that rank nearly everywhere in the world)... 2. A curriculum which is fairly the same across all affiliated schools (which is nice if you travel or move and get into another charter member's school). 3. And, if you travel, you can train at any member school for no additional fee (as long as you hold membership)... I like this benefit as I travel sometimes. 4. Access to charter sponsored tournaments and seminars at reduced prices (or free)... 5. Fees usually include your belts, certificates, patches, etc. 6. A guarantee (in a way) that the ranks given by this organization are roughly equal across all member schools. When you vists another member school, your rank will be honored and you should be on a roughly even level with holders of similar rank. This is a way to prevent instructors from not teaching you what the federation deems important (curriculum). It is sort of bad that we have to pay a lot of money for training but the reality is that the money is needed to keep a school going. If you have an unaffiliated master, the downside is that sometimes s/he doesn't have access to improving his/her abilities through the seminars held through the federation aimed at improving instructors. Also, the instructor may not have access to as much tapes/books/senior instructors that an affiliated master would. It is nice when you find a master that balances the cost of running a business with an acceptable level of payment for the students." Also take a look at: “Successful vs Commercial” schools http://www.martialartsplanet.com/forums/showthread.php?t=9610&highlight=business McFear http://www.martialartsplanet.com/forums/showthread.php?t=10142&highlight=McFear
Couldn't agree more! While I respect that my Sifu teaches full-time for a living, I would never pay for instruction if he didn't have something to offer me as a student. My school is actually going though this type of growing pain right now and redefining what we are as a school and what we want to accomplish. Perhaps it's an advantage of being part of a small system; there are only 5 schools in the USA; we can afford to break away from a specific teaching style but retain the integrity of the system. Plus, to be frank, with the rise of the UFC and MMA, people don't seem to be interested in the philosophical side any more Personally, been to the "brawler" schools, not for me. I applaud your efforts!
