My old club drama

[Lohff]

I've been sitting on this for a long time, and since the club itself isn't Bullshido, I figured that this would be the right place to put this. Let's examine my bitches about the old club.

1. Because the head instuctor wanted to move to a place of his own rather than continue working with another guy, my tuition got bumped from 65 to 135 dollars a month so he could pay his exorbitant rent fee.

2. The dreaded signing of the 1 year contract arose to make sure he got his money.

3. He started asking for 20% of any purse I made from my fights. Of the 20 fights I've had, he's made it to THREE. 20% for what ************?

4. He also wanted 10% of my sponsorships.

5. I live 90 miles from the school. When gas prices were their highest, my pocketbook was getting raped to attend class. Regardless of which, I was told that if I didn't make it to class at least 3times a week, I couldn't go to any grappling comps under the team banner. THIS fucking rule didn't start until after I'd already been with the club for a year.

6. The head instructor now makes it to 2 classes a week. Not 2 days mind you, 2 fucking classes. Why do you ask? So he can go fucking HUNTING AND FISHING.

7. The head intructor is out of shape, and gets worked at the few grappling comps he tries to compete in.

8. The head instructor is a very religious man, which is a good thing. But whenever we had a disagreement, this holier than though attitude would come out of the woodwork, and no point could be made to him.

9. Like I said before, he wanted 20% of my purse for fights. However, he only knows jits. His standup is shittier than my intestines after indian food. Still he comes with his hands out. When I finally woke the **** up and got with some stand up guys, they asked for NOTHING.

So there it is. After all that horseshit, I still have one question. Why do I feel so fucking guilty for leaving?

[Ryno]

Sounds like a greedy ass. You're better off somewhere else.

[Thaiboxerken]

8. The head instructor is a very religious man, which is a good thing.

No, it's not. :biblethum

[Roidie McDouchebag]

You probably feel bad because you felt some kind of friendship with your instructor, that's OK, everybody gets suckered some time. I would say that while that isn't bullshido, it most certainly is bullshit.

[dakotajudo]

I've been sitting on this for a long time, and since the club itself isn't Bullshido, I figured that this would be the right place to put this. Let's examine my bitches about the old club.

You know me, you know some of my students. So, let me tell you my take, from the viewpoint of an instructor.

1. Because the head instuctor wanted to move to a place of his own rather than continue working with another guy, my tuition got bumped from 65 to 135 dollars a month so he could pay his exorbitant rent fee.

I've got that dilemma. I rent from the gymnastic academy, but I have to work around kid's classes. Nights aren't that great (W, F, as opposed to MTTh, which seem to be prime training times).


Since I have only three nights, I mix kids with adults. Sometimes that can be an issue.

On the other hand, I can be cheap.

Last few practices, I've had enough bodies on the mat to think about trying to find my own place; but then, can I count on enough long-term members to not take the hit financially myself.

2. The dreaded signing of the 1 year contract arose to make sure he got his money.

Look at my training log - in December I was complaining about driving in for classes - no ne shows, but I'm still paying for the floor, plus the cost of driving into town, and my own time away from my projects (that I get paid for). I haven't gone to the contract, yet, but I did chew some ass.

3. He started asking for 20% of any purse I made from my fights. Of the 20 fights I've had, he's made it to THREE. 20% for what ************?

4. He also wanted 10% of my sponsorships.

I've told my fighters if I provide equipment I expect some return; they buy their own equipment, I don't. But that's for money, out of my pocket, to add MMA training to judo.

I did buy John's fight shorts, and pay to have them embroidered with the club logo. I count that as advertising.

5. I live 90 miles from the school. When gas prices were their highest, my pocketbook was getting raped to attend class. Regardless of which, I was told that if I didn't make it to class at least 3times a week, I couldn't go to any grappling comps under the team banner. THIS fucking rule didn't start until after I'd already been with the club for a year.

For people out of town, I'm willing to cut some slack for class fees, if distance limits to 1 day a week. In town, I expect the same rent money.

6. The head instructor now makes it to 2 classes a week. Not 2 days mind you, 2 fucking classes. Why do you ask? So he can go fucking HUNTING AND FISHING.

I got no assistants, so I'm there every class (well, not quite true - one whose been out of town, new job, but is starting to get back in; plus a couple I could promote). Even so, it's my club, I'm the coach, I'm there. Plus I like to workout. And I learn more about the art by coaching than from anything else.

7. The head intructor is out of shape, and gets worked at the few grappling comps he tries to compete in.

Well, I've been known to get worked; partly that can be blamed on coaching - you get used to fighting down to student's level. Sometimes a coach has to sacrifice his own training to better the students. One of my goals for coaching has been to bring beginners up to a level to consistently challenge me, to push me to a higher level.

9. Like I said before, he wanted 20% of my purse for fights. However, he only knows jits. His standup is shittier than my intestines after indian food. Still he comes with his hands out. When I finally woke the **** up and got with some stand up guys, they asked for NOTHING.

Partly, I'm sure, it's personality differences. Some people just aren't entrepeneurs, aren't always looking for the buck (I do get criticized, by my sister, that I'm not making money on judo).

The other is the perception of the art.

Judo has been, and probably always will be, a cheap art. It's part of the culture; it's in the universities, police, military, YMCA - non-commercial outfits. I met with a high level (national referee) judoka in the Cities, he complained about how cheap judoka are - running tournaments, for example.

Same with boxing, as I see it, or wrestling.

BJJ, on the other hand - well, it's like John Deere - people will pay more for the name. From what I gather, BJJ is consistently more expensive, nation-wide. Judo's passe (and to some extent misunderstood - it's your grandpas MA); BJJ is sexy.

So there it is. After all that horseshit, I still have one question. Why do I feel so fucking guilty for leaving?

Get a relationship, it's hard to break.

You gotta realize, thing's are always easy from the instructor side - sometimes I think it would be nice to not have the problems, go back to being a student.

I used to be a fairly competitive runner, and I'd like to have one more decent summer season; break 17:00 5K one more time. To do that, I'd have to quit coaching - it cuts into my running time. But if I quit, what happens to my club?

[CanucKyokushin]

Wow!All of that sucks.If it makes you feel better the last time I saw my instructor he was getting into his truck to go home when I was driving to his school to train.In fact i hadn't seen much of him this year.

You should wait for a guy called Yrkoon who will most likely chime in.

[Lohff]

The shittiest part about the situation, is how stagnant I feel now. I traveled up to Minneapolis to train for a week with Greg Nelson's guys at the Minnesota Martial Arts Academy, and I got worked. You know what, I haven't felt that good in a long time. I was advancing again, improving, seeing things I hadn't seen before at a rapid pace. Now I'm back here in Yankton, improving slower than hell.

I would have tried so hard to meet his new demands if I had felt for just one second that he gave a **** about me or my improvement as a martial artist. As it is, I'm just a bitter little pissant waiting for some sort of windfall to get me the hell out of South Dakota.

[Thaiboxerken]

Get the hell out of SD. Find a job that will relocate you. Move to Greg Nelson's area. Problem solved.

[GregW]

So there it is. After all that horseshit, I still have one question. Why do I feel so fucking guilty for leaving?

Are you somebody who tries to "see the best in people"? My guess is the guy does have some good qualities, but you definitely made the right decision. You should seriously think about relocating if something is that important to you.

Judo will probably be inexpensive for a long time - unless you attend some sort of elite academy run by former Olympians - due to its background. I see BJJ prices slowly declining as more schools pop up. I think the initial high prices were not just a result of supply, demand and effectiveness but the fact that the instructor was doing it full-time. Like offering classes 6 days per week in the afternoon and evening, instead of a couple of die-hard old-timer Judo instructors taking time out of a busy schedule to do the non-profit approach at a local rec center 2 nights each week.

I know this isn't an option for everyone but what about - I'm thinking more about Judo here - a home dojo? I know one instructor who recently bought a house with a small metal building out back. He put down a good surface and fixed up the interior and now he has his own school. Mat time 24/7/365 and you are your own boss. Not too sure of the costs but I'm guessing that the investment will be recouped fairly soon.

[losttrak]

Some people do not understand the ethics of "grandfathering" people who have been with the school before new regulations are released. Basically, I never raised anyone's rates once set. Only newcomers were given the new amounts. I think it is only fair and a reward for loyalty. However, that is also why I will never be a full-time teacher. It seems that most people, once supporting themselves on their art, begin to lose sight of the art and focus on the business. Thus, according to my peers I will always be a martial arts business failure. In the preservation of combatative arts, I will be successful.