A Sad Day

**ArtOfDefense** · Posted On: 9/02/2010 10:20am

We walk through the doors for the last time, we unhappy few.

The bags are drained, bones of my dream picked dry for pennies. Not many people show up for the last class, even less will likely continue to train, where would we?

We work hard together for the last time, a team split apart at the seams. It's difficult to keep focused during sparring when you keep noticing how bare the walls and mats are.

This was my second home, my university, my support group, and now it's gone. We make vague promises at attempting to keep together, but almost no one means it, the gym is what held us together.

PRivate lessons are offered, but I'm not swabbing the mats or teaching beginners now...not sure if I can pay. I have half-baked notions of opening a place myself, but if Pat couldn't make it work can I?

Bummer

**Vorpal** · Posted On: 9/02/2010 10:54am

My friend's JJJ Dojo closed. It was a great place, we did some good training and hard sparring there. Good times. In a recession things like MA lessons are the first to go. Sorry brother.

**Lebell** · Posted On: 9/02/2010 11:23am

seriously, grow a pair of fucking balls dude.
spare me this emo-crap of boohoohoo my club went belly up.

in a 100 years from now you'll be all dead.

suck it up.

**ArtOfDefense** · Posted On: 9/02/2010 11:28am

Originally Posted by Lebell

seriously, grow a pair of fucking balls dude.
spare me this emo-crap of boohoohoo my club went belly up.

in a 100 years from now you'll be all dead.

suck it up.

Yeah Yeah, I know.

IT's just that this isn't just a hobby for me, this is my future. It's like if the only Uni in your area closed down while you were halfway to a degree.

And you can blow me with that emo ****, if you didn't want to read me bitching you can jog the **** on. It's not like you've contributed any earth-shattering threads lately.:seppuku:

**Lebell** · Posted On: 9/02/2010 11:32am

Originally Posted by ArtOfDefense

Yeah Yeah, I know.

Then stfu.

IT's just that this isn't just a hobby for me, this is my future. It's like if the only Uni in your area closed down while you were halfway to a degree.

Cry me a river, got no future? Turn punk.
problem solved.

And you can blow me with that emo ****,

Hey now, YOU are the emofag here, not me, so im not blowing you, sorry.

if you didn't want to read me bitching you can jog the **** on.

Or else? you'll run to your room and slam the door really hard?
hahaha!
kids...

It's not like you've contributed any earth-shattering threads lately.:seppuku:

Oh mai..emokitty's got claws...

**Cannon_6** · Posted On: 9/02/2010 12:08pm

Stop cryin' and start swabbin'.

**ArtOfDefense** · Posted On: 9/02/2010 12:10pm

Listen here, listening to Simple Plan and fighting with your dad over how far past 10pm you can stay out with your boyfriend does not make you a punk.

But you actually made me feel better, so thanks? Annoyance is a far more useful emotion than sadness I guess.

I'm going to start looking into commercial space, I think it would be wrong of me to start a school without a black belt being earned, but I can start a club maybe, and have my team train together as equals...

**BackFistMonkey** · Posted On: 9/02/2010 12:13pm

Originally Posted by ArtOfDefense

Listen here, listening to Simple Plan and fighting with your dad over how far past 10pm you can stay out with your boyfriend does not make you a punk.

But you actually made me feel better, so thanks? Annoyance is a far more useful emotion than sadness I guess.

I'm going to start looking into commercial space, I think it would be wrong of me to start a school without a black belt being earned, but I can start a club maybe, and have my team train together as equals...

* shrugs*

Doesn't sound like a good idea.

**patfromlogan** · Posted On: 9/02/2010 12:14pm

lebell - go be "funny" somewhere else. Though true, starting swabbing might be a good idea.

It's shitty to have a good club die. It mostly leaves you with bad choices. A good group that's having fun training with good coaching is hard to find. It sucks. Sorry ArtOfDefense.

As an long time ma, I've seen lots of dojos go down:
1) Wado-Ryu (JIKC in HNL) went from being hard sparring sweat-fest to selling contracts...
2) Kajukenbo, after three years instructor was broke with two babies and split to Anchorage. It was a spar as hard as you wanted type atmosphere with lots of classes.
3) Kyokushinkai, Sensei said, "I've given 30 years to karate, now I'm going to play golf with my kids." At least we got 20 years out of it. It gave me a very high standard to compare other schools: we trained one hour, 45 aerobic (floor drills, kata, sd), 15 anaerobic (sparring, heavy bag) at a fast pace and he didn't waste time, like so many instructors have, bsing with beginners. Most quit within a month anyway, so it was, "Follow along the best you can, don't worry, you'll pick it up." And the ones who stayed picked it right up.
4) AK, instructor got busted
5) Chiroku Karate (+Judo/wrestling in the best school) best school and instructor went for a couple years and then just lost most of the students and energy (work, travel for main instructor) and it died. 2nd school instructor was too crazy and we left, then it died. 3rd school, instructor's wife had affair and did meth with another bb and it died...
6) Sports Academy karate club, went from kata and soft sparring to hard sparring + ground and almost all the students quit, blew us away, but they liked being (looking) "deadly" and didn't like training hard. Go figure. It went broke.

But the good news is that the fake bullshit TKD and the cult w/c are still in town :( , year after year. Oh, and there's some horrible Bobbie Lawrence karahtey crapola too. I'm a member of a small struggling kaju dojo, hope it lasts, I don't really have much hope. The instructor hasn't much charisma and believes in doing lots of Muai Thai type drills, over and over, which isn't much fun compared to the jolly bs in the Bullshido clubs.