Cycle of Students
Not long ago, at another school, a group of instructors were discussing difficulties with a student “just not getting it”. The kid in question was talented, flexible, and quick to grasp forms. But, socially, he was kind of a pain to have in class. At testing’s, tournaments and camps, he was most likely to do something inappropriate to embarrass himself or the school. All instructors know or have someone like that in their program.
Experienced school owners and instructors know students like that, like Drew Cain. Yes Drew Cain WAS that “Just not getting it” kid. He grew into a responsible young adult however, one that I was proud to work with at the school and proud to have up front teaching juniors and adults. You see students develop. It’s this very reason that I write about former students. It is because that is what helps me teach current students.
I had a student put on her sparring gear a not long ago and say, “He’s not going to hurt me, right”? --This same girl was riding a jet skis at the lake, and had people’s lives in her hands! I saw a young lady NOT break her boards 3 times in a row, but we finally got the concept into her head --She later ran two different schools for SABERTOOTH weeks at a time, and didn’t lose at a tournament for three years in a row. I’ve seen a girl afraid to come to class without her brother --That’s a girl who went off to college and just graduated from NYU! For our “Just not getting it” kids, I simply brought up their instructor “Mr. Drew Cain.” Light bulbs went off over their heads, if Mr. Cain stuck with it, we’ll be just fine. We here at Strickland’s have the experience and the precedents to make sure that can happen. It happened with Mr. Cain it can happen with your child as well.
I recently read an article Mr. Strickland put out about parents working with their kids to “Not let them quit”. Obviously, I’ve been doing this for almost 25 years as a volunteer, and both of my boys stuck with martial arts throughout their high school years, so I value the training, the camaraderie, the skills, and the mental value of martial arts training. Nevertheless, I always worry about it when school owners tell us how parents shouldn’t “let” the kids quit. In less successful schools, you always have to question if that is a financial ploy. In successful, vibrant schools such as the ones I am fortunate enough to teach in, there is a very different reason. I have a friend/training partner who is a single parent, having lost a spouse to cancer. His child has struggled with that, obviously. That child isn’t particularly coordinated, not particularly inspiring in class, a little overweight, and has decided after a couple years that it is time to quit. What quitting means is that the kid won’t get the physical opportunities, the self-confidence boost, the discipline and the structure which martial arts does indeed provide. It means that a group of adult instructors who care about the student, and who are trained to help develop exactly those traits will not have the opportunity to impact the student in a positive way. It means that single parent will have to shoulder more of the load in helping with all aspects of the child’s life, while maintaining a parental responsibility as well. It is quite a load to carry, and he is a friend that we won’t be able to help much with it now.
Every family has to make their own decisions about activities they will support. For the instructor crew, our goal is to support the people, young and old, who come through that door. As long as they keep coming in – we’ll be “All about the student”. Mr Vickroy.
