Finding the right instructor?

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David
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Finding the right instructor?

Post by David » Tue Jan 22, 2008 1:40 am

I am planning on moving to Canberra in a few moths which will be great for me because it gives me a great opportunity to learn some new martial arts. Two in particular that I am interested in are Wing Chun and Baguazhan especially Baguazhan. I have looked both arts on the internet to get an idea of what they are all about but the two schools I am looking at do not have a website listed only a phone number. What sort of questions should I ask them and what kind of answers should I be looking for to try and find out if they are a serious and genuine instructor teaching the true art or not? Any help or advice would be greatly appreciated :) .

Richful_jedi
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Post by Richful_jedi » Wed Jan 23, 2008 10:13 am

Hi David,
I think the only way you can answer those questions is by attending class. Most Martial Arts schools in Australia have the first lesson free, you could visit each and see what their training is like.
Evaluating the true art is difficult. You have to know what the true art is to be a good judge, which comes with knowledge and experience...

Do you know why you want to practice Wing Chun or Baguazhan? Fighting, health, fitness, qi development? If you do you could gear your questions on those relevant points and have a go. My Bagua experience is limited to 4 lessons, perhaps someone with more could lend a seasoned perspective?
I hope this was of some help to you.

David
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Post by David » Wed Jan 23, 2008 3:37 pm

Thanks,
I want to practice them for all of the reasons you mentioned. I will attend a lesson or two once I get up there but I was hoping to suss them out a bit before I start. I know one thing to look out for is money, if they charge huge amounts of fees chances are they are in it for the money rather than passing the art on and keeping it alive.

I there some sort of international or Australian federation or head office for them?

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Linda Heenan
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Post by Linda Heenan » Wed Jan 23, 2008 3:55 pm

I'm not sure that lower fees would be a good indication of intent. If you think about it, an instructor who puts all his time into the art, has to have some way to live and support his family. He could have other jobs, which all take time away from the art. So someone charging more might actually have more to pass on. It's a tricky one. It costs money to hire a facility to train people. The fewer people being trained, the more attention they get but the more it costs them.

I agree with Richard. Try some things out and get some experience. You might find something you like so much and a teacher you find so helpful, that you decide to focus on just one martial art. If not ... well, it's all fun and you get some experience out of it.

David
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Post by David » Thu Jan 24, 2008 5:37 pm

I do see your point Linda, I remember my old Kobudo/Tai Chi instructor only charged $5 a lesson which was just enough to cover the hire of the hall and his petrol. When I left he told me that this was one thing to be wary of when looking for another teacher. It kind of reminds me of when a few months back I went to a local Ninjitsu Karate Dojo and they charged like $300 per quarter and after a bit of research it turned out (no offense intended) that they have no affiliation which anyone in Japan and they where "rouge agents" for lack of a better word. When It comes right down it is all about the teacher, I have no problems paying higher amounts, if the teacher is good he/she worth every penny.

I have much more experience in the Japanese side of thing and a lot of the Dojos here are either associated with or are a member of an Australian "federation" who are also connected to the head Dojo in Japan or directly connect to Japan. Is there something like this set up for Baguazhan? What kind of rank should a Baguazhan instructor have?

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Post by Bruce W Sims » Fri Jan 25, 2008 10:06 am

OK. I'm relatively new here and I certainly don't want to ruffle any feather, but I have to say that based on my own personal experience I think you are going at this all wrong.

Looking for a teacher by gauging tuition and paging through the telephone the direction is a very "American" approach.

You are not buying eggs or looking for who does the cheapest flooring installation. You are seeking out a teacher and that carries with it a very close relationship with another human being. You can expect to make a personal and intense commitment to this teacher and what he believes in. One of the first questions you will be asking yourself is whether or not this is a person you want to be like. You are not signing up for piano lessons, and if you approach MA in this manner I suspect you might want to reconsider your decisions.

When you get to OZ DON'T go to any SCHOOLS. Watch to boards to see where open events are posted and take in a couple. Talk to the STUDENTS who seem to be the kinds of people you want to hang with. The school you are looking for will make itself known to you when you are ready. You are working way too hard at MAKING something happen---- also a very "American" approach. If you have learned anything in your TAI CHI trainig so far, how about you start applying it now, yes? Thoughts?

Best Wishes,

Bruce
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Midwest Hapkido

"What man is a man, who does not make the world better?"

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Dan Fleet
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Post by Dan Fleet » Tue Jan 29, 2008 10:19 am

Interesting thoughts Bruce; although I'd say calling it "American" is a loaded term. It's really just "consumer" minded thought. Consumerism isn't just an American trait -- speaking as a non-American.


That being said, your core points seem valid to me. You definitely want a school that you will be comfortable in, both in terms of what is being taught, the skills of the teacher, but also in terms of the personalities and moralities of all involved.

I'd agree that teaching quality is not likely to be strongly correlated with tuition costs.

You also will likely find schools that don't advertise in the phonebook, but by word of mouth, or the occasional posters at community bulletin boards.

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J HepworthYoung
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Post by J HepworthYoung » Wed Jan 30, 2008 10:36 pm

I have a lot of respect for Wing Chun, they hold that their art was arranged through the influence of several arts including Tai Chi. I would ask about the internal aspects of their art, I believe that some WC schools focus more on this than others.

I met 5 WC sifus before I found one that I felt right with, I spend a couple hours with all of them covering basics and getting a feel for eachother.

I would avoid signing anything that doesn't allow you to have a way to discontinue the arrangement if something comes to light that would have prevented you from signing with the instructor or school in the first place.

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