Getting rid

[GJEC]

Note: "No names"

Some instructors are like prospectors. They stick a claim in to an area or town, get permission to run a dojo and all is well. Unless they commit a crime they are in a safe place.

But what if it goes wrong? Interest fades. Jobs change. Relationships change. Sometimes an instructor is no longer doing their best.

Few organisations have a way to deal with this and to be honest few seem to want to, especially if fees are still coming in.

I know in Enshin, Kancho is quite willing to let people go if they're not pulling their weight. How do other groups deal with this? Are they given time to get their enthusiasm back, or voted out and gotten rid of? My view is that once a club is established no one person - even the founder - is irreplaceable and the members needs come first.

Gary

[senshido]

Interesting point and one I have not thought about.... yet!

[meguro]

Did I ever tell you the story of my uncle? He is an old school karate man, but more to the point ran a rather successful fast food franchise. He was doing business so well that headquarters allowed another franchisee to set up shop just down the road. This is different than the Karate claim situation, but not entirely. Headquarters/honbu reserves the right to change its stance towards protected areas when conditions warrant change. And my uncle ended up selling his franchise, finding a better location and establishing a better business all his own.

[GJEC]

Fair play to him!

I wasn't meaning having the rug pulled from under your feet by the organisation though. I was talking more of when enthusiastic students are no longer getting committed quality instruction.

People change, Instructors are not immune to that. When I knew I couldn't give 100% I stood down, but luckily I was not relying on the dojo for any part of my income.

Some lose heart but - not to mince words - don't lose interest in the money. Students still pay and turn up but the atmosphere cools. Eventually people vote with their feet but it can be painful to watch. Without intervention all that energy is squandered.

Gary

[meguro]

The unspoken part about martial arts is business management. Besides keeping up with training and new ideas (there ought to be), Karate organizations should have regular reviews where branch chiefs get together and just discuss business- not how to soak the clientele but how to serve them better and in the end make the organization stronger.