It has been a long time since I posted. Not long after my last post I started getting involved more closely with Grandmaster Choi and was helping him with his web site. I was hoping to leverage my experience in web development and business to turn the site into a great marketing tool for the school and a great educational resource for the students.
Unfortunately, Grandmaster Choi didn't want suggestions. He wanted someone to do exactly what he wanted, when he wanted, no questions asked... It made going to the school VERY stressful. Every time I'd walk in, he'd have something he'd want changed...yesterday. I did make some suggestions and proposed some changes to him by showing what the site would look like and asking his permission to go ahead. I thought I had it and he understood what to expect, but several times got panicked calls from other students who were involved about how the site is "all messed up."
All this time I was teaching regularly and taking private lessons. My class seemed to be going great! One day last November I came in and was told that "everyone" was complaining about me and that someone else would be taking over my class. The way he did this, right before class and in front of all the students, was (in my opinion) very disrespectful. Who "everyone" was I couldn't tell you because those who took my class regularly had nothing but positive feedback. The way I was teaching last November was almost exactly the way I had been teaching for over a year, and exactly the way I taught when Grandmaster Choi was watching over me like a hawk and calling me "one of his best instructors." (I'm sure I did some things different from the other instructors and I'll likely comment on those in another post.) Anyway, after being treated with such disrespect, I knew I'd never be able to train there again. To this day, I have no idea what the real reasons were for my receiving such treatment, but am glad that I'm moving on...
When I started training in Isshinryu Karate in 1991 in Rochester, NY (http://www.rochesterkarate.com/) I was a student at RIT. Martial arts was my escape from the pressures of school. Sensei Matt Dorsey, and the other great instructors he has working with him, understood this. In 1996, I graduated with honors from RIT with a B.S. in computer engineering. The focus and dedication it took for me to do that was, in no small part, a result of my training with Sensei Dorsey. A "black belt" was not just something I got to wear about my waist, it was something I'd become. I will be forever grateful to Sensei Dorsey for this.
Training with Grandmaster Choi started out in a simlilar way. It was a great stress reliever and something I really looked forward to doing. I was learning a lot (especially having switched styles from Isshinryu to TKD) and really enjoying it! The problem was that as I got higher in rank, I also got closer to Grandmaster Choi. Normally, I'd say it's a good thing being closer to one's instructor. (One of my only regrets about my time in Rochester was that I wasn't able to get to know the folks there on a more personal level. I was either VERY busy with school, or out of town for vacation.) One of the other black belts at GM Choi's school (I won't name names) likened him to a flame. He said that it may seem like a good idea to get close, but you'll definintely get burned if you get too close. That should have been a warning...
A couple of months ago, I started training with a group of other Intel folks in the gym on Intel's Ocotillo campus. The classes are run by a VERY experienced TKD practitioner named Jeff Nelson, who is everything a great martial arts teacher should be! These classes have reminded me why I love martial arts training, so I hope to be posting more regularly now that I'm back to training more regularly... Thank you!!
No comments:
Post a Comment