Curriculum revamping

[ginosifu]

[Franc]

[SifuYui]

[vaulander]

This is going to sound really stupid and arrogant, coming from a beginner like me, but before I put up the 'Self-Learning' thread and met my sifu, the boys and I had a curriculum going, based on Tae Kwon Do and the levels implied on the Kwong Wing Lam Hung Gar progression. Of course, now realizing how much I don't know about even the basic sets, it seems rather silly. When I first started teaching, I just taught what I knew with no thought of a 'school' or rankings of any kind. However, a woman wanted her son to learn martial arts, but both the price and the conduct at the school he went to left a bad taste in my mouth. Four belts in a year, and when I asked him to show what he had learned... it was nothing. She paid something close to 200 dollars for this. Another girl where I work had gotten 6 belts in two years, one of them a camouflage pattern belt. As she rose in ranks, the tuition fee went up, since she was learning more 'advanced' stuff like weapons, and she helped teach the kiddie class for free. That is, she paid her monthly fee to teach in this program. Hell, I love to teach, and I get great satisfaction from good students, but I don't love it enough to pay to do it.
So, at the time I was training with a guy who was neither reliable or serious, but at the time it was the only sparring partner I had, and I decided that this mother and her son would get serious training. This was before I got into the Hung Gar. So I made up a curriculum that would at least make the boy comparable to serious yellow belts, checking and researching the most common ranking requirements around. When I met and started training with Scott and Derrick, and realized that the current 'curriculum' was still laughably short, I spent some time revising it. Here is the most recent, and now pretty worthless curriculum, as I've turned away from 'forms collecting' and want to get deep on the Kung Gee:

Forms imply also understanding and drilling Techniques from them.

Yellow: Arrow Hand and Lau Gar Kuen Forms
Front snap kick
Side kick
Round kick
Inside and outside Crescent kicks
Axe/hammer kick
Back kick
Hook kick

Green: Kung Gee and Monkey King Staff Forms
Back hook kick
Back crescent kick
Tornado kick crescent and round.
Iron broom sweeps front and back.

Blue: Tiger Crane, Tiger Crane Sparring, and weapon form of choice: 9 province eyebrow staff, Thri-section staff, or Butterfly swords.

Red: Five Animals, Five Animals Five Elements. 2nd chosen weapon form and sparring set vs the other chosen weapons. (Staff on staff, staff on butterfly, staff on thrisection, butterfly vs thrisection, for example.)

Weapon form progression:

Staff: Monkey King Staff (Green, all students,) Shaolin Nine Province Eyebrow Height Staff (Blue, chosen weapon,) 5 Tigers Catch the Lamb Staff (Red, advancing chosen weapon,) Two person Staff Sparring and/or Staff vs Butterfly Swords, and/or Staff vs Thrisection staff (must be worked out among ourselves.)

Butterfly Swords: Southern Butterfly Swords (Blue, chosen weapon,) Coiled Dragon Butterfly Swords (Red, chosen weapon advanced,) Butterfly Swords vs Staff, and/or vs Thrisection (self created set,) and/or vs Butterfly Swords (self created set.)

Thrisection staff: Li Jing Basic Form (Blue,) WLE Shaolin Thrisection staff (advanced Red,) Thrisection vs Staff, and/or Butterfly Swords, and/or Thrisection.

If we stick with this, and practice every 'level' until it is solid, we are looking at 10-15 years just to get and understand red belt/sash. Then again, as I said in the other thread, I have fallen in 'love' with Kung Gee Fook Fu, and I like the black and yellow color combination, so there's really no point in a curriculum anymore, never mind that I have no authority whatsoever to actually grade someone, he he.
Cheers!
V.

[Subitai]

Wow, so much I'd like to say....


laukarfei: I think i'm in love with you or at least what you wrote in that 1st post. I've been feeling that way for years.

Not to mention you know a Pinoy (ahem... like me also) who shares my views..."YOU KEEP GOOD COMPANY MY FRIEND"

I'm not sure if you totally agree with my views but it sounds like you do. Especially the part where you talk about "using modern equipment and research"

There is a reason why my quote is always at the bottom of my posts...

Old school HG practiced only VS old school HG will not address everything!!!

*** I'm not saying you should try to address ALL ( thats impossible) but a little flexibility and Openess to others ideas is very important.

+++++++++++++++++++++++
TT,
Dude why did you have to mention about pissing matches? Man I've been so turned off from this Forum because of all the GOODY GOODYS Peace and LOVE.

For a long time now, I feel I've tried to be cooperative and lovey Dovey, but for PEETS sake....I tried to ask IronPalm what his name was or any tid bit of information. His response was..." No, I don't want pissing matches" ...bla bla bla. I felt a bit offened because i'm open and he could easily look me up, yet I'd know literally nothing behind his name beside a pseudonym. Anyway I still stayed cool and followed that path and "HE" would be hard pressed to find any posts of mine where i've been pissing on someone.

And now when LauKarfei says something very interesting (and Agreeable), you thow the pissing flag. Dude don't kill his flow...I'm begging you.

I like you TEN...you share allot of my views as well. But I think i'm starting to change my mind about this forum. If people are going to be all LOVEY DOVEY yet NOT at least Reveal a who they are then i'm all for EXCITEMENT....SCREW IT.

I'm starting to think, Forum wise... I miss the GOOD old Days when MARK HO wanted to Kick everyones ASS!!! Sometimes this forum could use a good kick in the pants, you know???

++++++++++++++++

Shout out to brother Gino!! I like your flow too.

++++++++++++++++

PM,
Reason I wrote most of that is because I feel I can't say what I really think half the time on this forum. The Status Quo might get challenged and Ideas might get threatened.

It's no fun if you can't speak your mind.

[TenTigers]

Hey Br"O",
relax, you can piss all over the place if ya want. (just don't piss down my back and tell me it's raining!;-)
I agree with Laukarfei's points as well, I just didn't want it to start going back and forth and have to wade through a bunch of posts.
As far as all of us giving group hugs, high fives, and singing,"We are a Family.." You gotta admit, for the most part, we all seem to be on the same page, and when we dissagree, we "agree to dissagree," which is a helluva lot better than dealing with some of the azoles on some of the other forums.
Mark Ho, when you caught him in when the moon wasn't full, shared some good info on the SF, and his interviews on youtube were very insightful.
Hey as far as IronPalm goes, I guess some people have their guards up. I suppose he's got his reasons. You know how political some of these families get, but for the most part-everyone here is pretty up front about who they are.
Anyway, stick around here and feel free to dissagree. If it makes ya feel better, I'll call you a **** from time to time, so it feels like the Good Ol' Days.

[markt]

[TenTigers]

[banditshaw]

[PM]

[laukarfei]

[TenTigers]

Laukarfei-feel free to keep posting-in fact we want you to keep active and vocal. Most of us are in agreement with what you said.
I only sought to maintain the topic, and I seem to have in my attempt-derailed it myself! Go figure!
So, please accept my apologies.
And not everyone here is a teacher. And those of us who do teach, still consider themselves lifelong students.
I started teaching reluctantly. I wanted to open up a school one day, but not as early as I did. I would've liked at least another 10-15yrs. experience first.
But I was leaving another school,(a franchised McDojo) and my students said,"Open up your own school. We'll come with you" and the rest is history.

funny thing-so I opened with about twenty students, and I told them, 'Ok, now you're gonna see what it's like to train for real." So we did conditioning-knuckle pushups in the parking lot, sam-sing on the phone poles, breakfalls on concrete, bare knuckle sparring, samjien....and in two weeks, all but five students stayed. They all ran back to the McDojo!

[ginosifu]

I have a few questions if I could ask all the teachers here.
I run a commercial school. However I have maintained traditional Hung gar class for those individuals that want more in depth training. Normally I can have anywhere from 6 - 10 students in my class and ranges from beginner to advanced students. They train 3-4 days per week, 2 hours each day
How do you teach beginners:
Do you run a group class where all ranks train together?

Do you pull the beginners to the side until they have enough skill to keep up with the rest?

Do you run class drills; take everyone in row(s) and have all ranks to participate in the drill / form at the same time? If so how do you deal with people whom can not keep up?

Do you have different ranks doing different drills at the same time according to their skill level? and if so; do you walk around and correct each student?

Do you re-teach techniques / forms if students have forgotten what you have already given them?

Do you teach iron skills (iron palm / iron body) as a part of daily regimine or part of certain level of achievement?

I will think of more questions, however my soln is awake now.
ginosifu

[PM]

[ginosifu]