Over the years, I saw lots of students leave the school. Many of these long-time students were also family members. Most of them still wish to train in Kempo with me, yet the sheer distance involved doesn’t facilitate the desire. To solve this dilemma, I’ve decided to do something anathema to “true” martial arts teachers. I’ve decided to work with them through a remote training program.
This method of training brings up such scorn because the art is physical. Other humans need to act as partners, uke, and visual reference. Teachers need to adjust the rising horse stance. Teachers must remind students about the foot position and the power of the strike. These things require someone there to move the elbow, strike the pressure point, and demonstrate the critical element misunderstood by the student.
Some instructors see distance training as selling out. However, the sense of selling out is often the cry of instructors with limited business sense who lament that they can’t afford to do it full-time. I, on the other hand, don’t teach as my career. I have a job that I enjoy. I teach because I love teaching, and it is rewarding.
The modern age requires adaptation to new technology and the use of notebooks and videos to record our practice as a mental reminder. Why not use the Internet and its wonderful tools to help teach? At work, we use the Internet to train others all the time. I’ve taken challenging online classes that taught me the information I needed. Kempo training can do the same. After all, many other Masters already do too.
Over the years, I noticed that there are problems that all students have. How to bridge the gap between the good and the bad? You need to test and see me during the course so I can correct the problems. I can see most of them via video, but some need hands-on adjusting. I say the same things over and over again. I’ll save my voice if I can record it and play it.
So the point of this mental exercise is I’m working on something now. You are extending the dojo into cyberspace with online videos, forums, and my lectures in blog form. You’re already reading the first segment of this concept. If you’re a former SKK student with no school nearby and want to continue your training, volunteer to be a guinea pig. If you’re interested in learning more now that you’re a Black Belt (and not in a school with your instructor), sign up too.
The point is you limit yourself with your conception of limits. I choose to think outside the box and learn in a limitless fashion. Join me.
