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Since my last 'bloggy' post a great deal has happened. I went to Nottingham directly after the last post proper and learned how to do things back of house a lot more effficiently.
Sensei Ken Robson welcomed me into his Dojo and home for a whole inspirational week that has given me momentum by which I feel I am still being carried.
Basically as a teacher I am very confident, as a student I am also confident, in both cases more because I am not afraid of failing. As a Manager however, failure simply is not an option. The fate of the Shudokan Dojo depends on my ability to manage and grow the school.
The week I spent in Nottingham really gave me the tools to do that effectively. In fact just by the internal changes I made on returning the school started to grow exceptionally fast.
It occurred to me that, not having staff like Nottingham Dojo, i would have to emulate the systems of management some other way. Most obviously as an example the team in Nottingham have a daily brief, or meeting in the morning where they rate how they're feeling and the order of business for that day. So I simply emulated that ritual but on my own, or by skype with other Dojo owners/managers.
It's still hard sometimes to motivate oneself.
I am constantly at odds with my own pathological lethargy and a little bit of 'lonely soldier' feeling which can become quite daunting.
The other counter productive emotion I struggle with is the old school martial artist unwilling to tout our wares for fear of looking like a cursed 'mcdojo'.
I am thus far satisfied with my conduct. I will keep you informed.
The problem arises in me somewhere deep in my desire to truly follow 'Budo' as a way of living. It is hard indeed for the true Budoka to associate himself with profit making. It is harder still to commit oneself to 'selling' ones art like a gym or sports bar.
The first year of my move into professional martial arts is nearly over.. So far I am really liking it and it looks like it will only get better.
09-29-2009 11:28 AM 