Student Numbers???

This is just a general interest question.
First off how big is your average class
Second if its a very large class do you need to get private lessons to reach higher levels. Does your sifu teach form infront of the junior members

My class has always been small and at the moment is only about 5 of us, 4 of us being there for over 3 years.
We had 2 new students last lesson, we did our normal class then sifu sent them home before we went on to forms.
He also doesnt like to teach to much practical of forms in class. His rates for private lessons for long time students are insanely cheap so i know its not about money. He just seems to be 'very' shy about teaching things infront of people who are not yet at that level.
Guess im just asking what others classes are like
Also if they are large [ie over 20] than how is your class done to suit each level of student
Any replys would be great even if its just your class numbers

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In my old school we had up to 40 people in class.then when it was time for advanced studies we broke down into groups depending on level white & red sash,blue & green sash,yellow & black sash.For me it was better to take private classes i like the one on one training plus you do advance faster.My sifu also would send newer students home,because as a beginer it's hard to focus on the basics when you see more advanced forms.

At my new school i'm the only student my sifu has accepted.I have a sihing who comes around a lot ,but he's not training right now because of his work.

My sifu teaches only people he feels will be good for our style.people he thinks can pass on blacktiger style the traditional way.money is not an issue he is offered money daily to teach other masters just one form ,and he turns down students almost everyday.I got lucky he saw something in me and decided to accept me as a disciple. He is not sure if he will teach classes again because he does not like to teach the commercialized way.

jmd161

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I'll explain 2 different classes I've trained in:

Goju Ryu Karate: Class size was about 10-20. Whe would warm up, do movements across the floor, and similar exercises as a class. For Kata, Sparring, Self-Defense and other stuff we would split up. But split up were kinda rare. Most of the time we stayed as a group.

Sil Lum 5 Family Fists: Class size is 4-12. After saluting in the highest ranked split up to work on what they need or help us if need be. We are split up most of the time which is good because we get a lot of help individually. Usually we rotate classes so that everyone gets help one night or another. Beginners get real lucky because they always are broken up and helped out. Division is always done by rank.

Sifu knows a LOT of stuff and when he gets rolling its hard to get him to stop (why would we want him to!). Usually that means we sometimes jump ahead of ourselves. But there is always an intended audience for his demonstrations, and if you're not that audience its considered rude by whomever IS teaching you for you to not be paying attention to what needs to be worked on. But there is material that is only shown behind closed doors. Our school has its secrets. Muwahahaha!

For me the classes are on a more private level. I don't get to the public classes as much as I'd like but our class consist of seven people. There is a group of four seniors and three juniors. One senior memeber teaches the three juniors every day, rotating the seniors giving them teaching time. I like the smaller class because a lot more gets done.

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i am lucky in this point
only me and my real bother train

usually its about 4, but it can get as high as 8.

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Seems to me that a lot of us doing tcma are in pretty small classes really.
This is a good thing for us as it means that were getting good personal teaching. Still makes me think a bit about the future. If the average tcma instructor has less than 10 students of that no more than 1-2 would go on to teach. If either of those two stop then the line dies right then and there.
Ive also noticed in these days most people dont learn with the intension of teaching. Ive been taught very slowly and exactly so that ill be able to pass the system on but many people simply train for fitness or defence or one of many other reasons. This is in no way a bad thing, it just makes me wonder how our arts will be in another 200 years. Considering that the average student will not have the same understanding.
Compare this with China in the 1800's when there where hundreds of schools around and each had many students and usualy several closed door students as well.
Guess im just speculating as to the future of tcma and how its going to spread over in the west.
Do you think it will remain pure or will it slowly become something very different.

Anyone wanna comment

__________________
Up and down, forward and backward, left and right, its all the same. All of this is done with the mind, not externaly.
--------------------------
Shen, Yi, Qi
--------------------------
One race - Human!

I think you have hit upon an very deeply troubling point. It does appear that the truely loyal and deeply committed students in tcma is almost dwindling out of sight! I have had 16 students at once in a class and I teach tcma, but I also had higher rank students helping as they have another class that I focus on their specific training needs in. They do, however, gain much insight and knowledge from helping with teaching as I feel that is an integral part of learning all the aspects and sides to one's martial art. The largest was a kids class at a community center and that was 32 children!!

It does seem that due to the consumer fast pace life of our society, not many are heading the call to class for an extended period of time to get far enough to be instructors and carry on the lineage and hence smaller classes. It is sad indeed but I am sure, as mentioned, that in the past the old masters felt such sadness, especially when governmental pressure and persecution added to the underground evolution of the teaching of the arts. Smaller classes do seem to help in keeping students that really want to learn around because that ratio of students appear to point to the more dedicated staying and the other "McStudents" leaving when it is not "fun" anymore or quick in satisfaction, so maybe it is good...time will tell.

Our art might end up with fencing and other "archaic" historical legends associated with "uselessly out of date (i.e. guns)"...ha ha. Due to the massive media ability of internet and tapes, we might never see it dwindle out of sight completely but it might cause more and more study at home masters being born that lack the hands on feeling and experience. Plus, students will have a deluded image of what it's really like to train intensly in person and never gain the truely deeper meaning.

My only personal concern is that the fast food type of modern approach lacks the philisophical or religious undertones that promote spirituality and a higher purpose to the arts. I kind of feel that the farther it moves form a "Shaolin" or Shorinje" quasi religious imagry that it becomes more like full contact fighting only serving to brutalize the symbolism associated with the arts.

Yes, I got a little of the topic but I wanted to put that 2-cents in to show my deeper reasoning..

Thats a good point.

I'm doing CLF in college so every year at the Freshers Day we get around 50 people signing up for it. At the first training session we get around 40 people turning up and then it just dwindles down. The first year it was offered in college we had 5 students (2 girls), the second year we had 6 students (5 new people, 2 girls) and this year its around 12 (5 students from last year, 1 girl and around 7 new people)
Generally the way we work it, we all do your warm ups together and do general stuff, and then we split up, one or two of the advanced people will take the beginners and teach them and our Sifu will teach the advanced students and we kinda rotate it around, so everybody gets time with Sifu. And for the last 20 minutes or so, the class is finished for the beginners, but they can stay if they want to, and we (advanced) do some more training.

Its basically the same for our Sifu's main club which is in a different town, but classes there are a bit bigger, but in general there is a good kernel of students who are very dedicated.

I suppose its hard to teach a group of people who are all at a different level of training, so we also focus on learning how to train other people, that way beginners can come to me and ask me questions, and I can also go to students above me and ask them questions and so far its working out very well.

Galadriel

I don't know about the average class, but my class wasn't too big. It was only about 10 of us. Most of the time though, only 5 of us would be there. I also took private lessons, there it was just me and my two brothers.

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My school has about 50 to 75 students all together. Most of them beginners who will quit anyway. There are three different groups, beginners, intermident, and advanced. I'm in the advanced class, which has about 8 to 12 students a class. What we do is warm up, do technique, then start on forms. We work from the intermident forms until we reach were the most advanced student is at. If we have time we will spar a bit, but that doesn't always happen.

“	Do not focus on what must be done, you already know that. But rather, focus on how it will become done, and done right.	”

In our classes, we have about 10-15 per class. We do our stretching and warm-ups together, and then the lower belts have one area in the practice hall to work with an instructor, and the higher belts have another area where then work with an instructor. That way, the newer student's don't get confused by the more advanced moves of the more experienced students.

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Hurt rather than maim,
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I teach a college club, @10-15 students, hard to say, because they are so fickle! I have maybe 6 students who have stuck with it more than a year. My personal trainig was mostly private, in the back yard of an apartment complex at 3 in the morning kind of thing. Of course, I don't try very hard to fill up our training area and I charge 20 bucks a month for twice a week, 2 - 3 hour training sessions. I have special little seminars and stuff, like bouncer training, I might have 20 or 30 guys at that. I have only been teaching for a year and a half or so, this is an easy way to test out how to run a school without having the expenses of one. (My kung fu teacher started the club, and I took over when he moved away)

Oh Yeah, Also I have a work scholarship program. Students who can't pay get a 10$ an hour credit to come over and do chores aroumd my house. One thing I am committed, to never turn away people because they cannot pay (now not WANTING to pay is another thing) My sifu's sifu charges 75 an hour for privates, and I usually throw down about 2 to 3 grand a year to train with him.

how do u discover if the person can or can not pay

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