|
Now, your first question is probably "how much
does it cost?" but we're going to ignore that and pretend
you said:
What is the Young
Forest Club?
An oddity, mostly. Although we are a
'backyard' school in size, we are more like a commercial school in terms
of accessibility.
What does this mean? Typically, in 'backyard'
or 'garage' clubs, the student enrolment is usually low, the school's
style is not watered down for mass appeal and gaining admittance can be a
real chore if the right people aren't willing to sponsor you.
In commercial schools, because the instructor is
paying a higher rent, and more for lights and heating, etc. he or she is
very interested in attracting as many students to join and pay their fees.
Occasionally, the school might be the instructor's sole means of support.
In a situation like that, scaring off potential students would be the
financial equivalent of slitting one's own throat. So what happens?
The curriculum is geared towards the lowest common denominator, made a
little flashier perhaps - more attractive to the average student, but less
useful for actual self-defense.
So where does the Young Forest Club Fit in All This?
Other than the fact that we are easy to find, and it
isn't that onerous to join, we are not a commercial club. At
absolute capacity, we can only take about 20 students, and 16 is about the
upper limit for comfort. Because nobody is making their living here,
we have no interest in making things more palatable for the consumer.
We recognize this isn't the club for everyone, and can recommend a
different school if we feel it would serve a potential student's needs
better.
Everybody has different needs. Some people want belt ranks and a strict
hierarchy, others want less structure. We
would prefer that a student find the school that fits best, whether that
is us or someone else.
Then What Will I Learn?
It is extremely difficult to nail down our
curriculum, mostly on purpose. One
of our strengths is that we recognize that every student is different and
that a single approach is not sufficient to handle the variety of needs,
interests and physical attributes of each person.
Consequently, we don’t believe that there is one
true way that will solve everybody’s problems.
Students are encouraged to explore, experiment, question, revise,
and discover what works best for that individual.
Stop me if you’ve heard this one:
While on a business trip,
an avid golfer manages to squeeze in a golf game on one of the local
courses.
One of the holes is just
wicked – a big dogleg around a lake.
The caddy mentions that just last week he caddied for Tiger Woods,
and that Woods used a 2 iron for this particular problem.
“A 2 iron?” asks the
golfer, incredulous. The
caddy shrugs.
Well, if it’s good
enough for Tiger Woods, he decides, selects
the 2 iron and plunk, his ball goes straight into the middle of the
lake.
“Sonovabitch,” says
the caddy. “Same thing
happened to Tiger.”
What Martial Arts Styles Do You
Teach?
Siling Labuyo Arnis
(SLA) is a modern, hybrid creation based in
Filipino martial arts. All students start by learning the same
basic structure, but very early on we focus on the development of
an optimal personal method.
Most martial arts
try to change the student's movement to match the style. In
SLA, we turn it around and work with the natural abilities that a
person has, simultaneously tailoring the training to fit them.
If you are searching for a place to train, we recommend contacting
us with your questions, then come in and either watch or participate
in a class. The only way to know if this is the club for you
is to give it a try.
Email us at guro@youngforest.ca
|
