Interesting....

[Bob Davis]

...or at least I found it so.

I'd offered to teach a lunchtime class at the company I work at, (large company), just on the basis it'd be a bit of fun and something to do. As part of that I sent out a small questionnaire to see what the people who'd expressed an interest wanted to do so I could tailor something for them.

The options basically consisted of:
a)Traditional Karate
b)Exercise for fitness
c)Exercise for flexibility
d)Martial sport
e)Self defence.

What I found was that while some lip service was paid to exercise and self defence (they were surprisingly low on the list) the majority wanted to have a go at a traditional karate class for the benefits of the mental and physical discipline and formality it offered. There were no takers for "sport".

Whilst these people have a limited understanding of the actuality at present I found it interesting that "Traditional" was top of their list.

This is a small sample of 9 but it's unusual to get to ask what people want rather than "this is what's on offer" and I was pleasantly surprised by the result.

[tomobrien]

Been there, done that! The people I wound up with were not serious. Good luck to you though. Hope it works out.

[malk103]

I've asked a few people at work, most of them either don't understand it or think you will learn some "secret" moves to become an instant killing machine.

My Sensei has also had someone who wanted a Black Belt so they could take on anyone...

Most didn't really want to put in the effort to get there but liked the idea of getting a Black Belt, they couldn't see that it was the journey and not the goal.

I think Traditional attracks more interest as most people recognise the spiritual calm of a good MA.

[th0mas]

Hi Bob

Have you persuaded Mr Tetlow to come along?

Cheers

Tom

[Bob Davis]

Different site, although we're all moving down the Bedfont Lakes next year so we'll see