Hello again...

been a spell, hasn't it?

To be clear Mike's blogs got me thinking...and that can only be trouble. Two things that are going to appear here (when I finish them that is) are tutorials on creating your own padded master's jacket, and crafting a pollaxe simulator.

How have classes been? To be honest...a bit rubbish really. I'm fine teaching the very new, but now that so many of us are moving beyond that stage I find that I'm a little out of my element. I've been focused on bringing new techniques to the group, yet feeling that that wasn't truly what was needed.

I think the format of the classes needs to change in a series of radical ways.

1. We have many of the skills we need at this point, and while there needs to be a "drip-feed" of new ideas/techniques I can see that what we truly need is a set of drills and activities that will focus on improving certain areas: fitness, reactions, offense, defense, etc. Ultimately, what I think needs to happen is that our classes need to spend more time improving our core skills.

2. Another area that ought to change is how we structure the costs/tuition issue. I don't know about you, but I hate standing up at the end of class and collecting the rent. If I could I would do this for free. There is one among you that has on occasion paid in advance for the month...I like this guy and I like his style. Now, I have a couple of choices here...I can:
A. "keep things as they are."
B. "encourage the membership to opt into this new policy out of kindness"
C. "encourage the membership to opt into this new policy by raising the cost of individual lesson, and offering a discount for prepayment."

As always, your thoughts are valued and appreciated on any of these points.