I haven't done that for a while
Published: Mon, 04/08/13
Well it has been a while since I had to do that. Cancel a course I
mean. I have done it before but usually because some circumstances
have changed such as the venue not being available. On Friday I
discovered that of the people I though would be able to support the
event were otherwise engaged through work, family commitments,
politics and out of the three of us who might have been there two
of us were unwell. I am better today, but not fantastic, thanks for
asking.
Anyway it is the kind of situation that does give one pause to
think. I still believe that it is a good thing to make Stav
training available. I enjoy teaching and I am grateful for those
who have provided the opportunities for me to learn, Ivar in
particular but others too and I mentioned some of those in my last
posting. So I also want to give something back. But it does make me
think about what I should be offering. Which locations to use?
How long should courses be? Would four hours be better than the
whole day? How much should I be charging? What I charge at the
moment really only covers costs of hall hire, travel and a bit to
keep Ice and Fire going. Other training events I am aware of vary
enormously in cost. Fightcamp works out at about £25 per day
including camping (although I think they make it up at the bar!)
but training with Geof Thompson doesn't come cheap at all. Yet
either fills up.
Obviously content is important too, I have developed my own idea of
what training works for me on the martial arts side and that is
what I tend to concentrate on teaching. I realise that this
particular focus on Martial Arts may be getting a bit limited. I
am also very interested in the business of making a living and in
cultivating the spiritual life. The philosophy of Stav has been
very helpful to me in both of these areas as well as martial arts
training but I have been less willing to share in these areas for
some reason, I am open to discussion but you may not hear quite
what you expect.
On Sunday the 19th of May we will have an afternoon training
session at our place in Crewkerne between 2 and 5 pm. £5 per
person and you can stay for a cup of tea and a chat afterwards if
you are not in hurry to get away.
I also want to make the Summer Camp a chance to explore Stav as a
way of life. Yes I want there to be quite a bit of physical
training, that is the bit that can't be done over email and has
to be done face to face. But there will be time for talks and
discussion on other aspects too. Ivar will be there on the
Saturday and Sunday so if you are still thinking about coming but
not sure if it is for you then do feel free to contact me and ask
questions or make suggestions. Prorgramme at
http://www.iceandfire.org/calendar.html