That Was a Great Class
- Lancaster Wing Chun Assoc.
- Mar 8
- 4 min read
by Sifu Nick Francis
Wow. What a great question!
What does make a great class?
Let's explore this question with sincerity, because in all honesty, I absolutely want every class to be the very best class.But can this even be done? I mean, every class?
Is this possible?
I think it is!!!
I don't think it is too much to ask
and certainly not to much, at the minimum, to at least strive for!
Let's look at this two ways.
Let's look at who is responsible for making a class great.
Contributor #1: The Instructor
I know that I certainly try the best I can to make every class great.
I mean, I really try hard.
I think about...
Who's there?
What personalities and learning styles are in the room?
What specific skillsets are present?
How do I make this fun?
How do I keep things engaging?
How can I make learning skills attainable?
Yet, keep everyone learning and growing?
Honestly, it's a lot to try to keep in balance.
Sometimes I get it right.
Sometimes I miss terribly.
This is precisely why I prepare as much as I can but often will only implement in part what I had actually wanted to train.
This is all in good Wing Chun form. I have to wait to see what is thrown at me before I can respond, or in this case, teach.
Even still, depending on who shows up for class, if we took a poll afterwards, I am quite certain that I would have fallen short for one reason or another...
If we were keeping score that is.
But...
Are we keeping score?
I don't think we are. I know I am not keeping score and honestly, I don't think any of our members are either.
I think something totally different happens here week after week.
What?
What happens?
Contributor #2: The Member
What do you think happens when members show up ready to offer the best of themselves?
They show up with...
Their best effort to learn.
Their best effort to encourage.
Their best effort to build their and other's skills.
Curiosity and their best questions.
The answer is simple.
Learning happens!!!
Friendship happens!!!
Laughter happens!!!
That's exactly it isn't it!
That's what makes a class great!
Learning makes a class great!
Showing up with virtuous effort & intent makes a class great.
Contributing with a playful and mindful attitude makes a class great.
Readiness and excitement make a class great!
Perhaps instead of thinking about how we make a class great, a better question may be how do we create the right environment for a great class to result?
Here is a short clip of a lecture given by the late Sir Ken Robinson who I think communicates this wonderfully.
So how do we do this specifically?
One way we do this is that we ask for participation.
Although I try to stay away from hard rules here at the Association, there is one that I try to never sway from. I have made promises to our members that I will not let people sit and watch.
Why? Simple...
I have never seen anything good come from passive observation.
Perhaps you are nodding your head in agreement or perhaps antithetically thinking,
Well OK... but what could really go wrong?
Now that is an easy question to answer.
LOTS!!!
In my experience, feelings of all kinds surface when you learn an art like Wing Chun. In fact, I describe Wing Chun as like a mirror. When you train Wing Chun you will come face to face with yourself over and over. Some things you discover about yourself will make you feel proud. However, you will also see other traits about yourself that will leave you feeling less than the image you like or prefer.
These traits and characteristics are to brought under self-mastery.
All of this only gets exacerbated when an individual feels watched or judged.
It is important to note here, that none of these attributes are actually the problem... because they are in each and everyone of us, waiting to be brought under our control.
These traits are only counterproductive and a hindrance when they rise and become our prominent, unbridled expression.
This is precisely why, whenever someone expresses the desire to join us, I first arrange a time to meet in person. Sometimes this is at the school, other times (more often than not), it is meeting at a local cafe (because I do love my coffee! 😀).
I greatly discourage walk-ins because long before we begin training, we acknowledge that nothing can replace building a foundation of trust.
We begin all our training with authentic listening and caring.
We begin with friendship.
Why?
To put it simple, if we are going to be hitting one another, it seems fitting to first create a space where we are affirmed that we're not trying to hurt anyone. We are not trying to embarrass anyone. We are not here to compete. We all already have enough obstacles in our normal lives that we don't want to, even unintentionally, add more
We are not here to add more challenges to our lives.
We are here to improve our lives! We are here to pursue understanding and even gain tools that make our lives more enjoyable, more happy, more healthy.
In my opinion, there is no greater help to learn to do this than to do so surrounded by friends helping get us closer to the future we so desperately want to create. |
"The Lancaster Wing Chun Association exists to build people through learning traditional Ip Man Wing Chun in a safe and supportive environment." |
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