To catch a thief

What a tragic state of affairs that we have to have CCTV in the gym but low and behold its proven its worth already. 

When I joined the club fifteen years ago we had around 6 people training in each class and the booking in routine consisted of writing your name on a scrutt of paper and putting your money in an old ice cream tub on the floor. We had no standing orders or monthly payments and very little equipment in comparison to nowadays. 

The whole club was run on trust and everyone was expected to play their part, needless to say it NEVER worked, Kru Jon was always having to ask people "if they had paid" and was confronted with the same blank faces I get now when asking a question. The fact is that the club was being robbed lesson after lesson by the very people who should be caring for it.

Rent at the time was £12 per hour, we had to give the owners £24 per class for the air conditioned studio that we used to hire. Subs was still £6 per class (yes no price rise in 15 years) One particular lesson with 8 people training, didn't generate sufficient money to pay the rent and not one of the scumbags owned up to not paying, not only did Jon have to give his time up for free to teach - but also had to finance the rent. 

Completely typical of peoples morals.

Year after year stuff would go missing including training pads (one at a time), tea and coffee, toilet rolls - yes Toilet Rolls!! Club equipment would get damaged and subs wouldn't be paid all by the students of the club - just goes to show you that everyone is in it for themselves and nothing else matters.

With the opening of the new gym earlier this year (Feb 13) we decided to get CCTV installed, this was partially to protect the assets that we'd accumulated over the years, partiality to protect the students whilst in the gym, partially to protect the instructors while teaching and finally because a new wave of thieves had infiltrated the gym taking money from the till, alcohol that was left over from the party and the aforementioned. 

The week before CCTV was installed and before the announcement of CCTV had been made, the first report of theft in the new gym came in. A rather inexpensive pair of gloves (but sentimental to the owner nevertheless) had been accidentally left in the gym after training. When the owner returned the following day they had vanished. (probably accidentally jumped into the thief's bag while he wasn't looking)

A Facebook campaign was started to try and locate them with nobody owning up, ruling out any accident. Several days passed, CCTV was partially installed and the hope of finding the gloves was fading fast. 

We'd actually only installed one camera when the gloves turned up in the communal box, intrigued the senior instructors rewound the hard drive to see the culprit, fortunately the thief had positioned a training bag right within view and we witnessed the criminal take the gloves from a bag, train with them for the duration of the class before putting them back in the communal box.

Needless to say we were all for dishing out our own suitable punishment, however we decided to firstly check Facebook & report it to the police. The dumb thief had seen all the posts on Facebook and even liked one of them, this proved that the person was fully aware of what had happened and it had given the person concerned the opportunity to come forward and confess - not likely.

That person obviously doesn't train at the club anymore and was reported to the police, the lynch mob was not deployed and the CCTV with 6 internal cameras is here to stay!

Facebook Produces Liars

Beware people, if your going to come up with elaborate excuses why you can't train make sure that your social networks back up your BS.

One of our club rules is that you let your instructors know if you can't make training. This was very controversial when first introduced with it being likened to being at school. For the brainless amongst you we are a school, a prestige Academy where we teach an ancient art that was used on the battlefield to despatch the enemy. If you want that privilege then you must follow the rules.

Your instructors listen to your request and feedback, there is nothing worse than adhering to a promise made to a student and then the student dosent turn up - often requesting the same class when he returns the next lesson. Likewise when when new starters turn up and were missing key members - it makes the club unprofessional. You are lucky that instructors are willing to repeat classes for the absent.

Irrespective of wether we are a Martial Arts Club or not, isn't it just manners? respect for your instructors? Maybe we should introduce a penalty? If you don't turn in for work without letting your employers know I suspect they pat you on the back an say "oh well" - not! They start the disciplinary procedure eventually resulting in dismissal - and some amongst us wonder why they are unemployable?

You can use any media available to contact your instructor - Text, Phone Call, Whatsapp, Skype, Twitter, Facebook, Bebo, Pintrest, MySpace or email its not difficult in 2013 to communicate! Just make sure your telling the truth because these very social networks usually find the BS..

We've had family members dying followed by pictures of drunken antics at BBQ's, Stuck at work and running commentary of football matches, got no money and photos of new purchases or extravagant nights out!! I'm not saying dont do these things - we only live once! Just don't lie about it.

Parental Responsibility Confusion

Over the years I've met every type of parent, ones that frankly couldn't care less, those who interfere far too much, the mothering sort, the absent figures, all strongly believe they are doing the absolute best for their loved ones, in most cases they aren't doing a bad job after all the kids are alive, social services aren't involved and by throwing money at each new venture ensures the kids are happy in their hobby - right? - Wrong!

Parents are like dog owners in the fact they can't and won't be told that they are responsible for their kids actions, their likes or dislikes. 

Whatever the reason a child finds a new hobby the chances of them sticking at it depend on a couple of factors, the main by far is the quality of support given by the parents. Why do kids like the same football team as their parents? Its because football is a common discussion and debating point in most households, kids love to have something in common with a parent, they can debate with an adult on a mutual hobby and often the child is rewarded with a uniform to wear, trips to see the team, enrolment into the local club and so the cycle continues.

If the chosen hobby is not football the same support is required, in Muay Thai don't presume that you can drop them off, pay your fees, and throw money at the club for every event going and expect things to be great - you as parents have a responsibility to continually speak to your children about their hobby and more importantly keep the club informed as regular feedback, watch classes, come on social events with your child, encourage them with gradings and fights.

A common misconception is that the child loses Interest in their hobby the reality is far from it, its parents that lose interest - they disengage with the club, hobby and in turn the child. They don't watch, they don't ask questions, they become completely oblivious to whats going on and what the children are doing. This is also true when parents shared the same hobby as the child and then stopped because of injury, work or family commitments. 

Don't think that I'm saying that kids don't have their off days they do. They will have the same negative thoughts about going football training on a cold winters night as we do. If you let them dictate because you are a parent that "won't force them to do something that they don't like" you are nurturing a child that will look for reasons to escape their hobby and because you as parents won't be told that your doing anything wrong you will look to point fingers as to the reasons your child quit their hobby - look no further than yourself.

Little Johnny is not being bullied, is not getting bored, not losing interest and not getting hurt, they are progressing, they are enjoying themselves and frankly you would see if you could be bothered to come and watch. If you could be bothered to ask their instructor.

If we as parents keep the communication going with the club, keep the praise and attention directed towards the kids, keep the conversation and debates going at home and take an active interest in the hobby yourself your child will engage in their chosen hobby.