Collaboration provides solutions!

The week comes to an end - and I'm finishing off with a trip to Melbourne late this afternoon to coach Frank Monea's Instructor team at his Challenge center in Oakleigh. Frank is a very interesting (and extremely successful) person, one of Australia's leaders in Martial Arts business practice. I like him a lot - he is passionate about his training, always trying to re-invent himself as both a person and a martial artist - and absolutely committed to doing whatever it takes to give his team and his students the best possible training experience.
I always find it gratifying to see well established instructors who are still willing to bring in 'outside help' in an effort to expose their students to 'cutting edge best practice'. The majority of instructors are just not confident enough to allow someone else to come into their space and 'run the show' - it takes maturity to take this step - and more than that, it takes someone who has their students best interests at heart.
So when I am invited into someone else's school (as is the case with much of the work I do) - I take the responsibility very seriously. I take it seriously, because I recognize the trust that is being placed in me. My number one rule when being 'consulted' is TOTAL HONESTY - if I can't deliver what they are looking for - I TELL THEM SO - and if possible, I will recommend someone else who I think will do the better job.
The same goes for my work outside the martial arts industry - when I am teaching defensive tactics solutions to assorted operatives and organizations - and I am being asked for a solution to a problem that is new to me - I inform the client that I need to research and develop a solution - I DO NOT try to bluff my way through 'on the fly'. People respect and respond to the honest approach - and very often, beautiful and profound solutions are discovered through the collaborative process - and that's the way I like it.
Collaboration is something that more martial artists should take note of ... collaboration is a far cry from competition. The collaborative process is refreshing, fun, inclusive and builds relationships that last. Collaboration gives rise to the elegant solution ...

Train well - train together ..
JBW