Most Annoying Kung Fu Phone Calls

I often get people calling me about trying classes. I am happy to offer a free trial class to anyone that is interested regardless of their level of experience. I am also often in a position where I am accepting new students. Personally, I find these phone calls to be painful, especially as the person tries in some way to prove they know something. This is the main reason I prefer e-mail contact with a short list of questions on location, cost, training times etc.

Here are some of the most frustrating discussion points that I run into regularly:

• The prospective student for some reason feels that I need to have a very detailed breakdown of all of their previous Martial Arts experience. I really don't care what someone was years ago...if they are joining my school, they need to learn my basic techniques. I don't need a 10 minute Martial Arts biography.
• Come try the class and experience it when invited. Don't ask questions about what exactly will be done in class....if I explain everything that is going to happen then why would a trial class be necessary?
  
• Why do people that don't understand ask to compare our style to another style. I often get asked if we are similar to Wing Chun and when I try to clarify, the person actually knows nothing about Wing Chun so I could say anything and it would not make a difference.
• Is this the right class for me? I don't know....you just called me up out of the blue...I have never met you. Try some different schools and choose one that you like.
• What is the best Martial Art style? For these people, the answer is any style but mine....please go find one of those schools. Actually, I think I spoke about the school that claimed to be the best style in one of my previous entries...here's the link.
  
• When do I get to fight? Any time you like....go to a bar and punch someone in the head...congratulations, you get to fight.
• Then there are the people who have asked some good questions but instead of hanging up, start asking dumb questions just to continue the conversation....
• The people that describe their health issues and ask me if the style will help them. I don't know....I am not a doctor!!!! I can definitely assure you that it is better for you than sitting on a couch eating a bag of Doritos.
• How fast can I reach your highest rank? How should I know? Try showing up to class and giving us an idea of how quickly you learn, how well you correct mistakes and how diligent you are at showing up to every class for the next few years. At that point, I can give you an educated guess.

This is a list of some of the discussions I have with people that call in. I'm sure there are other things that I am missing that I will think of over time.