Out of the market

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Out of the market

Postby Monsoon » Sat Sep 29, 2012 5:13 am

Is there a disconnect between the ideal of spreading the message concerning CMA, and the ever increasing costs incurred by people who wish to pursue them?

For a lot of people, like myself, we have many real life commitments, and (in my case) live in countries which have exceptionally poor or non-existent CMA infrastructure. The cost of even attending 1 week at the YMAA Calif retreat would be in the thousands of dollars, which, with all other things taken into account, is not terribly realistic. Failing that, there are truly excellent books and videos, but these are often at a premium cost too. Admittedly the content of these items often represents teaching and knowledge of a very high standard, and are probably worth the money. Yet they do little by way of facilitating a wide dissemination of the arts. Having said that, the YMAA products are significantly cheaper than those offered by the Yang Family Tai Chi website.

While I understand there is a need to cover overheads AND turn a profit, it seems that IMA in particular are rapidly becoming elitist arts, no longer available to those with only the enthusiasm and will to work hard, but only for those with the luxury of time and money.

That's how it is looking to me at the moment, and bear in mind that I got taught completely free on the understanding that I would show diligence, respect and a willingness to work hard (this was in China though).

Thoughts? Or do people see this as nothing more than a bitter and cynical comment?

Monsoon
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Re: Out of the market

Postby John the Monkey mind » Sun Sep 30, 2012 8:20 am

It very much depends on where you live. In Warsaw Poland I can train 5 days a week for up to 4 hours a time if I chose with a YMAA instructor of Taiji for a very reasonable price.

I also think in major US cities such as New York the cities will have a huge range of classes in many styles of TMA at reasonable prices or at least priced appropriately for the cities relative wages. London is a good example of this with costly classes but still priced reasonably when rent for space is worked out.

I guess this has always been the way of it as luck plays a big part when it comes to finding a good teacher locally. Still when ever I move jobs or cities I look at classes available before I do.

DVD's are not cheep to produce or buy but when you look at the content vs the number of lessons worth of material in them I find them to be good value.
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Re: Out of the market

Postby Monsoon » Sun Sep 30, 2012 2:47 pm

Then you, sir, are a very fortunate man indeed!

In New Zealand there is very, very little support for CMA, and even among what exists there are an even more limited number of masters. Factor in finding a good fit between master and student and you are looking at a near impossible task.

Excluding the big commercial centres, the model in China is completely different, and although money can and does change hands, there is a desire to teach when willing students present themselves. As I mentioned I got trained totally for free (although I did gift my master some very fine coffee, for which I found he had a penchant).

Regarding DVDs, I am not so sure that the cost of production is reflected by the retail price. People may point to the limited market for instructional DVDs, and perhaps overlook that market is limited precisely because the DVDs typically cost twice as much as similar products in other disciplines - hence the slight taint of either elitism or market-squeezing. I do not doubt that YMAA DVDs (for example) are stuffed full with content of high value, but when one attempts to mass distribute then one must temper the cost to reflect the expected increase in sales, i.e. the more one sells the cheaper one can make the product.

Ultimately, I end up buying books and DVDs through 3rd party retailers on the internet where I can often, but frustratingly not often enough, pick up these products for half the price they sell at their usual outlets. Whether this is a loss leader approach for those 3rd party retailers I do not know.

I guess my point is that if you want increasing numbers of people to take an interest in something then you have to make it accessible. It seems that the YMAA 10 year program illustrates this point quite nicely. The ideal of a few selected students is just that, an ideal. In the 21st century, if you want to find people to carry on a tradition you will more than likely have to wade through a whole mass of people to find those few. If you do not give yourself the opportunity to examine that mass of people then you can hardly complain that your plan is under-subscribed.

Don't get me wrong, I applaud Dr Yang's vision and drive, as well as his incredible depth and breadth of knowledge. However, his plan has run aground on the reefs of 21st century economics, and even altering it to 5 years may not save it. Having said that though, if his program is set up as an equivalent to undergradute-masters degree status, and approved by the relevant educational authority, I can see it succeeding, as it would be a viable opportunity for those seeking alternative non-university educational routes that have something of wider value at the conclusion than just the ability to carry forward a tradition.

Monsoon
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