10/06/2026
Hi all, two protocol/procedure issues I want to touch on after a couple incidents in class today.
🚗 Parent Drop-Off 🚗
Parents, if your child needs help getting ready for Kung Fu, please don’t just drop them off on the street/parking lot and have them come in on their own, especially if you are late. It disrupts the class when I have to stop teaching to tie someone’s shoes or sash. If your kid needs help with tying their shoes or sash, please come in with them and give them a hand. It’s okay if you’re running late, I’d rather have the kid be late and enter the guan fully prepared for class, then come in on-time but need an adult’s assistance with the pre-class responsibilities.
🚦 Traffic Flow 🚦
We’re a big school in a somewhat small space, this means we need a system for navigating “right of way” when traversing the school. It’s not about hierarchy or “bowing” to the higher sashes, it’s just that we need a system, similar to driving; if I travel in the center lane instead of the left, it doesn’t mean that everyone in the left lane is “better” than me, it just means they’re going faster and I’m following this rule to make sure traffic flows smoothly and safely. Notably, it only works if everyone follows it, otherwise we get traffic jams and accidents.
Here is the “flow” for the Kung Fu school:
1. Anyone who is in an active class has right of way over anyone who is not in the class, whether it’s spectating, stretching, or practicing forms off to the side. That said, students should also be careful not to get too close to the spectator area.
2. Any person or group practicing forms has right of way over any person or group who is not practicing forms.
3. If space is tight with multiple people/groups practicing forms, the higher sashes have right of way over the lower sashes.
4. Any group or person I am working with directly has right of way over any other group.
Again this isn’t about hierarchy, it’s a way to keep us all safe. Furthermore, people who have right of way shouldn’t abuse that privilege; they still need to be courteous and paying attention to the people around them. It’s dangerous to assume that just because you’re the highest rank in the room doing forms, that the waters are going to magically part for you. Everyone needs to have a baseline of environmental awareness.
I hope this makes sense. Please contact me if you have any questions.
~ Shifu
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