The Studio

A student joined a Kung Fu studio to learn from a famous master.

At first, the training was serious.

The master corrected every movement carefully. Students repeated forms until their legs trembled.

Belt tests were special occasions. Extra sessions were held on weekends. Parents gathered quietly along the walls. Other masters attended to judge the students. When a student earned a belt, everyone applauded.

Over time, the master stopped increasing tuition. “This keeps training affordable,” he explained.

More students joined the studio. The classes became crowded. Slowly, something began to change.

The belt test fees slowly increased.

At first, there were only a few belt colors.

Yellow.
Orange.
Green.
Blue.
Brown.
Black.

Later, more colors appeared between them.

Blue-black.
Green-white.
Brown-red.
Blue-brown.

Still, there were never enough levels. So black belt itself was eventually divided into
Black 1,
Black 2,
Black 3,
Black 4.

Each required another test fee. Some tests cost
two or three months of tuition.

Meanwhile, the belt tests themselves became smaller. The extra sessions disappeared. The visiting masters stopped coming. Parents were no longer invited inside.

Eventually, belt tests began taking place quietly in the corner of regular classes.

The master would simply point and say, “Show me.”

One afternoon, the student paid the fee for an advanced belt test. He waited carefully during class, expecting the test to begin soon.

But the class continued normally. Students stretched. They practiced kicks. One group worked near the mirrors.

At the end of class, the master handed the student a new belt certificate and a belt.

The student looked confused.

“No need to test,” said the master. “I already know everything.”

As the studio grew larger, the master taught less often. Two younger assistants began leading most classes instead. They had studied Kung Fu for only a few years themselves.

Soon, whenever classes became too crowded, students who struggled less were asked to teach students who struggled more.

Sometimes advanced students taught techniques they barely knew themselves.

Eventually, teaching others became a requirement for higher belt levels.

Students paying tuition now spent class time teaching other students who were also paying tuition.

Some families quietly left.

But more continued arriving.

They saw crowded classes,
walls covered in belts,
framed photographs of the old master,
and hundreds of glowing reviews online.

“This studio must be excellent,” they said.

The reviews remained stellar.