I have heard this idea floated many times over the years - some trainers threatening to leave the guild over some issue that upsets them.
I have seen some of the emails in which trainers have threatened to leave. T
hey are actually a bit funny as the "issues" - if you can call them that - are often over something incredibly stupid such as someone not liking a new Guild-produced brochure.
There are other issues of course. The main one, in my view, is practitioners not being dragged into the intercine warfare between these people.
Let the Feldenkrais Trainers fight their own battles and spend their own money and time doing so. Also, having a separate trainers guild will make it clear - legally and intellectually - where the monopoly actually resides. Perhaps the idea will finally be considered? Unilateral disengagement by the trainers. Not something unfamiliar to these guys and gals.
Here's Denis Leri:
"It's not a trivial thing for us all to realize that we're at a crossroads. Let's do the unthinkable and start over. Not discuss it or form a committee but just say that tomorrow we'll form a Trainer's association/Guild that will have simple standards. We'll make up the rules as we are adults and we've all done a lot of training. Admit that it's a drag to cover up the fact that TAB's and Guilds have no business involved in the formation of Trainers. Sure, the national Guild can oversee practitioners and their wants and needs but they don't serve our needs or the needs of a changing world. It's embarrassing to hear all this complaining and whining. If Trainers organize the Guilds will have a lot more money and time to serve their constituents and we can free our selves to really differentiate and vitalize the work. Originally it made sense to get community input about trainers because we wanted to avoid hegemony. But now, face it, there are distinct lineages of trainers and that's been a natural evolution. Why not bless that development and set it free to really propagate. Years of compromise have sucked the life out of many of us. Trainers of the world: Unite!"
Originally published March 27th, 2009 on the IFF Website: Page no longer there. Noted June 30, 2024.
