Looking for the perfect student

A few months ago I had to expel a student who had a very natural ability in Pencak Silat, and Martial Arts in general. Because of this, many difficult concepts were simple for him to grasp, and the more difficult drills were cake to him. Because of this he never took his training seriously. Here was a kid (At the time the youngest in my school: 19) who reminded me a great deal of myself when I was his age: Cocky, arrogant, but not really bad, just…Selfish. His attitude became more and more indifferent & turned belligerent. He came to the idea that I somehow “owed” him a martial arts education, even though I was actually bending over backwards to accommodate him because I saw so much potential there. However, you cannot teach somebody who doesn't want to learn, and this all came to a head finally when he threw several personal facts he happened to know about me in my face as leverage to get some private time with me for free. Well now I am less one student & about three hundred problems. So, lesson learned: The student must want the knowledge like a fat kid wants Mcdonald's, otherwise any outstanding effort the Guru gives will probably be wasted effort. The mythos of the teacher-student relationship is really unrealistic in today’s society. Students don’t dedicate their lives to one art and one teacher anymore, and really, nor should they. Most people view this activity (and martial arts in general) as a hobby, something fun and engaging when you have some free time. As I look on my past experiences, I see precious few will desire to make it a priority in their lives...Not to say everyone should! What's important in life will differ from person to person. I have found (so far) four distinct categories: 1: The Idly Curious - These are people who have seen a couple of chopsockey flicks, and want to see what it's all about. Maybe a little wary of being treated like that insane instructor from "Karate Kid", but looking forward to breaking boards & impressing the girls at parties. Almost everybody STARTS at this point. 2: The Hobbyist - This is a small, dwarfish creature that lives in the Shire...Whoops, wrong definition! Actually, this is the person who enjoys training, but doesn't really walk the "path" so to speak. The Hobbyist enjoys classes, but rarely (if ever) trains himself outside of designated class hours. The last time he picked up a stick was the last time they actually had a stick class. 3: Dedicated - This guy has graduated from Hobbyist, and has somewhere seen an improvement to his life, health and skill as a direct result of his training. Thusly, he is motivated to train often, and inspired to investigate the deeper teachings of his art. THIS is the student that the Guru looks to for the passing of his art, because he is serious enough to grasp it's depth, and will respect the knowledge he has worked hard for. 4: Disciple - Sometimes known as "Death-or-Glory" kids, the disciple is a product of too much television. They are convinced that they are living links to the forgotten Majapahit empire, and at any point will be called upon to "take back" East Timor. These students are often simply "Dedicated" with too much emphasis placed on the esoteric side of the arts. Their enthusiasm, although encouraging, can and will turn annoying awfully quick. Unfortunately, if the Guru has the slightest egotistical inclination, the disciple will dive whole-hog into the mystical (and often unreachable) fairy tales of Pencak Silat. The danger here is that they will start believing the comic books written about martial arts, and put their Gurus on pedestals, as untouchable, holy beings. This will make it that much harder when the Guru, as every other human being, does something that reminds the Disciple that HE is only human as well. My whole point to all this is that there must be a mutual desire of teacher who wants to give the knowledge, and student who wants to receive. It takes no less dedication and hard work to learn Silat than it does to learn a foreign language. One of the really tricky ones. 

Like Mandarin Chinese, or something.