Zaine

That's a common trap. Don't focus on doing it perfectly. Focus on doing it better than you did it yesterday. Progress over perfection.

Nothing has been released as to the cause of his passing.

You're doing great! Keep at it!

I have not, though it looks very fun. It actually reminds me a little of my brother, who quit doing karate because our sensei didn't teach sparring with weapons. In my brother's summation, there was no reason to learn it if he didn't get to use it, so he walked away because he couldn't advance without learning bo.

Tales from the Western Generation by Matthew Apsokardu

This isn't actually a new thing, we just have a little recency bias. I was commiserating with a friend on this exact topic the other day and we, like you, seemed to notice a rise in people not wanting to put in the actual work for a belt. America, and the West in general, is full of consumers. We love our instant gratification. We love our same-day deliveries. However, instructors in the 60s and 70s were complaining about the same thing. I've recently picked up Tales from the Western Generation by Matthew Apsokardu. It's a book that is full of interviews from the people who brought karate from Okinawa to the U.S. in the mid 1900s. In it, multiple sensei detail that they had/have issues with students who wanted status without discipline and time served. I was surprised to find that they had much the same complaints as I did with my friend. I came up in the early 2000s. I got my shodan in 2007/8. Thinking back, I can remember there were a number of people not satisfied with their progress and so they left. Some left for easier programs, others left martial arts altogether. That it seems a more recent phenomenon to us might just be that we're in a position of leadership now, or our relationships with our sensei have become more casual and friendly than they were. We are now more aware of the problem because it effects us in a different way. So, to answer your question. It is a real thing. There are plenty of people who want to say that they're a black belt but don't want to put in the work. I've certainly encountered it in my community. There will always be people who join who don't intend to play by the rules. We just have to give them the same as everyone else. The long-term students will come.

The reason that gi pants don't have pockets is likely due more to tradition than deterrence. This is conjecture, but pockets became a popular choice in clothing for Japan during the Meiji period, but mostly with the aristocracy. Kano Jigoro was alive during the Meiji period, and he is the progenitor of the gi. However, Jigoro was not aristocracy, though he was a politician. It likely didn't occur to him to add pockets, as this was a new trend to hit Japan at the time. Perhaps he was against the new Western influence in fashion. Maybe, like you, he was worried that people would use the pockets as an excuse to wear them elsewhere. Maybe he just didn't think about it. We can't know. We'll just have to agree to disagree here. I don't see the issue with people who lack the discipline to change their clothes before they go out to hang out with friends. That just means, to me, that they will need to be more thorough in their cleaning of their gis, or face the consequence of having to purchase more gi pants. Personally, I don't find gi pants any more comfortable than what I usually wear. Pair this with the fact that I just sweat in my gi after a class, I always take my gi off the moment I get home and shower/change.

Let them mess it up. It's their money. The gi isn't a sacred symbol of some esoteric order, it's the uniform we practice various martial arts in. Also, is it lazy to want pockets, now? I certainly wouldn't think it was cheap? I'm not entirely sure I understand your point here. Should clothing, regardless of intention, not fit the use of the person wearing them? For me, gi pants aren't as functional as I would like them to be. It's not about being lazy, it's about wanting an easier place to put my phone, wallet, and keys before I put them up before class. This is what I do currently. It all goes in my training bag. However, it does make things inconvenient to retrieve should I need them. At best, you have a pocket specifically for your personal items. At worst, you're scrounging through a bag to find your items. What if you need to stop by the store on the way home and went to the dojo in your gi pants, like I do? It's not fun to carry around phone, keys, and wallet around in my hand or keep track of them in a cart. What if I want to stop at a gas station before hand for a pre-workout snack or drink? I live in Texas, so when it's cold, which isn't a lot, a jacket works great. However, it's not an option for me for most of the year. The argument I am making, also, isn't that I want to carry these items in class. No reputable dojo/studio is going to let you train with items in your pocket, just like you have to take off rings and watches before class, or glasses before sparring. The pockets aren't there for during class, they're there for when you're not in class.

You know what? I'll add it to the list of demands. If I can have pockets, then you can have a built in holster.

I'm happy to hear that you are safe, Patrick! This tragedy has been on my mind.

Congrats!

Sure, but I don't want a fannie pack. Fannie packs are an additional piece of clothing. I don't want that, I want my gi pants to have more functionality.

I still want pockets in my gi pants, if for no other reason than that it would make changing a lot easier. If I could just put on my pants at home and put my cellphone, keys, wallet, etc. into my pockets that would be ideal. I would take them all out before class, but it would make my life more convenient.

Welcome to the club!

Likewise, I have never suffered a serious injury from training. I have been very lucky. However, the worst injury I have received was during my black belt test. We were in the sparring portion and my sensei and I were doing Kyokushin style fighting. He got a really nice punch right to my sternum and I ended up with a contusion. I couldn't lift my arms above my shoulders without pain for a week! My sensei asked if we needed to stop after he had delivered the punch, but he also told me that if I stopped the test at any point that I would fail it so I kept on going. He told me later that if I had stopped at that point for a small break that I wouldn't have failed and apologized for hitting so hard. Mistakes happen! Still, I got my shodan and it's a good story so many years later.