yfconan

Thank you so much all for your suggestions. I still go to the same dojo as it is just 3 minutes walking distance from my home. Some of the sempais are still being rude but I just try to ignore them. The sensei is one of the best karate masters in the city, and he is humorous and very good at teaching karate in a simple way. Today some of the sempais kept laughing at me when they saw me making mistakes in sampon kumite, but the sensei was very kind to me and I noticed that he actually spent more time correcting my errors. I make progress and that's already my big fortune. Osu! Thank you very much! The only backstory is that I am a foreigner. I will think about another dojo. First: Find a new Dojo. If you have been respectful to others, others must be respectful to you. If somebody, specially a sempai (or even a sensei) thinks that he/she is better than others, just for the simple fact of having a more advanced degree than you they don't deserve to be called sempai. I have seen attitudes like "I am a black belt, these white or yellow belts shouldn't be addressing me unless asked". People with such ideas can be good, or even excellent practicioners, but they will NEVER be sempais. They don't deserve to be considered as that. Degree may give you some privileges, but they come with a price: you become a "sort of" public figure in class -something like a model- and you must give example, in practice and attitude (at least in class). Honestly, a particular day, sometimes a black belt "feels the need" to spar with other black belts, but this particular day the circumstances lead you to practice with a beginner. If you are a black belt, don't think about it as a nuisance: In terms of quality, sometimes YOU WILL LEARN MORE FROM YOUR KOHAIS THAN FROM YOUR SENSEI. Kohais (or beginners), also must know when to "leave space" to sempais: sometimes, when practicing complicated techniques or preparing some kind of formal kumite, is not the best time to interrupt with a question about how gedan barai is performed. It is a bit on each side: respect and etiquette. I follow the rule "we are all friends here" Second: Being a foreigner shouldn't have to be a problem. Karate is karate: in a Dojo you are neither asian nor american nor anything. You are a Karate-ka, your culture is respect and your language is karate. Tsukis and keris are not local or foreign. Best of lucks.

Thank you so much!

Thank you very much! The only backstory is that I am a foreigner. I will think about another dojo.

I am learning shotokan karate as a beginner in a dojo in London and I find the sempais there are not friendly. For example, the black belts deliberately ignore me during the kumite, making me standing alone there. If someone comes to stand opposite me, they start to laugh at him/her. The sensei is an excellent Japanese karate master, but I really dislike the atmosphere in the dojo. How could I deal with it?