Sibylla

That gets me as well. I think our dojo is very good and tries to make room for all sorts of people, but that can be taken advantage of by the wrong kind of people who likes to use it as a stage for their antics. The drama queen is already badmouthing me and others. But the sensei knows it now.

Jaymac: I agree with you, I think my instructor shouldn't allow it. But the other day, a sempai gave the drama queen a real work over during fighting. It was quite a spectacle, I could see the guy looking suprised and offended at the same time, while the sempai took no notice and just continued.. This "special treatment" might have been planned..this sempai is big and strong, and I have never seen him go so hard on kohai before. I hope it sorted the queen out!

He will most likely try to put a spin on that question, "you hit harder than the rest, because you suck". Which is what he is trying to get at all along. Putting himself above people by making drama. But then it will be out in the open, which is a good idea. And he will make even more of a fool of him self. I'll try that.

Thanks for the advice. If the guy keeps it up, I'm sure my sensei will get real serious with him. If there is no solution soon, I agree that I might have to consider not training with the guy. Talking with him won't do, I think his ears are pretty closed.

Hi I have one person that I train with, he is fairly experienced (one grade lower than me), but he throws a fit if there is contact that might hurt a little. He curses, start walking around in circles, flails his arms around and screams about how sucky I am. Real Oscar worthy stuff. I'm not a particularily hard hitter and he is a big guy. To add to that, no one else throws these fits and he doesn't throw them with someone else. For me it seems that he is trying to draw attention to himself and tries to make me look bad. This is the third time it has happened and I am tired of it. My sensei is aware of what is going on and have told him cut it out, even in front of the class, but it has no effect. I do not engage in any discussion with the guy when it happens and leave to the sensei. But I want it to stop now....any suggestions?

That is a real test, no way of acting your way through that. I agree with you comment on knowing what you are capable of, I guess I should start to give myself more credit for what I achive in sparring and competition.

Is there anyone you can work out with that isn't affiliated with an organization? Nope...we are all by default in the organization.

Wish I could, but there are no other organisations here.

That is how I feel as well, it is not a test. More like a lottery at times. And I think my sensei does nothing to contribute to the opposite, with his inconsistent kyu gradings. Anyway, I'm looking forward to the competition that is the same weekend as the grading. I think it might just prove it self to say the most about where I stand.

Yes, a fight that lasts about one minute and some kata. The kata curriculum can be longer or shorter, depends on the panel of the day. The most important is the fight, if you don't score a certain type of ippon you will get failed. So you can imagine how low the quality of these fights can be, two people trying to do as much as possible, hoping something connects.

Yes, I have done a test grading for shodan. Which I passed. Whole thing took about 10 minutes..actually the curriculum is now smaller than it was for the kyu grades (well at least for what I personally had to do for my kyu grades). I have done shotokan, a whole different animal and much more demanding grading wise.

SaiFight MS: I can understand that for the lowest grades, but not nearing shodan. Blackexpress: I agree that omitting parts of a lower grade test can be ok if he has seen people do it in class. I think my sensei is very aware of where I stand, but that doesn't mean that he will acknowledge it in public.. Aefibird: Yes he knows. But I could also be very hurt if the grading turns into one of his usual ones. If I had just trained a little for this grade I would just say "what the heck..I'll do this and make sure that he is not involved in the next".

To clarify, this is not karate but another japanese art (which is so small that maybe it is not wise to say exactly what it is...then people will know who I'm talking about...). Anyway, it is not unheard of travelling somewhere else to grade, since we all belong to the same organisation, and getting a panel for dan grading is not that easy. Yet the feelings of my sensei might be a little hurt if I don't grade at this opportunity. And probably some other peoples feelings as well. But during my time in this art I've yet to feel that I've had a proper grading as long as my sensei is involved in them. I'm kind of running out of patience now. So maybe it is a matter of who's feelings that are most important...

I know the general requirements stated for our grades, but my sensei seem to change them from time to time, by for example omitting/changing parts of the tests if the panel is in a hurry to get out of there, or by explitedly stating some technical requiment during training, and then omitting it at the test. Or running gradings without enough people on the panel (and getting away with it..), getting open complaints for not taking into accordance what the other people on the panels mean etc..The results of the gradings vary wildly and are hotly debated in the dojos (well in the lockerroom..) Teaching wise this sensei is very good, but imo something bad happens with him when he does gradings. After participating in and witnessing a lot of my sensei's grading sessions, I decided to take my latest grade (shodan) somewhere else. In fact take all my grades elsewhere. (Which will cost me big $). So I signed up for a competition/grading outside my town. But now I have found out that my sensei and his sempai will be on this grading panel... I'm so close to pulling the plug on this one and wait for another occasion. I want to get something positive out of the experience. But with my sensei's involvement I'm pretty sure it will turn into chaos, and this expectation is not something I will like to have in my head when I grade.

Noone here can compare you and your training mates. But a sensei could very well be rewarding his own personal favorites. It is up to you if you can live with it or not. It is ok for a sensei to push someone in training. But to try to punish them in grading is unfair, if you are as good as the others, then you are. "The kids always get's first rank". That is typical. Your sensei might see a future kumite champ in them, throw belts at them to keep them.

Done grappling for a couple of years, actually.

Any grappler knows how to escape from someone sitting on your chest. Several ways to do it. You might have seen the technique I described, but have you tried it? I've yet to see anyone escape it. Anyway, Rich described it as a defence against knifeattack. Throw yourself to the ground and try to apply an armbar sounds like a good way to get yourself killed.

Why do you want to go to the ground? That is not smart if your standing up and he is lying down. This is what you do: Yank the arm upwards that your holding so that he is on is side (important), at the same time lift your left foot up, set it down in front of his throat. Do not swing it around the side of his head so he can see what is coming, just lift your foot up and place it down. Now he is on his side, your left foot is against his throat, your right against his back. He is basically stuck now. Then you take the arm your holding, press his elbow against your left knee, in the opposite direction of his elbowjoint. Now he is stuck, and his arm is in danger... From this standing position you can roll back into a armbar, but why? You got the guy already.

@Judoka: As an beginner it is very easy to lift with your back, but I've even seen blackbelts strain their back. Personally I've also landed on my head when breakfalling, and gotten my neck cranked in grappling so it stuck in one position. If a guy just has a muscular problem, I'd say go ahead with judo/jj, but with a serious problem I'd be more sceptical.

Thanks for the advice! I'll concentrate on the first tekki, that will be challenge enough. I've done it a few times now, and it is really easy to remember, and so different from the heians, actually I think I quite like it. It will take a lot of work to make it look good, but my legs will get stronger from the kiba dachi in the meantime.

I keep a log of my training and technical points that I like to remember. It is also good to know how many hours I've been in the dojo or how much work I've done at home.

So..if the only comment you get when you do the heians in class are "that's good". (And changing school is not an option) ..what would you focus on when you practice the heians at home?

I've been doing the Heian katas for about a year. Most of it I've had to learn by myself (books/video), random comments from instructor just doesn't help that much. My heians are as good as my class mates, and maybe even a little better. Now I'd like to learn something new, just to add some spice to my home practice. I've never seen anyone do the tekkis, but I've got literature and videos. (And I can do them in my livingroom without having to bump into the furniture). What do you think?

Straight hips, toes forward. In wado I've been told to twist the supporting foot, in Shotokan it is a no-no.

We do lot of knuckle press-ups. Often at the start and/or at the end. I think it is more for strengthening the wrist than thoughening the knuckles.