bushido_man96

Lots of good information here so far. I agree with DWx in that some research needs to be done in order to determine why attendance is down. It could be any number of factors, including, but not limited to, kids being interested in other things, classes being too long/too short/bad times (scheduling), adults being busy with other aspects of their lives (again, could be a scheduling issue), or your instructor's focus, teaching style, availability, etc. Any one of these, or a combination thereof, could be contributing to lack of attendance. I don't think a name change will fix anything. Is the instructor planning on changing his entire curriculum? If so, that could have its own problems, and he will definitely need a plan to implement the new curriculum. Does the instructor not teach self-defense at all? Many schools included the term "self-defense" somewhere in their description. This would usually suffice, I think. I agree with OneKickWonder that not all schools teach self-defense, but I'm of the opinion that self-defense should at the very least end up being a side-effect of Martial Arts training. If it is not at least a side-effect, then I think there is something wrong with the approach. But that is just my two cents worth.

I like and agree with pretty much everything you’re saying, but I have one thing to add... The inherent difference between wrestling and karate (and pretty much every belted MA) is while there’s no belts/ranks in wrestling, there’s a lot of competition. Wrestlers will use their competition as a measure of progress and success. And there’s an off-season. If karate had the same amount of competition and off-season, I think the belts could easily go by the way-side for kids. A record is a quick and tangible reminder/indicator of progress. Take away the whole or almost the whole competition aspect from wrestling where all they’re doing is practicing against each other week in and week out, and a lot of kids are going to get bored with it, regardless of how fun the coach makes it, how much they’re actually improving, etc. Adults like to see tangible and measurable progress in pretty much any endeavor. Kids significantly more so. Furthermore, kids in wrestling, and pretty much any other sport, who don’t see any success don’t stick around very long. How many kids willingly and excitedly come back after an “0-for” season? How many kids would come back to karate without being promoted for a long time? In their minds they failed. I think competition is a part of it, but I don't think its all of it. I've seen some pretty mediocre kids that just love it and keep coming back. The off-season could be part of it, too. But, with that said, Karate typically has plenty of competition available, and it doesn't really have a season, so tournaments can be found year round (the same can be said for Wrestling). Perhaps rotating MA seasons would help kids out?

They do enjoy it, although no one enjoys losing. Kendall's year has been spent on the bottom half of 12U, which means the top half is full of 13 year olds who are starting to or have hit puberty, thus they are more physically developed, taller, stronger, etc. So, its just a tough way to go. Next year, he will hopefully have grown and matured some, which will help him out the way its helped out others above him this year. Kenneth is still young and learning, and I'm proud of the progress he's made this year. He won't progress like Kendall, as they are two very different ducks. We'll keep working and improving, and things will fall where they do.

No, its not rubbish. There is a counter for everything, and the best way to avoid getting locked up is to not get there in the first place. Its a testament to training, in my opinion. This kind of training should push a student to learn new ways to set up their techniques, so as to hide the fact that they are coming, or cause the opponent to be concerned about some other threat, perceived or not, and use it to set up the initial threat.

That's a rough setup, Lupin. When your student body is that transitional, I can see how its difficult to keep things consistent. I hear a lot about the changing/adding of ranks for kids because they have short attention spans, want to see more results more often, etc, but I wonder if that truly is the case or not. I say this because of my exposure to wrestling. We seem to consistently have the same kids coming out every year for wrestling, and they stick with it throughout the season. And there are no belts, no ranks given out. More than the ranks we pass out, I think as instructors we have to consider our curriculum, as well. If it stagnates and becomes monotonous, then that can become a problem. Its important to keep challenging our students, and helping them to learn something new every day if we can.

Wise words.

Now, I will say that I don't know that I would drop a student's dues completely to zero. I would work with the student or their parents to find a solution that is affordable for them, and may perhaps include helping out around the dojang as well.

3/16/2018 Strength Training Press: warm-ups: 45x5x2, 65x5, 95x3; work sets: 125x5, 125x5, 125x5. Lat Pull-downs: 130x12, 130x12, 130x12. Barbell Curls: 61x10, 61x10, 61x10.

Districts was last weekend, and it was a tough weekend indeed. Kendall went 0-3, and for the first time since he was 8 years old, is sitting out of participation at state. So, we'll be working during the off-season and getting ready for next year. Kenneth went 0-3, but did some better wrestling. He had a chance to win his first match, but just couldn't quite finish. The other two matches were against some good wrestlers, but he did his best to stay with them, though, and since there were only 4 in his bracket, he qualifies for the state tournament, which is in a few weeks.

Yes, and then some!! Kind of like when Kenneth and Kendall are wrestling each other at home, just being boys...that's Tegumi in a nutshell. Thankfully, we keep that to a minimum at home!

That sounds like a good class. Funakoshi provides some great reading, and can be quite inspiring.

In ours, we wear all white. I've seen some that allow any combination of white/black top/bottoms. Personally, I'd prefer something more uniform if I was running a school, and prefer the all white.

To me, its representative of roughly 25 years of practice, work, learning, teaching, experiencing, and continuing of my time in Martial Arts. Right now, as a 4th dan, it represents not just my time in the art, but also the time I give to other students, in teaching, training, and just sharing the experiences that I've had, in the hopes that they can have even better experiences than mine. As a requirement to test for my 4th Dan, I had to right a brief essay, and read aloud at the HQ school in front of all the testers and the audience. I've shared it here: 4th Dan Testing Essay

I, too, have questions about how the change affects the curriculum and the students that currently hold one of the "tweener" ranks that got dropped. As far as the belt systems in general go, I'm usually in accord with whatever each school decides to do for themselves. I'm not going to get too wound up over a "tradition" that is really not much more than 100-120 years old. I believe Kano Jigoro is credited with coming up with the belt system. Our system does kind of a hybrid of the older color belt system: White Orange (lo and hi) Green (lo and hi) Blue (lo and hi) Brown (lo, middle, and hi) Black (a recommended "skunk" belt followed by full dan rank). So, each color is divided into two ranks, and each rank has a separate form and one-step requirement (except brown, which has three). So, in the spirit of stimulating the conversation further, Bob, what kind of discussions did you and the board have in regards to the pros and cons of maintaining the 8 belt system and dropping to the four belt system?

That terminology sticks with me; from reading lots of Bruce Lee material. He was big on it.

Those are good points, and I didn't think about them prior to you bringing them up. In a situation like that, I think its important to re-evaluate the situation perhaps on a yearly basis. As the student becomes older, and gets old enough to start making some money, it should be re-evaluated, too. Keep an open dialogue between the parents and the student, and keep a pulse on the situation. Safety nets should only be temporary.

Happy Birthday, Alex!

That helps out a lot, thank you.

Each instructor will have a different approach to this. For a student that is truly dedicated, I would try to find some arrangement to help them out, and also try to keep that between me and the family.

3/14/2018 Strength Training Press: warm-up sets: 45x5x2, 65x5, 95x3; work sets: 122.5x5, 122.5x5, 122.5x5. Lat Pull-downs: 130x12, 130x12, 130x12. LTE: 53x10, 53x10, 53x10. MA Training 5:30 - 6:00 pm. Got to the dojang early for a pre-class workout. I was hoping one of the 2nd dans that is regular would be there early to work out with, but he wasn't. I did Do-Kang 1-4 (which is considered our "black belt basics"), and then did my current form, Choong Jang (4th dan in my org). Afterwards, I did some stretching. TKD Class: 6:00 - 7:10 pm. No teaching today; I was a student, and needed to be. Basics, stretch, forms (Choong Jang again), one-steps (white belt, blue belt, and high brown belt one-steps, especially the one with the spin heel kick in it), and then sparring. But instead of sparring, we did combinations with a twist. Usually, we do combinations going forward while the partner backs up. We did that first, and then the second set we did, the person doing the combinations had to move backwards instead of forwards. We had to either kick and then move back (stepping, shuffling, etc), or kick while retreating (switch-away round kicks or spin side kicks, and the like). It was very different, and a very good approach. The final combination we did was going forward again, but we had to have some sort of footwork prior to kicking. Also a good approach.

I do believe there is something to this.

Thanks. You're absolutely right. I should have stuck with Shureido. I lived in the UK until recently and I always used to deal direct with Shureido in Okinawa. Unfortunately lead times seem to have got longer and longer. Hence my reason for trying something different. I also had to adjust the length of my pants on the Shrueido Gi's too, which was a pain. But I did like the Gi overall. I’ve never owned a gi that I didn’t need to shorten the legs. Being short and round does that to me As far as I know, Shureido gis are handmade, thus the lead times. Gotta take the good with the bad. I'm with you. I have to order everything big and then have half a foot hemmed off. Lately, I order size 7 or 8, and then they have to get cut down. I wish there was a place around that could take measurements and make me a nice uniform to my size.

Thanks for the explanation, and the further replies here. Does tegumi contain grappling on the ground between the two participants, or is it more of standing grappling involving joint manipulation?

We are pretty much the same way, JR. Only we tie on our belts for the most part. One unique thing done in our association is after a black belt test at the HQ school, the GM's wife prepares a Korean meal, which is a fun time.

All valid points!