Cercatrice

Thanks again for everyone's replies. Just wanted to give a quick update that I've stuck with the dojo and sensei and hope/plan to continue to stick with it. It's a good lesson to learn, I think, although it might not be easy.

Thanks for the replies, cathal and Rathe. I probably haven't looked at the situation through my instructor's eyes, or at least as much as I should have. I would really like to believe that there's a perfectly rational explanation, that my instructor doesn't just dislike me for whatever reason. But... at the same time, my gut tells me that something's odd. He's friendlier with the few new members who have joined, not just with the returning ones. There's one guy -- an old member -- who he really tends to lose his patience with, though. He doesn't seem to get irritated with me, just doesn't really talk to me, although he talks to the others (for instance, when we'll getting our gear together at the end of class). He seems to be personally training the member he always partners with. They discuss times to meet to train but others aren't invited. (To be fair, I haven't asked if I could attend, too). But, rather than being remedial, this guy recently tested and skipped a few belts. He cross-trains in tae kwon do and seems to be really good at martial arts in general. Anyway, maybe nothing is fishy. I don't really know what to expect since I'm new to all this. I don't particularly care if my instructor "likes" me so long as it's not distracting and I can train and learn.

Hi, everyone. I've been part of a karate club for a few months now, attending 1-2 times a week. It's a small college club with more members attending now that school started again a couple weeks ago, but still only 5-7 people. I chose the club because I wanted to study this style of karate, but I'm having problems with motivation, partly because I feel ignored by the instructor. I don't need a lot of encouragement, but my instructor doesn't offer any "good job"s or similar words. I thought this might just be his personality, but lately -- with more people attending -- I've noticed that he's much friendlier with other members, chit-chats with them, offers them encouragement. There's also one member who he seems to especially favor and always pairs up with himself when we work with a partner. Lastly, I told my instructor about a limitation I was having because of an injury (unrelated to karate), which he then forgot about the following class when he asked us all to do exactly what I couldn't do. Is this a problem with my attitude? Do I need to work on humility, knowing my place as a beginning student? Or should I go somewhere where I won't feel ignored? I anticipate being told to talk to the instructor, but I'm feeling pretty uncomfortable with him right now. Could anyone tell me if this is normal in the martial arts when you're just starting? Thanks.