still kicking

Our school just went through another testing/evaluation cycle this week, and I had the best time ever! How we do it is, 3 times a year we have an all school evaluation. Everyone (ideally) participates and gets written feedback on their performance, and those who are ready to get promoted at the time will go up to the next rank. Past the beginning kyu levels, hardly anyone gets promoted after 4 months, so you really aren't expecting it in the first eval after you've gotten promoted. I have found that I've enjoyed these the most, because I am not feeling the self imposed pressure to get the rank, and can focus on just doing my best. I know, it's supposed to be that way all the time, but I'm not there yet. Anyway... I am not even eligible to move up (next chance will be in Hawaii next March, for shodan-ho, if all goes well!). It was a blast to just be there as one of the higher ranking colored belts, and to focus on being "sempai". Some people were really nervous after bombing out several times in a row, or just get nervous about performing, some didn't know how to fill out their forms, etc., and it felt good to be able to help with all that, as so many have helped me in the past. The highlight was that one student, who struggles with some disabilities, finally got her (7th kyu) purple belt! She's probably been training with us for 4 years now and has been a 2nd blue belt forever. She is also one of the most tenacious and hard working students in the school. When it was announced that she was promoted to 7th kyu, the whole school whooped and hollered! Several others got their purple belt, though will less angst involved, as well. One of the teen boys got his brown belt, and he acted all cool as if it was no big deal, but then when his dad came to pick him up, he tied in on and grinned, finally admitting that it was kind of a big deal. All in all, it was a very fun couple of nights!

pittbullJudoka wrote: Good to know! Some belts mean more than others, and yours obviously represents a lot of hard work. Congratulations!

Wow, that is awesome, thanks! I'll try to live up to it. There are lots of people on here who are more articulate than I, but I do love karate, that much I know!!!

JohnASE wrote: We have a "karate mom" at our school who I would love to recruit into classes. She is there all the time, and very supportive of the school, but says she does not want to train because her daughter is a teenage brown belt in the adult classes, and could whoop her mom big time! She said she feels it would undermine her authority at home to have her daughter outranking her in class. Too bad, she would be really fun to train with, but I do see her point!

Style -- Shito ryu karate Rank -- 1st kyu brown belt (though previously shodan in the same system) Trained about 6 years long ago, now coming up on 6 years again, and will be testing for shodan ho next spring. That's why I'm training more than usual... Also 2nd kyu kobudo Days training: Averaging 4 two or three hour classes a night, or Sat. A.M. I can't always handle five, and sometimes not even 4, but 4 on average seems OK for now. I will bump it up in the fall, before the big push.

Not wanting to sound like I'm trying to be all old and wise or anything, but easier to handle doesn't mean easy to use well. There is much to learn from the bo - grasshopper. Ha ha.

The only weapons we train with are bo, sai, kaibo (eiku?), and tonfa. In my opinion the bo is the "easiest". On the most basic level, unlike sai, there is only one thing you can potentially drop or lose control of, and unlike kaibo, it is symmetrical so you don't have to worry about which side is up. Tonfa is just weird, but I've only used it a little so can't say much about it. My style does not use nunchucks, so I can't help you there. Bo is definitely my favorite weapon. I love how it handles, and its versatility.

I think it's a matter of knowing which tournaments are doing the kind of thing you like, and going only to them. In my area, there are 3 or 4 well run traditional karate tournaments a year that we go to, and a few others that are out of state that some of us attend. We were just at the Hayashi-ha Cup tourney yesterday, with a large contingent from my school. It was sponsored by Minakami's Shito ryu school, which is my style, and it seemed like most of the competitors were shito ryu. It was great fun to see everyone doing clean, traditional karate at a high level - woo hoo! As far as cartwheels and acrobatics, to me that's just silly, but if other people like it, go for it. I won't be there, though!

Montana, maybe you could put the chips in tiny little bags, so you'd have to get up off the couch more often. That one made me laugh, out loud, which I needed at the time, so thanks!

Wow, my sensei is godan, but we still have to go to the main dojo for any BB testing. I have a feeling our head honcho is unusually controlling, but I try to stay out of all that. It's too bad there has to be a falling out with your sensei, that is always painful -- but based on what you've said, it sounds like his doing. I wonder if he feels in competition with you for students, and regrets helping you start up in the first place. Oh well, I guess all you can do is proceeds according to your own sense of ethics. Things will sort themselves out.

Jassling wrote: What has me confused is the meaning of "his organization". If he is a member of an umbrella organization, and you are "under" him in that hierarchy, then he should be overseeing the testing and ranking of your students, and signing off on it, to make it all hunky dory with the organization. If you are paying him money to cover fees to the organization, that is one thing. However, you mention he is "affiliated" with an organization, but does that mean he pays into it? Also, as sensei8 says, since at this point you are doing it all independently and not under your sensei's guidance at all, it would be more legit for you to just be a member of the organization directly, and "cut out the middle man". In my school's organization, my sensei can grade people through 1st kyu, and after that we go to the head dojo to be tested by a panel. Maybe you could work out something like that. Good luck!

Jassling, I am wondering, what is your rank? Are you eligible to teach independently? It sounds like you already are anyway, as your instructor (or is it previous instructor) does not seem to be very involved. Is he affiliated with an organization, or independent? If he is not affiliated with an organization, and your ranks do not need to be approved by them, and is also not participating in your testing process, I do not see why you need to be giving him money at this point. That's my opinion on it.

When I saw the heading of this thread, my first thought was "no, I'd miss the smell of sweat". Ha ha ha. Reading the posts, though, it seems like it has possibilities. If I ever figure it all out, I might join you.

sensei8 wrote: You are right, sensei8, it is a tough one, no doubt about it. We now have two 1st kyu brown belts who are in just that position, seniors in high school and very academically motivated. They have been neglecting their training and will probably not be eligible to test next year. There have been several others who left before black belt, to begin early entry college programs. We did have one student who was home schooled, and exceptionally talented at karate, who was able to get to shodan and get into a really good college -- then she left for school. Most of our students who train to black belt are past college age. It is true, we don't have many black belts, but it generally takes 8 or more years of regular training, and that's going to weed out a lot of people no matter what. Maybe we'd be better off making it easier, or at least more doable, but I have absolutely no say in the matter. I do object to the mentality found by some students in some schools, though, who seem to think that they are entitled to a black belt -- or any rank -- just by virtue of their existence. It takes what it takes! I doubt that any good college would be impressed by an application essay where the student stated that he or she should be admitted to the college because their grades would have been higher if they hadn't had to train in karate 4 or 5 times a week! By the same token, if they are not good enough for high rank, for whatever reason, they are not. The point I am trying to make -- yes, there is one -- is that kids have to learn a hard lesson in life. That is, making a choice to commit to something deeply automatically means that you have to give up other possibilities. Do I want to be a doctor or an astronaut, a relaxed poet in the mountains or a politician? Some of them can be done sequentially in life, but are impossible to do simultaneously. Maybe high school kids will leave karate and come back later, when they have more clarity of committment. High school years are a very challenging time of life for both student and parent, but hey, look at it this way. We are discussing whether they should go for high ranks in martial arts or explore demanding academic programs, not what are we going to do with them because they are using drugs, dropping out of school, and going to prison.

I just ordered the "Living Karate..." book from Amazon. I likwd the little bit I could read on there, and it got good reviews, so I decided to take a $30 gamble. I post about it once I've read at least some of it.

Seems to me that it's the sensei's job to let them know what is expected at brown belt. By second kyu we are expected to train at least 3 or 4 times a week, and at first kyu, training for bb, 4 or 5. Consistently. For a couple of years. If you don't you don't get promoted. No school worth it's salt is going to promote someone at that level any higher if they keep training so infrequently, and that will make them realize either that they have to train harder, or that they don't care enough to do that and would rather do something else. Either way, it will be decided.

azodai wrote: Well, my guess is it won't help much, azodai, since the original post was 5 years ago. But it might! I was curious about this thread, even though I don't live in England. The original store described sounds like something out of a Harry Potter story. Welcome to Karate Forums!

JusticeZero wrote: Wow, that is quite a story Justice Zero, and a good illustration of your point. The thing that has been missing for me in this whole thread is... where is the instructor??! I mean I could understand how in a really large dojo this kind of thing (the event described by the OP) could be missed or overlooked, but that doesn't appear to be the case here. A lot of people have mentioned that the kid should be responsible for himself and/or Holley should be responsible for her behavior, and I think both are true. However, I cannot fathom how any teacher would just turn loose an emotionally disturbed kid and a barely adult orange belt and let them just try to work it out. That seems extremely irresponsible on the instructor's part, not to mention dangerous. That is, assuming Holley gave us all the information to begin with. In any case, I do hope that this situation has been resolved in this dojo!

I think it should be their decision. They are at a time in their lives when they are exploring interests and finding out what is important to them. You could give them a speech about committment and all that, but you can't make them be interested just because you want them to be. I do think if you are paying their tuition, they should have to commit to training a certain number of days a week -- like more than one! That's assuming you are paying by the month and not by the class. Just my 2 cents worth.

I went to the website, just out of curiousity, and did not see any listings of actual academic courses offered. The admissions requirements are extremely minimal as far as academics, and none of the "professors" has any degrees listed after their names. I would love it if there were a course of study specifically in Japanese and Okinawan martial arts, covering history, philosophy, science, etc. as well as physical training, as in P.E. classes. However, if someone is looking for a degree that is respected and recognized widely within academia, it would probably be best to go with a sports medicine degree or Japanese History degree, and take electives and P.E. classes to round it out. It would be awesome just to have a university that offered a lot of MA's at a high level, and a few Japanese (or whatever) history classes with a specific emphasis on development of the MA's. What fun!

quoting bushido_man96: That's exactly what I meant, Bushido man! I'm not sure if you thought I was saying something different. I think a good analogy would be with language. It's fine to adapt a language to your needs, using slang or idioms or "internet language" or whatever, as long as you are also able to communicate in more formal language. I don't mind that the head honcho of the organization is the only one who can officially change a kata, and the next in line when he passes on. That doesn't mean that people can't adapt kata to their own physical needs due to age or injury. I don't think there has to be a contradiction there.

I say, remove the rock, it sounds a lot easier. Seriously, though, I don't personally have the authority to change anything, only my teacher's teacher, head of the organization, can officially change a kata. As Harlan says, I think it's better to leave the kata as it is and be sure it is taught that way, but that's because I like being part of a traditional style that is "uniform" (not gonna say "pure"). Sure, substitute another move for performance rather than hurt yourself, just so the original kata is still taught. Most of the time there are various interpretations of the moves, and most of the time it would be possible to substitute another meaning if you are, say, sliding back rather than jumping back. But if the only possible meaning is that there is a boulder behind you, and there are two cliff faces on either side that prevent moving to the side, pick another kata to work on!

Can anyone recommend Katsu Jin Ken -- Living Karate etc. by Shimabukuro et al? I searched the frst 5 and last few pages of this thread and didn't see it, sorry if it's somewhere between there. I am particularly interested in the history of karate in Okinawa and Japan part. Seems like every style has it's own interpretation of what happened back then. Anyway... the book looks really good, but costs $30 on Amazon, and I'm cheap so want to know if it's worth it.

December 2006.

White - no rank Yellow - 10th kyu-ho Orange - 10th kyu Blue - 9th and 8th Purple - 7th and 6th Green - 5th and 4th Brown - 3rd, 2nd, and 1st Black There are 2 levels of blue, purple, and green, and 3 levels of brown, but no outward differentiation on the belt.