equaninimus Posted January 18, 2004 Posted January 18, 2004 Ther first few months back at the Wado dojo, after an extended Shotokan binge , I wore a white belt again. After two months, Sensei told me "Get rid of that thing, wear real belt! You are confusing people!" There have always been Starkadders at Cold Comfort Farm!
aefibird Posted January 18, 2004 Posted January 18, 2004 I think that if people move to a different style of the same martial art then they shouldn't automatically expect to start from the same grade that they got in their old style. It should be at the discretion of the sensei (like what happened in your case, equaninimus) and the student should respect their decision if he/she wants them to start back at white belt again in the new style. Also, taking away gradings previously earned might be a bit harsh, but I think that if someone has had a long absence from MA then they should possibly have to test again for the belt they got up to (eg if someone was a green belt and then didn't train again for 3-4 years they should maybe have to do the green belt grading again to prove they are capable of progressing up to the next level.) "Was it really worth it? Only time and death may ever tell..." The Beautiful South - The Rose of My CologneSheffield Steelers!
Goju1 Posted January 19, 2004 Posted January 19, 2004 Stuey-San: I'm guessing that you're on the younger side (forgive me if I'm wrong) but you will most likely discover as you age that "life gets in the way" as I like to say. Illnesses, death of parents, business/job requirements, kids, etc... can all take priority at times. It sucks, but it is life. That doesn't mean that someone does not want to train, they just really cannot. Now, I'm not saying they should be able to walk back in and grade for their next rank, just that they can come in at their current rank and prove themselves ready to the sensei before they are asked to grade up. I assume most dojos are like ours and you must have a certain amount of time (without lengthy interruption) and a minimum number of classes before they can grade anyway, so it's really a moot point, as I see it
delta1 Posted January 19, 2004 Posted January 19, 2004 stuey-san, you say you've only been training for 18 mo. That is just about enough time that your instructor may be thinking you might stick with it, at least for a while. Goju1 made some really good points. To that, I'd add that sometimes you can reach burnout in training. Come back and talk to us after you've trained untold dozens in their basics, only to watch them leave. Or after you've been burned a few times by the inevitable politics- maybe watched a few friends get hurt, or had them turn on you. Then there's the umpteenth time you have to fight back from an injury or other forced downtime. These are all things that I've known to cause others to burn out and take down time, and I've considered it myself for some of these. Once a person reaches burnout, nothing he does is good. Nothing works right, his retention and coordination suffers, his attitude starts to get bad. About the only cure is to take some time off, maybe even leave until you get to a point that you want to continue. And, I have to tell you, one of the best ways to get burnt out is to start focusing on others and fretting that they are not doing what you think they should or like you think they ought to. I'm not dumping on you here. I'm just saying that you should maybe focus on what you are doing and not what everyone else is doing. Focus on learning, not on organizing and directing. It isn't your job- and ask yourself, do you really want to get into a political dispute with a bunch of (or even 1) blackbelts? Just my advice. Take it for what it's worth. Freedom isn't free!
kotegashiNeo Posted January 19, 2004 Posted January 19, 2004 Stuey-san I admire your vigor I truly do but after only 18 months of trainning taking a break would be the furthest from my mind too but try a decade or in the case of some people 2 or 3 and it is an entirely different story. Everyone has pointed out that life happens while your busy making other plans. Miyagi sensei said loyalty should come in this order, Family, Work then Karate. Kisshu fushin oni te hotoke kokoro
stuey-san Posted January 19, 2004 Posted January 19, 2004 i appreciate what everyones trying to say, but my point is that, WITHOUT such as work, family reasons or whatever, and they leave for no other reason than they cant bothered then they should have to resit their gradings, in the case of blackbelts, so many people go through 4 or 5 years of karate, just to get their black belt then give up, and come back for maybe the odd competition it happens so much, im referring to the type of people that go to karate to only attain a certain grade, and once given it, they decide to give it up, but can still retain their grade, i know alot of people do disagree with me, but its my opinion, if youre heavy weight champion of the world, you only have that title for one year maybe less, before u have to defend it, its how it should be for black belts especially, if the dont fight to keep it, and like i sed with out good reason for not training, the shudnt have it, and i know theres thousands of blackbelts who disagree an im sorry for offending u but it is my opinion Kicking to the head is like punching to the toes
Goju1 Posted January 19, 2004 Posted January 19, 2004 Stuey-san I admire your vigor I truly do but after only 18 months of trainning taking a break would be the furthest from my mind too but try a decade or in the case of some people 2 or 3 and it is an entirely different story. Everyone has pointed out that life happens while your busy making other plans. Miyagi sensei said loyalty should come in this order, Family, Work then Karate. Well said, and the same to Delta 1. Nothing personal at all, Stuey-San, but even myself, being a hard core karate-ka and workout guy in general, had to take off some time between 1st kyu and blackbelt. Our testing is rigorous enough that I knew I couldn't pass given what I was dealing with at the time. So would you have me knocked down a few ranks? I eventually came back, trained for a year, and tested for black belt and passed. I don't believe there are many black belts ou there that don't deserve it (given that they are from a traditional or 'real' style)
Karateka Posted January 19, 2004 Posted January 19, 2004 The same thing happened to me. I decided to take a small sabatical from Karate. This break lasted a year. I wanted to see what my life was like without Karate, since it started to take over my life. In my view, karate is not my entire life, it is just a part of it. You have to incorporate the demands of life around Karate. Sometimes, the reason doesn't sound good enough, yet it is done anyway. I was allowed to train back at brown belt where i left off, however, i let some students go ahead of me in seniority. I think that if a person earns a rank, it is theirs unless they do an act that allows them to lose it. However, out of respect, the person who comes back after a long time or is from another style, should wear a white belt at first and then talk to the Sensei. Let them know your situation and see what they think is best. "Never hit a man while he's down; kick him, its easier"Sensei Ron Bagley (My Sensei)
Uechi Kid Posted January 19, 2004 Posted January 19, 2004 This is the way it is at the dojo I trained at. If you were a kyu rank and there was a break in your training for more than six months you went all the way back to white. Promotions happened much sooner than a new person though. If you were a black belt, you retained you rank but you were expected to get up to speed very quickly. A side note. Most of the people that I saw try to make a come back left again after a short time. More Practice
Guest Posted January 19, 2004 Posted January 19, 2004 I think that if you take a break, you should retain your rank. It may simply take you longer to aquire your next rank because you may have to brush up on old technique.
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