Dull Classes

[Solo]

I'm not sure where to put this so I thought I'd try it out here. I apologize if this is the wrong Forum.

 

I've been a member of my dojo for 6 years now and I'm a 1st Kyu Brown Belt in the style of Goju Ryu. I've noticed since I've been back from a 4 year break (because of knee injuries) that my dojo has drastically changed. When my Senseis would teach it would be interesting and it wouldn't be as "monotone". I mean classes would vary each day, they would range from sparring to kata and everything in between. Now, every class is 45 minutes of warmups, 45 minutes of Basics such as Jodan-Chudan-Gedan Punches and then 30 minutes for what they feel like doing. We rarely spar anymore, the most we do is two step sparring which can get long after a while.

 

On top of that, last year they decided they wanted to test me for 1st Dan sometime in the next 5 months. I'm excited for that but at the same time I don't feel as if though I don't deserve the belt because I don't think I know as much as I should because of the "monotone" classes. I'm just not sure what to make of the whole situation. It's kind of getting frustrating..

 

Thanks for taking the time to read this and I would appreciate any kind of advice.

 

Solo

[karatekid1975]

This would fit good in General MA. You would definitely get more help there

[Bretty101]

Martial arts are meant to be boring and manotonous, else it's a Mcdojo! Just kidding!

 

I've been to clubs where things start getting boring because you've been training there to long and the lessons no longer advance with you.

 

You need to either work towards something new and challanging (like your bb) or find a new club.

 

Maybe try speaking with your instructor they may either suggest something to help you or change the lessons for you.

 

Bretty

[equaninimus]

You are probably in "brown belt slump." It is a common occurrance. People either shake it off and progress, or leave. No real advice, just push through it.

[aefibird]

Try putting all your effort into getting your black belt. That should give you an incentive and help you to work through the 'boring' classes.

 

Also, if you're not doing much sparring (or not much sparring of the type you'll need for your black belt) then maybe you could have a word with the instructor and tell him you're worried and that you think you're not covering what you'll need to know to take your black belt. I wouldn't suggest going and telling him you find the classes boring, though!! Your instructor should be a good place to start when wanting advice and if he/she is a good teacher then they should be receptive to comments and questions from students.

[Tal]

As always when you have a problem, speak to your sensei first (but be respectful!).

 

What matters at the end of the day is that you are learning the art. If you want excitement, go bungee jumping or something. However, if the new style of lesson at your dojo means you aren't learning the required stuff, then there is a problem and you need a chat with sensei. At your shodan grading, you're not going to be tested on how exciting your lessons were! You get a black belt for your skill and knowledge, not your enjoyment of lessons.

 

You could try entering some competitions. There have been times when I've got bored with shotokan, and a competition reinspired me.

[equaninimus]

I agree with Tal (what is the world coming to?). A good tournament will likely allow you to see how far you have actually progressed,as well as perhaps re-stimulating your interest in MA in general by being exposed to other styles.

 

Lastly,as far as the sparring goes, if you are doing Goju, then the lessons leaned form sparring are not likely to be as important as those learned from Kata. Try delveing into bunkai and oyo with your instructor.

[tommarker]

My advice would be that if find yourself just "going through the motions" then you need to sit down for a minute and think about why you are training.

 

Obviously kihon is not as exciting as kumite... I think that is true in most people's hearts.

 

But you should always have something to strive for when performing kihon. For example, if I only focused on the end result of center punch, I'm only thinking about maybe 5% of the entire technique.

 

Start looking at your transitions from one technique to another, making it more efficient. Maybe you'll notice that your elbow goes too far outward, or that you really could get a lot more driving power of your back leg.

 

Start examining and doing these things, and you will start making major progress. At some point, you will reach a stage where your sensei can only guide you so much. You will need to take steps on your own to further your advancement.

 

Once you've done this, I imagine your sensei will notice the change and start giving you more things to think about.

 

equanimus is dead-on. you are in the brown belt slump. it's a mind shift from "what else can sensei show me?" to taking what sensei has shown you, the tools he/she has given you and making something happen with them.

 

if you don't do this, you will get bored, quit and start doing some other art that looks flashier... until you get bored with that... etc. see where i'm heading?

[CheekyMusician]

Sometimes I feel the same about my club. I've been training for not long off 2 years and we spar A LOT at my club. At first this wasn't so bad, because I got taken out a lot to be taught basics 'cause I'd just started and when I got put in with the rest of the class I was just so busy trying to keep up that I didn't get bored.

 

Now, though, sparring constantly can get boring. I often find myself going to class, doing the warm up, sparring for 10 minutes, sitting out for 10, sparring for 10, then attempting to spar for another 10 minutes but ending up just blethering to my sparring partner, which is a bad habit, I know, but its hard when you know you've got to spar for an hour and 15 minutes. You just can't be bothered with doing the same thing for that length of time almost every time you train.

 

Either speak to your instructor or check some other clubs out round about and see if any of them appeal to you.

[shotochem]

Yep, its just a slump.

 

There is nothing wrong with doing a lot of basics, it will just make you that much better. MA are really not that exciting and we all get bored at times.

 

When I start to feel a class starting to drag and the others around me dragging. I just turn it up a notch. I just keep pushing harder its contagious. When everyone gets going 100% even the most boring of classes can quite intense. Think of every class, punch, and kick as one step closer to achieving your BB.