goedikey Posted April 21, 2004 Posted April 21, 2004 Hello, just came back from my belt exam and have succeeded in getting my green belt. I am very disappointed in the way my Sensei graded me : Kihon B- Kumite B- Kata C+ Sensei did point out that our group was very good. He also pointed out that my results were equal to someone who, in my opinion, doesnt have the technique nor the spirit that I do. I believe there is some favoritism in the way he gives the grades. I am slighlty worried about this because my Sensei doesnt want to discuss individual exam results because there are so many students in our school. I believe I am a strong Karateka with good technique and spirit. Stress has made my balance weak and my kibadachi higher than usual (as pionted out in his paper) but I dont believe this is a good reason to score me so low, especially compare me with someone who I dont think much of. I seem to annoy my Sensei every once in a while for some reasons. He doesnt like it when I ask questions. I simply sont understand why I get such low grades. Its been the same thing for every testing I have done with him. Fio rsome reason, the kids always get first rank.
searcher Posted April 21, 2004 Posted April 21, 2004 Here is some food for thought. Do you think that maybe your sensei sees a lot of potential in you and he/she wants to push you to be better? I have had several different instructors and the one that brought me further than any other graded me hard to get me to realize my full potential. "let those who shed blood with me be forever known as my brother."
Sibylla Posted April 21, 2004 Posted April 21, 2004 Noone here can compare you and your training mates. But a sensei could very well be rewarding his own personal favorites. It is up to you if you can live with it or not. It is ok for a sensei to push someone in training. But to try to punish them in grading is unfair, if you are as good as the others, then you are. "The kids always get's first rank". That is typical. Your sensei might see a future kumite champ in them, throw belts at them to keep them.
Makoto Posted April 21, 2004 Posted April 21, 2004 There could be a number of reasons why your instructor is doing what he is doing. I do not understand how stress can affect your horse stance, unless you have not been training lately. However, I assume you are paying fees to train with this guy? If that is the case, he should not be getting mad at you for asking questions. Next, if you paid a grading fee, you should be told exactly what was wrong and what you can do to fix things. I would suggest he is picking favorites, and you are not on his list right now. I also have to ask, are you doing your best? Are you the type of person who complains and makes excuses? It does seem you do worry about what other people do in your club, so I wonder about that. Because I said so, and I am that damn good.
Gloi Posted April 21, 2004 Posted April 21, 2004 Don't worry about it too much. In the long run all that matters is that you are gradually improving. Ask your sensei not why you got low scores but what you need to concentrate on to improve your karate. If you say to him 'why did I get this score when he got such & such he is bound to get annoyed because it comes across as if you think you know better than he does. Nearly always young kids will get higher scores for doing worse techniques than someone a bit older, to encourage them to keep training.
ramymensa Posted April 21, 2004 Posted April 21, 2004 We're not being given * and so on ... it's OK or not. Anyway ... 1. You should know what's not so OK in your performance. The exam is a learning tool, not just a way to take money from you. You are entitled to KNOW. So thus you should work on the weaker sides. And the excuse you are many is CRAP. You need half a minute to be told about the exam and the guy should be open and tell you what went wrong so you won't remain in thick fog like now. 2. Comparison is not a good idea ... You are not like the others. All of us are different so it's not apropriate to make such comments (if so, they must be careful put). We are told that we did better or worse in comparison with ourselves. I'm not interested to find out another is better or worse. Let them do some kumite with me and we'll talk about that I was always told that I did make serious progress and that I need to work at this and that. The only refference to the "herd" was if I was "really" shining. It was something like that: " You all (those who graded) did great. I'm proud of you. And I must say was very good. Liked the technique and so on." 3. ASK all the questions in the world. Your sensei is there to answer (even if payed or not for the classes). Lack of comunication is the worst thing. 4. This exam thing is just a ceremony to advance to the next level. In a normal world sensei knows if you are eligible for the next rank even during normal training sessions. So this exam is just an oportunity to "shine" and to deal with a contest like situation. As for kids .. they should NEVER be compared to adults (or teenagers). There are so many differences in the physiology that it's ludicrous. And agai ... he shouldn't make this kind of comparison. You are fighting with your weeknesses not others. Now ... you can shot me World Shotokan Karate
italian_guy Posted April 21, 2004 Posted April 21, 2004 Yes, I think that with the help of your sensei you can work towards excellece. Try to ask him what are your worst defect and ask suggestion on how to improuve and last but not least do not compare yourself with others you should compare only to yourself and your defects and limits, others may have other and worse limitations and probably thay train hard (maybe even harder then you) to overcome them. Concerning the issue of favorites we are all humans and sometimes for various reasons we may have some people we like more or less... as a said before look only to yourself and your progress MA is a personal journey even if done with the others.
tommarker Posted April 21, 2004 Posted April 21, 2004 I believe I am a strong Karateka with good technique and spirit. Stress has made my balance weak and my kibadachi higher than usual (as pionted out in his paper) but I dont believe this is a good reason to score me so low, especially compare me with someone who I dont think much of. I simply sont understand why I get such low grades. Its been the same thing for every testing I have done with him. You said it all right there. If you have poor balance in kibadachi, I would imagine it is present in your other stances as well. It might just be more obvious to you when you're in kibadachi. You can't get very far with poor balance, and it sounds like he's holding you to a higher standard. I've said it over and over again to our students, and I'll say it to you: Worry about yourself, not those around you. Most people have enough to deal with when it comes to fixing their own faults. Different people receive different feedback based on what the instructor thinks they need at the time. Some people receive negative scores and work hard to convince their instructor they deserve better. Other people get negative scores and become disheartened and give up. It's all a dress rehearsal for your Dan test anyway, which is just a rehearsal for your Kodanja test, etc I'm no longer posting here. Adios.
Guest Posted April 21, 2004 Posted April 21, 2004 I think I should've got better grades in school too. I guess my teachers just had it out for me.
Dijita Posted April 21, 2004 Posted April 21, 2004 I don't know how your grading system works, as when we do tests we don't get "A's" B's" or whatever. Our sempai types out what our strengths are and very specificly what we need to work on. For example one poing that he wrote down on my sheet is that I need to keep my palm facing my ear when we do an upper elbow strike. I find actual letter grade kind of odd. The reason I say this is because martial arts is a life long commitment, where you constantly learn. In my opinion it would be impossible for one to get A's or B's because that would mean that the student is doing everything almost to perfection which I would find very hard to believe. Perhaps when asking your sensei about your grades, re-word your questions. Instead of asking him why you got poor grades, ask him if there is anything specific that you can work on to improve. As much as you seem focused on sensei playing favortism, I would try and avoid this. Even if he is, I think one of the most important things in martial arts is to not compare yourself to others. It should be a personal thing, and your main focus should be to do the best that you can do. It's a hard thing though, and everyone does it.... everyone compares themselves to other students wishing they could be as good as them or thinking that they are better than that other student. Everyone advances at their own pace, just make sure you try your best and ask questions if you are unsure. However if your sensei is so closed off that he won't hear ANY of your questions, then you have a bigger problem that you need to address. Anyways, I hope everything works out for you, and you figure stuff out. Congratulations on your new belt!
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