weak karate students?????

[luke_f34]

hold up. a 13 year old black belt. whats wrong with that picture

 

unless they are some kind of freak that learn uber quickly I really doubt they could have earned that high of a rank

[TangSooGuy]

hold up. a 13 year old black belt. whats wrong with that picture

 

unless they are some kind of freak that learn uber quickly I really doubt they could have earned that high of a rank

 

you know what...this argument gets really old. I'm not picking on you, nor am I saying the 13 year old in question earned his black belt.

 

I am saying that age really isn't that big of a limiting factor. There are plenty of 13 year olds out there that have legimately earned their black belts.

 

There are probably way more that haven't earned them, but that's more a symptom of the McDojo syndrome than the age itself. People just don't give kids nearly enough credit.

 

McDojos will create a plethora of undeserving young black belts, but young black belts are not automatically an indication of a McDojo.

 

Yes, most adults probably could defeat a young black belt by overwhelming them with sheer size and stength, but again that is a just a symptom of false confidence brought about by poor teaching methodologies.

 

A young black belt should know that they will have to adopt different strategies when dealing with adults, if they are taught properly.

 

Sorry this is a bit off topic, but it always gets me a little worked up when I see people making blanket statements about young martial artists.

 

is their an epidemic of young black belts that don't deserve their rank? Absolutely.

 

Does that mean that a young student CAN'T earn a black belt in the correct environment?

 

Definitely not.

[tommarker]

A friend of mine in High School recieved his black belt at the age of 13. He could also bench over 200lbs, slam dunk a basketball (5'8") and was a star running back. Him and his brothers were freaks of nature, and spent a good amount of their teenage years working out, doing pushups while watching TV, etc.

 

So even in 8th grade, this kid was in greater physical shape than most adults I know.

 

That was almost 10 years ago, and kids are only maturing earlier and earlier. Watch out

[Coco]

I reccomend not suggesting things you do not know about. This kid, although very playful, takes karate very very seriously, he is in fact, my sensei's son. He gained his black belt in over 7 hard working years, instead of the regular 3 years, and he wins gold medal on every competition he goes to. But still, he is afraid of me so i beat him every time

[ramymensa]

If you can beat him frequently ... he's not that good. And to let fear controll him is another big NO NO. The fact he wins medals is not that important. It always depends on the competitors, judges and many "variables". At the end he is still a kid.

 

RED TRIANGLE STUDENT WROTE:

Other people though, seem to lack dediacation to the true spirit of Karate-Do. This lacking leads to laziness that is always going to stop them working.

 

It depends on many things. Some could be lazy (had some "examples"), with methabolism problems (that couldn't be fixed by the training) ... Still in a general situation we all get fitter and even lose some wight. I don't really believe in a "standard" weight. I've known slender people trying to gain some weight, even if the statistics said they're perfect as well as chubby persons who were healthy and loved their body. If you are healthy and feel good, the pounds are just a number ...

[luke_f34]

I am not saying a 13 year old can't be a good martial artist. In my style there is a lot more to being a black belt than just knowing all the techniques and kata. There is a spiritual side and a lifestyle that comes along with karate too and I think that 13 is just to young to understand that. (I am not insulting young students. I'am 14 so I am aware that yound students can woop an adult student's butt) I am probably wrong about all of this so no one get pissed at me

[White Warlock]

Geez, how did age fall into this discussion?

 

In an effort to bring this discussion back on track, I brag about myself.

 

If you were to look at me, i seem rather fit, although just a 'tad' heavy about the midsection (complacency in relationships can do that to you). However, in two days i moved all the furnishings of a four-bedroom home. In addition I painted, repaired cabinets, drilled, hammered, sawed, did plumbing, replaced doors, repaired electronics, etc etc etc.

 

All of this, i did in just two days... alone... and in 120 degree weather.

 

A few of my muscles are complaining, but nothing significant. What i did surprised even me. I thought i was out of shape, but the only thing that caused me to break a sweat, was the temperature (drank aplenty, let me tell you).

 

So, even though someone may 'look' not quite in shape, don't be fooled by appearances. In this day and age, media and magazines sell you the waif woman and the sixpack-ab men. But, just look at some of the best 'fighters.' Except for specimens of uberish physique such as Ken Shamrock, most are actually a tad imperfect, slightly overweight or underweight.

 

So, it's not necessarily complacency, just different diets and metabolisms.

[Drunken Monkey]

...just to clarify.

 

what i was originally trying to say was;

 

how do you know that your '60 press-ups

 

were as good as their '20'?

[angelica d]

Number of press ups you can do reflects little about your overall fitness - it shows that you have practised doing press ups. I can't do many press ups, but I run 4 miles every morning, and work out for at least an hour every evening. And at my sailing club when one of the yachts trailers broke, I managed to lift the boat when a strong looking man couldn't!

 

Still, aside from press ups, I understand what you mean about many students not being very fit. Personally, I think that as you progress in karate, fitness becomes more important than when you are a beginner. However, the most important thing is technique, and I've seen loads of people who aren't in great shape, but who perform brilliant techniques.

[ninelivesarentenough]

i like the way my sensei managed this, and i'm not sure if he even did it on purpose. there's regular class, and then we have a black belt club available to green belts and above who have shown that they have good techniques and show great interest. call it coincidence but most ppl in black belt club are in at least moderate shape, i think it's because in shape ppl practice more so they get to represent our dojo this way.