Just when you thought you were doing ok

[Highler]

****

Edited October 19, 2005 by Highler

[Grenadier]

First, and most importantly, don't let frustration take over here. Some folks might not have developed the patience, etc., when it comes to partnering up with lower ranks.

 

Secondly, at the risk of sounding like Mr. Miyagi, you should focus on the quality of your techniques, not the quantity. Someone with a good gyaku-tzuki (reverse punch) and uraken (backfist) is going to benefit tremendously from that technique in competition matches, and will score far more points with those techniques than someone using more of the fancier moves.

 

Grab one of the black belts as a sparring partner. They should have decent patience, and experience, when it comes to sparring white belts, and will leave various openings for you, so that you can get accustomed to performing the appropriate techniques.

[cross]

The next 5 minutes sparring with him demoralised me as he had so many moves and combinations i hadn't seen before and was correcting my movements and techniques. I'm certain he was trying to help but i really thought i was getting somewhere and realised practicing with white belts really isn't the same as they can't spot your mistakes or even show you new stuff. He even had to correct my basic punch!

 

I wouldnt worry to much about this, its expected that the higher rank students have a grasp on a larger number of techniques or principles and should also be able to help you out when it comes to the basics.

He seemed slightly frustrated that he couldn't dive about as normal and having to help me was holding him back and i felt a bit guilty at that

 

His frustration is not your fault. Everyone has to start somewhere and remember, one day he/she would have been the white belt trying to learn things from a higher ranked student.

but because i'm not very good, i'm thinking that higher grades aren't really interested in training with you only to hold them back, they don't benefit from teaching me and i don't want to waste their time either.

 

Once again, everyone starts out being "not very good".

 

I believe that them teaching you, will benifit their own training. Im sure that most will agree with me when i say you learn alot more about a technique or a principle you have been using once you have to actually explain it in detail to another person (you often pick-up finer points or things you may not have seen and thought of before).

On the other hand is training with white belts going to get me anywhere as they know as much as me?

 

You need to have a good mix of training with white belts AND higher grades. If you spend your whole time training with people at the same skill level you will never get better because you wont be forced to increase your own skills by facing someone better at the art than yourself.

[ShotokanKid]

It's like when I was learning guitar, my dad would just zoom off and start playing some impossible music. Next time, tell the guy to slow down.

 

Example:

 

You: Sorry, I'm not quite getting it. Will you slow down and show me?

 

He will probably say something like: Sure

 

Explain you are new and apologize (even though it's not your fault)

 

If you apologize, people become more agreeable.

 

Let's say you're a vet who's doing a house call on Christmas:

 

Them: Alright, hurry up and take a look at my dog

 

vs.

 

Them: I'm so sorry to drag you out away from your family on Christmas Day. Would you mind looking at my dog?

 

It's the same. I'm almost sure if you do it that way, the guy will apologize for going to fast.

[Cobosan]

Eh i wouldnt worry about it if I were you. I also had an experience when one of the higher ranked students told me ( when i didnt quite know the technique ) that " omg maybe in the next 100 tries u might be able to actually DO IT " In this case it wasnt a fact of lower rank higher rank but of "showing off". I believe there is one or two in every club ( atleast at the begining ).

 

My advice to u is : " practise practise and more practise " not just at the dojo. I am also at the begining stages but i practise every day ( not a must but I like ryukyu kempo so much that i want to practise it , I dont feel obliged to do so ). The basics can sometimes become boring but in many skills it always comes back to the basics and if they are weak everything else will also be.

[intraining]

Oh boy do I know how you feel!! I'm the only white belt left in our dojo, so I'm always partnered up with a higher rank. Fortunately for me, they are very patient with me, and force me to work a lot harder at correcting my stances and tecniques.

 

In the long run though, it's really beneficial, I think, for the lower ranks to work closely with the higher ranks. It's beneficial for both parties. It helps us improve a lot faster, and it forces them to slow down a bit and re-focus on their techniques.

 

I often feel really badly for them too, and I almost stopped going when the other two white belts stopped coming. But I'm sticking with it, and am improving a lot faster now that I'm always working with a higher ranking.

[karatekid1975]

In the long run though, it's really beneficial, I think, for the lower ranks to work closely with the higher ranks. It's beneficial for both parties. It helps us improve a lot faster, and it forces them to slow down a bit and re-focus on their techniques

 

I agree. I was scared ..... I think the better word is "timid" when I first started out. But I learned that most black belts are the best to work with. They have good control with the beginners, and most of them are willing to help.

 

Now that I'm up there in rank, I am asked to help (from the beginners). I have no problem helping. Of course, when I'm up against one of my black belt buddies, we talk trash, go at it, then laugh about it. But when it comes to someone who is new, I don't have a problem going back to the basics to help them. It benefits both of us. They get the help they need, and I get to work on my basics

 

So don't be affraid to ask for help. Most of the higher ranks are willing to help, unless they are so full of themselves that they don't care about anyone else. But that's rare.

[pineapple]

Sparring with anyone can be beneficial to both parties.

 

If I spar with an advanced practitioner who is catching me consistantly in one area, I learn my weakness and know what I need to practice more of.

 

If I spar with a white belt, I work strictly on blocks which is good for me because when I spar with blackbelts, my defense is an offense so training with blackbelts and whitebelts offers me different type of training.

 

If an advanced belt gives you an attitude, then he is the one with the problem, not you so don't worry about it.

[informer]

in a good dojo the senpai is suppose to help the kohai, it's their giri...so take all the help you can get. and by the way thank you for sharing the story it was great to think back to when I was in your shoes 20 years ago.

[yamesu]

dont be at all discouraged,

 

i was on my white belt for well over a year,

 

and it took me just under 10 years to achieve my Kyokushin BB,

 

but well worth it in the end,

 

my entire life has and continues to be a constant learning experience, gaining a different coloured belt does not mean that i have no more to learn, even from lower ranking karate-ka,

 

belts are only good for holding gi's closed - or pants up.

i'm thinking that higher grades aren't really interested in training with you only to hold them back, they don't benefit from teaching me and i don't want to waste their time either

I believe that them teaching you, will benifit their own training

Sparring with anyone can be beneficial to both parties.

 

If I spar with an advanced practitioner who is catching me consistantly in one area, I learn my weakness and know what I need to practice more of.

 

If I spar with a white belt, I work strictly on blocks which is good for me because when I spar with blackbelts, my defense is an offense so training with blackbelts and whitebelts offers me different type of training.

 

If an advanced belt gives you an attitude, then he is the one with the problem, not you so don't worry about it.

exactly,

 

if a higher belt has a bad disposition, its his problem,

 

but in my opinion, most higher ranking karate-ka should have no 2nd thoughts helping you out,

 

its a part of Karate.

 

Osu.