ShotokanKid Posted February 5, 2005 Posted February 5, 2005 I am a young Shotokan black belt (14) and I attend Friday night classes which for my dojo is usually smaller and taught by a less experienced teacher. Whenever we are told to pick a partner, the teacher always makes me go with a woman who is an orange belt. This is doing neither one of us any good. I want to partner up with a bigger stronger partner. It's like this: Sure you can kick a Jack Russel Terrier but can you kick a Pitbull? I want to kick the Pitbull. It's not doing her any good because I always overpower her and it's not doing me any good because I'm not being challenged. I want to talk to the teacher about this but I'm not sure how to phrase it. I am starting to get frustrated as I can't pick my own partner and especially since our tournament is coming up, I need to improve. How do I phrase this? Any advice will be appreciated. Thank you. "What we do in life, echoes in eternity.""We must all fear evil men. But there is another kind of evil which we must fear most, and that is the indifference of good men."
kzshin Posted February 5, 2005 Posted February 5, 2005 Why don't you explain to him nicely in private, but be sincered. If he can't understand then I will say he is not open minded enough to be an instructor. GOOD LUCK at your Tournament.
Karate-addict Posted February 5, 2005 Posted February 5, 2005 Sorry but I do not see a problem here. The orange belt getts a lot from working out with a black belt (in this case you are her pitbul), especially if you'll give her tips on what to improve or simply to try to give her a hard time, after a few weeks or a few months you will see the difference in her, she will become faster in her attacks and probably she will be able to block some of your punches or kicks. By working with her you can also improve, by seeing her faults and then trying to explain to her the correct way. That is what being a "sempai" is all about, taking care of the "kohai". Besides if you want to improve for your tournament, you can allways go to your sensei or one of your sempai after the formal class for additional few minutes of practice. hara wo neru
P.A.L Posted February 5, 2005 Posted February 5, 2005 this is a problem when a martial art becomes a sport.
pers Posted February 5, 2005 Posted February 5, 2005 Sorry but I do not see a problem here. The orange belt getts a lot from working out with a black belt (in this case you are her pitbul), especially if you'll give her tips on what to improve or simply to try to give her a hard time, after a few weeks or a few months you will see the difference in her, she will become faster in her attacks and probably she will be able to block some of your punches or kicks. By working with her you can also improve, by seeing her faults and then trying to explain to her the correct way. That is what being a "sempai" is all about, taking care of the "kohai". Besides if you want to improve for your tournament, you can allways go to your sensei or one of your sempai after the formal class for additional few minutes of practice. I fully agree! never give up !
senna_trem Posted February 5, 2005 Posted February 5, 2005 this is a problem when a martial art becomes a sport. Please elaborate. "I think therefore I am" Rene Descartes
ShotokanKid Posted February 6, 2005 Author Posted February 6, 2005 it is a problem for me however because I doubt she will be competing in the tournament and I will. I need to improve and there is an orange belt her size who is more than willing to work with her. I'm asking how to approach the teacher not if I'm a sporty tournament person. "What we do in life, echoes in eternity.""We must all fear evil men. But there is another kind of evil which we must fear most, and that is the indifference of good men."
SaiFightsMS Posted February 6, 2005 Posted February 6, 2005 Often an instructor will ask a young black belt of a similar physical size as a lower ranking student to work with them as part of the training process. You are helping her work on her skills while at the same time you are working on your own control. You should take this as part of your own learning process. In many dojo's it is part of the sempai/kohai relationship to assist in the learning process. Learning how to help lower ranking students is part of the trainig process and part of advancing in rank for my schools. Re-examine your attitude and see what you can give to the situation then you will gain from it.
ShotokanKid Posted February 6, 2005 Author Posted February 6, 2005 Looking over all these posts, it really made me seem like a jerk. Sorry that I acted too hastily, I can get extra help if needed. "What we do in life, echoes in eternity.""We must all fear evil men. But there is another kind of evil which we must fear most, and that is the indifference of good men."
seersin Posted February 6, 2005 Posted February 6, 2005 It's cool you see tha error now.Even though it's over I was just gonna say,How do you think you would feel if tha higher up guys thought of you like you think of her,That would suck.Count it as a blessing to be able to help someone.Ma's are all about bringing together,not division.Good luck in your classes and tournaments. ISAIAH 53:5
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