Block system?

[d16turbohonda]

How does this work can somone explain?

Im an orange belt and my instructor said we are going into the white,orange,yellow block. Does this mean I have to wait for the orange belt part to come around in 8 weeks? If so i mite just wait to sign up for more classes.

[IloveTKD]

I have no clue... that doesnt make any sense to me. At my school, you learn all the basic blocks in stead of self defense at the white belt level.

[Shorinryu Sensei]

*donning my Mr. Spock ears*

Since this pertains to something your instructor said to you...maybe you should ask him?

*removing my Mr. Spock ears*

[MasterH]

*donning my Mr. Spock ears*

Since this pertains to something your instructor said to you...maybe you should ask him?

*removing my Mr. Spock ears*

FYI, that was my first thought - but you said it first.

[Balrog]

I'm an ATA 5th Degree and as long as there is breath in my body, we will NOT teach using the block system in my school.

I personally think it is one of the worst things I have seen happen to ATA. We used to have superb technicians; now we've got schlock and I don't know that we will ever recover from it. Block teaching came in about 5 years ago and I immediately started seeing the quality of technique displayed in tournaments go headfirst down the toilet. We score on a 0-9 rating and I honestly cannot remember the last time that I gave someone under the rank of 2nd Degree a score higher than a 7 in forms competition. I sure do give out a bunch of 2s and 3s, though. And that saddens me greatly.

In theory, block sounds real good. It allows the instructor greater control over a class because they are all learning the same material, no question about that. And yes, it increases the bottom line because you can have more students and fewer instructors. But nobody bothers to look past that and ask if it benefits the students. The answer is that it doesn't.

Our style was specifically developed to build on the preceding ranks. Orange Belt depends on White Belt, Yellow Belt on Orange Belt, etc. Now if you are teaching on block, you're going to have students learning material for which they have NO foundation. The answer that I get most often is "That's no problem, they'll learn it correctly the next testing cycle". There is a problem: they don't learn it correctly because they've already learned it incorrectly. And we all know how difficult it is to unlearn something and relearn it correctly. The result: if a student lucks out and goes through the blocks with the correct sequence, we'll get somebody with good technique. The rest of them....well, let's be charitible and simply say that their technique won't be good. If I said what I really think, the censoring software would bounce my post.

This is a hot button subject with me. I'll get down off my soapbox now.

As always, this is just my $0.02 worth....

[MasterH]

This is a hot button subject with me.

Balrog, I would never have guessed..........

Don't hide your feelings, you must express yourself!

[Balrog]

This is a hot button subject with me.

Balrog, I would never have guessed..........

Don't hide your feelings, you must express yourself!

I know, I'm such a soft-spoken guy!

[Aodhan]

How does this work can somone explain?

Im an orange belt and my instructor said we are going into the white,orange,yellow block. Does this mean I have to wait for the orange belt part to come around in 8 weeks? If so i mite just wait to sign up for more classes.

No, all it means is that everyone who is a white, orange or yellow belt will be learning the same material. It's a teaching method enabling instructors to give more individual attention to more students.

Aodhan

[d16turbohonda]

ok hmm i have a shrin ryu karate down the street for 10 bucks less a month should i give them a try cause everyone here local is ATA.

[Shinobi187]

ok hmm i have a shrin ryu karate down the street for 10 bucks less a month should i give them a try cause everyone here local is ATA.

Always try other styles. If you aren't comfortable with the teaching style you are in it's best to make sure you really like it before investing too much time in a style or orginization.