Is it time to move on? (A dispute with my Shihan)

[zuluking]

I've obtained my 1st Dan but do to recent events (too long to go into here) I'm having "issues" with my Shihan. I'll be training in some form of Martial Arts the rest of my life...its the best thing that ever happened to me and I'm paid up through September. I will be moving on to another Dojo my question is this:

Should I move on now or wait until September?

[pineapple]

I would suggest that you consider how much you are learning.

If you are still being taught a lot, you should forget your personal differences and learn as much as you can before moving on.

[Drgnslyer]

I completely agree with pineapple...personal differences are just that...I understand sometimes they can make a situation incredibly tense..however it is more than possible to either work out the problem, or at least come to a mutual understanding that you will both agree to disagree, and move on, not letting yourselves be dragged down with bickering.

[xdevilmaycry24x]

i agree with the previous posts

[ravenzoom]

Depends. If you're going backwards to the dojo because of him, I say maybe it's time for a breath of fresh air. Perhaps you could take on a new martial art to complement and add to what you have learned in shotokan. Take something you possibly lack competency in (ex. grappling, weapons manipulation, etc.)

[24fightingchickens]

I've obtained my 1st Dan but do to recent events (too long to go into here) I'm having "issues" with my Shihan. I'll be training in some form of Martial Arts the rest of my life...its the best thing that ever happened to me and I'm paid up through September. I will be moving on to another Dojo my question is this:

Should I move on now or wait until September?

I cannot say this enough. Never, never, never, never, never pay for karate lessons in advance. Karate schools are some of the most unreliable, volatile businesses there are. They open and close like restaurants - in a willy nilly fashion that if seen in high speed motion would look like fireworks going off.

I've been doing this a long time, and every karate school that was open when I started karate has closed, and all the ones that were open ten years later than that are closed now to. Very few stay open for very long.

Even when they do stay open, usually the instructor retires and sells the school or hands it off to someone else, and everyone on a contract or paid in advance starts whining about how different it is.

Add to that the fact that karate people are, in my opinion, very confrontational, and you have a recipe for disaster where eventually you will get into a dispute with the instructor when you lose your awe of him, and then will want to leave.

I advise always to pay month to month, even if it costs more, and never ever pay in advance for any lessons just to save a few bucks. If paying in advance didn't help the instructor/school owner keep a lot of money paid by folks who paid in advance who quit shortly after paying, they would not offer these pay-in-advance discounts.

It's a rip off. Pay month to month.

[shogeri]

I agree...Avoid contracts, or pay-up-front schools.

If you are paying between $25 and $65 a month.

That is somewhat reasonable.

[Hobbes]

Part of the martial arts experience is exploring what works for you. I do not know of one master that has not learned something from someone else from a different style or system. Its been my experience that the Sensei Kohai relationship is fine as long as the Kohai does not question sensei too much. One of the privileges of rank is the ability to ask the question "Why". Karate training has many facets, and one of the facets is political. With many teachers, they do not like to be challenged, and this is unfortunate.

Tradition is a nice way of saying.. "its done like this because this is the way it was always done". Tradition used as an answer is inadequate at best. The trick to dealing with teachers is to bring your why questions to them in private so you don't cause them to look incompetent infront of their students. If they are unwilling to admit that they don't know, and pretend its some guarded secret, then this is a red flag. No teacher knows it all, and even the masters of old got it wrong from time to time. A good teacher, even a 8th dan will admit that they don't know anything, but will endevor to research the question and find out. After all, expert doesn't mean you know it all, but rather you know as much as the current body of knowledge and experiece allows. There is always room for improvement.

[johnnymac]

you ever think about doing Saishu Ryu? The kata are very similar to Shotokan, and the escapes and throws are easy to pick up. Doshu would probably even keep you at the Shodan level if you crossed over.

If you are interested in this just send me a private message, I'll send you our regional head's email address.

[NidaninNJ]

move on. There are lots of other choices out there and you could always just work out on your own.