(shotokan)Doubts

[lufbrajames]

Hi all

I was wondering why in the Shotokan syllabus (i have several books and have searched on the internet or the syllabus information)some grades you don't have to learn any more techniques, and for 2nd kyu 1st kyu and 1st dan there is no difference??? seems very strange why have the grades if you don't have to do anything for them, are they simply to increase the time before black??

Thanks

[lordtariel]

Hi all

I was wondering why in the Shotokan syllabus (i have several books and have searched on the internet or the syllabus information)some grades you don't have to learn any more techniques, and for 2nd kyu 1st kyu and 1st dan there is no difference??? seems very strange why have the grades if you don't have to do anything for them, are they simply to increase the time before black??

Thanks

While I don't take shotokan, I imagine that they expect improved technique to be the requirement for advancement on those belts. Learning new techniques is all well and good, but if you don't have a solid foundation, you're going to have problems.

[ps1]

I think it depends whose syllabus you check. In ours there isn't a rank you earn without learning more information.

[Menjo]

Hi all

I was wondering why in the Shotokan syllabus (i have several books and have searched on the internet or the syllabus information)some grades you don't have to learn any more techniques, and for 2nd kyu 1st kyu and 1st dan there is no difference??? seems very strange why have the grades if you don't have to do anything for them, are they simply to increase the time before black??

Thanks

While I don't take shotokan, I imagine that they expect improved technique to be the requirement for advancement on those belts. Learning new techniques is all well and good, but if you don't have a solid foundation, you're going to have problems.

Pretty much.

In my opinion, by the time the average person gets to these levels, their training reaches a point where it plateaus, and often the learning curve is too steep to be constantly moving up every little while. Of course with every belt system, one could argue that it is for money reasons and have a good reason to believe so, however once you reach...say your first black belt, there are so many kata alone to practice, not to mention free sparing, new set of basic drills, setting a good example, and the list goes on.

There is a difference between each level as with 2nd kyu and 1st kyu seem the exact same, you’re hopefully being evaluated on certain things.

For example: 3rd kyu, Expansion and contraction, stance, 2nd kyu, timing, distance, and proper form. 1st, proper application of power and complete techniques with only personal flaws that take forever to overcome (within reason). When these principles are isolated and focused on, the individual can overcome just doing repetition for the sake of trying to avoid feeling awkward and not connected.

As for reading material and syllabus,

meh, I've managed without much reading material so far, myabe thats a bad road two go though.

But you can certainly learn these things by your own training, if you train enough.

Anyway, that’s my ideal on the belt system; hope that answers your thoughts.

[bushido_man96]

Part of the reason at times is that you may have to meet certain other requirements, such as writing a paper, or helping with classes, etc. It just depends on the school and instructor.

[marie curie]

Also, I know that in one of my systems there is a very little bit that you have to learn for those upper belts in comparison to the time that you are in grade-

I think that the reasons are many:

-to observe you as a higher rank for a while

-to see how you teach and let you develop those skills

-to let you hone the abilities that you will be tested on (history, terminology, sparring)

-to make sure that you are in it for good... it seems to be that the biggest two times for people to quit is white/yellow, and brown belt. I always thought that it was really odd until I was a brown belt and quit

[ninjanurse]

Why be a jack of all trades and a master of none? It makes no sense to learn additional material until you are at least good at the ones you already know.

[bushido_man96]

Why be a jack of all trades and a master of none? It makes no sense to learn additional material until you are at least good at the ones you already know.

I don't know how much I really buy into this concept. You hear it all of the time, and it gets such a negative conotation all of the time. By being a jack of all trades, you can be better prepared for more scenarios.

In the end, when we are talking about fighting (the Martial behind the Arts), there are so many caveats to consider, that it really does behoove you to expose yourself to and train in as many of the different areas as possible.

[ninjanurse]

Agreed Bushido. This is just food for thought as to whether or not one is ready to take on additional material before becoming proficient in what one already has to work on...as ego does tend to flare its ugly little head when one wraps a Black Belt around their waste for the first time.

[bushido_man96]

That is true. Ego can become a factor. However, it also comes down to doing what you want to do with your journey as well. In the end, if one does become overwhelmed, I think that many times one will notice, and then choose to back off, or re-focus their attention.