Concerns about my School

[RealWingChunKuen]

Just a quick little story here which shoudl make my view point clear. Maybe 15 years ago I attended a seminar the night before a tournamentthat was hosted by a 10 year old, 3rd Dan black belt. He was supposedly a National Champion of some sort.

During a break in this seminar, which consisted of this 10 year old showing off his high kicks and general "flash-crap" (as I like to call it) I was talking to other sensei in attendance when this kid comes up and just starts taking over the conversation. I don't know what made me do it...just an impulse I guess (I get those sometimes)..but I grabbed the kid by his lapels, picked him up and put his back against the wall so that his head was level with mine (I'm 6'6" tall), and our noses were maybe 6 inches apart. I said to him..."Now what are you going to do?"

Well, let's just say that I was worried he was going to pee his pants, so I put him down. I know this sounds mean, but you'd have had to been at this seminar to see this pompous little ...uhhhh...turd... strutting around like God Himself to understand what made me do what I did. His parents cater to his every whim, he has students that kiss his ....cheeks, and he just thinks he's top of the heap. AT 10!!!

I guess what I'm trying to say here is that I don't want to take classes from a young kid. 15/16+ is OK, but any younger and I won't do it. Not a whole class. Sure, help with something like a basic or a kata perhaps, but not a whole class.

A 10 year old 3rd dan black belt spells Mc dojo to me. It is my understanding of karate that 3rd dan grades, and above, are given for more than just physical ability but also a higher understanding of concepts and theories embodied within an art. How can a 10 year old have the maturity to achieve such a level? Who in their right mind would give a 10 year old a 3rd dan? And until when will the serious martial artists put up with this type of clowning?

I am glad you did what you did to the 10 year old. I am sure it brought him closer in contact with reality. You could have probably done that to his sensei (who presumable awarded him the 3rd dan in the first place), as well, without much difficulty.

[bushido_man96]

If you don't like the high number of the kid population in your school, then moving on is probably best for you. As far as the "traditional" side of the schools, I wouldn't get too caught up in that aspect of it. As long as the instructor is good, is there to help, and teaches practically and effectively, then you should benefit well.

When the instructor mentions that he has elements of all the styles that you mention, you have to wonder how long he has been around, and how long he has been in each style to add them in. It can be a red flag. Or, he could be name dropping to draw interest, and not mean any real harm. Just something to think about in the future.

[Dazed and Confused]

Thanks for your help guys. Seems a bit of a split opinion on this issue of children teaching. I honestly don't have a problem with it on a personal level, I was just querying its effectiveness.

I am going to change schools for a number of reasons, some of which we have touched on here. Another motivating factor for me is that the school i gave a link to before has many branches around the country following the same syllabus, which will allow me some continuity. I'll be going for a trial lesson on thursday and I will post my findings! Certainly from my research it appears to provide for both my desire to learn effective full contact fighting skills with real tradition and heritage. It remains to be seen whether it can fulfill my desire to compete, maybe through BJJ, we shall see.

Anyway, thanks for all your comments!

[RealWingChunKuen]

Thanks for your help guys. Seems a bit of a split opinion on this issue of children teaching. I honestly don't have a problem with it on a personal level, I was just querying its effectiveness.

I am going to change schools for a number of reasons, some of which we have touched on here. Another motivating factor for me is that the school i gave a link to before has many branches around the country following the same syllabus, which will allow me some continuity. I'll be going for a trial lesson on thursday and I will post my findings! Certainly from my research it appears to provide for both my desire to learn effective full contact fighting skills with real tradition and heritage. It remains to be seen whether it can fulfill my desire to compete, maybe through BJJ, we shall see.

Anyway, thanks for all your comments!

Good luck with that school. However, keep an eye out for any Kyokushinkai schools that may be near where you are going. It would seem that this style of karate tends to maintain a good consistency as regards training standards and tradition as well as regular competitions that even cross over to multi-style scenarios such as K1 and MMA.

[Dazed and Confused]

Well now you mention it there is an IKO Kyokushinkai school in driving distance both where I am now and where I'm moving to. I don't really know much about Kyokushinkai, I'll do a search of these boards and elsewhere.

Thanks again!

[RealWingChunKuen]

Well now you mention it there is an IKO Kyokushinkai school in driving distance both where I am now and where I'm moving to. I don't really know much about Kyokushinkai, I'll do a search of these boards and elsewhere.

Thanks again!

I'll give you some relevant info here on this style. Kyokushinkai karate was founded by Masutatsu Oyama. The style is mainly based on Goju-Ryu and Shotokan. However, it has other influences, including Chinese, and Korean, I believe.

The training is very physical and it takes the Budo approach. The sparring is full contact and bare knuckle. Punches to the face are not allowed for obvious reasons. However, knee attacks and kicks are allowed to the face and other parts of the body.

Great importance is also given to kata training - a very traditional approach. The system is very rich as far as techniques are concerned. Regular Kyokushinkai competitions are held all over the planet, nationally, as well as international ones.

Eventhough this is a relatively new style of karate, it is more traditional than some of the more popular and older styles who make the same claim.

To find out more about this style of karate google Mas. Oyama, and of course Kyokushinai.

Best of luck.