School/Teaching Method Dilemma

[tori]

A martial artist's journey is and has to be one of the most personal journey's one can take.

I agree with many others that there are times that one will question their own rank and the technique of others. You have to learn to get past that kind of thinking. If you are happy with your head instructors ability to teach a style and you are giving 100%, then you should not worry about what others are doing.

The mind, spirit, and integrity of each individual who wears a black belt is different than that of the person standing next to him/her in line. You cannot judge your rank to other students. Your own personal goals and challenges are going to be different than theirs.

I love my style. I think my instructor is great. Sure, I think that there are people in my class who don't value their training as much as I do. That's ok. Im not taking Karate to compare myself to them. I am taking Karate to be a better person. I think that I do ok. I never give up and never think that my technique is at its best or better than others.

To sum it up, if you are happy. Stay. Judge only your own personal training. If you think you are not ready to test, just say so. It really is that easy.

[bushido_man96]

If you have an issue with the testing cycles at your school, just don't test as often. Just because a testing has come along, doesn't mean you have to test. Hold yourself out till next time, or the time after, if you feel the need for more preparation.

From what you mention of the other school, I see a few flags pop up there. If an instructor isn't willing to let me watch a class, then I don't think I want to really partake in that class.

The best way to take care of the problems you may see with your school is to stick with it, be true to yourself, and when it comes time for you to teach, you will know what you will and won't allow to happen as far as pushing or pulling students along goes. If we all do this, then we all can fix the Martial Arts.

[unknownstyle]

Not hating on you unknown, but I think part of that is probibly due to the large numbers of people who study TKD. Proportionally, they probibly have more people than any other two arts nation wide. Maybe some of the bigger karate confederations come close, I don't know.

But anyone with any sort of organizational size will have a few slip thru. With TKD, there are just that many more involved.

and thats what i meant really i just didnt say it, because it is a "prettier" art to watch more people do it. hard japanese styles are not really for everyone, tkd is a little more friendly to the students.

[bushido_man96]

TKD is still a hard style. At least the way I do it is. If you get into the sine wave of the ITF styles, it seems to be a bit less powerful to me, but our school doesn't use the sine wave. I do know that there are some differences between TKD and Karate styles, but I think there are more similarities than differences, as far as technique goes.

[unknownstyle]

TKD is still a hard style. At least the way I do it is. If you get into the sine wave of the ITF styles, it seems to be a bit less powerful to me, but our school doesn't use the sine wave. I do know that there are some differences between TKD and Karate styles, but I think there are more similarities than differences, as far as technique goes.

i would agree there are many similarities to japanese karate styles and TKD, but not so much with okinawan karate styles. okinawan styles in my opinion are much harder than any other style with the exception of maybe muay thai.

[Truestar]

That's the stereotype today. Many people think one style is harder then the other, when in fact like the argument "No art is more aggressive than any other art" proved that each art is equal opportunity.

It's the martial artists, not the arts themselves. A TKD school could easily produce fighters that could match someone who specializes in Krav Maga, or Muay Thai. Real martial arts schools would teach multiple aspects of attack and would also teach the cons to certain techniques.

In our school we are taught the spinning jumping kicks, but we're also taught that those kicks aren't always great, in fact a lot of times they aren't. It offers a chance to easily loose balance etc.

To say one art is "harder" than the others is almost like an insult. If someone told me any Muay Thai fighter could be a TKD practitioner I'd be offended.

[bushido_man96]

Truestar: "Hard" is used to define the kind of moves and lines that the style tends to follow. TKD and Karate or considered "hard" styles because of the straight line and straight forward and crispness, and snap and strength in technique. Tai Chi and Aikido, in contrast, would be considered "soft" or "gentle" styles. Hard isn't defining difficulty here.

unknownstyle: I think you might be on target there.

[Prostar]

OK, bwesleyp, first things first. Relax. You are still near the beginning of this journey, so don't rush off in any direction yet.

You mention a few valid concerns and want to feel better about what you have gotten yourself into. Failing that, you want to know what to do.

Let me start with the verb. "Do" One thing you can do to compare your class, style, techniques or level with others would be to go to a couple(bunch) of tournaments. All discussion about politics and all around fairness aside, you will likely get to see a nice cross section of martial arts in your area/region. You can even sit in the stands and watch it all play out in front of you and still come away enlightened. I did that once with my wife. She had no experience with MA at all so I took her to a local open tournament and explained what was happening. She got to the point where she could see some of the differences rather quickly.

As for yourself, you are the type of student I always liked to have in my class. Just because they say these skills are the minimum standard for the next advancement, doesn't mean you have to settle for that. That verb again...do more.

The bottom line is that it is entirely up to you to learn. I suspect that as you pull, they will push. Instructors generally work to a common level. You don't have to, and they will react to your enthusiasm with a smile.

Now, go do ten thousand kicks in the next month.

[ironsifu]

i only read a few posts from this thread, but i would like to comment on a few things (people might of already said it), and when i have a chance i'll read the rest.

1. 2 1/2 years is too short of a time to reach the black belt level. "Black Belt" is the expert level, and should never be looked at as "the beginning", except the beginning of a career. this is the level when you beging to test your knowledge and perfect what you know. this is the first step in the road to teaching and establishing your worth as a teacher. you cannot even get a college degree in 2 1/2 years. but we live in a world where it is common--just like 15 year old mothers, and 30 year old grandmothers--but we dont have to accept it or follow the mass.

2. there is a lot to be said about loyalty to your teacher, but there is no crime (these days) to having more than one teacher, its not like a woman or something. your quality of learning under one teacher should be better if there is no second teacher, but that is only if he is a good teacher. no offense, but it sounds like you might be in a place of business more than a school of martial arts. can you learn and develop in a commercial dojo? yes. there are many great teachers doing the commercial thing because the truth is that teachers should not have to starve their families because of good martial arts. not everyone is cut out for serious training, but you still have to feed the kids. in your school you might have 12 year black belters, but there might be a place for the serious students to train with your teacher. i wouldnt be so quick to give up on him.

--a side note, i once had a teacher who was very traditional, very serious, and very demanding. i lived one hour drive away, and would go to his school two sometimes three days a week for almost two years, and we trained all day. me and some other guys slept on the floor of the school, unless a rich student was there the weekend, and then we slept in a hotel. anyway, he gave me a black belt after a three day test (i slept almost 24 hours straight after the test). this was less than 30 months, and only 2 days a week, and i learned his whole curriculum in 9 months. oh, but i forgot, i've seen him give german, american, and australian students a black belt in two weeks too. like i said, my teacher was poor by american standards, and those european students brought income.

3. the korean teacher might be a good teacher too. i am funny about accepting many students myself, but i usually dont tell them. again, the truth is, there is very few students who want real training. so i have some teachers who run a class where all new people go, and i teach the closed classes myself, which i pick out of that class. i have had some people come to my class and drop back to the regular class, thats okay no hard feelings. but a few years ago, i was not sure about some guys so sometimes i actually talk some people out of joining. but hell with almost $5000 US to pay a month in rent, i had to change my way of recruiting. traditional teachers almost always have to be convinced to accept me as a student (even here in the USA), espcially if you came from another school.

4. i recommend you talk to your teacher before leaving or "cheating" lol. he might be willing to train you extra if thats what your looking for. sometimes a teacher doesnt know whats going on inside the mind of a student until he says someting. one time i had a student who was doing really good, he fights like a tiger, and all of a sudden he quit. i saw him in home depot, and he told me, "i'm scared of hell with some of the guys, and i dont like contact sparring." woah, i didnt know. well he is almost 50 years old, he can whip most of my young guys, but he just wants to stay in shape and learn some self defense. so i modify what he does, so he came back. you might be surprised if you talk to your teacher(s).

5. no matter what the level of skill is in your school, if you trained like mad man, you can still end up with the great fighitng that you want. yesterday i was at a tournament, and saw a guy at the finals, who came from what most people would call "mcdojo". this guy was an animal. after he lost (he was still murdering people on the floor), i talked to him. he never trained anywhere else, and even though they dont want students going to tournaments, he trains 5 days a week and fights every weekend. i would of been proud if he was my student. many times, whether your teacher is a true master or not, you will determined what kind of fighter you will become.

good luck!

[Traymond]

If I were you...

I would not join a school, if I cannot observe a class beforehand.

I would not leave a school just because I dont feel like Myself or the higher ranks are not qualified, I would try my best to MAKE myself qualified.

An instructor can only do so much, after that its up to the student to fulfill their dreams in martial arts and their expectations.