Giving Black Belts A Bad Name!

[Shotokan-kez]

Hey guys...Just a sound off really. I have karate tonight and i am hoping we won't have the same problems as we had on Monday night. Both myself and my friend are in training for our dan grading. I am taking Nidan and she is taking Sandan. The thing is there are a couple of kids in the class who are a Nidan and Shodan and all they do is mess around. The nidan is really good at her karate but her form has really dropped and she is always getting told off for her sloppiness. The other one just acts the goat and doesn't behave, his form is also dreadful.

The thing is all we heard during the class was "come on!! Your black belts now" And "Where is your power black belts? You aint even breaking a sweat!"

Me and my friend just looked at each other shocked. We have been putting in 110%, training really hard and at the same time setting a good example to the junior grades. But when Sensei just referes to "black belts" it's like he is meaning all of us.

I know he doesn't mean me and my friend and he is refering to the young black belts but i just think it puts us all to shame and it shouldn't be allowed. Also while these "difficult" black belts are messing about me and my friend can't get the training we need for our gradings. I know Sensei is doing something about it because he was giving these kids a good telling off at the end of the lesson, also talking to their father.

It just really gets me angry and annoyed when there are students, weather they a BB or Kyu trying really hard...then you get BB's like that...grrr lets hope tonight is better eh!

[JusticeZero]

Personally if I was teaching in that class, i'd forbid the two problems to wear their black belts for now. Maybe I can't take them away, but they can't be worn in my class until I see behaviour and skill representative of their rank again.

[joesteph]

Sometimes a teacher avoids singling out individuals by reminding the group of the rules, or telling everyone as a group that they have to perform better. I realize that it's not the perfect way to get a message across, but usually it's a stepping stone to pulling individuals aside if they didn't comply with the initial warning. It's like a group admonishment to avoid individual ones, and it gives the teacher the opening to say, if there needs to be someone pulled aside, that everyone was told, so why aren't you (the now singled-out individual) on the same wavelength.

[Grego]

That is why we don't have a such thing as people under 18 being black belts.

[the beast]

That is why we don't have a such thing as people under 18 being black belts.

We also have the same problem with some " adults ", kyu ranks and believe me it drives me nuts when you have most of the class working really hard, but I guess you will always have that 10% that just seem to go through the motions.

[Grego]

Yeah, I agree.

Thats when the sensei has to be observant and punish those people. And definately don't promoted them.

One of my sensei's rules is "be deadly serious when training"

[tori]

That happened to me while being allowed much practice time (several weeks) for my Sandan ranking. I went up to the teens who were "acting out" and said, "If you guys dont want to practice for our ranking, fine." I will schedule time for me to practice on my own. Then when my instructor confronted me for talking to them, he said, "I have been waiting for you to come down on them." Then he went after them and told them that if they could not practice the way black belt should, they would not test. He then appointed me to make the decisions at the end of the scheduled practice days to decide who would and and wouldn't test. Wow, did they straighten up.

[Throwdown0850]

KIDS? W/ BB's? I arrest my case.[/b]

[Scott_LIFE180]

I would, in a way that does not step on the toes of your sensei, speak to the problematic BBs. The way I personally view you are accountable to them, as they are to you, the same goes with everyone of (semi)equal rank. I would expect a yellow belt to hold other yellow belts accountable to the requierments and expectations of their rank, etc etc etc...

[bushido_man96]

There are a lot of really good suggestions and advise here. Taking the time to speak with them yourself might be a good idea. Pull them off to the side after class, but don't just rip them; let the instructor handle that (for now..).

Also, when it comes to "group admonishment," don't let it get to you. Just listen, answer up, and go about your business. Your instructor knows who is in trouble and who isn't, who is working hard and who isn't; and most important, you know how hard you are working. So don't sweat it; except for when working hard....