Overweight Karate Instructors

[ps1]

Generally it comes from too many years of not needing to prove they can actually fight. Too much belief in the "one hit, one kill" type of theory. Meanwhile they gain weight year after year and marvel as the power of their punches go up.

Of course your punching power went up...you've added 50kg of mass!!!! Too bad you'll never catch the guy to hit em'

Seriously though, it just depends what you're looking for. If you want the instructor who will be on the floor sparring and moving with you day in and day out...he's probably not the guy. If you are ok with letting his students beat you up day in and day out, while you soak up his knowledge...you're probably ok.

There's a belief out there that martial artists should be some sort of mystical being. It's so not true. We are all subject to the same demons, tormentors, and problems that everyone else has.

As a student, your job will be to decide which vices you're willing to tolerate and which you are not.

[evergrey]

OSU Sensei8- No way would I challenge you on the mat! Some kumite for fun and mutual gain, sure, but I'd never say "you better prove yourself to me!" Haha I can tell by looking and by the knowledge you've expressed that you'd take me to pieces.

Mass is a force multiplier. Someone who is heavy isn't always unfit, doesn't always run out of breath easily, isn't always "weaker" either. It's really a case-by-case basis.

I'm not an instructor... yet. I am also severely overweight, due to metabolic failure. Chances are high that I will be overweight when it comes time to teach, too.

I also lift weights three times a week, swim once or twice a week, work out in a hard Kyokushin class at least twice a week, sometimes more, train and practice outside of class at least a few times a week, and ride horses whenever I can. I eat a very careful diet where everything I eat or drink is very carefully measured and planned... except water, which is mostly what I drink. I just have a ton of water. I've seen a lot of people who are a lot lighter than I am and who look to be in WAY better condition on the surface not be able to keep up with me.

Do I need a lot more work? Oh sure. I have asthma, chronic knee and back problems, and yes, the 100 pounds of extra weight I carry around DOES make a major difference in how much I can do. I am sure I could do even more without it.

But it's not because I am lazy or sloppy. It's because I suffer from metabolic failure, and have some chronic injuries that don't let me train the 5 hours a day I would prefer to train. Am I slow? Eh, not as slow as you'd think, heheheh. Am I easy to beat? Not for most people who are in the kyu levels at my dojo, with a couple exceptions who have serious hard training experience before joining here. I'm just a 6th kyu myself...

My point is, don't look at someone's weight and automatically assume that they are rubbish with no discipline, grace, or skill.

[judobrah]

OSU Sensei8- No way would I challenge you on the mat! Some kumite for fun and mutual gain, sure, but I'd never say "you better prove yourself to me!" Haha I can tell by looking and by the knowledge you've expressed that you'd take me to pieces.

Mass is a force multiplier. Someone who is heavy isn't always unfit, doesn't always run out of breath easily, isn't always "weaker" either. It's really a case-by-case basis.

I'm not an instructor... yet. I am also severely overweight, due to metabolic failure. Chances are high that I will be overweight when it comes time to teach, too.

I also lift weights three times a week, swim once or twice a week, work out in a hard Kyokushin class at least twice a week, sometimes more, train and practice outside of class at least a few times a week, and ride horses whenever I can. I eat a very careful diet where everything I eat or drink is very carefully measured and planned... except water, which is mostly what I drink. I just have a ton of water. I've seen a lot of people who are a lot lighter than I am and who look to be in WAY better condition on the surface not be able to keep up with me.

Do I need a lot more work? Oh sure. I have asthma, chronic knee and back problems, and yes, the 100 pounds of extra weight I carry around DOES make a major difference in how much I can do. I am sure I could do even more without it.

But it's not because I am lazy or sloppy. It's because I suffer from metabolic failure, and have some chronic injuries that don't let me train the 5 hours a day I would prefer to train. Am I slow? Eh, not as slow as you'd think, heheheh. Am I easy to beat? Not for most people who are in the kyu levels at my dojo, with a couple exceptions who have serious hard training experience before joining here. I'm just a 6th kyu myself...

My point is, don't look at someone's weight and automatically assume that they are rubbish with no discipline, grace, or skill.

that sucks hum,but i think most of this extremely overweight karate teachers,with horrible balance for the most time are problably not that good(how many good muay thai instructors are fat?very few...)

it just smeels mcdojo for me,you should always be very careful when picking your teachers,and if he is a extremely(mordbly) obese person,it its never a good sign

my current karate teacher,is a litle chubby,but his technique is really good(he made a neck throw with perfec beatufil technique),so hes a pretty good teacher even too,he has a high bodyfat percentage

about the weight problems,most people dont realize one simple thing,its not exactly what you eat,it ALL comes down to calories,believe me when i say this

if you are overweight,and dont suffer from any health problems,that makes you impossible to lose weight,all you need to do is to be in a caloric deficit to lose weight,nothing else,so lets say if i needed 2000 calories to mantain my weight,if i eat around 1400 calories,i WOULD lose weight,if i keep at it for a serious ammount of time i would lose even more weight,unless you are some sort of medical fenomen you will lose weight if you eat at a caloric deficit,there is no way in hell if someone that needs 2000 calories per day to maintain his weight,and eats around 1100 for a certain ammount of time,that person wouldnt lose weight!its just pure science

if you want more information,you can just go to bodybuilding.com,they are experts in dieting,and you will lose weight if you follow the right instructions

low carb/keto diets,are also really effective

also mas oyama,wasnt really that fat,he was still a warrior no matter what,he is trully a true martial artist

osu!

[ShoriKid]

As you age you'll put on pounds, at least most everyone will, no matter the level of cardio or change in diet. Those thine guys you would have said were too skinny as young guys and needed a few pounds of muscle.

Then there is the whole training vs. teaching split as well. Most nights the instructor will get the least work in as he's constantly moving from student to student teaching. Out side of the dojo their time is spent refining and planning more than conditioning. At least that tends to be the case. I'm not making excuses for some one to be lazy. However, remember you won't be in your teens/twenties forever and focused on only your own raining.

(Edited because you shouldn't post from a phone at 4 AM)

Edited September 15, 2012 by ShoriKid

[evergrey]

OSU!

It's not so simple with metabolic failure, believe me. I have absolutely done the careful calorie counting in the past. :} Didn't work, even going down to 600 calories a day! Trust me, truuuuuust me, pretty much any suggestion you have has been tried. I know what works and what doesn't, though "works" is kind of relative.

I'll put it this way- a lot of people with serious metabolic failure end up in mobility scooters. I'm not letting that happen. Fighting it all the way. For normal people with normal bodies, yes, controlling calorie intake very much works, especially when you're young!

For people with certain serious medical conditions though, it really, truly, is not that simple, heh!

OSU!

[Kuma]

My Goju Ryu sensei was a bit on the heavy side but he was an excellent teacher and in good fighting shape. My current instructors are both on the heavy side (with some years on them so that doesn't help) and I would hate to fight either one of them. Looks can be deceiving. You can have someone lean and in shape who can't fight their way out of a paper bag on the flip side. Some people are just naturally on the heavier side and no matter what they do it's always how they'll be. The quality of the instruction is far more important than what your sensei's scale at home says.

[evergrey]

My Goju Ryu sensei was a bit on the heavy side but he was an excellent teacher and in good fighting shape. My current instructors are both on the heavy side (with some years on them so that doesn't help) and I would hate to fight either one of them. Looks can be deceiving. You can have someone lean and in shape who can't fight their way out of a paper bag on the flip side. Some people are just naturally on the heavier side and no matter what they do it's always how they'll be. The quality of the instruction is far more important than what your sensei's scale at home says.

Exactly! Genetics, medical issues you don't know about... you never know.

My Shihan isn't slender, and he has a little bit of padding, and someone who didn't feel his body would maybe think he was pretty overweight under that dogi... but actually it's just a fairly thin layer of cushion over an UNGODLY amount of muscle. Like, he doesn't even feel human! Heh, like Mr T, I pity the fool who would think he was easy pickings or slow... That illusion shatters as soon as someone says "hajime!"

Then suddenly the thought switches to "OH GOD SO BIG SO STRONG SO FAST, HE'S COMING RIGHT FOR ME-" and that's in like a 10th of a second because then there is no more time for thinking. Heh.

[Harkon72]

My weight goes up and down all the time. I weigh 13st 4lb now, a bit heavy. When I did my Nidan grading in 2000 I was under 12st.

[judobrah]

My Goju Ryu sensei was a bit on the heavy side but he was an excellent teacher and in good fighting shape. My current instructors are both on the heavy side (with some years on them so that doesn't help) and I would hate to fight either one of them. Looks can be deceiving. You can have someone lean and in shape who can't fight their way out of a paper bag on the flip side. Some people are just naturally on the heavier side and no matter what they do it's always how they'll be. The quality of the instruction is far more important than what your sensei's scale at home says.

i am sorry,but unless you have some medical problems(some serious problems that will TRULY stop you from losing weight),thats just a horrible horrible excuse

thats not how the human body works,it doesnt matter what your body tipe is UNLESS you have serious health problems,you will lose weight if you do it right,and saying otherwise is just insane

so are you telling me that if you go to a extremely poor area in africa live there for a year eating 600 calories everyday you wont lose weight,because of your genetics?

camon......

i am not trying to be offensive,but the whole genetic things,is used a litle bit to much,but dont take my word for it,go to bodybuilding.com,and have the same argument,some guys that have a huge ammount of knoweldge about dieting(a LOT more then 98% of all nutricionists out there),and they will tell you whats up....

cheers

[Harkon72]

I wouldn't like to fight a sumo wrestler is all I can say, they have a different kind of fitness. If a master of Martial arts doesn't train his body as well as his mind, then he has no balance and therefore poor spiritual development. This is how Kung Fu was born.