Overweight Karate Instructors

[Lupin1]

A teachers job is to teach. He doesn't have to be a good fighter or superior athlete to accomplish his goals. Look at Don Familton and half the other boxing coaches in the world, they're frail old men....with TONS of knowledge to share with those who don't worry about trivial things.

We need a "like" button. This.

My instructor is in his mid sixties. Even before he was diagnosed with cancer a year and a half ago and went through treatments that left him barely able to talk and only able to demonstrate very easy moves with very little balance, he was overweight. But he's still an awesome teacher because he understands the mechanics of the techniques and has the mechanical and physiological knowledge to teach effective karate. Sad fact is the majority of people are out of shape (I won't say overweight because weight and fitness don't always correlate as nicely as they'd like us to believe). If someone can teach you to have effective karate for your body type, that's going to be a lot more useful to you than some fitness nut trying to get 40-year-old Joe Schmoe to do a flying double back kick.

[bushido_man96]

I can share from experience:

I am 30 years old, and an instructor. I've been doing karate for 16 years. I was VERY fit when I was 18~, I was about 90-95KG of stamina and muscle. - Something that changed after being hit twice by cars and having surgery complications within the span of a year.

I gained A LOT of weight, and when I, after a year of recovery came back to karate, I was 168KG of blubber. My 3.kyu grading was done at 150KG, and I still managed (probably poorly) my jodan sokutogeri. My weight has been an issue for the last 10 years, and I've gone down steadily. I am at 105-110 now, and very happy with how I look compared to 2003. I am still considered overweight, although no longer obese/morbidly obese,

There are things I cannot do gracefully, or as easily as a superfit guy/girl. However, I must play to my strengths. I am fast and rather limber, and I KNOW my techniques. I also am aware of my weaknesses, and I know how to handle them. I let my students know I can't do everything perfectly. I am not a perfect karate-ka. I know none.

I try to keep fit. I am strong, I am fast, I am agile and I am getting better. I realized long ago that I owe my students to be the best I can be.

And as long as I do my best, and strive for better, I can do nothing more for my students.

It sounds like you've made an awesome comeback. Kudos to you.

[ossemon]

Thank you! I do what I can.

There are awful instructors out there, and they tend to be VERY self promoting. Perhaps a bit off topic, but I think bad instructors are a problem, regardless of weight.

There are "senseis" out there, flaunting 4-5-6th dans, and they look like crap, unfortunately. I can give plenty of examples from both kempo, aikido and karate.

Unfortunately these bad instructors are great at self promoting especially through youtube and their own pages.

[Dobbersky]

Thank you! I do what I can.

There are awful instructors out there, and they tend to be VERY self promoting. Perhaps a bit off topic, but I think bad instructors are a problem, regardless of weight.

There are "senseis" out there, flaunting 4-5-6th dans, and they look like crap, unfortunately. I can give plenty of examples from both kempo, aikido and karate.

Unfortunately these bad instructors are great at self promoting especially through youtube and their own pages.

Totally agree, I saw a 10th Dan on YouTube and I was bemused by the bandana and the Gold trim they wore but the technique was at the level I would expect from a 4th Kyu.

Giving one's best is what an Instructor should always do. I attend classes rain or shine, fit or injured, but always there for them.

i remember when I was going on my own, still a 1st Dan. I was offered by 1 organisation they would grade me to 2nd Dan in the fall then 3rd Dan 6 months later as I was the head instructor of my Dojo. Well I didn't do the grades and I put the time in and the gradings, now I'm at a level when its time served not physical grades but I test myself daily

[ossemon]

I have my black belt, I have my dojo and I have my goals.

As for my students: We do our best, and emphasize quality. I feel that is more important than looks

I was attempted bribed into changing styles myself. That was one of the things leading to founding a new club

[pers]

A teachers job is to teach. He doesn't have to be a good fighter or superior athlete to accomplish his goals. Look at Don Familton and half the other boxing coaches in the world, they're frail old men....with TONS of knowledge to share with those who don't worry about trivial things.

We need a "like" button. This.

My instructor is in his mid sixties. Even before he was diagnosed with cancer a year and a half ago and went through treatments that left him barely able to talk and only able to demonstrate very easy moves with very little balance, he was overweight. But he's still an awesome teacher because he understands the mechanics of the techniques and has the mechanical and physiological knowledge to teach effective karate. Sad fact is the majority of people are out of shape (I won't say overweight because weight and fitness don't always correlate as nicely as they'd like us to believe). If someone can teach you to have effective karate for your body type, that's going to be a lot more useful to you than some fitness nut trying to get 40-year-old Joe Schmoe to do a flying double back kick.

I salute and bow to your sensei and wish him well . I agree with what you are saying too , knowing the art and being able to teach it is the most important factor .

[pers]

I can share from experience:

I am 30 years old, and an instructor. I've been doing karate for 16 years. I was VERY fit when I was 18~, I was about 90-95KG of stamina and muscle. - Something that changed after being hit twice by cars and having surgery complications within the span of a year.

I gained A LOT of weight, and when I, after a year of recovery came back to karate, I was 168KG of blubber. My 3.kyu grading was done at 150KG, and I still managed (probably poorly) my jodan sokutogeri. My weight has been an issue for the last 10 years, and I've gone down steadily. I am at 105-110 now, and very happy with how I look compared to 2003. I am still considered overweight, although no longer obese/morbidly obese,

There are things I cannot do gracefully, or as easily as a superfit guy/girl. However, I must play to my strengths. I am fast and rather limber, and I KNOW my techniques. I also am aware of my weaknesses, and I know how to handle them. I let my students know I can't do everything perfectly. I am not a perfect karate-ka. I know none.

I try to keep fit. I am strong, I am fast, I am agile and I am getting better. I realized long ago that I owe my students to be the best I can be.

And as long as I do my best, and strive for better, I can do nothing more for my students.

Good luck to you sir and well done , you could be a good role model ,your students must be proud of you and your determination.

[Zaine]

My instructor was very overweight, yet he still did all the exercises and demonstrations and was an excellent teacher. Herein lies the deal, as Martial Artists we very much stick to certain workouts because they create muscle memory and good technique. You might notice that most dojos have basic exercises done every class. What this creates is a plateau effect, our bodies get used to doing the same exercises so they stop affecting our bodies in the way that they used to. Suddenly bag test burn less calories and work your muscles as hard as they used to. While there is certainly nothing wrong with this, this routine can affect our bodies in a way that make the pounds stick to us a little harder. Don't judge a book by its cover.

[darksoul]

My current master is a tiny, limber, fit old man, but I've had instructors that were overweight. I'm pretty sure I'm repeating myself from my previous post, but as long as an instructor knows his techniques, knows his strengths and knows his weaknesses, they can be fantastic.

[bushido_man96]

My instructor was very overweight, yet he still did all the exercises and demonstrations and was an excellent teacher. Herein lies the deal, as Martial Artists we very much stick to certain workouts because they create muscle memory and good technique. You might notice that most dojos have basic exercises done every class. What this creates is a plateau effect, our bodies get used to doing the same exercises so they stop affecting our bodies in the way that they used to. Suddenly bag test burn less calories and work your muscles as hard as they used to. While there is certainly nothing wrong with this, this routine can affect our bodies in a way that make the pounds stick to us a little harder. Don't judge a book by its cover.

We do the same basics set in every class. It does get monotonous, but most of the basics we do is how they end up being done in forms. Its a great way to get that muscle memory set up, and it makes teaching the forms much easier.