karatekid1975 Posted April 20, 2003 Author Posted April 20, 2003 i'll say it as nice as i can: it's just a gup rank, and in a few months, it will be sorted out. You sound very humble about your abilities, but at your level (no offense) your instructor can give you a better sense of your ability than you can. It almost seems that worrying about not being worthy of your rank is affecting your performance. Make it work for you instead. Let that belt challenge you until you test out of it. Good post. It made a lot of sense. I guess my instructor has more confidence in me than I do! LOL. Yes, it has (worrying) effected my technique some. And I "chatter" a lot instead of doing what I'm supposed to do. Red, put it plain and simple Andrew and Kyle have great advice, too Thanks guys. I guess I should keep the "chattering" down, and just shut up and train Thanks again. Laurie F
Kyle-san Posted April 20, 2003 Posted April 20, 2003 I do that sometimes when I'm worried about my technique, but there's really nothing you can do but buckle down and just work at it. It's refreshing to see someone who's humble about their abilities.
karate_woman Posted April 21, 2003 Posted April 21, 2003 When I switched from Judo to Karate, it was no issue; go back to white belt - there was little overlap, if any. When I returned to karate after my first absence of any length (about 3 years)and found that in the intervening period we'd switched from Japanese to Okinawan Goju Ryu, it was up to Sensei, and he encouraged me to keep my rank (Green Belt/3rd Kyu) even though the style had changed a bit and it had been about 3 years or so since I'd trained. I trained hard and was asked to grade for Blue Belt 6 months after I returned, which was excellent, since we have to stay a minimum of 6 months at Green before we're allowed to grade. On the other hand, if I'd gone down to white belt, I would have been restricted to the time limitations we have for each belt - in which case it would have taken me a minimum of 1 year to regain my green belt rank, plus the six months to go to blue. That in and of itself is no big deal, but in addition, I would have been limited in class to working on the kata/skills being worked on at the earlier belts, instead of continuing to work on all of the kata/techniques I'd worked on to that point, and adding the new techniques I needed for Blue Belt. Something else you might want to consider is the OPPOSITE of what you're concerned about; you're concerned you're not up to snuff in the new school, but you are also not giving yourself credit for the fact your skills aren't at the white belt level either. This would come into play especially if you were competing. Here's an example: I remember going to a Goju tournament once and seeing a white belt competitor clean up in the white belt kata divison. She wouldn't compete in kumite though; I later learned she was a black belt in Shotokan and asked to start at white belt to go through the ranks. It kind of left a sour taste in my mouth, and I wasn't even competing against her; she really had an advantage over her competitors, regardless of being new to Goju. While it is nice that she was willing to start fresh, she had an unfair advantage over all of the true beginners at that tournament. My advice would be if your Sensei (or whatever you call your instructors in Korean) is comfortable with you wearing that belt in their classes, just work on what you need to know and eventually it will all work out. The journey of a thousand miles begins with one step. -Lao-Tse
Pacificshore Posted April 21, 2003 Posted April 21, 2003 Laurie: Your a humble martial artist with MAD SKILLS!!! Di'DaDeeeee!!!Mind of Mencia
karatekid1975 Posted April 21, 2003 Author Posted April 21, 2003 Thanks Kyle and Pacific. But Mad skills?? Yea right LOL. Just kiddin. I'm average, I guess. Thanks Karate, for the story. You're right. I'm not a white belt, but it is still a lot of work to catch up. This is the first time I didn't start at white belt, and it shocked me in a way. I wouldn't have had any problem with starting over. But, my instructor knew my technique was better than that. I'll just have to go with his judgement Laurie F
karatekid1975 Posted May 6, 2003 Author Posted May 6, 2003 Ok, I'm bringing this up again, because I am going to drop rank (to 6th gup green belt). I tried for two months to catch up and the pressure is killing me. I rather KNOW what I need to know instead of "going through the motions" so to speak. I feel good about this, so I'm just going to do it. I'm going to talk with my instructor tomorrow. I'll keep you posted on what he says Laurie F
kenpobball Posted May 6, 2003 Posted May 6, 2003 Laurie, The important thing is to do what is comfortable. When I switched styles, I didn't have a choice and was told to start at white belt (not that I was THAT far along in the other style). At first I was not happy, but I soon appreciated the lack of pressure, especially when I realized that it was a much "tougher" school and that the yellow belts could kick my butt... lol.
kenpobball Posted May 6, 2003 Posted May 6, 2003 And look... when I came to this forum, I had to start over at white belt too! (and look how far along I am now... lol)
karatekid1975 Posted May 6, 2003 Author Posted May 6, 2003 I agree. I was happy that I didn't have to start over, at first. I had to in my last school (TKD), and I wasn't happy. But now that I've been trying to catch up, it's stressful. This school teaches a hell of a lot more than the last one. I'd rather just learn what I need to learn for each rank, than try to cram everything up to blue belt. Laurie F
karate_woman Posted May 6, 2003 Posted May 6, 2003 Well, I suppose going down one belt level isn't the end of the world The journey of a thousand miles begins with one step. -Lao-Tse
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