Gloi Posted June 17, 2003 Posted June 17, 2003 I take my 2nd kyu test tomorrow and when I was training last night (the last session before the grading) sensei was totally ripping me to shreds about every single thing. We train in a class where it is split into 2 by grade with sensei taking the higher grades and his assistant taking the lower belts and I was in the upper half of the class where all the rest were dan grades. I have problems with my posture when moving in back stance and with my stances not being as low as he likes ( as well as the 100s of other things he was finding last night) and because of this he was concentrating on us all doing things with low stances and very bent front knees. I find it hard and pretty painful to get into the positions he wants and I could feel the rest of the class thinking 'if you weren't so rubbish we wouldn't be being made to do these awful exercises'. I then had my kata shredded till I felt totally humiliated and as I have free sparring in my grading for the first time I then got the chance to be run rings around by all the black belts. Fortunately they didn't quite kill me for the torture they had had earlier. I know that he is always like this before a grading but it still doesn't make me feel any better, by the end of the class I was just feeling like 'I want to go home and never come back' Ah well, I just needed a rant, wish me luck tomorrow night!
RAZOR Posted June 17, 2003 Posted June 17, 2003 You dont have to go back. If you are not ready for grading you should not be entering it. What he is doing to you is a bit like doing no revision for an exam all year and then paniking and tring to fit it all in th night before. I would not go to something like that. im sure youll pass your grading so well done. Any way go and find something you like and enjoy, not fear.
Gloi Posted June 17, 2003 Author Posted June 17, 2003 In my heart I know I'm ready for the grading and that I wouldn't be allowed to do it if I wasn't ready. Last time I graded he was the same to me just before the grading. However, when it came to the grading he'd just given given some juniors taking the same grade earache about not training hard enough and having to buck up their ideas before being allowed to grade again and I was waiting for the same. When it came to me he just gave me my licence back and grunted 'fine' which if you knew him is high praise indeed!!!!! Sensei is very gruff, scary and a hard taskmaster but he is also one of the best and most experienced teachers in the area and all his black belts are excellent. When I started though I was terrified of him and though I know now that he does actually have his students best interests at heart he can still make me feel about an inch high when he wants to.
RAZOR Posted June 17, 2003 Posted June 17, 2003 I feel this is couter productive though as you dont quite know where you stand but this is common in Kararte I think a more balanced approach is better, its up to you. Good luck i see you are in Englad , me too im in london. I found it hard to stick with Krate in the end and changed to Muaythai which im much happier with. No gradings and its consistent, and no bullying and shouting.
Gloi Posted June 17, 2003 Author Posted June 17, 2003 When I first started karate I started training with one of sensei's third dan students (Mark) who had a class near my home and it was only when sensei came to do a grading that I ever saw him and then he was the *really* scary guy. I found Mark scary enough then as he was always pretty strict though now I know him better I know he's a nice bloke. Mark encouraged me to go to the club where he trained which is sensei's own club which is about 15 miles from my house and I've been going there now about 2 years. It's always strict there but normally the criticism is spead pretty evenly across the class so it is bearable. It's just when a grading is coming up that the people about to take it get homed in on. When some of the black belts were due to grade a while ago they really got grilled beforehand. For the past few months I've been going to a TKD class just down the road from where I live on a night where I've no karate, mainly for some extra cardio workout. I found the atmosphere in that class totally different in that it's so relaxed , nobody gets told off (apart from kids who are totally playing up) and if you are tired etc you just sit out for a bit. It's alright for some good exercise, certainly get a good sweat on there, but the form seems dire and although I must admit I quite like not having to worry about anything it doesn't seem like a martial arts class without the strict discipline. More like doing aerobics. I think that there needs to be a compromise somewhere. On occasions I travel quite a long way to train with somebody else in karate who I adore. He has the knowledge and experience of my normal karate sensei but has a much less scary disposition. If it was not so far away I would train there more often but as it is I don't have the option. (I am going to their summer camp next month though
RAZOR Posted June 17, 2003 Posted June 17, 2003 Yes that sounds more like it a balance somewhere in between is best. I think this scary stuff is a bit of a power trip and i really dont think stuff like that is acceptable. Respect is earned not forced.
Sibylla Posted June 17, 2003 Posted June 17, 2003 From what I have understood some sensei's behave like that with students they think have great potential...if they thought you were a lost case they wouldn't bother giving you much attention or instruction at all, thus making you leave. I am sure you'll do a good grading. Try to do the things your sensei mentioned, if the stances are very important, make a big point of doing them right on the grading, I guess he'll be looking for them.
ninjanurse Posted June 17, 2003 Posted June 17, 2003 Sometimes a grading is all about your mental skills and not your physical skills. And sometimes, Senseis are harder on the students they see the most potential in. "A Black Belt is only the beginning."Heidi-A student of the artsTae Kwon Do,Shotokan,Ju Jitsu,Modern Arnishttp://the100info.tumblr.com/
karate_woman Posted June 17, 2003 Posted June 17, 2003 Well, first of all - good luck! File the corrections away and work on them over the next while; it is obviously too late to make the corrections stick. You can try to implement them but usually you'll go back to what you've done most often until your corrected version becomes second nature. Don't be discouraged if there are more corrections in the future, and they'll tend to get pickier and pickier. The journey of a thousand miles begins with one step. -Lao-Tse
RAZOR Posted June 17, 2003 Posted June 17, 2003 I agree with Karate woman. What i have trouble with is that either these points on stance have just been raised in which case why werent they from day one. If this has been an issue all the time why wasnt it sorted ages ago? And if its is still a problem why are you being put forward for the grading. I see no point in putting someone up for a grading if the sensei is not convinced they will pass. Not saying it should be a breeze but also whats the rush. Why jump out of your depth. Get the techniques right then go for your grading and get it comfortably Then you know you are at the correct grade. Dont just scrape through. Good Luck any way but i would be looking else where. You obviously want to train hard but i think you are recieving the wrong attention. I am close to the point of starting my own Muay Thai gym, hopefully next year and i can say i would not make life so un-necessarily hard for my students. I would make it hard in a different way.
Recommended Posts