Sensei promoted three students tonight--two to their green stripes, and one to purple belt.
Those not in the know think all karate is the same. Soon after I got my black belt, a co-worker asked me if I could do the splits. No, I can't do the splits.
"How can you be a black belt if you can't do the splits," he asked? People think that karate is a single, universal thing, and every black belt knows the exact same thing as every other black belt everywhere in the world. It just ain't so.
Each sensei sets his own requirements and time frame for promotion. Sensei follows the requirements our association uses. Still, sometimes it doesn't seem fair. Barrett and sensei were telling me about a TKD dojo in the next town down the road. I'd said something about my nidan test, and Barrett said, "You should have gone to Winona Saturday. You could have gotten your nidan then."
Puzzled, I asked him what he meant. Seems a certain dojo down there will put you on the fast track to promotions. Pay your money, drive to the next window and pick up your black belt. The student being promoted to nidan had gotten his shodan in March. That's right. March.
This March.
Sensei had recently been approached by another student from that same dojo about joining our karate club. The student was preparing for his shodan test. He had just begun training in October. That's right. October.
This past October, and he was testing for shodan. In less than a year. It just doesn't seem fair.
For them, I mean.
.
.
3 comments:
I know what you are saying. Even within our our organization, it's not as uniform or universal as it should be, and that's considering there IS a set curriculum.
For example, you've read about my friend Sandy and I. She started years ago, but then stopped and restarted in the past year. She was about 2-3 cycles behind me. But when she got to the upper level color belts, instead of doing 2 cycles in each color (red, brown and red/black), she only did one cycle in red and brown. Her instructors also aren't following the association's curriculum at all. (And this is from the largest martial arts organization in the country, if not the world, so it is truly universal-- people in our TKD organization in Europe and South America would do the same forms as us, and have the same requirements for promotion.) So, if she had followed the curriculum correctly, she should've been getting her 1BD in either December or February. Instead, she's getting hers in SEPTEMBER. I'm not due to get mine until October. I'm not happy about it, but the head instructor at her school outranks my instructor, and she can't do anything about it.
I guess the good news is that my friend has to do twice as much as I have to do in order to show proficiency. She has to show the last 4 katas/forms, the weapons form that I'm doing now, several endurance things (pushups, etc.), PLUS she's a glutton for punishment because she expressed her interest in XMA, that she has to come up with an XMA routine that lasts about 1 1/2 minutes. Oh, and I'm sure she still has to spar too, and she has to do her board breaks, although heaven only knows what they'll make her do. At least it's very set what I have to do: Chung Jung #2 form, BME weapon form, spar, and the double break of back elbow- jump front kick. I have to do almost the same thing for promotion in two weeks just for my midterm, but just a different weapon, so no biggie. Heck, considering I have a bum knee, I'm glad to be doing just what I'm supposed to do, just like everyone else before me has done! I just wish I could get it all done NOW. I'm sure I could learn the BME form in two weeks easy. ;-)
How often do they train?
Dani, at least within our association it's pretty much standard. I don't have to go through what you and your friend are.
Amanda, two to three hours per week.
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