This week will be very stressful. Although the worst is over academically, the worst is beginning for martial arts. The new aiki sheets (edition 5) is finished, and we are all plugging away at the new techniques. It's all become daito-ryu now. We must learn all the ikkajo techniques omote style for our next rank, then ura for the rank after that. On top of that, Head Honcho sensei wants our reishiki to be perfect. Every move is like a little kata now. I like the hanza handachi techniques, but the izori, I could live without. The only thing about moves like hanmi-nage is the serious rugburn on your knees, and the havoc on your hakama. Then, there is karate...*sigh*. The tournament is this Saturday, and I feel ill-prepared to win any placements. I am hoping there aren't a lot of people in the 18+ green-purple kata and weapons division. Statistics will be on my side if I am right, and then I can feel better. If there are few in kumite as well, I will sneak in there and steal a bronze like I did last year (hey, experience, you know?).
I am trying to get some sort attention from head sensei, but there are so many kids giving him crap. Not only that, more than half of them aren't going to the tournament (the only one we go on) and we have yet another influx of new students to deal with. And for some reason, when there is an odd number, I am the one who gets to teach them. Not that I mind, I guess, I like teaching- but what are the brown and blackbelts doing that aren't going to the tournament? Nothing. They get to wander around and cause more trouble. I don't think that's fair.
Last class, we ran over in aiki so I missed half of karate, then I was assigned for the other half to teach two student two different katas. I got to review my katas for 5 seconds before being called over at the end of class to perform them for head sensei. He gave me some thoughtful constructive criticism that left me with more questions than answers. What if I hadn't chosen to do the tournament? Would he not say anything about those katas and let me continue to do parts of them wrong?
I am looking toward the future of my martial arts this spring and summer. The little senseis are testing for junior ni-dan *roll eyes* and sho-dan in sword, even though the smaller one has yet to move to an adult-size sword. My doppleganger is testing for junior sho-dan, and will most likely follow the pattern of never being seen again. After that, it is anyone's game. The rest of the brownies don't even have their first stripe yet, and are far from it. Verizon Guy might actually catch them. I offered my help for reviewing katas. Even though I know all my stuff for my stripe, I am pessimistic that I will get it any time soon. I am looking at possible ni-dan, as my waiting period is up at the end of September, but with chiro. college looming around the corner, it's dubious. I have my eyes on a tournament in July where I can perform sword as part of the traditional weapons division. The entry is steep, so I'll have to save up, but I really wanna go. I'll have to ask head sensei.
Sunday, April 22, 2007
Thursday, April 12, 2007
Bork! Kids suck.
I am getting extremely stressed out with school and martial arts. Right now, I am on spring break, which has been dominated by catching up on papers and training for the tournament. My hip is still a little sore, but I have been pushing it to get back into the swing of things. This frustration of not even being sure that I'm ready for the tournament is combined by the fact that the kids in the karate class are worse then ever. And the thing is, it's the same kids over and over causing the same problems, except now, they are at a higher rank.
The greenies are moved up to purple people eaters and now have a giant ego problem, and the brownies have all become stagnant and lazy. The former purple belt girl is now getting prepped for her first stripe, but (as expected) could hardly care less. Sometimes I think her parents hold a shotgun to her back and make her get out of the car when it's time to go to class. Wheezy kid is still staring up his nose in the mirrors when he should be doing something else. I'd like to know what he's looking for some days. And his partner (I'll call him Owl) could actually be good if he would stop getting yelled at. There's three more brownies- my doppleganger and two boys who I have a feeling are three-sport stars, but they don't factor in much (which is a problem in itself that I'll mention later). Then there's the black belts- the perfect children and the newest one, Prince Valiant (who apparently thinks he's been coronated king now) who just do their own thing in complete unawareness that greenies are climbing the walls every class. The greenies have thinned out a bit as a collective of crazies, but are still annoying as hell. They can't even stand in a straight line without trying to kill each other.
But now, I think after witnessing this week, I have finally figured it out. THERE IS NO LEADERSHIP. The black belts and brownies have all forgotten that "sensei" does not mean black belt, it means "teacher". It's a novel thing, unfortunately. They have become so obsessed over what katas and techniques they need for their next rank that they have completely ignored everyone behind them. A student is a mirror reflection of his teacher, as Zen would say. When the teachers fight, they fight. When the teachers are lazy and don't heed to etiquette, neither do they. So there shouldn't be such a big surprise as to why the greenies and purple people eater are so bad- they were taught to be that way from watching their teachers!
And it started out with just the little things, like putting the mats in the right place at the beginning of class and offering belt-tying help to white belts. Neglecting these things has led to mats NEVER being put out in time for class and orange belts not tying their belts correctly. That used to be unacceptable. Now there are so many kids that the one or two adults cannot handle them all, and the time used to be spend on helping people with techniques is now gone into babysitting kids who should know better. The competition between kids for the next rank is so fierce, they bump and push each other in line to line up by who's been ranked first even when they are the same rank! You never see same-ranked kids working together, and they are oblivious to when others are doing behavior that warrants 100 pushups for everybody.
It's time we get the "me" out of karate and develop some sense of hierarchal responsibility. Head sensei shouldn't have to worry about class behaving when he isn't looking, it should just happen. And it'll happen when the black belts and the brownies help out a little more in class.
The greenies are moved up to purple people eaters and now have a giant ego problem, and the brownies have all become stagnant and lazy. The former purple belt girl is now getting prepped for her first stripe, but (as expected) could hardly care less. Sometimes I think her parents hold a shotgun to her back and make her get out of the car when it's time to go to class. Wheezy kid is still staring up his nose in the mirrors when he should be doing something else. I'd like to know what he's looking for some days. And his partner (I'll call him Owl) could actually be good if he would stop getting yelled at. There's three more brownies- my doppleganger and two boys who I have a feeling are three-sport stars, but they don't factor in much (which is a problem in itself that I'll mention later). Then there's the black belts- the perfect children and the newest one, Prince Valiant (who apparently thinks he's been coronated king now) who just do their own thing in complete unawareness that greenies are climbing the walls every class. The greenies have thinned out a bit as a collective of crazies, but are still annoying as hell. They can't even stand in a straight line without trying to kill each other.
But now, I think after witnessing this week, I have finally figured it out. THERE IS NO LEADERSHIP. The black belts and brownies have all forgotten that "sensei" does not mean black belt, it means "teacher". It's a novel thing, unfortunately. They have become so obsessed over what katas and techniques they need for their next rank that they have completely ignored everyone behind them. A student is a mirror reflection of his teacher, as Zen would say. When the teachers fight, they fight. When the teachers are lazy and don't heed to etiquette, neither do they. So there shouldn't be such a big surprise as to why the greenies and purple people eater are so bad- they were taught to be that way from watching their teachers!
And it started out with just the little things, like putting the mats in the right place at the beginning of class and offering belt-tying help to white belts. Neglecting these things has led to mats NEVER being put out in time for class and orange belts not tying their belts correctly. That used to be unacceptable. Now there are so many kids that the one or two adults cannot handle them all, and the time used to be spend on helping people with techniques is now gone into babysitting kids who should know better. The competition between kids for the next rank is so fierce, they bump and push each other in line to line up by who's been ranked first even when they are the same rank! You never see same-ranked kids working together, and they are oblivious to when others are doing behavior that warrants 100 pushups for everybody.
It's time we get the "me" out of karate and develop some sense of hierarchal responsibility. Head sensei shouldn't have to worry about class behaving when he isn't looking, it should just happen. And it'll happen when the black belts and the brownies help out a little more in class.
Thursday, April 05, 2007
Looking backward while stuck in first gear
It is cherry blossom season again, and as I always do on this time of year, I post a picture of cherry blossoms with my blog. It's a special thing for me- sight and scent are tied with strong memories of Japan (although I was never there when it bloomed), and how I miss the people I've met there. I keep a cherry blossom scent perfume around even though I am allergic to it. The site of cherry blossoms at my Dad's workplace (and now on my mom's new tree in the backyard) also means it is once again time for the tournament. I have probably got to take it easy this year with my hip still healing- finally I am done with the chiropractor- and limit myself to the empty hands kata and the weapons kata. As I get up in rank, the number of competitors dwindles down but they get much tougher. As much as I want to do more, my hip won't allow me to prepare properly.
Alas, onto other matters. They changed the aiki book AGAIN! Head honcho sensei got so much grief from the other blackbelts about the new book that he went back to the old system- meaning, that now I will be going for brown patch instead of red. The karate class is beginning to finally level off, with the exodus of 
some greenies and white belts. One of Tank's kids quit, and so did a rather annoying greenie. Even so, a family of 3 (could be four, not sure yet if he is related) has signed up. The oldest is also trying aiki (let's see how long this lasts). I was in charge of them yesterday, and we went over things like the chamber, basic blocks, punches, and kicks. The two boys were trying to see if they could kick the Wavemasters over. I invited them to try (just as long as they had enough sense to curl their toes back so they didn't crush them). The oldest was trying to not miss the wavemaster entirely, and just my luck the little girl missed the baby-sized Wavemaster and kicked the plastic base instead. So I ran around for 5 minutes looking for the ice packs. The irony in this situation is I taught these guys how to be polite, bow, and listen to "matte" command and when I went to cross the floor with the injured little girl, head sensei told his two sparring people to stop repeatedly and they KEPT GOING ANYWAY! So much for etiquette and awareness.
some greenies and white belts. One of Tank's kids quit, and so did a rather annoying greenie. Even so, a family of 3 (could be four, not sure yet if he is related) has signed up. The oldest is also trying aiki (let's see how long this lasts). I was in charge of them yesterday, and we went over things like the chamber, basic blocks, punches, and kicks. The two boys were trying to see if they could kick the Wavemasters over. I invited them to try (just as long as they had enough sense to curl their toes back so they didn't crush them). The oldest was trying to not miss the wavemaster entirely, and just my luck the little girl missed the baby-sized Wavemaster and kicked the plastic base instead. So I ran around for 5 minutes looking for the ice packs. The irony in this situation is I taught these guys how to be polite, bow, and listen to "matte" command and when I went to cross the floor with the injured little girl, head sensei told his two sparring people to stop repeatedly and they KEPT GOING ANYWAY! So much for etiquette and awareness. This problem is nothing new. Finally, the teachers have had enough, and are refusing to give attention to anyone who disobeys. The "advanced class" that goes on during aiki has dwindled to 4 people. Rankings have slowed down to a halt. And some, as I have said, have left. Problem is, how do you fix a problem kid when he's already a blackbelt? *Grumble*....
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