# Bad instruction vs No instruction



## MeDemitto (Sep 30, 2010)

Recently I moved to a rather isolated town in southeastern Alaska. I've been wanting to take Karate for years but due to my location in remote rural areas before this I've never had the opportunity. Anyway my question requires some predication. Now that I am in a place where there are some martial arts studios I would love to begin classes, however there are two possible Karate places in town a Shotokan and a Shito-ryu; and to be frank neither of them seem to be quite what I'm looking for.
Stylistically I've always had a strong attraction to Shotokan, though the Shito-ryu is fairly appealing as well. So now to my problem... Both schools seem pretty second-rate. Each gives the impression of a "belt-factory" type ethos and cater primarily to children. I am in my mid-twenties and as a prospective student seem slightly more serious about it than the average student at either place.
Part of the appeal of the martial arts and particularly Karate to me is the continuity with rather robust history and tradition. Neither place seems to preserve this very well, and neither seems to establish a very strong connection with any sort of traditional grounding, lineage, what-have-you.
This being said, my interest is more piqued than ever, and I would love the opportunity to study Karate. I'm wondering what your input is concerning my predicament, should I chose the best of the two? or forego the study of martial arts all together?
I appreciate your input, I thoroughly enjoy perusing this forum, and admire the knowledge and expertise of so many.


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## Grenadier (Sep 30, 2010)

Since you're in the Juneau area, have you looked at the ISKF affiliates there?  There's a Shotokan school under Diana Stevens who should have direct ties to Okazaki Sensei.


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## harlan (Sep 30, 2010)

Your evaluation sounds like it's based on the class/mass curriculum. Have you crossed hands yet privately with the sensei?  To my way of thinking, lineage is only a small piece of the whole package. Can you see if the guy has the goods in the way of technique and try private lessons for awhile?



MeDemitto said:


> Recently I moved to a rather isolated town in southeastern Alaska. I've been wanting to take Karate for years but due to my location in remote rural areas before this I've never had the opportunity. Anyway my question requires some predication. Now that I am in a place where there are some martial arts studios I would love to begin classes, however there are two possible Karate places in town a Shotokan and a Shito-ryu; and to be frank neither of them seem to be quite what I'm looking for.
> Stylistically I've always had a strong attraction to Shotokan, though the Shito-ryu is fairly appealing as well. So now to my problem... Both schools seem pretty second-rate. Each gives the impression of a "belt-factory" type ethos and cater primarily to children. I am in my mid-twenties and as a prospective student seem slightly more serious about it than the average student at either place.
> Part of the appeal of the martial arts and particularly Karate to me is the continuity with rather robust history and tradition. Neither place seems to preserve this very well, and neither seems to establish a very strong connection with any sort of traditional grounding, lineage, what-have-you.
> This being said, my interest is more piqued than ever, and I would love the opportunity to study Karate. I'm wondering what your input is concerning my predicament, should I chose the best of the two? or forego the study of martial arts all together?
> I appreciate your input, I thoroughly enjoy perusing this forum, and admire the knowledge and expertise of so many.


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## dancingalone (Sep 30, 2010)

Choose the best instructor you can find regardless of style or martial art.  If that means training something like boxing, so be it.  A poor teacher knowingly or unknowingly will transmit unsound technique to you and it may take long months and years to unlearn it if you ever realize the situation for yourself.

Anecdote:  I had a transfer student at one point who was physically talented but he had trained elsewhere before and had developed many bad habits, such as picking up his feet when moving or dropping his shoulders before he punched.  These flaws made him mediocre among his peer group, even though he was very athletic, and he eventually quit in frustration.  I wish he had stuck around, but he found the corrections he needed to make to be too hard.

But onto your personal situation.  Do you know for a fact that the karate options you have available are mediocre?  Children's classes aren't the best gauge.  Find out if there is an adult only training option or perhaps even private and semi-private lessons.  Approach the teachers and tell them what you are interested in.   A responsible teacher should be happy to tell you if he can match your needs or not, and he should be able to tell you how 'Asian' of a class he runs.


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## Manny (Sep 30, 2010)

Children classes are a bad gauge to see if the instruction is pretty good. Try to aproach the sensei(s) in a polite way and talk to them about your feelings, and see if the sensei(s) have a more traditional and powerl adult class or if he/she can give the lesson you want apart or privately.

Manny


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## MeDemitto (Sep 30, 2010)

Grenadier said:


> Since you're in the Juneau area, have you looked at the ISKF affiliates there?  There's a Shotokan school under Diana Stevens who should have direct ties to Okazaki Sensei.


Thanks, I found them online; I'll give this a shot... I also found a tang soo do place as well, more options than I realized at first.


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