While I agree that this thread (and, hopefully, this entire line of conversation from many past threads) has likely gone about as far as it could, there are one or two things I'd like to address and clarify.
The clip is titled as a Shotokan self defense clip however he is also incorporating some Judo throws into it. Overall I must say he looks like he's really good, his technique is clean, crisp, and precise although he could put more hip into his techniques. What I've been taught is to really put your hip into it when you throw a technique. Also, at one point he swings his leg way up, I don't see why he would do that.
Okay. thanks for that.
To be honest, this appraisal kinda confirms what I've thought in a number of ways here. It's not important to continue along this line, but thank you for answering.
So lets say somebody who will never be good enough for black belt because they just don't have the potential, would they even make it to brown?
Sure, they might. Put it this way… just because someone isn't skilled enough to become a tennis pro, it doesn't mean they can't have a good amateur career. It's not a matter of anyone walking in the dojo being automatically good enough to get a black belt… as that's simply not the reality. But, by the same token, those unable to get a black belt don't stay as a white belt forever either.
What you can see about somebody from messages they post on a board is very limited.
Honestly, you'd be surprised.
Exactly, it does take hard work and effort to get anywhere but as you said the effort has to be put where it should be put otherwise its just wasted effort and sometimes you might have to ask, at the right time. You wouldn't want to ask in the middle of class but before or after class could be a good time.
You've missed the point again.
At any school you will have to know how its run, and if you're not clear on how its run it would make sense to ask.
Yes, and no-one has said any different.
And thats all the more reason I believe its very important to get things done in a timely manner. Old age, happens to the best of us. Therefore I believe in doing and achieving as much as you can as soon as you can so that way by the time you do get old you will have much to look back on and say that you really did have a good youth. Otherwise life will pass you by and you will be old and grumpy and not pleased with yourself, or with life.
Yeah… you missed the tone there completely.
Well for some of the really high dan ranks it might take ten years or more to move up in rank, although in most styles for that we're talking above fifth dan. As for the person, yes there are some people who will get to a certain rank and stay there and not care to advance any further. At my dojo there is this guy who is at low brown, the lowest of the three levels of brown belt and he has been there for many years and he has said that he doesn't care to advance any further. He just wants to keep coming to class and working on his training and technique but he doesn't care for any further rank advancement. However, for somebody who wants to go up in rank, for them to take ten years to go up any one rank up to and including first degree black belt, for them to take ten years I think is absurd.
It may be absurd to you, but, well, that's exactly what happened.
And here's possibly the most important thing from all of these threads… saying it's "absurd", or "shouldn't happen", or anything else that implies that you have any real say in how reality occurs, is just deluding yourself. You feel it's absurd… okay. But it happened. It's reality. There could have been any number of reasons that you weren't approached to ask why you hadn't asked to be assessed… honestly, if your instructor thought you were ready, he would have told you. The fact that he didn't (whether you asked or not) says a lot. And, to that end, whether or not you feel it was right, absurd, silly, or anything else, doesn't matter. It happened. It's reality.
You can call it silly but there've been people here who've said its disrespectful to ask. So if you don't ask its silly, if you do ask its disrespectful, a catch 22.
That's not really what they said, though… it's how you interpreted it.
Because I had the impression, which now looking back I regret, that its disrespectful to ask. As I said I regret having that impression but there've been other people on this board who have said its disrespectful to ask.
You missed what was being said. No-one thinks it's disrespectful to ask an instructor questions… or to ask what's required to grade or be assessed… the disrespect is shown when you ask to be graded off your own back. In that case, it's implying that you are a better judge of your rank and abilities than your instructor… but if you're just asking what you need to do, or show, to be assessed, that's not been claimed to be disrespectful by anyone.
You're absolutely right and what you've said is what I've been trying to say all along. Im going to be blunt, the reason I didn't ask the head instructor is because I was scared. I was scared to ask the head instructor.
Okay, good! Thank you for this… it's one of the first times you've actually given some insight into your own reasons that you continued on in this manner for so long. Of course, the question then is what were you afraid of… but it might not be necessary to delve too deep into that publicly here.