I'm sorry dude, just leave me alone. I suddenly remember why I come here, but never post.
Pressured to test
- Thread starter Anuka
- Start date
I'm sorry dude, just leave me alone. I suddenly remember why I come here, but never post.
OK, I tried to figure that out by myself by sending various messages to Professor Google, but apparently he's in with the co-ed student group or something.
What does that mean?
There is a balance to this. Everything you said is correct, but if you feel you have to choose one over the other, a lot of times you need to step back and take another look at the situation. From what I have seen, there will usually be an option that was missed. People will either see the martial arts as a hobby or a path of life. Depending on which one you hold, your approach to your training will be different.
As for the OP's situation, if I was in his shoes, I would have took a look at my personal conditioning and had a realistic check on where I am at, I would have talked to my instructor about the situation and worked with him/her to make sure I was ready for the test, setting up a time table with a scheduled training regiment to get me ready. I then would have checked my job to see what options I had available such as vacation or sick leave incase I needed it for the recovery time and then I would have talked to my manager about setting up my schedule so I can do what I need to do to be ready for the test and minimize the effect it would have on my job.
If you have either an instructor or a boss who is unwilling to work with you with this sort of stuff to make the situation the best it can be, then it is time to replace the one who is not willing to work with you.
jobo
Grandmaster
or he could decided that the test was pointless macho nonsense, revolving around magic numbers and decline to get involved in such daft things. And remember wooden dummies don't hit back
its has the sound of a cult asking you to self harm to prove your loyalty?
Saheim
Green Belt
See, I said some would disagree.
I think a poster, after me, explained it better than I originally did - MA is a hobby to some, to others, it is a life path. People are "defined" by different things. To some, their occupation defines them. I am not in that camp, which is odd seeing as how some of the jobs I have had tend to be the type that people do use to define themselves (like law enforcement officer). You asked "how would you pay...." simple, with a DIFFERENT job. To me, it is easier to find a job I can settle for than a school I can settle for. I recently applied for a position that paid SIGNIFICANTLY less just because it freed up some time I needed for training. Everyone is different, but I consider MA more important than how you pull paper.
My point was simple - the OP is using "work" as his reason to avoid the test. He has to decide which is more important to him. To me, that would be simple. Plus it doesn't even sound like he is forced into an ultimatum. Sounds like he might have to just miss a few days to recover.
Whichever he decides takes priority, the one thing that is important to remember is - you don't get to tell an instructor how to teach. It is HIS class, you are paying HIM to teach YOU. Maybe I'm too traditional, but ya either do what your Sensei/Sifu says, or you go somewhere else. YMMV
Which would be up to the OP. It is not our place to tell him what to value in his training because to do so is cultish.
Like I said, I don't train in his system. We don't test on wood dummies, we show our skill through performance pieces (basics, long forms etc) and through live application (kickboxing, grappling, and board breaking) and I don't see the point in showing skill on a dummies because you need to see it in live action to make sure they are understand the principles of distance, angles, and timing. But if I had an instructor who I had a positive history with and we had built a sense of trust by working together, I would not argue with him if he wanted to do things that I didn't see the point in doing. I would ask him why we are doing it, but if he gave me a solid answer and listened to my concerns and addressed them, I would have no problem doing it. The OP did not clarify the type of relationship he had with his instructor or their history together. He just didn't see the point in the test. Above that, there are a lot of assumptions going on with people's intentions. So why don't we let the OP speak for himself and express to us what he values in his training.......
it would seem you are extremely lucky then, jobs around our way are rare and hard to get, people have to move away from family and friends to get a job.
What works for it's actually good advice for others especially when you don't know their situation.
Absolutely spot on.
Don't take any notice, people like to bump their gums, pick the answers that are useful to you.
I may be here more often, our Prime Minister has just announced a General Election and I really really can't face more politicians insulting, whining, pontificating and generally being very annoying so this is where I will hide until it's over!
