Tested under protest

[Ken Morgan]

My sensei says rank is a punishment for hanging around too long....

Congrats BTW!!!

 

[Aikicomp]

Silly, you need to decide for yourself whether you want to graduate or not. If you are ready, you'll pass - if not, you won't. Therefore the trainer should not make you.

If any student told me when THEY were going to test after I told them to test....they would no longer be my student. That is rude and implies they have no confidence in my judgement or ability as an Instructor.

Michael

 

[Twin Fist]

if i tell one of my students to test, and they say they aint ready? they can leave.

 

[Shifu Steve]

I'm gonna have to jump in with the "your instructor knows best" camp. You're training with this person and trusting their judgment on all Martial Arts related issues and investing a significant amount of time with them. They are, so to speak, the expert on the subject matter you are studying. I'm not saying that instructors are never wrong, but this is more of a matter of respect, more specifically, respect for your teacher's judgment, which is a touchy subject and a slippery slope if you challenge it

 

[Mark Lynn]

Nah. Part of the trainer's job is to push you out of your comfort zone. If he's doing that appropriately, then he's taking into account his assessment of your ability to pass. I haven't known any teachers who required someone to test expecting that they'd fail. Usually, your teachers want to see you succeed as much as you do. But you do need to accept that 1) they may have a clearer sense of your progress than you do and 2) they're supposed to be making you uncomfortable. Comfort leads to stagnation. And nobody should be showing up to a class to stagnate.


Stuart

Stuart, I have to agree with you here, my job as an instructor is to take my students out of their comfort zones even on test days. This is a fine line for on a test you don't want to throw the student so far off kilter that they totally blow it, and yet on my tests I do try ad throw the students a few curve balls to make their tests interesting.

For my class, my tests are a chance for the students to demonstrate what they have learned to their parents/friends and they aren't going to test unless they have 1) earned it and 2) I know they deserve the new rank.

In regards to having the student tell me they are not ready, I've only had one student's mother tell me their child wasn't ready and I politely informed here that yes he was ready and yes he would test. If an adult student were to tell me they weren't ready to test, I wouldn't accept that.

Mark

 

[Blade96]

I was so angry with Master D. I had declined the last scheduled belt test in March because I believed that I was not ready yet; then took a month off due to shoulder stress. When I came back two weeks ago, his assistant instructor informed me that I would be demoted if I didn't show up to the makeup test in two weeks...!!!! So I stressed and stewed about it until testing day. But in the end, what decided me was that there was another student testing for the same belt level who would test alone if I didn't show. I wouldn't want that to be my fate, so I told myself I was showing up for his sake and prayed that I wouldn't embarass myself too much.

Well hobgobbs...I passed! Now I am a Green Belt. And I only embarassed myself a little bit.

Is it possible that my instructor knows my skills better than I do?

So tell us your accidental testing stories.

Systema is a beltless art; everyone trains together. The other day everyone was joking about how it was time to introduce belts and test everyone. Of course I'm moving soon and they all know it. The instructor turned around and asked me when I was moving ... "Tuesday."

He didn't skip a beat. He turned around immediately and announced that belt testing would be on Wednesday morning.

Wiseass. :uhyeah:

lmao! :uhyeah:

The trainer / sensei should know better than you if you're ready or not. And if you don't trust his judgment, why are you training with him?

Wise Bruno is right. trust your teacher. He know you deserved it. Enjoy your new belt.

I remember when i was freaked out, just a little, about my balance. And i went to my sensei and expressed my concern that it might affect how i do my shotokan and then tournaments and gradings. Sensei listened when i told him about the MRI and the small cerebellum they said they found, turned to me and said: "Those so called experts....You can do shotokan. You can even make it to shodan. Tell em all to go to hell!"

I trust him completely. So I believe him - and how can i not, with my gold medal and my yellow belt as proof. and the fact he is 7th dan and has been teaching for decades. and he's known me for almost 9 months now.

I gave Sensei a big hug and thanked him for being so supportive.

Teachers know what you are capable of, even more than we know ourselves, at times.

 

[Milt G.]

Hello,
Your teacher should know best as to when testing is appropriate. While they may "consider" your input, it is their ultimate decision. A competent teacher should never test you before you are ready.

As for promotions... You should never ask for, or refuse, one. Or so the tradition goes.

Congratulations on your test!

Thank you,
Milt G.

 

[girlbug2]

A lot of responses--just to clarify, the original test in March was a regularly scheduled event, not required for everybody to test. The makeup test in May would have normally been optional as well, but my instructor insisted on it in my case.

It might be a good topic for another thread to discuss how students can sometimes feel unsure of themselves and their abilities. That was more the issue for me, not that I didn't trust my instructor. It was lack of trust in myself.