Testing for black belt

[mrt2]

There are always exceptions.

But there is a myth that the martial arts teacher is also infused with wisdom that he can share with a student to put him on a better path, somehow. IF a teacher has that wisdom, it does not come simply from being a martial artist. It comes from other talents and insights, and training and education that he may have received. For every teacher who is good at it, I bet there are 50 who are bad at it and some of them might be downright creepy about it.

That’s my take on it, anyways.

Yup. It comes from popular culture, but martial arts studios have promoted it themselves. Go take a look at any commercial martial arts school website and they will make claims that if you enroll your kid, they will learn discipline, prepare your child to succeed in school and in life, develop self confidence, stand up to bullies, even stay away from drugs.

It isn't all bull$hit. Training in martial arts can do all those things, but the motivation has to come from within. So if a parent takes a kid who isn't ready to learn to a martial arts program, it may not work. When I trained in martial arts as a teenager, it was mostly me, and almost none of my parents. And I know I paid for most of my martial arts training myself .

 

[Flying Crane]

Yup. It comes from popular culture, but martial arts studios have promoted it themselves. Go take a look at any commercial martial arts school website and they will make claims that if you enroll your kid, they will learn discipline, prepare your child to succeed in school and in life, develop self confidence, even stay away from drugs.

It isn't all bull$hit. Training in martial arts can do all those things, but the motivation has to come from within. So if a parent takes a kid who isn't ready to learn to a martial arts program, it may not work. When I trained in martial arts as a teenager, it was mostly me, and almost none of my parents. And I know I paid for most of my martial arts training myself .

Oh I know it. In their advertising they always make claims about learning respect and discipline and whatnot. Well as I said in an earlier post, i believe that regular participation in the martial arts can build those qualities, but it isn’t necessarily the teacher who is responsible for it. Rather, the realization that it takes dedication and hard work in order to progress, and then embracing that reality and really doing it, can certainly build self-discipline. And training in close proximity with people, learning to trust each other while practicing combative techniques on each other, can go a long way to building respect for others and acting in a way to earn respect from your training partners and classmates. If you cannot do that, you will not last long in the training.

But that is a product of the training itself, not necessarily anything that the teacher is specifically teaching.

And like you, my early training which started at age 13 was all from my own motivation. I carried a newspaper route and paid for classes myself and I put in the work, and at that time my parents were not supportive of it.

 

[mrt2]

Oh I know it. In their advertising they always make claims about learning respect and discipline and whatnot. Well as I said in an earlier post, i believe that regular participation in the martial arts can build those qualities, but it isn’t necessarily the teacher who is responsible for it. Rather, the realization that it takes dedication and hard work in order to progress, and then embracing that reality and really doing it, can certainly build self-discipline. And training in close proximity with people, learning to trust each other while practicing combative techniques on each other, can go a long way to building respect for others and acting in a way to earn respect from your training partners and classmates. If you cannot do that, you will not last long in the training.

But that is a product of the training itself, not necessarily anything that the teacher is specifically teaching.

And like you, my early training which started at age 13 was all from my own motivation. I carried a newspaper route and paid for classes myself and I put in the work, and at that time my parents were not supportive of it.

For my first two years, I paid for my training with money from a paper route, and from other money I had saved up. Don't remember how I financed the last year of my training. At that point, I might have gotten some help from my parents, or maybe it was from summer jobs.

My parents allowed me to enroll, and carpooled with another kid's parents, but I don't remember either of my parents taking much of an interest in my progress, beyond the physical transformation that took place over the course of my first year of training. FWIW, I actually think it is kind of nice that some parents now join TKD and train with their kids. But given how human nature works, I can see this backfiring as often as it works. I think the thing I like about training in martial arts as a teenager was, it was my thing. Don't know how I would have felt to see my Mom or Dad suit up to train with me. Actually the thought makes me chuckle.

 

[Flying Crane]

For my first two years, I paid for my training with money from a paper route, and from other money I had saved up. Don't remember how I financed the last year of my training. At that point, I might have gotten some help from my parents, or maybe it was from summer jobs.

My parents allowed me to enroll, and carpooled with another kid's parents, but I don't remember either of my parents taking much of an interest in my progress, beyond the physical transformation that took place over the course of my first year of training. FWIW, I actually think it is kind of nice that some parents now join TKD and train with their kids. But given how human nature works, I can see this backfiring as often as it works. I think the thing I like about training in martial arts as a teenager was, it was my thing. Don't know how I would have felt to see my Mom or Dad suit up to train with me. Actually the thought makes me chuckle.

You sound like my mirror image . It must be a Wisconsin thing...

My parents allowed me to enroll, but were not going to directly support it because they thought it was just learning to fight, and they didn’t see the value in that. Luckily the school was within walking distance, because they were not going to commit to driving me either. They were willing to drive me to the next town over for cello lessons, but not martial arts lessons.

Over time they came to recognize the value in it, and I didn’t become a hooligan from it so they realize that their initial assessment was wrong. But at the time, I was on my own with it.

 

[Gerry Seymour]

Oh I know it. In their advertising they always make claims about learning respect and discipline and whatnot. Well as I said in an earlier post, i believe that regular participation in the martial arts can build those qualities, but it isn’t necessarily the teacher who is responsible for it. Rather, the realization that it takes dedication and hard work in order to progress, and then embracing that reality and really doing it, can certainly build self-discipline. And training in close proximity with people, learning to trust each other while practicing combative techniques on each other, can go a long way to building respect for others and acting in a way to earn respect from your training partners and classmates. If you cannot do that, you will not last long in the training.

But that is a product of the training itself, not necessarily anything that the teacher is specifically teaching.

And like you, my early training which started at age 13 was all from my own motivation. I carried a newspaper route and paid for classes myself and I put in the work, and at that time my parents were not supportive of it.

Agreed. That's why I said earlier that organized sports can deliver a lot of the same benefits.

Of course, there are some coaches/instructors/teachers in both areas who excel at helping build those traits, but that - again - is not the martial art, but the specific instructor.

 

[JR 137]

Agreed. That's why I said earlier that organized sports can deliver a lot of the same benefits.

Of course, there are some coaches/instructors/teachers in both areas who excel at helping build those traits, but that - again - is not the martial art, but the specific instructor.

MA likes to promote the whole self discipline, better grades, etc. stuff; but truth be told, all sports can make that claim IMO. I don’t think the MA/sport give the kid that, I think it’s the teacher/coach who brings it out. Many coaches won’t let a kid play if they’re not doing the right thing - not paying attention, fooling around, not trying, etc. Then there’s the self confidence portion of playing the best you can against better/more skilled players/teams, not backing down, moving on from setbacks, etc. Sure, some coaches are overly competitive and don’t enforce the rules, it most genuinely do.

As far as grades are concerned, look at college campuses. Student-athletes as a whole have a higher gpa than the non-athletes average. It sure about every single college, but every college I’ve worked at.

 

[Ryan_]

We never had any marks on our belts while testing in Choi Kwang Do. Brown belt senior (Brown with black stripe through it) straight to black (with gold tag to represent first dan) for me

 

[mrt2]

MA likes to promote the whole self discipline, better grades, etc. stuff; but truth be told, all sports can make that claim IMO. I don’t think the MA/sport give the kid that, I think it’s the teacher/coach who brings it out. Many coaches won’t let a kid play if they’re not doing the right thing - not paying attention, fooling around, not trying, etc. Then there’s the self confidence portion of playing the best you can against better/more skilled players/teams, not backing down, moving on from setbacks, etc. Sure, some coaches are overly competitive and don’t enforce the rules, it most genuinely do.

As far as grades are concerned, look at college campuses. Student-athletes as a whole have a higher gpa than the non-athletes average. It sure about every single college, but every college I’ve worked at.

If I were pitching martial arts to a parent over, say, a team sport, I would put it this way. It doesn't matter if you are very athletic, or not very athletic. In TKD/Karate/Judo or whatever, nobody sits on the bench, and nobody is stuck out in right field. In martial arts, everybody is expected to train to the best of his, or her ability.

 

[JR 137]

If I were pitching martial arts to a parent over, say, a team sport, I would put it this way. It doesn't matter if you are very athletic, or not very athletic. In TKD/Karate/Judo or whatever, nobody sits on the bench, and nobody is stuck out in right field. In martial arts, everybody is expected to train to the best of his, or her ability.

Absolutely. Everyone gets equal playing time, no one gets cut for not being good enough, everyone progresses at their own pace. The most important things are to work hard, try your best, and act respectfully.

Yes there’s sport MA and competition, but that’s not required.