Too Many People Miss My Points

[Steve]

And yet teachers use analogies all the time.

I actually like analogies and use them all the time. I was making a silly joke. Granted, it was a simile and not a metaphor, but you get what you pay for.

 

[Rich Parsons]

Too many people on this forum miss my points. Now that's not the same as agreeing with my points, Im fine with people disagreeing with my points, but the problem is when people don't get my points in the first place. I must say, some of the people on this forum are kings and queens of missing points.

To be honest, I stopped reading your posts a while ago.
I do not follow you MOST of the time.

I just assumed you wanted to only reach out to people who think or write like you, and not try to express a point with details and take a few sentences, not assume people understand the back story you are using for your point or question.

You make lots of general sweeping statements and then wonder why people in general may not approach you in the best manner.

Now before anyone gets upset, I and probably some others I would not know how many, have made some posts short on data or sentences in a hurry, or under frustration or with lots of other distractions going on around them in the real world. So, my point was not to attack you or write that you are doing anything wrong, only to point my opinion and if you choose to maybe try to engage in a different manner. Only if you think it will help with your points.

As to teaching in class, I will sometimes give a reference or comparison with college or grad school terms, and then I will also say it again in HS and maybe 8th/9th grade terms as well.

I have been told once that it bothered a person as they got it the first time and that I was treating them like an ignorant child. (* Their words not mine *). I explained that if I speak I may use vocabulary or references that educated normal / average people might not get or understand. So I then change it and and once again. Three times the charm.
I also explained that while looking at a large class or seminar or camp group that not all understood what I said the first time, and see more the second time and then even more the third time. Some for repetition not an issue of education or vocabulary.

So, if I wrote 20 pages, using Embedded Controls Acronyms and SW terms and 30+ years of personal experience there, combined with personal interest in and education in a few other areas, I might only reach a small portion of those who post. And those who do lurk as well. And not all will respond, and of those that respond might have a different set of experiences and not get my point.
With multiple examples and repetition I might reduce it a little.

Not always effective 100% ether.

So, please understand I have nothing personal against you or your posts, nor your style of posting. It is you. I only offer this as what I do because you asked / posted here about it.

 

[isshinryuronin]

Whether or not belt tests matter a lot depends. Some students want to earn belts some students don't, so it depends on what the student wants.

Doesn't this depend to a large extent on what the teacher wants? He is the one that equates a students' ability to a certain belt and is the sole arbitrator on this matter.

As to a student not wanting a belt: What does he want? Ability? Then, again, the ability will equate to a belt as determined by the teacher. (Whether an ability level needed for a certain belt is comparable to another school is a separate matter, one already well discussed on this forum.)

Now, a student can refuse to test, but most schools require a certain belt to learn more advanced techniques. So, other than avoiding test fees, what benefit is there for the student not to test and accept promotion?

 

[PhotonGuy]

Doesn't this depend to a large extent on what the teacher wants? He is the one that equates a students' ability to a certain belt and is the sole arbitrator on this matter.

The teacher sets the standards that the student has to meet in order to earn belts, it is the teacher who decides what a student has to develop in terms of skill and technique to be able to earn the various belts, but there are some students who want to meet those standards and thus earn the belts and there are some students who, for them, earning belts is not all that important.

As to a student not wanting a belt: What does he want? Ability? Then, again, the ability will equate to a belt as determined by the teacher. (Whether an ability level needed for a certain belt is comparable to another school is a separate matter, one already well discussed on this forum.)

People take up the martial arts for all different reasons. Some people might take it up because they want to get in good shape, some people might take it up because they want to lose weight, some people take it up because they want to learn how to defend themselves, some people might take it up just as a fun activity, some people might take it up for multiple reasons including the ones mentioned above and/or for other reasons not mentioned.

The bottom line is that there are some students might want to earn belts as belts give them a sense of achievement and accomplishment and are proof of skill and there are other students who, for them belts don't really matter. I've never known of any students who specifically don't want to earn belts, its just that there are some students who don't really care about belts.

Now, a student can refuse to test, but most schools require a certain belt to learn more advanced techniques. So, other than avoiding test fees, what benefit is there for the student not to test and accept promotion?

That would depend on whatever system your instructor has on how students go up in rank. Such systems vary from dojo to dojo and from instructor to instructor. I talk more in depth about that in my other thread "Not All Dojos Function The Same" which I've noticed you've made some posts there and then stopped. That's too bad as you've said some good stuff there.

​

 

[Steve]

I've never known of any students who specifically don't want to earn belts, its just that there are some students who don't really care about belts.

Some people lack confidence and don’t like the increased pressure to perform that rank can impart. Like imposter syndrome. So they prefer to remain at a lower belt.

 

[Xue Sheng]

Some people lack confidence and don’t like the increased pressure to perform that rank can impart. Like imposter syndrome. So they prefer to remain at a lower belt.

And some study traditional Chinese martial arts and there are no belts

 

[Olde Phart]

I'm an old guy (67 now) and I noticed a couple of things as I progressed thru the belts up to black. It was encouraging to get the lower belts as I kept up with my grand-daughters in order to keep them motivated. "If g'pa can do it, so can we" was my mindset. Then, when I reached red belt/black stripe (one step below black) I began to develop the attitude that, hey, I'm almost a black belt . . . maybe I should be acting like one. Not that I was a jerk, but I realized that there were many looking up to me and I should be aware of that. Now that I am a black belt, it's almost as if I "have" to show up in order to encourage the youngin's to keep going. I do it even tho I sometimes don't feel up to it. It's my "job" even tho I'm not the instructor. The belt system was a way to encourage me as I grew in proficiency. Now, it is a reminder to be the example. Don't want a belt? Maybe they don't want the responsibility that goes with the rank. Glory in the belt? Maybe they don't really deserve it.

 

[Wing Woo Gar]

Too many people on this forum miss my points. Now that's not the same as agreeing with my points, Im fine with people disagreeing with my points, but the problem is when people don't get my points in the first place. I must say, some of the people on this forum are kings and queens of missing points.

So what’s your point? Is it my joke timing again?

 

[Wing Woo Gar]

What is the common denominator in this situation?

The point is on top of my head, that is why I keep missing it.

 

[Wing Woo Gar]

Swimming in a corn starch pool is a lot like pushing poo up hill.

Or Roller skating in a Buffalo herd.

 

[Flying Crane]

The point is on top of my head, that is why I keep missing it.

Perhaps if you comb your hair differently, nobody will notice…

 

[Wing Woo Gar]

Perhaps if you comb your hair differently, nobody will notice…

Running low on resources there.

 

[Flying Crane]

Running low on resources there.

You and I both.

 

[PhotonGuy]

Some people lack confidence and don’t like the increased pressure to perform that rank can impart. Like imposter syndrome. So they prefer to remain at a lower belt.

Well whether or not they do remain at a lower belt would depend on whatever system their instructor has in place on how students get promoted, I talk more extensively about this in my "Not All Dojos Function The Same" thread.

 

[Steve]

Well whether or not they do remain at a lower belt would depend on whatever system their instructor has in place on how students get promoted, I talk more extensively about this in my "Not All Dojos Function The Same" thread.

Yeah, that's very true.