I remember it was you, Chris Parker, that said I should've clarified with the sensei about whether or not I had to be told before I could sign up for a belt test.
Yes. But I wasn't saying you should ask about when you should test (to be absolutely clear here, I wasn't saying you couldn't, or shouldn't either), I was saying that, if you wanted to know how things were done in your school, and what your instructor was expecting/desiring, you needed to ask them.
You were also, I believe, one of the people who said to "shut up and train," and not to ask questions, especially about rank. You claim that those are two unrelated ideas and that Im trying to force them together, if they're not related than explain how?
No. It's not something I've ever said to anyone on a forum. I've agreed with others saying it, but I haven't said it myself.
To your question, you really seem to not understand what the phrase "Shut up and train" is actually aboutā¦ it's not really about asking questions of not, it's about the issue of over-thinking, overanalysing, and focusing on the less-important associated ideas, putting off the actual training, and thereby not getting the benefit/improvement that the training itself brings. In other words, you get the answers and development by actually putting the time and effort into the training, not sitting there thinking about frankly irrelevant side-issues.
That has really nothing to do with the idea of asking questions, particularly about rank, which is very much a side-issue, because, well, it has nothing to do with it. Asking questions has it's placeā¦ being aware of the structure of assessment and grading in your school also has it's placeā¦ but none of that is anything to do with the idea of getting out of your head, and just getting down to the trainingā¦ the only place where you actually do get any real development and skill.
Clarifying something with a sensei, including whether or not somebody has to be told before they can sign up for a belt test, obviously involves asking a question. And in this case its a question about rank. So if you're not contradicting yourself, explain how?
Because those are two separate questions. Asking how the assessments and gradings are handled in the school is one thingā¦ asking if you can be graded, or if you're ready to be graded, is another. One is so you know how things work, the other can be presumptuous, depending on the school and instructor in question.
And before you say I am not going to understand stuff, you don't know me so you don't know what I can and can't understand. Its hard if not impossible to make claims about somebody or to pass judgement if you don't know that person.
Little secret hereā¦ it's actually very easy to say such things. You're not that different, you're not a unique snowflake, you're really (at the core) just the same as everyone elseā¦ which makes it very easy to see how you're going to take things and process them. And even if it wasn't, the simple fact that you've been told it again, and again, and again, and shown absolutely no understanding or comprehension of it at all is a pretty big indication that, yet again, you're simply not going to understand. And honestly? I was right.
As for how I think things should be done being irrelevant on how other dojos are run and that its up to the instructor on how to run it, that's the point I've been trying to make with other people on the board. There've been people here who say that its wrong for students allowed to sign up for tests on their own and that students shouldn't have to pay for tests. Those are people's opinions but they're not going to affect how other dojos are run any more than my opinion is. See my post at #61.
I read that post. You regurgitated what you'd been told, and put it forth in a way that showed no grasp of what had been said, or why, in a form that seemed to be telling everyone else (who had been trying to get it through to you) how it is. And then ended with a question that showed you still didn't get it (for the record, the reason it'd be seen as disrespectful is that you're seen to be second guessing your instructors judgement, putting your opinion of yourself over their judgement and assessment of you).
Obviously I can't change how other dojos are run but Im trying to figure out why instructors might run a dojo a certain way or why they might have certain standards or methods. I want to see where other people are coming from.
That's entirely up to the instructor. You'd need to ask, well, everyoneā¦ and still not have a completely thorough view of it.
