The Yellow Belt
It's been a year since K & T started taking karate lessons. From January to mid-September they went to karate classes run by a man who required only one kata per belt level. He spent most of his time out in the hallway talking to the kids' moms while 13 & 14 year old black belts, who couldn't control a room full of elementary age kids, attempted to teach the classes. The classes were mostly calisthenics followed by 20 to 30 minutes of karate moves. It was borderline chaos, not what one would expect to see in a karate dojo. So, why did we leave them there for 8 months? Well...it was cheap, nearby, and we didn't notice the shortcomings at the beginning. Furthermore, we weren't sure karate was their thing. My ignorance of what a karate school should be is also to blame. I should have done some research.
Over the summer, it became clear the kids were really into karate. I watched them go up in belt rank every three months like clockwork just for showing up to class. There was a belt test, sort of. All the students went through the moves as a group while the instructor stood in front of the class giving commands. The belt tests weren't announced beforehand; yet, no one ever failed one. Anyone absent on belt test night simply took the test at the next scheduled class. At the end of class, he handed out belts and large, fancy certificates adorned with a stalking tiger on one side. They looked impressive. I watched my kids come home with 3 pretty tiger certificates and yellow, orange, then purple belts. As purple belts my kids couldn't fight their way out of a paper bag even though their Gis were adorned with patches won during school sparring matches. They knew a few moves and three katas, although they didn't know what purpose those moves served. Even though they realized their instructor just might not be all that after all the kids wanted to stick with the karate classes. E & I were proud of their determination. We had several discussions and asked the kids what they thought about the karate school. We decided to begin looking for a legitimate karate school. What we found was a real Sensei who ran a real karate school.
Having learned my lesson after the last instructor, I did some googling and put together a list of questions for potential martial arts instructors and spoke with several in our area. When I made the first contact on the phone with him I knew this Sensei was different. He talked about the school and his students, not himself. All the others started their sentences with "I." He invited us to the dojo for a look-see.
We showed up to class that night. Everyone in the dojo stared at my kids sporting their recently received purple belts tied around Gis that were literally covered with patches. Parents walked up to me & asked about them. The kids did look sharp, and perhaps a little overdone, in their trappings. The Sensei talked with us for a minute then asked the kids to show him what they knew (more like, didn't know.) Rather than standing there watching their sloppy performance he went into teaching mode. I hadn't indicated to him that we were going to sign up for his classes. He had no obligation to teach them a thing. He automatically did it. The kids participated in the last half of the class that night & decided he was the Sensei they wanted. During the hour & a half we were there I watched the students. His orange belts looked better than the former instructors black belts did! I was amazed at the difference. Looking back, I realize I probably shouldn't have been surprised.
He talked to us at the end of class and told the kids that they would have to start over as white belts. He explained that his students were required to know much more & properly execute the moves before they received yellow belts. He asked the kids if they thought, after seeing the performance of his students, if they thought they knew enough to have the belts that were tied around their waists. They were honest with him & said 'no." He asked them how they felt about starting over at white belt. Although their disappointment was obvious, they said they wanted to really learn karate and truly earn their belts. He warned the kids that he would be a tough teacher; but promised them he would teach them. He was true to his word.
Over the last four months I have watched him teach. He attends to each student, children and adults alike, ensuring they get help when needed. He's put 100% into helping K & T get to where they are now. There have been times when the kids have made his job hard - days when they goofed off or didn't listen. He has pushed them, praised them, and disciplined them consistently. This past Saturday he tested them. This past Saturday he and a promotion board of two other black belts awarded yellow belts to my children and husband. The accompanying certificate was small, 8 x 11, and didn't have a pretty tiger on it. My daughter, who really likes tigers, commented that she thought it looked much better than the other certificate she has from her former karate school. Fishing for the answer I had waited almost four months to hear, I asked her why she thought the new one looked better than the much larger, tiger adorned one. "Because, I really earned this one," she said quietly, smiling to herself. The Sensei gave my children much more than a brightly colored belt and a certificate last Saturday.
Over the summer, it became clear the kids were really into karate. I watched them go up in belt rank every three months like clockwork just for showing up to class. There was a belt test, sort of. All the students went through the moves as a group while the instructor stood in front of the class giving commands. The belt tests weren't announced beforehand; yet, no one ever failed one. Anyone absent on belt test night simply took the test at the next scheduled class. At the end of class, he handed out belts and large, fancy certificates adorned with a stalking tiger on one side. They looked impressive. I watched my kids come home with 3 pretty tiger certificates and yellow, orange, then purple belts. As purple belts my kids couldn't fight their way out of a paper bag even though their Gis were adorned with patches won during school sparring matches. They knew a few moves and three katas, although they didn't know what purpose those moves served. Even though they realized their instructor just might not be all that after all the kids wanted to stick with the karate classes. E & I were proud of their determination. We had several discussions and asked the kids what they thought about the karate school. We decided to begin looking for a legitimate karate school. What we found was a real Sensei who ran a real karate school.
Having learned my lesson after the last instructor, I did some googling and put together a list of questions for potential martial arts instructors and spoke with several in our area. When I made the first contact on the phone with him I knew this Sensei was different. He talked about the school and his students, not himself. All the others started their sentences with "I." He invited us to the dojo for a look-see.
We showed up to class that night. Everyone in the dojo stared at my kids sporting their recently received purple belts tied around Gis that were literally covered with patches. Parents walked up to me & asked about them. The kids did look sharp, and perhaps a little overdone, in their trappings. The Sensei talked with us for a minute then asked the kids to show him what they knew (more like, didn't know.) Rather than standing there watching their sloppy performance he went into teaching mode. I hadn't indicated to him that we were going to sign up for his classes. He had no obligation to teach them a thing. He automatically did it. The kids participated in the last half of the class that night & decided he was the Sensei they wanted. During the hour & a half we were there I watched the students. His orange belts looked better than the former instructors black belts did! I was amazed at the difference. Looking back, I realize I probably shouldn't have been surprised.
He talked to us at the end of class and told the kids that they would have to start over as white belts. He explained that his students were required to know much more & properly execute the moves before they received yellow belts. He asked the kids if they thought, after seeing the performance of his students, if they thought they knew enough to have the belts that were tied around their waists. They were honest with him & said 'no." He asked them how they felt about starting over at white belt. Although their disappointment was obvious, they said they wanted to really learn karate and truly earn their belts. He warned the kids that he would be a tough teacher; but promised them he would teach them. He was true to his word.
Over the last four months I have watched him teach. He attends to each student, children and adults alike, ensuring they get help when needed. He's put 100% into helping K & T get to where they are now. There have been times when the kids have made his job hard - days when they goofed off or didn't listen. He has pushed them, praised them, and disciplined them consistently. This past Saturday he tested them. This past Saturday he and a promotion board of two other black belts awarded yellow belts to my children and husband. The accompanying certificate was small, 8 x 11, and didn't have a pretty tiger on it. My daughter, who really likes tigers, commented that she thought it looked much better than the other certificate she has from her former karate school. Fishing for the answer I had waited almost four months to hear, I asked her why she thought the new one looked better than the much larger, tiger adorned one. "Because, I really earned this one," she said quietly, smiling to herself. The Sensei gave my children much more than a brightly colored belt and a certificate last Saturday.
Labels: life
posted by Cindy at 9:30 AM
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