Monday 27 August 2012

Karate Part III: Sayings From Sensei

Last week, Sensei said:
If you don't understand the directives, ASK for clarification!

This week, Sensei said:
A white belt should be seen, but NOT heard. You got it?! A white belt should NEVER open their mouth in a karate dojo! They learn by imitating. That's it.


Take a guess as to who both comments were directed at. Yup, this little white belt right here. The second comment was in response to me engaging in dialogue with a black belt who was working one-on-one with me. I'm actually fairly shy and generally don't say much at all in big groups.

I work long hours at what most people would consider a fairly stressful job. The precious time I have outside work I tend to devote to either a) things that need to be done, and b) things that make me happy. Getting yelled at twice/week in karate does not fall into either camp.

So, the debate is really as follows:

A - Toughen up. Work hard. Eventually, I'll get the hang of how this dojo rolls and get back to the level I was at when I stopped training nearly 10 years ago. I really would like to get my black belt eventually.

vs

B - Decide that life is too short to intentionally subject myself to being yelled at and feeling sad as part of my recreational time. Join a yoga class and run club instead.

Any thoughts ?

4 comments:

  1. This is the year of taking care of yourself. If you don't roll with this dojo then sayonara. Take those "big legs" of yours to something you enjoy, feeds your soul and maybe even a little social conversation allowed.

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  2. Would it be possible to chance karate places? Maybe to a place that makes you feel good?

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  3. I agree with Michelle. I think it might be worth trying out a more welcoming dojo.

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  4. And, the victory went to Option B.

    Luc and Michelle -- unfortunately, there isn't really another karate dojo nearby that would be easily accessible to me. So, maybe in a few years, I'll revisit the issue. :-)

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