4.23.2011

This is really late, but Saturday has been on my mind and so I figured I would just go ahead and post about it, even though I didn't actually do anything at karate. I did, however, go out and watch the gup shim sa (colored belt test) held on campus for the TSD club that morning. It was quite interesting. They sort of wing it compared to how we run ours. The proctor called out the test, whether it be from memory or whether he just calls out whatever he wants them to do, I do not know, without so much as a hint of a script or printed schedule. He walked around, rather than just standing pretty much in place, and corrected people in the middle of the test. There was a lot of interaction between the review board (or lack thereof considering it really only consisted of the one Sa Bom Nim, but we'll get to that later). Certain parts of it were quite strange to be quite honest. The overall result was very much similar to what I'm used to, but there were a lot of little things that just wouldn't have been accepted in our do jang.


As for the actual participants, they all did quite well. It was hard to judge some parts though because it seemed as if it were just a free for all. They would be told to do their Ho Shin Sool or Il Soo Sik on their own and it was all very overwhelming to watch. I didn't like it. I couldn't sufficiently determine (not that my opinion really matters, it's just habit kicking in to judge candidates during a test) if any of them were doing them at the level they should be performing and I don't know how the one Sa Bom could really get a good look either.


Then again, I was kind of suspicious about him. He seemed like he definitely knew his stuff because when he spoke to the group after the test he brought up basically every point that I noticed, both negative and positive, and had some really good feedback as a whole. You don't really get to that level and not know what you are talking about though. It was more of his personality and how he acted during the exam. He would completely ignore the fact that there were people testing. He would get up from the table to talk to the two Dan members about techniques or whatever he saw that was incorrect. My problem with this is that DURING the test is NOT the time to be doing this. He's wasting valuable time where he should be watching the candidates and taking notes on what the two instructors need to work on. Then, there were times where the candidates would be bowing to him after performing or after speaking to him and he didn't even have the decency to look up from taking notes for 5 seconds to acknowledge them and show them the respect that they deserve. Yes, they are your juniors, but they deserve respect as well and as an instructor, if you do not respect your students then you are going to lose them. I've always believe that you should treat others how you want to be treated, especially when it comes to martial arts and the exchange of respect, no matter what the difference is between rank, age, ability, etc. As a martial artist for 14 years, and someone who was always disrespected or disregarded, even when I one of the highest ranked individuals in my do jang, just because of my gender and age, I realized early on that these things don't matter. Just because I was female and very young didn't mean that I was any less qualified than the older male counterparts that I trained and taught with. So, seeing this happen again makes me upset. By disrespecting your students or those who aren't as experienced as you, you are showing a lack of discipline and respect for the people that could be running the organization that you have put so much time, effort, energy and money into. You are not showing them, through your actions, how a senior should act. You are just perpetuating a negative attitude and showing the lower ranking members that once you get even just a little bit of experience, that it's okay to look down upon those who will eventually be lining up behind them in line.


Overall, I was quite impressed, especially since I was finally able to watch everyone and not just catch glimpses of what they were doing. They got out there and they were pretty on point for the level that they are. They were all very disciplined (which I definitely don't see when the lower level students are running classes) and they did everything that is expected of a martial artist. I don't like that this is typical though. You're supposed to be having fun, yes. But, martial arts is also about learning discipline, control, respect among many other things. The mental part of training should be stressed just as much as the physical part is. Rick English said it best when he said "A black belt is nothing more than a belt that goes around your waist. Being a black belt is a state of mind and attitude.” This doesn't just apply to those who are black belts though, this can apply to anyone who is a martial artist. At the end of the day, the color of the belt around your waist doesn't matter, all that matters is that you are a martial artist and that you carry yourself in that way in everything you do. Personally, what you get out of martial arts mentally is much more useful and valuable in everyday life than what you get out of martial arts physically. If these were my students or trained in my studio back home, 75% of them would be in a world of trouble for the way they act. It's so hard not being able to help make changes to the program here and it's even harder for me to keep my mouth shut. I was always able to say what I wanted (within reason) or how I felt about things back home because I was so involved in the programs. If I didn't like something, I was able to express it. If I wanted something to change, I could make it happen. Here, I have to monitor myself and watch how much I say because I'm just a practitioner here. I'm not an instructor. I have no real say in what goes on and how things are done, which is really frustrating sometimes because I want to see everyone achieve their goals and have a good experience. I know how to make this happen (not that the program here isn't successful or anything) and it's frustrating to not be able to help the program and even the individuals improve for fear of overstepping my boundaries.

Anyways, that's all I've got and since I'm sure I've sufficiently bored whoever actually read all of that, I'm going to stop now before I really do serious damage. Hahaha. 

Soo Bahk! :)