I have never
been a tournament school for the kids I taught.
But I did see
value in some exposure to what others were doing.
When in Scranton
after observing how young competitors were lost at being able to be seen amidst
the larger adults I sponsored 3 youth only tournaments, and had solid
attendance from competitors across the state. As I really did not take the
youth I was training to tournaments I would spend 3 months to prepare them for
competition. To know how they should act, to hone their skills and to allow
them to be prepared. They all had fun, everyone who attended. Some won. Some
lost. There were even divisions where my students didn’t compete because those
areas were not taught in my program.
After the first
tournament a group of parents approached me why their kids were not entered in the
weapons kata division. I explained to them for a 2 night a week program, there
were things I did not feel appropriate for young people to study. I never
believed in child weight weapons and maintained that young people simply were
not old enough, strong enough for kobudo study. Of course they were always free
to join another program that offered such training. Perhaps that I was teaching
for free and offering a tournament for $5.00 a competitor made them consider I
might know what I was talking about.
When I moved to
New Hampshire I was less interested in tournaments for my students, still we
attended several one a year. Then one year a student, a yellow belt, won his
kata division at such a tournament. Then because he won he wanted to be promoted
to blue belt. I had always explained that tournaments were not part of the
class program. And truthfully he was not ready for promotion as he still had
more to learn to qualify as a blue belt. My standards did not change in any
case, they remained consistent.
Long story
short, he discontinued training.
Now students
come and go at their own desire. When it is time for them to move on that is
what they do, and never has anyone discussed with me why they made that choice.
I never expected otherwise. But I am sure his not gaining a promotion after
that win had something to do with his decision.
Several years
later I came to the decision to discontinue tournament attendance for my
students. I moved the program into other possibilities. There are infinite ways
to study karate after-all. And I certainly had more than enough to keep them
busy. If fact no longer going to tournaments made no difference in my student
population.
I never forbade
them or their parents choosing to go to tournaments. That of course was their
business. It just never came up in class.
So many students start, most about 2 or 3
years into their training, then other things in their lives become more
important to them. Of course that is what is right for them. We always want to
encourage youth to learn how to make choices. Most of them choose not to spend
the 7 to 9 years to shodan. And of course those that do so, still will leave as
adults they don’t choose often to spend their futures in their home towns.
One time I had 3
brothers that all received brown belts (which happened a few times). One pushed
forward eventually reaching black belt. The others choose to move on to other
things (and that has happened more than a few times too. Then the brother who
reached shodan left to go to college and later into the Navy.
But years later
one of the brothers who left as a brown belt came to visit me. He was the only
one of all my students who chose to move on, who ever did that.
And he took the
time to thank me for spending my time for him.
That was the
only thanks I have ever gotten. That was more than enough.
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