"Wado is boring"

[majin29]

I just cannot understand how some people would make this particular assertion, especially experienced karateka. To someone green and not having ever studied any martial arts, perhaps they might find it repetitive but with the sanbon sets we do every class, and this is at Orange belt level, how on earth could anyone find it "boring"? I guess that's my own value judgement but I find it to be exciting every class, even if it is refining my foot placement or the timing for my junsuki no tsukkomi.

I will offer this though- some of my adult classmates are eager to grade and move onto the next level and my honest assessment is that they still have to perfect their waza at our own level. I guess that's a very Western ideology about progress and always looking at the grass on the other side of the fence. The reward for me is getting better at what I know. And there's a mountain of really terrific stuff I've already learned. I could always stand to get better at Pinan Nidan.

[Wado heretic]

I often find that the people who have something to say too often waste their time saying it to the wrong people.

I have looked for the world statistics but could only find examples for the United States (http://www.nsga.org/files/public/2007ra ... 080423.pdf) and Canada (http://dsp-psd.pwgsc.gc.ca/collection_2 ... 008060.pdf)

Karate, or the martial arts in general, do not appear in the top 46 for America and the Canadian statistics are similar. It seems if we were to accept the peer review; karate is indeed boring.

When I first started I kept trying to absorb all I could and in fact I know the shells of all the kata up to Neiseishi. Yet when I got to Nikyu I found I enjoyed working more on what I know, then learning as much new things as I can in the quickest possible fashion. Mostly because I realised only my Pinan kata are adequate at best and my rendition of Naihanchi and beyond appalling. Basically, I can do a convincing imitation of someone doing Wado badly :P I find it’s like most areas of study; when you first come to it, in your enthusiasm you attempt to absorb as much as you can but suddenly you hit a wall where you realise the sheer depth and hard work needed to really succeed. When that wall is hit in the martial arts, it’s the point where those not cut out for it drop out and the ones who are most likely to stick it will stay. Won’t claim I’ve hit it myself as in my three years in Wado I have seen an adult Nidan, a Yonkyu and two fellow Ichi-kyu drop it out of a loss of interest. Nothing to do without side pressures or life in general, but losing interest. I have also seen at least seven junior black belts leave for the same reason. So no one is immune to it, no matter the time or money spent, and to get to those respective belt levels mentioned, we are talking about hundreds of hours and pounds spent on lessons and training.

[majin29]

I guess in the end it's what one brings to the table. I find the more I invest the more I get back. Yes, I'm very very green at Wado so I'm still in the honeymoon phase I'm certain.

[WadoAJ]

Hi Majin,

Perhaps the fact that she mentions her grade to you on your first meeting tells you something.

AJ

[majin29]

Yes, I never even took that into account. I do know some people who have no problem boasting about their accomplishments.

[oneya]

Now if he were a London cabbie or the Archbishop of Canterbury I’d listen to him! (btw, both of these have the same level of credibility).

Tim

Seeing as one is telling you the best way to an afterlife and the other is in transport and usually looking for a fare I'd worry if these two guys were in agreement Tim.

oneya

[wadoka]

they said they found it boring. ...... this person said, and with some pride, that they had studied under Shintani. .

But how would she know if she had never actually practiced Wado ?? It's the 'appearances and realities' again and how it is easy to confuse the two.

oneya

Not trying to put a downer on the guy himself as I can see effort and enthusiasm, just the kata techniques and sequencing. It has Shintani in the tags and from past postings, it has the hallmarks of Shintani Wado until I see Shintani actually doing some kata.

Whether we are "Taught and graded by the Japanese" (I will save comment till later on that particular post on another forum...) or not, that sequence will be far from anybody's own approach from this forum, I hope. This is not Shu Ha Ri in progress.

[andyb28]

I have to say that I have never ever found a session with our main instructor boring, its just too exhausting for you to ever think about it being boring. However I could possibly analyse that further and say that its not boring as its a mixture of basics, kumite and blast through katas, which is right up my street. Where as other instructors at our club are more kata focused and operate a lesson differently, perhaps analysing a kata in single moves. Whilst theres nothing wrong with that, I can find myself getting bored and cooling down in these sessions.

So I guess for instructors there is always going to be a finding the balance for the whole class, perhaps you are never going to please everyone each week.

[Tim49]

I have to say that I have never ever found a session with our main instructor boring, its just too exhausting for you to ever think about it being boring. However I could possibly analyse that further and say that its not boring as its a mixture of basics, kumite and blast through katas, which is right up my street. Where as other instructors at our club are more kata focused and operate a lesson differently, perhaps analysing a kata in single moves. Whilst theres nothing wrong with that, I can find myself getting bored and cooling down in these sessions.

So I guess for instructors there is always going to be a finding the balance for the whole class, perhaps you are never going to please everyone each week.

I guess that might come down to the difference between wants and needs.

Many years ago I used to supplement my training by attending classes with an outstanding Aikido instructor. He was of a very traditional lineage and was very insistent on getting things right. I was out of the country for a few weeks and when I returned to the Dojo I recognised another karate guy had joined the regular class. Some of you old timers might remember Dickie Wu, not Wado but a well respected Kyokushinkai/Renshinkai instructor, he was excellent to train with. One night Dickie and I were the only students who turned up for training; the instructor asked us what we wanted to work on. We both suggested that we dedicate the whole session to working on just one technique (Ikkyo I think), the instructor was both taken aback and pleased that we’d made this request. His view was that only mature martial artists would want to take that approach, and for him it was a breath of fresh air to move away from a situation where he was teaching a whistle stop tour through loads of different techniques to give his regular class what they ‘want’, rather than what they ‘need’.

Tim

[shep]

Dickie Wu! Now theres a blast from the past. I dont really know him as such but I did meet him many years ago at his Stratford Dojo in London. His Dojo was hosting a Sankukai seminar with Yoshinao Nanbu. That would be about 1977 I think. I wonder what he's up to these days? I've still got a beginners karate book of his that was shot in his dojo

shep