NanceXToo Posted August 23, 2011 Share Posted August 23, 2011 My daughter is taking a class at the Y every Saturday morning. It's advertised as a Judo class but her sensei says that it hasn't been just a Judo class in a long time and covers two or three different martial arts, including Judo and Karate. Anyway, my daughter started there in mid November, 2010. She's missed a few weeks here and there but makes most of the classes. When we first joined we saw that some of the kids had a green stripe on their white belts, some didn't. A few months ago, my daughter asked him when she might expect to get her first stripe and the sensei told her never to ask. (?) Anyway, she's been going over nine months total now and still no word. Her sensei did say to me at her class this past weekend, "She's doing very well." I said, "That's good, she really enjoys it." He said, "She's an asset to the class, a good helper." I wanted to ask him, more because I'm curious than anything else, but I was afraid he'd tell me not to ask too haha. How's it usually work in your experience? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DarlaS Posted August 23, 2011 Share Posted August 23, 2011 My kids took Tang Soo Do and got their first stripe within weeks. It was not unusual (at first) to get a new belt every three months or so. Considering this class seems to suffer from an identity crisis, I'm not sure what you should expect. I'm stunned he told her never to ask as opposed to filling her in on what she was expected to know to earn it. That's BS. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kiana Posted August 23, 2011 Share Posted August 23, 2011 Depends on the art and the instructor. Since he doesn't appear to be teaching a recognized style, nobody really knows except for him. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jennifer in MI Posted August 23, 2011 Share Posted August 23, 2011 MI'm stunned he told her never to ask as opposed to filling her in on what she was expected to know to earn it. That's BS. :iagree: That's just insane. My kids' instructor has a booklet for the kids that says what they have to know for each belt. My 5 yo started in January and has had 2 promotions in that time Her first one was after about 4 months. Her second one was just last week after three weeks of karate every day. My kids all do Tang Soo Do. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TravelingChris Posted August 23, 2011 Share Posted August 23, 2011 My daughter got one in about 8 weeks of class. This was American Kenpo Karate. She was the fastest one in her class but I think it was because she was the only one who really practiced in her class. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Doodle Posted August 23, 2011 Share Posted August 23, 2011 ... A few months ago, my daughter asked him when she might expect to get her first stripe and the sensei told her never to ask. (?) It is considered rude to ask your sensei about a promotion. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JudoMom Posted August 23, 2011 Share Posted August 23, 2011 I would ask him how his belt promotion system works. It sounds like he's kind of branched out on his own with what he teaches. In our club there is usually 3-6+ months between promotions--it depends on class time and effort, and doing tournaments can get you promoted faster. We do 3 stripes/belt for juniors, and there are no kids who are black belts (you have to be at least 16 or 17, I forget which). Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
KungFuPanda Posted August 23, 2011 Share Posted August 23, 2011 My daughter is taking a class at the Y every Saturday morning. It's advertised as a Judo class but her sensei says that it hasn't been just a Judo class in a long time and covers two or three different martial arts, including Judo and Karate. Anyway, my daughter started there in mid November, 2010. She's missed a few weeks here and there but makes most of the classes. When we first joined we saw that some of the kids had a green stripe on their white belts, some didn't. A few months ago, my daughter asked him when she might expect to get her first stripe and the sensei told her never to ask. (?) Anyway, she's been going over nine months total now and still no word. Her sensei did say to me at her class this past weekend, "She's doing very well." I said, "That's good, she really enjoys it." He said, "She's an asset to the class, a good helper." I wanted to ask him, more because I'm curious than anything else, but I was afraid he'd tell me not to ask too haha. How's it usually work in your experience? It's not unusual for a martial arts teacher to try to instill some mental discipline in their students. I would judge the class based on what your child has learned, and not by the progress of the students around her or the color of her belt. Many serious martial artists can be very zenish in their philosophy towards martial arts and life. He may want your daughter to focus on the art and not the stripe, or examine why this stripe is so important to her. Why does it matter what the other kids are doing? What does this martial art mean to her? I think it is a bit of a money-grubbing travesty how some dojos are run . . .constant strips between belts, contracts that last for years with exorbitant testing fees, elaborate gis with patches and logos, busses that pick kids up from preschool. A small child's rank is not equal to adult rank so when you see belts that go through every color of the rainbow, with stripes in between, they are generally there as a carrot to the parents (because the kids will learn that it's not important if no adults are freaking out) OR they signify a test fee that was paid for every 5 moves a child masters. Not knowing this sensei, I can't say for certain that he's NOT just lazy, unfair, and disorganized. However, it's entirely possible that he's a deep thinker with more to teach. He may be waiting for a critical mass of students to test together at a time when they can ALL be successful. I'd never discount those small dojos that only have white, brown, and black belts in favor of glitzy karate warehouses. Oftentimes, those instructors just care more about their art than the money that can be made from it and they will very often attract like-minded students and build amazing programs. HTH Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
NanceXToo Posted August 23, 2011 Author Share Posted August 23, 2011 Well, I guess it's a mixed martial arts class and I figured he told her that either as an etiquette thing or because he wants them to focus on learning what he is teaching them as opposed to how fast they can get promoted, which I guess I understand, it just feels like a particularly long time! Every now and then while he's working with them on something, he will comment that it is something they'd need to be able to do for a stripe or something, but no hint as to when they will get one unless it came up in one of the classes we missed. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
NanceXToo Posted August 23, 2011 Author Share Posted August 23, 2011 Well, I guess it's a mixed martial arts class and I figured he told her that either as an etiquette thing or because he wants them to focus on learning what he is teaching them as opposed to how fast they can get promoted, which I guess I understand, it just feels like a particularly long time! Every now and then while he's working with them on something, he will comment that it is something they'd need to be able to do for a stripe or something, but no hint as to when they will get one unless it came up in one of the classes we missed. ETA as far as I can tell he is a good experienced teacher and my daughter likes him and loves the class! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JudoMom Posted August 23, 2011 Share Posted August 23, 2011 ETA as far as I can tell he is a good experienced teacher and my daughter likes him and loves the class! That's important! I do think that as a parent who pays the bills, you should be told what his expectations are. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
UmMusa Posted August 23, 2011 Share Posted August 23, 2011 My kids got their first stripe withing their first two months of being white belt. They're testing this week for the High White (three months since they started). We pay for this testing but not for the red stripe nor the white stripe. For the OP, that sounds a little suspicious if you ask me. It's a long time with not promotion. Our Tae Kwon Do also teaches a few other disciplines, and they are very into being positive (which they are). I love it. They encourage the kids all the time and are positive in their instruction. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
NanceXToo Posted August 23, 2011 Author Share Posted August 23, 2011 I guess I will try asking him myself next time we go. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
NanceXToo Posted August 27, 2011 Author Share Posted August 27, 2011 Well, she had class today, and afterward I asked him, "So, when do you usually do belt tests?" or something like that. And he said something to the effect of, "I don't have any specific schedule. Every now and then I decide to stripe somebody. I'll probably do it soon. I don't really think about it much, I just focus on the training." Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Doodle Posted August 27, 2011 Share Posted August 27, 2011 Well, she had class today, and afterward I asked him, "So, when do you usually do belt tests?" or something like that. And he said something to the effect of, "I don't have any specific schedule. Every now and then I decide to stripe somebody. I'll probably do it soon. I don't really think about it much, I just focus on the training." This is a good thing. When he promotes her, you will know it is because she has earned it based on skill and technique not due to time served. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Paige Posted August 27, 2011 Share Posted August 27, 2011 I agree, you shouldn't ask about stripes or belt testing. Maybe your instructor doesn't do stripes. My kids have stripes because we came from a school that used them but nobody else has them because the new school doesn't. Maybe they had a different instructor before your DD got there. Have you seen the instructor pass them out to anyone else? Our old Master used them as rewards and as a gauge of when you'd be ready to test. You couldn't test until you had 4 stripes. The new school just doesn't use them or at least uses them extremely rarely. You can test without any stripes there. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Slartibartfast Posted August 27, 2011 Share Posted August 27, 2011 My dd takes karate and generally if you miss classes you cannot test for a belt. Attendance is considered pretty important. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jamauk Posted August 28, 2011 Share Posted August 28, 2011 My DSs take Aikido and we absolutely love our dojo. It is not commercial, it has a non profit status and the upper level adults teach the youth classes without monetary compensation ~ they do it to earn training hours. In Aikido, you can not test for a belt until a certain number of training hours have been logged. Next month, my son will have been there two years. He is getting ready to take his third test. They do give the kids the colored belts (no stripes in between) just for a visual reward for the hard work of the kids ~ but the adults at our dojo have white belts and they keep their white belts through every Kyu until they reach black belt status. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gardenmom5 Posted August 28, 2011 Share Posted August 28, 2011 (edited) My daughter is taking a class at the Y . It's advertised as a Judo class but her sensei says that it covers two or three different martial arts.? okay, this is NOT a Judo class, but a martial arts survey. cheaper doesn't mean "good deal". If you want her to train in ONE style of martial arts and level in it, it needs to be TAUGHT as one style, preferablly by someone who has a minimum 1st degree black belt in that ONE style. My kids got their first stripe within weeks. Considering this class seems to suffer from an identity crisis, I'm not sure what you should expect. I'm stunned he told her never to ask as opposed to filling her in on what she was expected to know to earn it. That's BS. :iagree: We've done karate through a really good dojo, and my son tested his first belt in three months. His second level test was about three or four months after that. they had their testing schedules posted on the wall - as well as all requirements for each level. You always knew where you stood and what you needed to work on. I'd recommend going elsehwere pronto. understand she is going to be confused with whatever style you place her in as she will have to "unlearn" some things while learning just "one" style. Edited August 28, 2011 by gardenmom5 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Frances Posted August 28, 2011 Share Posted August 28, 2011 It sounds like your daughter really enjoys the class and has a good instructor. Our YMCA has a similar class and I don't think there is anything wrong with mixing styles unless you or your daughter desires to learn only style. My son has done karate for almost ten years and will be testing for his black belt at the end of the year. In his style, it is not at all unusual for children to wait a year or more for their first promotion, even though all students are at least seven years old. All classes are mixed ages, there are no children or adult classes, and the expectations for testing are exactly the same for adults and children. If my son is successful, he will be the first teen black belt in the 20+ year history of his dojo, so slow promotion is definitely the norm for his style. One-third of his test will be done entirely in Japanese and for another portion he will spar ten adult male black belts consecutively. So there are good reasons it took him so long to reach black belt level. Although students know what is necessary for promotion, that is not the primary focus of the training. When taught correctly, there is so much more to martial arts than testing for the next level. Also, students are taught not to ask about promotion, rather the sensei will tell them when they are ready. For higher belts, he will often send them to another dojo in the association to be evaluated before testing. Training time and good attendance in no way guarantee that you will be allowed to test. You have to be absolutely solid on the test requirements and I have never been to a promotion where everyone passed. If your daughter is enjoying class and learning and you are happy with the teacher otherwise, I wouldn't let the belt/stripe issue keep her from continuing. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mazakaal Posted August 28, 2011 Share Posted August 28, 2011 My ds takes tae kwon do. There are gradings every 3 months. You can go to the each grading, getting a new belt each time if you pass, up until blue belt, after which you have to wait 6 months between gradings. I find it very odd that the instructor didn't explain up front what the grading policy was. I agree that you should ask the next time you're there. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
NanceXToo Posted August 28, 2011 Author Share Posted August 28, 2011 I don't have a preference for one particular martial art, and neither does my daughter...so we're okay with the class covering techniques from a few different ones. She really is learning a lot, she's having fun, she's building so much confidence, she likes the instructor, she likes the kids in the class and so on. (He did say it used to be just a Judo class but for quite some time it's covered over things, and that he has told the Y that, but they just keep advertising it as a judo class). My daughter doesn't even seem concerned or bothered by the stripe/belt thing at all, I was just curious when she might get those "advancements," but I do understand the instructor's style of just wanting to focus on training, so, it's fine. And I do think, from what I can tell with all my inexperience lol, that she has a good instructor who knows what he's doing and who has been doing this for a very long time. So I guess I will just go with the flow and she'll continue as long as she has an interest in continuing and she'll learn as much as she can and get as much as she can out of it despite stripes and belt colors or lack thereof. :D Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
chiguirre Posted August 28, 2011 Share Posted August 28, 2011 Since your dd enjoys her class and you are happy with the instruction, I'd stick with this class. That's a rarer combination than you'd think and I'm glad you found it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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