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Testing night went great last night! I was so proud of each of the participants, how prepared they were and how much effort they put out. If I ever lack enthusiasm, or feel discouraged, I will think back on how much real work was put in by the group, how seriously they take their practice, and how great they looked.
I am truly a lucky teacher indeed!
Thursday, September 16, 2010
Thursday, September 2, 2010
Don't let things turn invisible!
It's really easy to forget the beauty that's all around us. After a hard day of teaching classes i get to walk out and look at this elegance; If i don't remind myself how beautiful it all is, it might as well the invisible!
Joseph Hurtsellers - Sensei
Martial Arts Center /ohiomartialarts.com
419.385.1000
Wednesday, September 1, 2010
Thoughts on Black Belt Today
When I started Martial Arts in the 70's Black Belt was rare. If a Black Belt even walked into the dojo (which didn't happen all that often), the entire room would be called to attention, everyone would bow deeply out of courtesy to this rare treat!
Unfortunately today, the standard for Black Belt has gotten so watered down that Black Belt is considered the norm! My question is, are these ten year olds really the same thing as the Black Belts of old? I think everyone with even a little background in the Martial Arts knows they probably aren't.
It's easy to explain how this happened. Sometime in the 1980's commercialized schools started realizing the main customer based was the six to ten year old age bracket. Mostly this was due to a huge series of hit movies that included the "Karate Kid" and "Teenage Mutant Turtles". School owners everywhere realized the key to a successful business operation was to keep these students attending and the parents paying for as long as possible. They also realized that kids loved getting recognition and awards, so basically what happened was that schools instituted a system where if a child showed up a certain number of times they would receive a new belt. Rank testing was essentially replaced with "promotion night".
To make matters worse, since kids were pushed through and promoted to ranks they probably shouldn't have received in the first place many schools instituted what was called "black belt camp". "Black Belt Camp" was instituted to help fix the log jam of kids who simply were not ready for Black Belt but were nearing the end of the program where payments would stop and Black Belt was promised.(In black belt camp, parents were required to drive there kids to endless camp classes at the end of a program so that the child could be "coached" into getting through the already watered down Black Belt requirements.)
Here's what I believe. I do believe that kids do need rewards and recognition. I believe that they do need encouragement. I do need they do need to feel a real sense of progress. But I also believe that all of that can and SHOULD be done OUTSIDE the rank system.
Changing the ranks system to retain students is like a public school handing out College degrees in order to keep the kids interested! It's just not the way education should be handled, and even though it does work, I think it's not in the best interest of the child long term.
We do try and offer awards, progress reports, encouragement, opportunities for recognition to our kids. We just don't confuse any of those wonderful things with "Black Belt".
Oh, and by the way; I think our kids are better for it - and it shows.
Unfortunately today, the standard for Black Belt has gotten so watered down that Black Belt is considered the norm! My question is, are these ten year olds really the same thing as the Black Belts of old? I think everyone with even a little background in the Martial Arts knows they probably aren't.
It's easy to explain how this happened. Sometime in the 1980's commercialized schools started realizing the main customer based was the six to ten year old age bracket. Mostly this was due to a huge series of hit movies that included the "Karate Kid" and "Teenage Mutant Turtles". School owners everywhere realized the key to a successful business operation was to keep these students attending and the parents paying for as long as possible. They also realized that kids loved getting recognition and awards, so basically what happened was that schools instituted a system where if a child showed up a certain number of times they would receive a new belt. Rank testing was essentially replaced with "promotion night".
To make matters worse, since kids were pushed through and promoted to ranks they probably shouldn't have received in the first place many schools instituted what was called "black belt camp". "Black Belt Camp" was instituted to help fix the log jam of kids who simply were not ready for Black Belt but were nearing the end of the program where payments would stop and Black Belt was promised.(In black belt camp, parents were required to drive there kids to endless camp classes at the end of a program so that the child could be "coached" into getting through the already watered down Black Belt requirements.)
Here's what I believe. I do believe that kids do need rewards and recognition. I believe that they do need encouragement. I do need they do need to feel a real sense of progress. But I also believe that all of that can and SHOULD be done OUTSIDE the rank system.
Changing the ranks system to retain students is like a public school handing out College degrees in order to keep the kids interested! It's just not the way education should be handled, and even though it does work, I think it's not in the best interest of the child long term.
We do try and offer awards, progress reports, encouragement, opportunities for recognition to our kids. We just don't confuse any of those wonderful things with "Black Belt".
Oh, and by the way; I think our kids are better for it - and it shows.
Saturday, August 14, 2010
MMA needs more of these!
While it's true there are many wonderful MMA fighters who display great class, few athletes from any sport have been as great a champion as Evander Holyfield. What a role model!
Monday, June 28, 2010
Sign is up finally!
Just finished seeing the finished sign for the first time; quite a wait but I think it was worth it!
Thursday, June 24, 2010
Fast Lane - The Slide
Just goes to show you that if you make people happy, you will sell a product. This commercial made me smile; it also made me want to own a Volkswagon!
Monday, June 21, 2010
Northwest Ohio can be a beautiful place (our friends patio)
We spent the afternoon Sunday with friends who live near the mouth of the Maumee. Their view and lifestyle was amazing! It just reminded me that we can create our own paradise wherever we live.
While some of us complain about our area; there are others squeezing every drop of good out of it. They can't imagine living anywhere else - why would they want to?
Joseph Hurtsellers - Sensei
Martial Arts Center /ohiomartialarts.com
419.385.1000
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