Frequently Asked Questions

Okinawa Kobayashi Shorin-Ryu 沖繩小林流斌館空手道場

Balance between warrior ways  and values of education

Q:         Even though a uniform is not required, I noticed that most students have one. When should I purchase one?

A:         A uniform may be purchased: 1) When the parent has confidence their child is going to continue and that the expenditure for the uniform won’t be wasted. 2) When a student is going to test for rank or participate in a dojo activity such as a demonstration a uniform is necessary. 3) When a student feels their participation would be better suited by having a uniform than wearing the attire they have available.

Q:         How long does it usually take to test for your first belt?

A:         Each person participating is different. Everyone should remember they are NOT competing with anyone else. For the older kids they may be ready to test for their first color belt (yellow) between the second to third full session. Most adults also fall into this time frame. The important thing is the quality level and comprehension of what they are doing is what matters. The younger children vary considerably and take longer. They, unfortunately for the parents, often are far more interested in learning and doing than the color of a belt. Imagine that?

Q:         Is testing done during class or at a separate time?

A:         Testing should be a special event. It is the student’s opportunity to demonstrate their personal progress and be recognized for their growth in karate. Therefore we always try to schedule testing for a time separate from regular class.

Q:         How long until I can get my black belt?

A:         The opportunity to test for First Degree Black Belt usually requires a minimum of two and one half years. Among the requirements to test for Black Belt rank are age-minimum of 16-properly learning karate technique-and of great importance is the demonstration of proper character. The word karate represents maturity in the individual as well as the proper character combined with the physical skills to fight well to allow defending oneself or aiding another person in a harmful situation. Junior Black Belt may be awarded to those less than 16 years of age to recognize their maturity for their age and physical accomplishments in karate technique.

Q:         My child is extremely uncoordinated. Will he/she be able to successfully do karate?

A:         I have had many parents inform me that their child has this or that learning disability. I have found that we, as adults, greatly underestimate children individually and as a whole. Virtually any child who truly wants to learn karate that has come into my classes has done so. Those that have to put forth more effort to grasp certain things usually pay closer attention to details and as a result and often have demonstrated a greater refinement at intermediate rank levels than many of the children who seem to learn so ”naturally”.

Q:         Should I practice at home? What if I do it wrong? Do I have to?

A:         Practicing at home is excellent and very important. I continually encourage such effort. As for doing it wrong, Karate is an “Art”. That means there has to be a continuous, ongoing, learning process. We can do this forever and we will find we are still growing and getting better. That means I am still learning and improving and I started in 1973. The reason we practice is so we can improve. But you don’t HAVE to. You don’t HAVE to do anything. You don’t have to study for school, work hard at your job, treat your family well, care about the environment. But then if you were like that you wouldn’t be interested in something like karate whose two primary aspects are self-improvement and challenging the will to learn to fight to protect yourself. You don’t have to-you get to.

Q:         Do you learn any weapons (in regular karate class)?

A:         Generally no. Weapon class (Kobudo) is separate from karate. However, it is recommended as weapons training enhances karate training and karate training enhances weapons training. My instructor describes them as brother and sister of the same family.

Q:         Those kata are so long. How will I ever memorize them?

A:         The kata were developed to help retain the techniques and to allow us to develop the proper way of performing and applying individual techniques. The kata are the very backbone of karate and as important as learning musical notes to play an instrument. They should be practiced regularly so “they become you and you become them”. The old masters say that if we practice kata regularly and properly they will tell us their secrets. We speak an entire language, thousands of different words each day, take hundreds of breaths each day, perform many other tasks repetitiously every day. What is so hard about twenty or thirty kata techniques compared to that? It’s all in how we look at something. They are only long if we view them as such. Repetition is the way we memorize everything, especially kata.

Q:         What are you saying at the end of class and what does it mean?

A:         At the end of class the students say “Domo arigato gozaimashita.” This means “Thank you very much for what you have done. In karate, etiquette, proper behavior, is important as a developmental process for personal refinement as well as being the determining factor as to whether an instructor is going to teach you. This is the formal and proper way of thanking an instructor ranked Black Belt for taking time and helping you learn.

Q:         Will my child get hurt?

A:         Karate is a contact activity. The potential is there for anyone, child or adult to become injured to a great degree. However, karate is based as much in respect for the person or people helping you learn as it is in learning to do great bodily harm to another human being. If a person doesn’t have the consideration, comprehension to respect, or appreciation for their classmates they don’t belong and won’t be allowed to continue. In my classes over the years there have been some minor accidents. This is going to happen whether in karate, roller-skating, bike riding, or anything else. Lumps, bumps and bruises are going to happen as a result of contact. However, as I explained to a junior high school student’s mother on one occasion, her son made more and harder contact on the football field and there were many more serious injuries there in a few weeks than we have ever had. Karate practiced properly, which means intelligently, yields development and accomplishment. Aerobics classes, according to national statistics yield more and worse injuries than my student’s experience.

Q:         How do I know my child won’t use what he/she learns against others in an inappropriate manner?

A:         They will misuse what they learn. To varying degrees. There is no such thing as a well-behaved child. My own children weren’t. The kids I have in class aren’t perfect. We delude ourselves through our concern and love for our children into hoping they will be “good kids.” Most of the time they are. One of the reasons they are in class is to learn to behave. As adults we are to provide opportunity and then monitor their use of what we give them. Peer pressure, abuse from other kids at school, will produce situations where they will have to respond and it is our continued support and guidance which will help them do so in a manner that is not counterproductive or damaging. We all love to “show off” or feel superior in some manner. We worry about kids fighting but only recognize the physical aspect of that. We all fight everyday in many ways. We argue to win a point or we say things to make someone feel bad. That is in karate verbal fighting and is often the prelude to the physical. We often fail to realize that each of us, and every child, has some doubts in a given instance as to our own worth and this allows a lack of confidence in that area. One of the ways our children learn to be confident in themselves is in testing their limits. They take what they are comfortably familiar in doing and apply it. Generally this is done in a controlled manner as we all have natural self preservation and natural understanding of right from wrong. However, children do not have the years of maturity to appreciate the affect of their actions outside the immediate moment sometimes and that is why we must continue to remind them and guide them in what is and is not acceptable in our society. Hopefully that is done without cultural or personal bias.

Q:         Are classes ongoing throughout the year?

A:         Classes at Newman Center are ongoing. The students must re-register and pay for classes every other month. At O’Brien classes are in shorter sessions which is at the discretion of the Class Director. Both work well but it can be confusing.

 

Questions are welcome and encouraged. The purpose of this is to get input from the parents and students on subjects or aspects not covered or covered well enough and to try to provide the necessary information to allow participation in the fullest and most rewarding manner possible. As it is not always convenient or possible to communicate within the timeframe of class schedules this can be a very good format to cover topics. For parents and spouses who do not attend class this effort can allow a greater understanding of the “what and why” of our classes. Please put questions on paper and provide them to the instructor. The idea herein is to allow this to expand. Also, as experience has proven time and again, even the most well meaning parent or student can, and usually does fall a bit short when trying to “help” on some of these matters. It has been my unfortunate dilemma to have to spend a lot of time and effort chasing after improperly provided information that has led to no minor amount of difficulty at times. That in itself has been a subject of consideration for publication. The titles of “Foolish things Black Belts have told people” or “Well meaning Parents” have been suggested. We are here for good things and bad or wrong information can needlessly dampen that experience. This may help avoid some of that which we have experienced in the past.