Disillusioned

Discussion in 'General Martial Arts Discussion' started by humblegojuguy, Sep 28, 2004.

  1. humblegojuguy

    humblegojuguy New Member

    I have been taking Karate and MMA for about 3 years now. I love doing karate but more and more lately I have been finding it harder and harder to force myself to go to class, to the point now that I have quit all together. When I actually go to class I love it, its the getting in the car thing and driving there is the hard part. I keep thinking that I want to find a Sensei that I truely like and respect, a person that loves MA and is not doing it just for money. I have had a couple bad experiences with the style that I'm in now where there was some infighting and our club split from the main organizenation. I think my Sensei and his Sensei (they are the two who had a fight and split from each other) handled things wrong on both their ends. I got the feeling that it was more about control and very big egos, that was the main problem. Now I find myself wandering and disillusioned thinking that will I ever do what I love again, that is MA. Do I have too high of standards ? I am I being unrealistic in what I think a Sensei should be like ? I truely hope one day that I will find a Sensei that I respect and I will join his/her club no matter what style it is. What do you all think ? Have any of you had these thoughts ? What did you do ? Thanks
     
  2. Mrs Owt

    Mrs Owt New Member

    I have had these exact thoughts. It is important that you find a sensei that you respect and trust. You are not an indentured slave, you can find and choose any MA instructor that you wish. Go out, explore. There are many reputable sensei's out there who do it for no money at all and purely for the love of the art.

    You should never stay in a situation where you do not respect, like or trust your instructor. You trust them with your well being, your development and in some cases personal information so you NEED to be able to trust them.

    Good luck on your search.
     
  3. KickChick

    KickChick Valued Member

    Don't let the issues that surrounded and affected the quality of instruction in the school you quit, disillusion your future aspirations.

    I become disillusioned 24/7 with alot of things but that never stops me .... you just need to persevere which is a martial art tenet I thankfully have learned over my years of training.
     
  4. humblegojuguy

    humblegojuguy New Member

    Anymore people out there have an idea on the subject ???? Thanks
     
  5. Pacificshore

    Pacificshore Hit n RUN!

    Well when I became dissatisfied with my Shotokan training, I left to pursue my original art of Kenpo/Kempo. It was not a matter of the art or having no respect for the instructor, it was simply where I felt that I was not progressing in my training. We all have ups and downs in our martial arts journey, it's how you choose to deal with the situation at hand. Sometimes you simply need to step away from your training in order to re-focus your mind. I have done that as well. If you train long enough, you will begin to understand what your martial arts training means to your daily life. I know that when I was w/o my training, something always felt missing. Good luck to you, hope it works out for you down the road.
     
  6. Kwajman

    Kwajman Penguin in paradise....

    You just have to look past the getting ready part and just think about the class itself. A lot of people are like that. Moaning and groaning about going to class, then having a ball once they get there.
     
  7. wrydolphin

    wrydolphin Pirates... yaarrrr Supporter

    On that note, getting up and working out is something that is a habit. Its just something that you do automatically. When you break that, it takes a while to get going into your pattern again. You might also try adding another style or class. I know some people don't like adding, but think it can be very complimentary and can really add to your understanding of both styles. Not to mention improve your fighting abilitities.

    As for the other, I always wonder if we put too much into the term "Sensei". They are still people like you and I, and no matter how proficient in martial arts they are, they don't lose the ability to be falable. If what you are learning from them is good, then why worry about their personal lives? If, for whatever reason, you absolutly cannot respect and learn from them anymore, then by all means, switch instructors or styles. Just don't let this allow you to quit martial arts for good because of this.
     
  8. humblegojuguy

    humblegojuguy New Member

    Thank-you all for your great input, I will think about it. Do you think that it has anything to do with TMA or no. Do you think TMA this is easier to happen in or no. I love TMA but I just feel very jaded right now. I'm thinking about trying Aikido maybe it would be better, I guess it has to do with the dojo and the teacher not the style. Maybe you are right I just need a little time off or a new start in a new style or dojo. I love MA and read about it or practice it almost everyday. Thanks again for your input all.
     
  9. fizz-lau

    fizz-lau Valued Member

    the £ thing is hard,we do it 1st for the love of teaching what we teach,2nd it is how we earn our money.
    example on not doing it just for the £ ; tuesday we had 6 ppl not pay us for class cos they forgot/no cash ect,we said pay next week no probs/ ppl joining the class are normally expected to pay a deposit, we say try for a month,if you like it then come back to us & we will talk membership. now this is where we earn our £ but we would rather ppl had a chance to see if they enjoy what we teach before parting with their ££ :)
     
  10. shadow joe

    shadow joe seeker of truth

    money is inherent, you can't offer a service and NOT get paid for it. that doesn't mean the trust has to vanish with your cash.


    maybe try some other places? and remember, Sensei's are human, they all have their faults, egos, and habits just like everyone else. if someone is working towards goodness and being a better human, you can usually tell. some gym owners are just fighters who like pounding on those smaller than them, while other are good at fighting who respect all people. it takes a while to find the latter.


    talk to any martial artist and they can probably tell you at least one bad experience they've had with MA. you can't let it discourage your personal training. at my first school my instructor raped one of the black belt girls. i moved on immediately but there was a moment i contemplated quiting MA alltogether.

    in hindsight i realized i've made the right move. i feel i'm beyond my first instructor now (having run into him recently) and i've also run into one of those old students who got discouraged from the incident and never trained again and it wasn't a pretty sight.


    besides i can't imagine giving up doing something as awesome as MA....



    hope everything is going well for you, peace,
    joe
     

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