Anyone ever say kam-sahmnida after bowing to the instructor? It occurred to me that we're drenching our doboks and inflicting all kinds of uncomfortable positions on ourselves that we leave class aching...and then we THANK them for it? Wow...way to beg for punishment! On a related tangent, anyone have any evil instructors that enforce corporal punishment? A beast of a teacher walked around with a shinai today while we were drilling blocks and strikes saying that anyone with an improper stance will get whacked. He's also known for kicking a student back if they kick him while breaking a board. He'll just whack you with a focus mitt or foam sword if you kick him during target practice.
Well, the example you give sounds like he is a little overboard...for some. If you are taking TKD seriously then you are getting stronger and gaining knowledge and skill. I would think you should thank the instructors for this, no? If you only look at it as pain and punishment and not as growth, then maybe you are not getting all of the benefits you could be getting from TKD; the mental growth, the stamina increase, the physical improvements, etc. You could say that the instructor is a little harsh, but some people need that kind of discipline in order to stay focused. Is that not a better way to keep kids focused as opposed to inflicting them with an ADHD tag and drugging them? It is in my books.
If the instructor led the class to a great class...then you should thank him/her for the class...otherwise go work out at a health club, training in the dojang has its traditions, and traditions should be followed. On the other subject, most people like that have HUGE ego's...sounds like you have soe issues with him.
I will whack my students with the pads (I mean, it's only a love tap and they're soft, so it's not like they're going to get a concusion) to get them to keep their hands up...no hands up=hit to the head. On a corresponding note, when I played Kendo on a semi-regular basis, you'd often get whacked by a shinai if your stance or back foot was off.
i am all for discipline. without it, what would the training session look like??? there would definitely be no improvement. all students are different. there are some who have enough motivation to give their best during training sessions and there are also students who need additonal motivation. for example, i admire my instructor for being able to recognise what each and every one of us needs, especially competitors. he knows when he has to yell at us to make us work harder and he knows when he has to talk to us in a calm way to make us realise few things. not all instructors are like this. he is also aware of how he has to approach his competitors at competitions between rounds, what to tell them, how to tell them etc. so, all in all, there is a sado-maso person in all of us , we get kicked and kick others, but we keep coming back for more. don't forget that students also pay monthly fees for that that's how sick we are
Heh, I never thought of it like that before. We always say thank you afterwards too. And if we have improper stances, our instructors kick our legs out from under us. And if we don't stretch far enough, they push us down further.
For the record, and to reply to everyone before neryo's post at once, I'm NOT complaining. If I was, I wouldn't habitually go to two classes a night.
i think sado-masochichistic tendencies make a well balanced person.... but thats just the way i am wired i guess. Though i didn't find being whacked with a pad a sdisconcerting as being yelled at from across the room rather playing on your mental isecurity ratyer than physical.... heh. I am a bit twisted sometimes thoug so ...
That's a great way to tear a muscle or get injured. Make sure to thank them when that happens too! :bang:
I've seen that happen when students cheat on stretches. They look like they're doing it, but they're not doing it the right way. It's usually no big deal, though I have pulled a muscle from a partner stretch once.
How can one be the judge of that? We all have days where we are stiff or not feeling well or have things on our mind. All these things affect your flexibility. Who knows better about how you feel then yourself? It's not the instructors place to try and stretch you further. It is more their responsibility to motivate you and push you to your limits mentally and physically but this does not include ripping your groining muscle and injure you. If my sensei would do anything like that then I would change schools. He doesn't by the way and we rarely do partner stretches because by the time you tell someone they went too far then it's usually too late.
Haven't you ever had the displeasure of sharing class with a total slacker? They daydream instead of paying attention to the drill, or they only kick once or twice instead of as much as the rest of the class, or don't feel like stretching, so they fake it? I'm talking about the guys who don't stretch, but they try to make it look like they are. If someone's actually trying to do it right, then it's just verbal encouragement. And I think you're blowing this way out of proportion in this case. Sure, there are evil instructors who, in the quest to keep only 'manly-men' in class, they will literally push their students past their limits, but for the most part, ordinary teachers have a certain degree of self-control when it comes to stretching at least. I do agree with you on partner stretches, though.
Hmmm... well... I trust my instructors not to seriously injury me. Until such time as they actually do. And then I'll complain about their methods.
I`ve never looked at it like that When you first start at my club you set a standard, if you EVER drop below it you get punished, such as 10 sets more on everything for a lesson, or being demonstrated on. Different story at my Muay Thai, the instructer hurts you no matter what! my gums bled after my first lesson a while ago from him demonstrating a clinch technique. I love it
My grandmaster doesn't really do that much. He'll smack or scare a kid playfully but sternly when he's trying to be funny, but he doesn't really hit us.
One person's hard training is another's punishment. A good instuctor helps you to meet or exceed your physical limits... if someone is slacking in class.... whose fault is it??
During long meditation periods, if we moved too much, my master would tap us on the back with a bamboo sword, we would have to go all the way down, and he would whack us on the back.
I wouldn't fault anyone except the student for being a slacker in training. The student made a conscious choice to sign up, pay the fees, and put the time in, so if they want to goof off during a lesson, then it'll be that much longer they need to improve, and are wasting no one else's time but their own. There's a bit to be said about an instructor keeping his class in good order, and dispensing discipline to those who break order (like pushups), but failing that, if the instructor keeps everyone but one or two students motivated and focused, the one or two who choose to daydream will just miss out on the lesson.
