Mouthpieces and Cups...

The title to this article seems more interesting than the purpose behind it but I just had to share some thoughts from over the years of being a martial arts competitor, teacher and official at events. When I was a young boy studying the martial arts we were required to wear a cup, groin protection, at all times during classes. This was not open to discussion, not up to us nor anyone else...it was required because the groin was definitely a target for training. We also wore far less gear back then than we do today but we were always required to have a mouthpiece in to spar and even grapple.

Now this may seem like common sense to many but believe it or not I have had to disqualify quite a few kids who either didn't have groin protection or a mouthpiece...or both in the past couple of years. While this may seem trivial to some, to me it is anything but. When I was a youngster I was kicked in the groin so hard that it actually caused some damage. This damage was through a cup that I just threw in my gi without a supporter because...yup...you guessed it I had failed to bring one. Up until that day I often failed to put my groin protection on when sparring but from that day forward, and after the immense pain, embarrassment and three month recovery process I have never forgotten my cup nor allow anyone to compete without it. The same goes for the mouthpiece as well.

When a student competes in a martial arts event they have to pay attention to the rules because the best judges will know them inside and out. Before I begin any kumite division I always ask if they have a cup (boys) and mouthpiece. I want to see the mouthpiece. It never ceases to amaze me that there is always about 10% of the competitors that don't have the proper equipment. So I give them five minutes at max to go get the required items and return the ring. Sadly there are times that they don't come back but I hear about it later because the parent always throws a fit.

OK...so first let me explain something about that parent issue. My JOB as a judge is to insure the safety of ALL competitors, not just one but all of them. I require all to have the proper gear to compete based on the rules set forth at the event. If your child doesn't have the proper gear then you, as well as the child, have failed to be prepared for the event...not me, not the promoter nor any other judge that day. It is your responsibility to make sure your children have the correct items required to compete, not the judges. I can understand junior not wanting to wear a cup because I teach Karate to kids everyday. Most kids don't like them because they are not comfortable. In my dojo I have a saying..."If you fail to wear the cup then you are responsible for what will, and does, happen to you". 

Parents, Sensei (teachers) and students please make sure you understand and know the required rules for tournaments, bring the proper gear and be prepared. This is a message not just to my own students but to ALL students who compete at events. When you don't have the equipment you hold up the division making the day go longer (which none of us want). It causes problems and when a judge gets on you or disqualifies you for not having the required gear be responsible enough to understand it was YOUR FAULT to begin with...not anyone else's. This is part of being a martial artist and all of us should learn this lesson in our dojos each day. We are responsible for every single action / decision we make...no one else is and we, as martial artists, must take the responsibility to fix the problem...not shove the blame of issue off on another.

It is tough to be this way as a judge and I can promise you that none of us at ANY martial arts event wants to disqualify anyone because they failed to be prepared but we would all rather do that to protect your safety than watch you end up injured (in terms of the groin the injury can, and often is permanent). So next time I get on a student at a tournament for not having a cup or mouthpiece take the issue out on your own self instead of me. I am a volunteer who has given up a day that I would rather be out, enjoying the weekend with others and such things...so please remember that. I don't get paid to judge and often times I travel at my own expense to be there which costs way more than your entry fee. Thanks and remember in martial arts we teach responsibility...that includes taking the blame for our own faults as well. 

Sensei...why are you so strict?

During classes this past week I went a bit old school in terms of discipline on the students. Pushups were handed out, distractions were removed from training and I pushed them to focus and train hard. After the class was over I had a parent contact me saying their child told them I "was mean" in class that night.

First off I wasn't mean. Very few of my students have ever seen me mad or in a mean state of mind. I rarely, if ever lose my temper because I am in a leadership role and I don't want my students to see that side of me nor grow up thinking "If Sensei did it then it's OK to do it". I explained to the parent that part of what I teach is discipline. The other part is respect. This is Karate, not PE class, not soccer and not any other sport...it is a martial art. This particular parent enrolled their child for this very reason, to gain discipline and respect. It was a very pleasant conversation and one that I have had many times over the years because people who do not train martial arts do not understand the culture of the dojo.

The culture in a good dojo is not subject for debate nor is it like anything else in the USA. Today kids are coddled and they simply are not taught the meaning behind phrases such as "You must first earn respect to get it" and many others. In this process they often misconstrue and bend phrases as well as quotes to suit their own personal agenda which is ethically wrong. Martial Arts training must be strict but it doesn't need to be like going to military school. A good Sensei is straight to the point, controls the environment of the class and maintains order / discipline....yet we all like to have fun too. Chances are if you get dropped for pushups for not listening or not focusing it is a GOOD reminder to do so. It is a Karate dojo, not your play time and we are not here to babysit you. We are here to teach you Karate and that requires focus and discipline. Without those two things people always do get hurt. Our goal is to keep you safe so you can keep training but Karate is a contact environment so injuries can occur. Regardless it is 10x safer than playing most other contact sports such as football or wrestling. 

The culture of the dojo is just like stepping out of America and into Okinawa. The Sensei speaks and you listen, watch and learn. Respect is demanded by the instructors because they have already been through what you are expected to go through and accomplished it. They have earned respect and once a person earns it, only they can destroy it or lose it through their actions. The phrase "You must first earn respect to get it" filters up, not down. Many people use this to tell people who have already earned respect that they don't deserve it or haven't earned it from their point of view but that is a FALSE claim. We all know and remember that kid in school who never respected their teachers, was always in trouble and was, for lack of a better term, a punk. They never could understand why no one respected them. The ones I remember from school all ended up in jail because they never understood how respect works. In the dojo respect is given to your instructors and the people who are higher rank than you regardless of your personal feelings, and ideas on the matter. They have already earned it and you need to. Over the 24 years I have taught I have dealt with many students and parents who failed to understand this. It has led to some very stupid situations such as having to throw students out of my school as well as physically throw abusive parents out too. Those are situations I am not proud of because I would rather help everyone to learn but some people just can't get over their own small world to see the bigger picture.

Within the walls of the dojo the Sensei is in charge. It has always been this way. I have visited some schools where the Sensei was trying to be a "buddy" to all their students instead of being a teacher. I watched in horror over the years as they destroyed their schools from the inside out. Sure they grew some good sized schools but eventually they lost all their students because they couldn't control the classes nor the training. It was much more like playtime than martial arts training time. Discipline simply wasn't controlled so it never existed in their schools. 

To be a leader one must understand the role involved with it. It is not easy and it is very demanding. Often a leader will have to make decisions based on what is good for the entire dojo over the single student and that can be heart wrenching but is necessary to insure the quality, integrity and longevity of the school. All students are held to same standard. If a Sensei states something is mandatory then it is. That helps a student to learn respecting their senior's wishes and understanding they are NOT in charge, the Sensei is. Regardless of the reason a student misses a mandatory function they are always disciplined because accountability is a huge part of learning honor. Typically the only thing that is excusable to miss such a function is illness or a death in a family. 

It is very hard to teach Karate today and we typically spend the entire first year just trying to break through walls and bad habits instilled by society in order to help program the student how to actually learn. It seems that instilling the willpower to learn and study is not being taught today in the public education system like it used to be. I saw a cartoon on Facebook once (even think I shared it) that showed a set of parents scolding their child for getting bad grades in the 1980's and then another set of parents yelling at the teacher because their child got a bad grade in current times. This is very true from my standpoint as a teacher. I have had parents blame me for their child not being ready to test up a rank or losing in a tournament when in FACT it was the student's inability to train and prepare that lead to their failure. Martial arts training is not a hand holding, walk you through everything environment. We teach and provide the materials, you study, train, memorize and perfect the art. That is how it is. Your ability to promote or move up is based on your effort and improvement, not your Sensei's. Your Sensei walked the same path you are on and that is how they learned as much as they did and got so good at the art they teach. When a student fails to study the program materials and train them then it is their failure, not the instructors. We give you the tools but you have to work them to grow successful. This is the same way life is. If you want to be anything great in life you have to understand this concept. No one is responsible for your failures but YOUR OWN SELF regardless of what excuse you come up with to try and justify it.

Imagine if Thomas Edison would have just kept making excuses each time a light bulb blew up on him. We wouldn't have had light like we do today. Imagine if George Washington would have just made excuses each time he lost a battle in the Revolutionary War and blame that on others. We probably would have lost the war and I can promise you he would never have become the 1st President of the USA! These are just some of the many examples I teach in the dojo when I hear people blaming others for their failures. Learning Karate is NEEDED today for kids of all ages. It is easy to learn and teaches much more than just physical skills but only if you find a good dojo where the instructor can relate life experiences to the students to help them inside and outside of the dojo. One of the things I always tell my students is "when you got hit in the face during sparring whose fault was it" to which I get all sorts of answers but rarely the right one. The right answer is "it's yours because you failed to block". It really is that simple. If you are training and you get hit a lot then you need to take time to practice, study and learn how to block effectively. Many of my students hear about my early years in training. I got beat up a lot, hit a lot and showed bruises, bloody noses and lips for the effort to learn. Eventually, over the years of training, I became very adept at blocking and not getting hit. I learned this from the best teacher out there...experience. Experience comes from guidance and training. Your Sensei guides you and you train it to get good at it...not the other way around.

Parent please remember that the culture of the dojo has to be supported. Follow the etiquette rules and courtesy rules of the dojo when there. This helps your children to grow and improve everyday. Arguing or saying you don't agree with certain things makes our job harder. We want to help your child. That is exactly why we, the black belts, have spent years perfecting our skills at teaching...to help others! We didn't do it for fame, fortune or glory...we did it because we wanted others to get the awesome benefits out of martial arts that it gave each of us. As my Sensei always said to me "Sometimes you won't agree with me but eventually you will understand why it is the way I said it is to be". As always train hard and see you in the dojo!

Undervalued idiosyncrasies…

Being a martial arts instructor I get to travel a lot to seminars, tournaments and events where many of the area’s top school owners often are in attendance. Recently I had one of them ask me how I can keep a school going and teach full time in such a small, out of the way and rural area as Bryan, Ohio. To be quite honest it has been a challenge many times over the years but I always find a way. Small rural towns like the one I live in deserve a good, top quality martial arts program. There is no question about that beingtrue. The hardest part is that people often fail to perceive the proper value of what we do because of many reasons.

When I moved my dojo to Bryan in 2001 I was employed full time and only taught in my basement. Although I have only lived here since then I grew up in this area all my life. Over the years Bryan has had many martial arts schools. They were part time schools and most of them were taught in rundown buildings, old buildings or at the YMCA. There is nothing wrong with that but apart time school is just a hobby for the instructor most of the time and when it isn’t panning out the way they want it to soon that school is found shutdown with little or no warning. This happened to me as well. I spent four years training at school I really liked only to have the Sensei close up shop and move away for better job prospects. It was hard on me and I had to change to a different school and different martial art all together.

The other issue is most people think that quality and professional martial arts instruction is cheap or not worth much. The main reason for this is they have no idea about how long it takes to become a qualified instructor, the amount of sweat, tears, blood and more that goes into learning how to teach others…not to mention one’s own training. Most martial artists train as a hobby but for the professional ones it is a way of life that invest in constantly to grow their education and improve their ability to help others through quality teaching. Finding an excellent and qualified martial arts instructor is not common place even though there are schools everywhere.Not all schools teach quality martial arts nor are professional. People are often in shock when I explain that I have spent more money on my martial arts education than most Doctors or Lawyers do for theirs. The investment that is put into becoming a top notch martial arts instructor is NOT cheap but people seem to think it should be when they want to pay for classes. This, to me, is rude and disrespectful to the trade.

Quality martial arts training doesn’t have to super expensive but it won’t be super cheap either. Those top school owners I mentioned earlier all yell at me constantly when I tell them I only charge $69a month for beginners to learn at my dojo. They all know me and my abilities so I get the “You should be charging $125 plus a month minimum” comeback from them.  While I realize that in the bigger cities that may be possible I just don’t think rural towns like Bryan can handle those prices. I also want everyone who truly would like to learn a martial art to be able to do so. This is why my pricing is at a perfect point.It is not so low that Bryan, Ohio cannot have a top level professional martialarts program but it is not so high that people cannot afford it either.

Recently we had a parent who was inquiring about classes at the dojo. When he was asked why he wanted to enroll his child his response was “for something to do”. This really bothered me because that meant this parent had absolutely no idea all the  incredible life benefits children gain from martial arts training nor what martial arts was about to begin with. When given the pricing this parent kept pushing for a discount and complaining but yet they drove a nice car and it was apparent they could afford it easily. Needless to say they didn’t get a discount, we never do that. They also never signed up because they wanted the membership on their terms and I don’t do that either, ever. To me this was rude, disrespectful behavior but I can’t blame the parent for it…I have to blame the fact that they have no idea what martial arts is about to begin with. No matter how much we try to educate a potential student on the incredible value of the training they are getting for $69 a month sometimes you just have to walk away from them and let it go. Not everyone needs to be in my dojo either as there is a harmony that takes place during the training I am not willing to sacrifice to please a few over the good of the group. Over the years I have cancelled student’s memberships and asked them to find someplace else to train too. Why? Because it was apparent they had serious self-centered issues and no matter how much I tried to help them they were never going to change. It is really sad when I have had to do so because of the parents having bad attitudes as well…which I have done.

So what is the value of martial arts then? Well, quite simply, there is NOTHING out there like a good martial arts program. Our program can take the quite, shy kid who is bullied and turn them into a successful college graduate with a bright future. It can take the weak, skinny kid with no athletic ability and turn them into a top star on the football,basketball, baseball or other teams. It can take the loud, ego filled jerk and humble them to learn how to treat others and grow as a person. Our program can help people of all ages gain health benefits that they would have to pay 10 other programs to get all in one setting. It will take that person who has quit everything in their life and help them understand the meaning of commitment. There is nothing out there that can offer the inner peace of mind, body and spirit like martial arts training either. So in short the training we offer is INVALUABLE, that means you can’t put a price on it in reality so for $69 a month they are getting something PRICELESS!

I was that shy kid. I had no athletic ability. The martial arts made me a star athlete. It made me confident and I excelled at everything I tried to do because I learned the power of indomitable spirit. The martial arts training I have received is stellar. It was not some broke down hobby training in a dump of a school where the instructor showed up sometimes. It was professional, top notch and I sought out the most qualified to learn from. It was not cheap but was worth every single penny and sacrifice I made. My students deserve the absolute best in martial arts so I have always been willing to make that sacrifice and spend what was needed to make sure they get it. It is the same as being a parent…we make the sacrifices to make our kid’s lives better…being a martial arts instructor is no different.

So the next time someone comes into my dojo and scoffs at the $69 per month fee I am going to hand them this and asked them to read it because, in all honesty, I am tired of people thinking they know better than me on the value of what I teach and do. I know the value and so has the other over 2,000 people I have been blessed with teaching. Guess they will just miss out on it because they are cheap…but then again isn’t that always the case with those people? Yes…it is.