Update on kenpo drama

[Headhunter]

So if people remember I left my old kenpo club because the instructor being a dick basically. You can look up my old threads if you want details. But anyway the instructor got in contact with me and asked me to come back. From what I've heard a number of higher ranks have left as well so he's struggling to teach his classes. I flat out refused as to much has been said and I don't want to be near him.

So he said after that that if I returned he would promote me to second dan...again I refused point blank. That just lowered my respect for him even more. Trying to bribe me with a rank. I in no way deserve a second dan and frankly I don't want one. The black belt was a nice thing to get but second dan or anything else really means nothing to me. But tbh that shows a lot of problems in martial arts not just kenpo that some are just so happy to give out rank to get what they want. Honestly all of this stuff has really soured me towards kenpo which is a shame because I used to be absoloutely addicted to it.

 

[skribs]

I have to be careful how I agree with you, because I was given the opportunity to advance in rank faster in order to become an instructor at my school. However, this was not a bribe, it was more of a perk - and I still had to test and earn my rank. In fact, my tests were harder, because instead of group tests I did private tests, in which instead of simply performing the techniques, I had to "teach" them to my Master (so he could assess me on both the tested material and on my ability to teach it). I accelerated my testing in terms of how long it took to get my black belt by several months, but I was also at the dojang 20 hours a week.

I also had 4 years experience as a kid to build on.

But I agree, saying "if you come back you get 2nd dan" is pretty shady.

 

[Gerry Seymour]

So if people remember I left my old kenpo club because the instructor being a dick basically. You can look up my old threads if you want details. But anyway the instructor got in contact with me and asked me to come back. From what I've heard a number of higher ranks have left as well so he's struggling to teach his classes. I flat out refused as to much has been said and I don't want to be near him.

So he said after that that if I returned he would promote me to second dan...again I refused point blank. That just lowered my respect for him even more. Trying to bribe me with a rank. I in no way deserve a second dan and frankly I don't want one. The black belt was a nice thing to get but second dan or anything else really means nothing to me. But tbh that shows a lot of problems in martial arts not just kenpo that some are just so happy to give out rank to get what they want. Honestly all of this stuff has really soured me towards kenpo which is a shame because I used to be absoloutely addicted to it.

While I agree it's a shame, I'd caution against using that incident as a brush to paint "martial arts". It's not even a problem with Kenpo, as it is expressed here - it's a problem with that instructor. I know instructors who would, if accepting a BB back after an absence from training, require them to step down a rank and re-qualify for that BB (whether it's warranted to do so or not).

 

[Monkey Turned Wolf]

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[Saheim]

Sounds like you could get more, hold out cor 3rd Dan j/k