here is my main problem, i am a white belt, and i train in a gym which is primarily fighting, i train hard 2-3 times a day. and my main problem is when i am sparring higher belts, not black, usually green belts they do not take me seriously. i actual had one guy turn his back to talk to someone else while we we're sparring and i almost caught him in the spine with a back kick, which would have hurt him severly, considering i have a good 80 pounds on him. and i have to show extreme control because i am the only heavyweight in my club, and i don't want to complain to my instructor about it and sound whiney, i am just afraid i am going to hurt somebody, un-intetnionally. like i said it's not the black belts, they stay completely focused, and take me seriously when i am sparring with them.
well I know back in the old days if a Sensei saw that happening he would not mind to see that green belt of yours get a little something he did not want. I am not saying do it intentionally, but go at it with all you got and show them that they better go with all they got also or they will be in some serious HORSE POO!
If you're in the middle of a sparring match, then both sides are supposed to be paying attention and prepared to fight, especially if the round has already started. Maybe you should mention it to your sparring partner that he may want to actually participate in the round, if not for his own improvement, then for yours. As a higher belt, he should be setting an example for the lower belts. And having this responisbility means not disrespecting them. If that doesn't work, then maybe you should show him what you're really made of. Maybe next time he won't disregard you as much.
One of the first rules is never turn your back on an opponent. Just let him know you're there if you know what I mean
If people aren't paying attention I usually give them a wakeup call like some humiliating kicks or punches. I remember one time when I was not very motivated, my opponent would start throwing lots of slap kicks to my face.That sobered me up. Your sensei should really impress upon his students that it is extremely impolite to turn your back to your opponent. The problem lies with the green belts, not you He turned his back to a guy 80 pounds heavier? He's either a supreme tough guy or stupid
my sensei will usually yell at someone when they don't stay focused during a match except he did not see this instance. and i don't want to loose any respect me sensei may or may not have towards me because he is always commenting on my abilty to pull my kicks, when someone else screws up ie... a pad holder coming in with on not placing the pad on the correct side for cutting drills and my level of control on my headshots, even though i not allowed to throw head shots at tournaments for at least 2-3 years, till i hit red belt.
My school has a saying that, "The most dangerous person on the mat is a white belt." Not to knock him around, but a sweet round house to the shoulder might wake him up...be careful and good luck!
Respect is earned, not given. When I started out in both the places I currently train in, I didn't have any respect, and I didn't expect any respect. I've had to work to earn the little bit that I have and will continue to do so. Kicking somebody in the back is one thing - but I doubt someone turned on you markedly to disrepect you - I suspect the other person he was talking to had something to do with it. Just do your best, if you need and deserve to be taken seriously, over time you will be. Don't expect anything overnight.
oh i don't think i deserve any respect or have earned it yet i realize i am still new to this MA and have alot to learn, and i didn't say he did intentionally, it just when sparring they are not giving there full attention, and not considering the consequences, i am a extremely large person, 6'8" 230 lbs, and i would feel incredibly bad if i injured someone in my gym, and i have a nasty back kick and i f caught someone off guard with it i especially in the back i would hate to see the result
Maybe respect has to be earned, but both participants in sparring should still give their full attention to the match. The fault here is with the green belt. He should know better than to display such disrespectful behavior in front of other students -- sets a bad example for other students, and makes him look bad, too. People who have attained any rank in MA should at least try to live up to it.
I really think that respect should be a given in the martial arts. Certainly, people who are of higher ranks deserve your respect because of their accomplishments, but there is no excuse for treating someone without respect. What are the tenents of TKD? Courtesy, integrity, perserverance, self-control, indominitable spirit. You opponent clearly has not learned them. Green belt is a potentially hard place to be. You are no longer officially a beginner but you are not an advanced student, either. I think some people start to get a big head around that time when they are with lower belts. That is really antithetical to the martial spirit, I think. Talk to your instructor or some of the other black belts. I learn so much when sparring with lower belts, especially when they get a good shot in on me because I underestimated them! That really upsets me that someone would treat sparring so flippantly. It shows that they really have so much more to learn, and that maybe you are ahead of them in some of the more important things.
As an instructor myself the opponent I respect the most is the novice. The novice is the one without control and who does not know their own strength. When I sparr other black belts I know that he or she has control of their movement so while I know I will get a good workout I don't worry about getting hurt too much. On the other hand, when I am sparring white belts I really need to pay closer attention. when I was a green belt I got sent flying by a white belt in a tournement. What no one told me was that this white belt was actualy a black belt in another style. So always respect everyone no matter what colour their belt is. You never know whats behind it.
well thats just it, they are not black belts and as such have not yet learned the respect for all students that train hard that black belts have. When i see a student disrespect another student while fighting like that i try to put them against a higher belt they dont like to spar, preferably a black belt, because thats the only way that they will learn. there is always someone higher-ranking then you and you have to remember that when your fighting or instructing someone thats a lower a belt. Hopefully you will take this situation and remember it when you are the green belt sparring a white belt. Personally, as long as the student is putting in the effort then so will I, if the student is not putting in the effort then i will try to "convince" them to do so while sparring.
Yeah, i've seen this alot in green belts. They seem to get very cocky but dont yet understand they arnt actually that great. I wouldnt worry too much about being dis-respected like that, its down to the person you are sparring with really, some people are just like that. Although i expect there could be mitigating circumstances meaning that the guy that was talking with another guy for a good reason. But none the less, concentrate on your game TKD isnt exactly a team sport
i knida worded my title wrong, i didn't take it as being personally disrespected, just the fact that a round last 2 minutes and if it was something important he could have aknowldege the fact he was gonna turn he's attention away for a second. i took more as disrespect for lower belts in general, with the attitude that you are a white belt, yellow now, that you aren't capable of inflicting damage, i mean would you turn your head to talk during a tournament, i would hope not, and that is what we are currently training for.
Actually I believe I am in the same position as your green belt. I TA the Intermediate TDK class at my college (for yellow belts and above) even though I do rank in TDK my rank comes from Ninpo (5th kyu, 3 years of training) and I often spar lower belts including white. As said before, your green belt is cocky, I know there is a karate quote that fits here " No one know more about karate then a green belt, just ask him." However, I never disrepect my opponent, I will tone down my attackt to their level , to let them work on techniques. Maybe the is your case. I found the best way to resolve this situation is to tell the green belt how you feel. They might now realize they did anything wrong. Lastly, I think I would never turn my back on someone your size. Unless I am running away.
use this as an oportunity to improve you timing and reflexes with regard to reacting to openings if you can stop and change position in mid kick it will benefit you in a real situation where you may have to do exactly that look at what you can make a benefit from the situation everything has a good and a bad side choose to see the benefit eg you begin round person goes to block you change to side bang .. thats what this green belt is unintentianly teaching you make the most of it
what ur sparring partner did was not right. that has never happened in my instructor's dojo because he taught us all well, and higher belts look out for the lower belts, teach them things, correct them, and we all knew/know that if someone did something like that...all hell would break loose. some things can't be tolerated, especially not such behaviour while sparring. in the dojo i teach at i don't allow it either. i can distinctly remember when i started training actually preparing for my first competition. we changed our sparring partners and once my instrcutor told me that i would spar with a guy who was a black belt, state champion. but before the sparring started my instrcutor told him that he had to take good care of me, that he couldn't kick me hard, like KO me but he should attack me all the time and i was supposed to find my way out, then he turned to me and told me that i was supposed to give my best because my sparring partner was very experienced (10 years of TKD behind him at the time) and that he was able to take care of himself. and i loved sparring with that guy. he taught me many things, because the girls i fought at the competition were not that fierce, so it was actually my advantage. and NEVER ever did i notice that that guy was bored while sparring with me or that he wanted to chat with someone or anything of that kind.
