As a black belt of one martial art form, what is the best way to approach a new school, be it the same or different? How do you as an instructor handle this situation? What is the reaction of students?
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A black belt doesn't make you an expert so if you approach another school, approach it as a fresh new venture, if your abilities proove you to be very good at the art the sensei will recognise it and possibly grade you to a level thats more suited.
It depends on the syllabus I guess.
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Power of the mind is infinite, while brawn is limited... www.ryusui-ryu.org
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I'm not an instructor either but I have had experience of someone else joining the club. He was a purple sash in lau gar (BKFA) and started or class after not training long. Our club isn't BKFA and even though our grades are the same we do some things differently, we also have a few Shaolin forms too. This guy showed up wearing his purple sash and seemed to have an attitude right from the start. We got graded up to purple then to brown and he didn't ,as he was still doing things the same as he did at his old club.My sifu said he would grade him for brown once he did things the way he wanted them, he wasn't happy. We changed venue recently and he stopped coming. A guy he used to train with from his old club started and was a yellow sash ,he didn't wear his sash and was perfectly happy to start from scratch to learn things the way we do them. Two completley different approaches.
From a students point of view I would say don't forget what you have learned but be completely willing to start from scratch and take on the new experience. People will probably be really interested in your experience and you can probably open their minds if you start a different style.
Ryusui_Ryu wrote: Well, I'm not an instructor but I will say this..
A black belt doesn't make you an expert so if you approach another school, approach it as a fresh new venture, if your abilities proove you to be very good at the art the sensei will recognise it and possibly grade you to a level thats more suited.
It depends on the syllabus I guess.
You're first few words are exactly the reaction or response I want to avoid. I completely agree with you. This is why I have posted the question.
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You don't have to tell anyone you're a black belt. The instructor might ask you if you have done anything before or be able to tell. I eventually told my mma instructor I did kung fu as well as he knew I had done something before due to my movement and my stand up work. Just be humble and you will be fine.
It does suck losing your dojo though. My club stopped for 3 months and I didn't think it would ever start up again, it felt like a huge loss.
Su Lin wrote: You don't have to tell anyone you're a black belt. The instructor might ask you if you have done anything before or be able to tell. I eventually told my mma instructor I did kung fu as well as he knew I had done something before due to my movement and my stand up work. Just be humble and you will be fine.
It does suck losing your dojo though. My club stopped for 3 months and I didn't think it would ever start up again, it felt like a huge loss.
Sounds like good advice, and yes you're right it does feel a huge loss.
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I would say don't see your past training as a waste of time. I was thinking about this when I thought I was going to have to quit kung fu. You will have lots of experience and transferrable skills that you can take to another style if you need. I had basic striking stuff that you can transfer and you also know you are capable of learning. I was annoyed at first that I would have to be the n00bie, as I have been in mma (though now I am one of the most experienced ones so I go between the n00bies and the scary guys) . It's going to hurt but you'll be just fine. You obviously have determination to get your black,so just think about that and focus on where you want to go next.
One door closes another door opens etc.
I think there have already been some great thoughts here. One thing I'd like to say is that you should probably just be open and honest with the sensei of the school/style you are joining into. This will help you judge their character as well. Hopefully you will find a teacher who sees your skills as something you can build off of as a segway into what they do (if that is possible in their system that is).
As was already stated, black belt does not mean "expert". Quite the contrary, holding a shodan just means you've shown you are teachable.
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strengthen the body, focus the mind, free the spirit
dragon punch kitteh pwns u!
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The correct etiquette would be to talk privately to the club instructor and to ask to begin again as a white belt. You need time to learn the new schools training syllabus and their way of doing it properly. The instructor should grade you and maybe 'fastrack' you where needed.
From an instructor point of view, we usually get prospective members into a introduction class prior to them joining the main class. This means that we can assess what ability they may already have, what they are looking from us and also what we expect from them. If they have trained at another club in the same or similar style then we will look to get them used to our syllabus and grade them in at an appropriate level usually within 6 months or so.
I think what other people have said above about being humble when joining a new club is a good course to take. You have to accept that your old club is gone and you may have to do things differently. Just be open minded and try the best you can when you find the club that is right for you. It is hard to join a new club as the club dynamic will be different to your old school and it will take some getting used to and finding your place in the club. Just train and let your actions speak louder than words. It's just a case of getting the balance between trying your best and being respectful and not showing off.
Just because you were a black belt doesn't mean that you have the same level in another art. I wear my black belt in my club, however, when I've trained BJJ (very rarely unfortunately) I've worn my white belt. What belt I wear doesn't make a difference to my personal ability or my attitude when I train.
Train hard and have fun as that is what it's all about at the end of the day and not what you wear around your waist.
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"Men occasionally stumble over the truth, but most of them pick themselves up and hurry off as if nothing ever happened"
Sir Winston Churchill
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. It's going to hurt but you'll be just fine. You obviously have determination to get your black,so just think about that and focus on where you want to go next.
