YOUR INNER SELF continued ered quitting and we were never bored. We were taught life skills and life lessons. I asked GM Martin what happened. He said the new schools don’t have the time to sit outside after class. There’s another class starting up or the school is closing up for the night. There is no time to get to know the kids and there is certainly no punishing them for bad conduct! I know that his classes are still old school and there are plenty of rules and expectations of all the students no matter what the age. As I walked in the school GM Martin was questioning a 12 year old student why her uniform wasn’t ironed. She had been told it wasn’t her Mother’s job to iron it anymore, it was hers. Another student forgot his weapons for class. GM Martin told him that the penalty for that was 25 push ups. He said he would expect to receive those 25 push ups before the boy left for the night. Then he said, “Either you give me the 25 push ups or your father will do them but I will get 25 push ups before the night is over.” And he did! The father sat there smiling and said he wasn’t doing them and the kid better get busy. I loved the whole scenario. I can’t imagine that happening in the newer dojangs and dojos. The traditional ways still hold up in an era where kids rule the house and rely on tweets and texts for communication! The students in his class thrive and grow into capable young men and ladies. Their tournament skills are excellent but so are their manners. They know better than to be rude to any instructor in the tournament because
if it ever got back to GM Martin or his wife Master Judy Martin they would certainly be reprimanded. And the parents know it too. There is no coddling or excuses made. Before I left GM Martin’s school I asked him what could be done to bring back the old training and instill the right attitude and rekindle the old-style atmosphere of hard work, hard knocks and deep wisdom back. He said the Sifus, Senseis and Masters have to say to themselves, “ I had that training but my students don’t. “ There’s got to be a way to bring it back and still pay the rent and keep the students on the mat. If what I saw recently is the caliber of the average student in the real world we have let them down big time. Ask yourself what drew you into your study of the martial arts and what kept you training when you didn’t feel the fire? What are your best memories and whom do you still remember and wish you could see again? Are you building the same mindset in your students? Are they preserving and honoring the old ways? Are you teaching Kara-Te or “Krotty?” Kung fu or “Sum Dum Goy” to quote The Last Dragon. How would you feel if your teacher was sitting next to you as your students performed their katas for you? There’s still time but its getting late.
The traditional ways still hold up in an era where kids rule the house and rely on tweets and texts for communication.
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OFFICIALKARATEMAG.COM Spring 2013
Sifu Karen Schlachter has studied many arts including Kodokan Judo, Okinawan Shorin Ryu, Aikido, Sun Moon Fist Chinese Boxing and Yang Tai Chi Chuan and Qigong. She teaches Tai Chi Chuan and Qigong for Tranquil Seas Retreats, and is the Master Instructor at The Sun Moon Tao Institute. She is a Master Instructor in Karuna and Usui Reiki and An De Divine Healing. You can contact her at Sunmoontao11@gmail.com