You could hear the shouting and scuffle from the men’s changing room in the Dojo, sensei walked in and pulled the two protagonists apart, both huffing an puffing like pair of old Billy goats with their chests inflated. “What an earth’s going on here?” asked sensei. “He’s been dissin’ me…” spat Michael, straining at the firm hand holding him back. “No I ain’t” said John with an obvious disdain and a look that you could tell would rip Michael a second backside any moment. “Settle down” said sensei firmly, “now Michael, explain..” “He said that I moved like a girl … Continue reading Gossip In The Dojo

“And the devil did grin because his darling sin Is pride that apes humility”.  – Samuel Taylor Coleridge     There’s always one in every group…………… The Dan grade that has been cutting classes and not doing enough practise – comes in to class and immediately starts correcting all the other grades.  The problem is that where they have been to all the recent classes, they actually know the technique better than him……….. But of course they are too polite to tell him that he is wrong and accept his mis – information politely and shake their heads behind his … Continue reading There’s One In Every Martial Arts Club

Ignorance Of Youth Youth………  the comedian Dave Allen says that it is a time when young men’s brains turn to haemorrhoids……..  The sudden rush of hormones deepens their voices and deadens their brain.  The happy, smiling children that love their Karate and train with so much enthusiasm suddenly become obstreperous and truculent spotty youths with longer bones and haircuts that look like their dad used a pair of nail scissors and a pound of gel……… Two years ago he had uprooted and gone. He had trained with Sensei since he was 5 years old, at eighteen he thought that Karatedo … Continue reading Ignorance Of Youth

Icebergs Instead Of Mountains We call them the ‘pontificators’, they have a view on everything, usually borne out of ignorance and just have to let everyone know. They are the proverbial ‘pain in the ass’ in any club.  There is an old saying that “if you ever look down on someone – it should be to give them a helping hand up” but the ‘pontificators’ do the opposite. They are unable to elevate themselves, so they beaver away trying to make others feel smaller and undermine their confidence. “You shouldn’t have passed your dan grading… you really weren’t good enough,  … Continue reading Icebergs Instead Of Mountains