Grenadier
Orange Belt
Joined: 29 Dec 2004
Posts: 213
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 Posted: Tue Jan 11, 2005 2:49 pm Post subject: |
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Apologies in advance, regarding the length of this post. I'm going to be gender-blind, and simply refer to things in one gender only.
As in instructor, one should be familiar with his practice partners. This way, such things are simply avoided. If he has used certain individuals as such partners for demonstration purposes in the past, then there's a good level of trust, and for good reason! It's not easy to find reliable demo partners for the more potentially dangerous applications.
Such partners should already be well-versed in exhibiting control, and also aware of what people's limits are (how far can they bend, twist, etc). Such partners are also never out "to prove themselves" to the rest of the class. If anything, their purpose is to help the class by serving as an example.
I am not saying to avoid unfamiliar people entirely, when it comes to selecting demonstration partners. If the instructor did avoid such people, then he would find his pool of trusted tori / uke partners growing smaller and smaller by the day.
They have to start somewhere, and it's generally wiser to break them in on the simpler, potentially less hazardous, ones. In doing so, an instructor can build up trust and confidence with the student, and progress onto the more difficult ones.
Now, as for the rougher sparring partners, there are two types that might stir things up:
1) The inexperienced fighter without control: Fairly common, but at least they can be coached. Generally, it may be better to let such a person sit on the sidelines until he has gained more experience and control. By watching, and eventually following the examples set by his classmates, they get an idea of what is the right amount of contact, etc.
2) As previous posters stated, the guy who wants to show how powerful / tough he is: Thankfully, not too common, but they do pop up once in a long while. It's up to the instructor to drill the notion into his head (hopefully not literally), that control is one of the critical foundation pieces.
Sometimes, after the first warning, the student gets the idea, and actually gets his act in gear, dropping the tough guy attitude.
Sometimes, there will be the student who keeps trying to use excessive force, even after the first warning. At this point, ultimatums should have been issued, basically telling the guy that he's at your dojo to improve himself, and not to belittle his fellow students. Sometimes it's even necessary to tell him to cool off, and think it over for a while, before coming back to the dojo.
Most of the time, such individuals do get the message, and then rebuild themselves after being torn down. Some of these folks go on to become good students, and even become good instructors, having conquered their own problems, and having familiarity with such situations.
Unfortunately, there will be some individuals who just don't get it, even after warnings / ultimatums, and being told to cool off / come back later. At this point, something MUST be done, else this guy is going to chase away many of the other students (your loyal base, and... your paying customers). The instructor has to do something about the situation, as he sees fit. If I had to make such a decision, I'd simply tear up the student's contract, ask him to leave, and not come back.
Now, there are going to be some folks here who say "you should have kicked his butt and taught him a lesson!" I don't necessarily disagree, and I know that some people do need that lesson, and at times, I've wanted nothing more than to do so, but there are some potential problems.
You have to remember, in this day and age of litigation, and with some people being somewhat off their rockers, that a multitude of unpleasantries can occur from such a situation.
1) The vanquished student could possibly try to take you to court. While you'd probably win the lawsuit, that's time and money lost. Furthermore, you're at the mercy of a judge / jury, and given the contents of some of those juries, as well as certain judges, you'd rather not rest your fate in their hands.
2) The vanquished student could possibly plot all sorts of revenge. There's always the possibility of physical harm coming your way, and you never know how obsessed some people can get. Even if there's no physical harm done to you, your car could get keyed up, your tires slashed, your dojo vandalized, etc., not to mention the possibility of harm coming to your other students, your friends, and family. |
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on the post.
