Bully

Last Friday, I was the instructor at our Karate class. There were only 5 of us there.

That meant me and only 4 students. One is brand new, and was happy to practise a few simple things. The remaining three are all facing exams, so I focused on them.

One is going for his Orange Belt, one for Blue, and the third for his Purple.

The tests all have three parts.

The first part is called Kihon, which means basics. Candidates are asked to perform several repetitions of various techniques. Each single technique or combination has a number of sticking points that the examiner watches for. We do a lot of Kihon in our club, and the lads are all looking pretty good. They should be ready in time.

The last part of the test is called Kumite, which means sparring. This is somewhat a misnomer, as the techniques are all pre-arranged. Again, I see our people being fine by test time.

The middle part is called Kata. Each candidate performs a prescribed Kata or form. They consist of between 20 and 30 movements. The entire set is considered one item, and must be performed correctly, and with correct feeling, movement, and spirit.

Our Yellow Belt's Kata is looking acceptable, as we practise that one quite a lot in class.

The Green and Purple Belt's Katas did not look up to snuff. As we only have one Green and one Purple in the entire club, we only rarely work on those Katas.

I have been in that situation myself many times. When I was an Orange Belt, I was the only one in a class of about 40 Yellow and White Belts. One test later, I was the sole Green Belt in a class of many Orange, Yellow, and White Belts. This was true for all of my later ranks as well.

I think I will focus on my disadvantaged solo middle-Belt friends. I will grab them before class and do continuous repetitions of their Katas until the class begins. Sometimes we finish 5 or 10 minutes early. I shall grab them then, too.

Sort of helpful bullying.