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"SHAME ON YOU BLACKBELT QUITTER"        

  I know what your kinder, gentler, people are going to say. So I’ll say it for you. Quitting karate does not make someone a social malfunction, or a bad person. Karate isn't for everyone, so people are just naturally just going to quit. OK, I’m sure there is truth to that so I’ll compromise with you. If the blackbelt that quits would come in and do it with honor and respect then at least it is a bittersweet parting. Just don't suck the Isshin-Ryu life out of me, and quit without so much as an adios, and then expect me to wax philosophic about it. Don't be an "I'm here for you," and then when I really need you, be nowhere to be found. Don't write me a bunch of crapola regarding your personal life and your lack of time to participate. You seem to make time for everything else.. Don't depend on my support and friendship transporting you to and from many classes, then hide from me in the grocery store. These and other stories are from ones told to me by other Sensei's as well as my personal experiences. Is there anything more predictable in some people than ingratitude??? So what have you done for me they might ask. You only taught me Karate. . . . Big deal. Only Karate. . . or only Jujitsu, . . . ect. Here is what the sum total of "only" really means in the real word of running a dojo. I "ONLY" gave you every thing I have learned, worked for, and sacrificed for, in the martial arts, with the hope and expectation that you would also recognize its true value. I "ONLY" showed up ready to teach on the days, that I was under the weather, injured, and had personal problems of my own, in order not to let YOU down. Many of those times you would fail to show up or have some great excuse like; you were missing class because, your uncle wart head, was visiting from lower Slabovia. You can also look at what you have "ONLY" received in a couple of other ways. Since you don't really get the karate example let me give you another one. Lets say that I am an artist. You come to me to learn to paint. You say that learning to paint would help you gain self esteem and confidence. Basically you don't know a brush and easel from a boat and paddle. You also can't draw a straight line. After two to three years, your confidence and self-esteem are obvious, and you draw a very good picture. At this point I have spent hour after hour (mind you the pay to an art instructor and karate instructor are vastly different) with you, to help you accomplish your goals. Our agreement was; you would take the skills that you learned, (because I taught you) and continue to improve on them. Then you would help give others the same opportunity by becoming an instructor. At this point, you rip up the painting, . . . and quit. Why? Because now you are expected to unselfishly give, rather than receive. You are expected to pay back your moral debt. Maybe it is the money. I have heard student/and or parents, make the comment, "they are paying for the lessons so they should to be able to come and go as they please. Let me say that they are paying for the "privilege" of learning something they could never learn on their own. I choose the time and place to do the instruction. Their piddly monthly dues are not the bargaining chip they assume it to be. So if it comes to that, take your money and. . . well you know!!! Running an Isshin-Ryu karate school does not exactly make one financially independent. If, (and that is a big if) you make a profit, it is more than eaten up in cost of; travel to tournaments, seminars, and your own uniforms and equipment. Not to mention the financial aide you give to about one third of the students. Secondly, lets talk about the dues the students pay. I charge sixty dollars a month. If a student uses the dojo (and it's their fault if they don't) during available hours, they have access to six hours a week. In a four-point-three week average month, that is twenty-six hours a month. I won't even count the time spent listening to their problems before and after class. Or the time spent running around a ring at a tournament supporting their quest for victory. Or the time and money spent hosting social gatherings that on numerous occasions have necessitated ignoring a sourpuss spouse, girlfriend, boyfriend, or family member, that obviously doesn't want to be there. Computing just class time, this person is paying me a whopping 2.14 dollars an hour. Gee, thanks big spender. I seem to remember making that at Burger King. It is not, and never was a business proposition between you and that blackbelt. It is a pact of honor, integrity and loyalty. They knew that before they accepted the rank Nine times out of ten, it is not the financial or physical requirements. It is the spiritual obligation to the code. Lets face it; If they spend the time and effort to achieve the black belt and beyond, (especially under the requirements I know you lay out for them) it has nothing to do with anything you or I have done. It would just be great if every now and then the person had the character to come in and say so to our face. But no, we will forever blame ourselves and forever live with a sense of disappointment and regret, that the relationship was so one sided. I know people say it is nothing personal and don't take it so. I say bull. . . . . El Toro Poo Poo. It is personal, because that is the way I teach. I believe teaching from the heart is a must for any sensei worth his or her salt. That is my personal meaning of the translation "ONE HEART WAY. "To re-enforce my position I am re-submitting two previous article: "So you want to be a blackbelt?", and "The Sensei giveth and the Sensei taketh away. "

    Denny Shaffer, Ku-Dan

 NEXT ARTICLE. . . . . . . "GOD BLESS THE DEDICATED BLACKBELT".