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Not really a question here but more of a rant. Sooner or later I’m going to have to kill somebody in my KM class. I can’t stand a training partner who is a total spaz. As hard as I try to hold the pad in a way that will protect my partner from hurting himself and, more importantly, me some people just have NO control. As much as the instructor and other students have tried to polielty inform these people, they seem to be incapable of controlling the swinging and flailing of their arms.
I feel like a douche but at some point I’m going to just have to look at this dude when he tries to match up with me when we pair off and say, “sorry, you’re a spaz, I wont train with you until you develop some motor skills.”
Re: Spazz! Control Thyself!
Let your instructor handle it. Pull him/her aside and express your concerns.
Re: Spazz! Control Thyself!
quote Ryan:Let your instructor handle it. Pull him/her aside and express your concerns.The instructor knows… And as far as I know he has addressed it but I honestly think the student is hopeless. To make matters worse, he’s a really nice guy (the student).
That’s why I think I’m going to have to kill the dude. I can’t bring myself to be abrupt or mean to him. Perhaps it will be better to just put him out of his misery.
Re: Spazz! Control Thyself!
If he really is a nice guy, how ’bout offering to work with him before or after class on focus? Preferably on the bags, without your face in the way.
Re: Spazz! Control Thyself!
quote DirtyHippieUte:That’s why I think I’m going to have to kill the dude. I can’t bring myself to be abrupt or mean to him. Perhaps it will be better to just put him out of his misery.He’s probably at home right now saying “I’m gonna have to kill this slow dude in my class..”
I agree it’s the instructor’s responsibility to make sure people are not only doing the techniques right, but also allowing their partner to do the same. The spaz mentality is great for a real application maybe, but not when you’re trying to get the students to perfect the muscle memory needed to react fast in a real situation.
If the instructor wont fix it, you can still address the situation without being mean. Tact. Compliment him at the same time as respectfully declining to partner with him. “Man, you’re too fast for me. I need to train with someone a bit slower until I can get this down.” Something along those lines maybe? If he’s a nice guy, it would be great if he stuck around and eventually became a good person to partner with.
Re: Spazz! Control Thyself!
That situation happens all the time. I actually was on the spaz end myself when I was younger. No, I wasnt a spaz (well maybe a bit), but when I started Krav, I was 10. I was in an adult class and was the only kid. None of the adults wanted to work with me, so I found a friend and got him to sign up. This is the solution to your problem. You need to find someone in your class that you want to train with and exchange numbers. Be in contact and call him or her on training days to find out if they will be there. If not, make sure you know the other people in the class and secure a training partner BEFORE class begins. If you wait until the instructor says “get a partner and a pad,” it’s too late!
The next issue is that of people in the class that are less coordinated than others. Remember, they are still getting something out of the class and deseve to be there too. I have seen many an uncoordinated that all the sudden, one day, just get it and everything falls into place. Give them a chance and while you dont have to work with them, they still will succeed in their own right.
As far as injuries. I agree that it is the instrucors’ responisbility to ensure the safety of the students. Remember, it is not only the uncoordinated that creates injuries, but also the uncontrolled “Stars” in the class as well. The instructor needs to monitor all groups and if things are getting out of hand, intervene. Remember, the reason we train is to be able to handle ourselves on the street in a time of need. If students get injured in class and cant act as a result, then we, as instructors have failed.
Good luck with your situation.
Re: Spazz! Control Thyself!
JR,
I’ll PM you my loc but I’d prefer not to make it public. I’d hate to say something that might offend an instructor (it’s a small world).
Re: Spazz! Control Thyself!
quote DirtyHippieUte:JR,I’ll PM you my loc but I’d prefer not to make it public. I’d hate to say something that might offend an instructor (it’s a small world).
I thought that’s just how u roll?
Didn’t u say:quote DirtyHippieUte:Sadly, I am genetically predisposed to be far more sarcastic than most people prefer. I’m like this in real life too… Most people just learn to take me with a grain of salt.I guess there are limits to your genetic predisposition to sarcasm when it comes to instructors outside of the forum? Now I’m all confused:confused:
Just messing with u. 🙂 abx
Re: Spazz! Control Thyself!
There are spazzes in any group, and it is part of training. They have the right to the training just as any other, and may gain more from it because they may learn to control themselves better.
If you are going to progress, get used to them. I tend to put my more advanced students with the spazzes in the hopes that the student will be able to model better for them and with the knowledge that the advanced student can better react to a spazz move. Still sucks. Sometimes you get boinked by them, but as my first Krav instructor told me – it goes with the territory.
Re: Spazz! Control Thyself!
Yea, there’s this guy in my class who shows up sometimes, who absolutely doesn’t get the idea of the drill. He thinks that you need to go 100% all the time, quite beyond the point of proper technique.
For instance we’re warming up with some light bags with a jab, jab, cross combination with some footwork, and he’s punching these bags like he’s trying to break through a brick wall. Obviously he’s got the slowest punches that you can see coming from a mile away. Not to mention he’s hooking them like a mad man. Whats worse is that he’s moving these bags so much, we have to wait for it to settle before the next guy can hit.
It’s just someone I stay away from.
Re: Spazz! Control Thyself!
There have been times that a classmate has asked me to partner up with someone they can’t deal with, and I don’t mind as long as I don’t partner with the same person every class. Maybe finding someone who would be willing to partner up with them would take the burden off of you. There have only been a couple of people I don’t want to partner with – one kicked me in the shin and it hurt for a year. Another one has a meanass round kick I just can’t deal with. I’m pretty patient with the spaz types because I figure they’re a likelier target for bad guys than buff & confident athletic types. It’s kind of a civic duty to get through to the spazz.
Re: Spazz! Control Thyself!
it gets worse when they start being critical of KM techniques, insisting their years of Savate or MT training has much better ones…but after seeing their first punch you realize, in a eyerolling, plain obvious way, they’re just blowing major smoke out of their ass…
Re: Spazz! Control Thyself!
quote Guerriere:I’m pretty patient with the spaz types because I figure they’re a likelier target for bad guys than buff & confident athletic types. It’s kind of a civic duty to get through to the spazz.Seomtimes the big buff guys are also the very uncoordinated ones. Often stronger guys ignore technique because they already “feel” strong to themselves, and don’t realize that they’re telegraphing or any number of issues.
One helpful thing for this is shadowboxing. It takes the emphasis off of the actual impact of the strike and puts the focus back on the mechanics of the movement. I try to encourage my students who don’t have the greatest body control to spend a good amount of time shadowboxing, either as a warm-up or as a light workout on their off days.
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