So I started off the year by teaching a karate unit. I honestly was such an idiot for not doing this before—I mean it only makes LOGICAL SENSE to teach something that I’ve done for 12 years, and although rusty, I am much more familiar with compared to the typical heteronormative white male-dominated realm of team sports. I didddd need a refresher from one of my old Sensei, which he thankfully was gracious enough to provide me with, and it’s strange, my whole body just moved on its own without me thinking. It’s like I just needed those standard cues and orders that were done at the dojo to be said to me again, in order for me to go do it.
But omg within one day, I REMEMBERED what I hated about it—I HATED deep knee bends with a flaming passion–omg my legs were so dead. Wtf, why do I even bother going to the gym and doing boring fitness exercises when I can get the same effects via. karate in the first place? xD
The kids seem to like it so far, I don’t know if it’s just the energy I give off, or if it’s just that they’ve always wanted to do it and they think it’s cool.
Also deep down, I’m secretly grinning at the success of this. I just really wish that my terrible cooperating teachers could’ve seen me do this so that they can get ‘educated’ in how valuable martial arts is, and how a team sports-dominated curriculum is not the best way to teach phys ed. I also just would love to say to their face, “Well you should research it! If you have the time to do other things, you can research it” xD Hah, such ignorant fucks. It may be easy for someone who’s familiar with the games due to being an athlete with thousands of hours in that particular team sport, but not for someone who doesn’t have that same level of experience, so it’s unfair for anyone to place those same expectations on people when they have disclosed beforehand that they don’t have the same experience as you.
I mean wtf, how much more insulting can you get? I thought you’re supposed to be a teacher, so you’re supposed to be teaching, not belittling your pupils. I just hope that you are going through the torture of the realization of the need for individual sports and why they are important.
My body also feels better and more nimble because of it. Would I go back to karate? Probably not, mainly due to the concern of the footwork fucking mine up in naginata. It took me forever to get better at naginata footwork, yet I’m still working on it.
However do I prefer karate as a form of exercise and fitness over yoga and gym fitness classes? Oh yeah, definitely.