Paul Masson should teach Kung-Fu

[TenTigers]

Paul Masson's slogan was, "We shall sell no wine before its time." (remember the Orson Wells commercial?)
Two weeks ago at the Ho Kam Wing tournament, and again last weekend at the Wong People's Tournament (one of my personal faves) I noticed something.

A few Teachers were putting their students in forms division, doing forms whose technique was beyond the level of the student's abilities.
If a student didn't have his basics nailed tight-stances, etc, then why have him compete with a set that features butterfly kicks, or have him do a double broadsword form, when clearly, they aren't ready for it?
If a student just learned Fu Hok, then have him compete with Fuk Fu Kuen.
Choose a set that he has invested the time into,
-not one he can barely complete, and poorly at that.

I don't get it. Don't they want their students to have a good experience?
If so, then why set them up for defeat and failure?
What kind of self-worth are they going to develop?
It also makes it appear that the teacher has lowered his standards.

Sifu Wong holds his tournament every year, and stresses the same thing;
Be proud of where you come from.
Be proud that you are one of the few that actually train in real Kung-Fu.
Maintain high standards and a level of excellence.
"Keep the Kung-Fu in Kung-Fu"

-for some of us, his words do NOT fall upon deaf ears.

[andyhaas]

Uhhh ... last I checked tourneys these days are a lot of flash and stuff, with the flashy stuff emphasized over boring stuff like tight basic stances.

But depends on the school probably. (I don't want to get sued by any local schools, so I won't name names!)

[冠木侍]

Sifu Rik makes a masterful observation. I've seen people get promoted to the next rank even when their stuff looked like crap.

Some schools cater so much to the students that it is very much detrimental to the students in the long run.

Here's one observation that I am making right now...when THAT meteor hit Earth, not all the dinosaurs were killed that day. :D

[TenTigers]

um..a Rikasaurus?

[taai gihk yahn]

Orson was da bomb; and scary as shiit in that Nostradamus documentary they used to show on HBO back in the early '80's!

otherwise, I think the "simple" answer is right there - judo; I mean, you advanced based on a point system, if I am not mistaken, that you can only move up through if you actively compete, meaning that you are using your stuff and proving you know it;

when it comes to forms though, unfortunately, I blame judges as much as teachers: when I judge forms, I usually ignore 90% of the flash and feathers, and watch things like stance, balance, timing, focus, etc.; oh, and of course, martial content! I refuse to be swayed by the fact that the kid has a flashy uniform, screams at the top of his lungs throughout the whole form, is competing to maintain ranking on a circuit, has a large entourage watching, has a belligerent and argumentative teacher who gives you shiit for giving a lower score than he thinks the kid deserves, etc.; unfortunately, I usually end of giving higher scores to kids who do more simple forms but do them correctly - to me, a simple form is HARDER to do well, because there's nothing to hide behind;