Is this normal in karate?

freda on the hill

My question is: is it normal in karate training for the instructor to have brown and black belt students lie down and have the younger belts jump on their stomachs?

I thought it was wrong when I saw it, but other parents didn't seem to mind. Some of the brown belts were boys and girls as young as 14. Even if it is normal, surely, badly aimed jumps or larger kids could cause damage.

Opinions would be appreciated.

DublinArnie

freda on the hill wrote: »

My question is: is it normal in karate training for the instructor to have brown and black belt students lie down and have the younger belts jump on their stomachs?

I thought it was wrong when I saw it, but other parents didn't seem to mind. Some of the brown belts were boys and girls as young as 14. Even if it is normal, surely, badly aimed jumps or larger kids could cause damage.

Opinions would be appreciated.

If the kids jumping on the stomachs were VERY LIGHT, and I mean small 4-6 year old then I see no problem, but that's me. I'd imagine it'd hurt very quick if you have someone of reasonable mass to yourself jump on your stomach even if you're tensed. I'm speechless.
: o

Zen65

freda on the hill wrote: »

My question is: is it normal in karate training for the instructor to have brown and black belt students lie down and have the younger belts jump on their stomachs?

It's certainly not normal.

That is not to say that it is incorrect, or even particularly dangerous to the brown & black belt students. Any exercise can be dangerous if you have an injury, and any instructor worth his/her belt will ensure that injured students are not subjected to that sort of treatment, but in fact if the weight ratios are OK (i.e. teenage black & brown belts vs. 6 - 7 yo jumping students) then the risk of injury to those being jumped on is small, provided the students do not get giddy doing the exercise and start improvising!

However the risk of injury to the jumpers could be too high for my liking. It's harder than you might think to jump up onto somebody's stomach and balance there, and too easy to slide off badly, banging heads off each other or off the ground. It's not an exercise I'd try with my students, ever. Even the risk of a student having a full bladder during the exercise makes it unwise to have somebody jump on them.

That said I am in favour of black & brown belts being punched in the stomach to improve their ability to take a hit. I regularly get my adult students (below brown belt) to punch my stomach, and the stomach of other black belts in the class. At that level if you cannot take a punch to the stomach then your instructor should not have allowed you take the exam for that black (or even brown) belt.

artengo

Zen65 wrote: »

I regularly get my adult students (below brown belt) to punch my stomach, and the stomach of other black belts in the class. At that level if you cannot take a punch to the stomach then your instructor should not have allowed you take the exam for that black (or even brown) belt.

Can I come to your class and punch you in the stomach?

Zen65

artengo wrote: »

Can I come to your class and punch you in the stomach?

You'd have to train though!



The purpose of getting students to punch me is not to demonstrate my ability to take a punch but to let them feel what it's like to hit a person. Traditional karate training is often (rightly) criticised for having students just punch the air and therefore not understand how poorly their body posture might be in the case where they have to actually hit somebody. Adults who have not punched somebody since they were in the schoolyard are often oblivious to how weak their punches are. The euphoria of militaristic training can mislead them to think they are trained killing machines!!

I avoid letting black and brown belts hit me because they are more likely to be able to cause me some damage, and if they miss the target they could break a rib. For them I use a pad, which is safer for me but less realistic for them.

SVJKarate

freda on the hill wrote: »

My question is: is it normal in karate training for the instructor to have brown and black belt students lie down and have the younger belts jump on their stomachs?

I've never heard of any club that would do this; it seems a risk for both the jumper and the jumpee. Our club in Fairview does not engage in such antics.

Niall Keane

not karate but...

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1W7zqk7oduI

Gobethewall

Niall Keane wrote: »

not karate but...

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1W7zqk7oduI

I think a DO NOT ATTEMPT THIS WITHOUT THE REQUIRED LEVEL OF TRAINING might be appropriate here for our younger viewers

session savage

We used to do it. I also worked with my sensei when I was a teen making kitchens and he used to break off cuts of mdf off my stomach. A bit mad maybe but as a 4 ft nothing 14 year old I could take a punch to the stomach from most people and it had no effect at all.