I was a high ranking student at a karate club. I then suffered a brain aneurysm which stopped me training for nearly three years. when I went back to the club, the sensei told me I would have to start again, from the beginners belt. I understand he may have wanna protected me, but I did swallow my pride and hurt and DID a few beginners lessons, but it was obvious the other students and me were a world apart. The instructor coudl have allowed me to keep my grade and let me provisinally work up to that level again. Suffice to say I never went back after two lessons, got my certificates authenticated by the appropriate governing bodies and am teaching students myself.. Anyone had a similar experience?
Thank you for the thoughtful answers thus far. I had reached the conclusion that my sensei was a businessman first, instructor second. I don't mind that, and it was'nt that I did'nt wish to train with students of all levels, because I enjoy that, I just felt humiliated by the instructor himself. Okay, I have had other instructors, but stayed with this club a long time. I felt I had earned some respect but it seemed not so. A good instructor should train his students hard, but never make them feel worthless, which is what he did to me. Anyway, I practise almost every day myself, have masters who teach me in China and I am now in a place, mentally to feel I could impart my knowledge to those who wish to learn. I teach Wing Chun Kung fu, Karate (shotokan and wado ryu) and have added Tai Chi to the list. I love how martial arts changes people for the better. I could not belong to a club who did not value me, and would urge anyone with a similar instructor / club to leave - you'll be okay!
Kelly c - would you like to expand your answer...I am humble and don't show off, I just felt all my hard work and recognition in the club was back to zero, aftera serious, potentially life threatening illness I hoped to be treated better. I have trained with masters in China and other far east countries, I can tell you they were superior in every way to this instructor ( a former world champ) so I don't nderstand what you mean by 'I have done myself even more' - if I could have returned to beginners clases for a while to get back up to speed this is ine, but the offer was that I start completely from the beginning, which I did'nt think was fair. I do the basics every day so not an issue - the issue was I felt robbed. Only an unscrupoulous instructor would do that.

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