Have you ever heard of the Rosetta Stone programs? They teach you languages, but they don't teach you what the words mean by telling you what their English equivalent is. You see what the word is in a picture or a video with the word being said. It's based on the idea of learning a language like a child does - Just getting immersed into it. If you continually hear the word and see what that word is, then sooner or later you'll just know what it means. That's kind of how a lot of classes work. There are a lot of martial arts classes where you will learn that way. You shouldn't be embarrassed, every person in that class started out the same way until they started to understand what was going on around them.
It will be up to you to decide to stay or not. However, what I personally look for in a school is full contact sparring at least once per week and a separation of the young children and the adults in class. The truth is that kids and adults learn very differently. Kids' bodies are still developing and they won't have the same coordination that an adult has, nor the same attention span. I wouldn't want to train someplace where the kids and adults share the same class. But that is up to you to decide if it bothers you or not. And if there wasn't any sparring that included actual hard hitting, then I would look for a school that had it. You simply will not learn how to effectively strike an opponent that is moving and defending without full contact sparring.
Definitely don't be embarrassed, though. If you decide to stay, you will pick the things up that you need to know and when other new students come in you'll see that they have the exact same issues. And if the Sensei is correcting you from time to time, then that is a show that he is giving you some attention and making sure you're seeing the right way to do things. I'm sure that when a class is over he would be willing to answer questions you have about what you learned. The things I would look at before deciding are whether or not they spar full contact EVERY WEEK (not every month or so, that isn't enough) and whether or not you're willing to accept training with both kids and adults.
I practice shotokan karate for about a year now ( i'm 20 years old)
I still remember the first day i walked in the dojo for my trial and i had the exact same experience as you.
The kids seemed to do way better and sure that seems frustrating in the first few months.
The reason why it seems like they don't want to spend to much time on you is because when new people try some lessons and while they ( teachers/sensei) try to spend time on them and not on the students that already signed in and than only to see they leave again really gets frustrating over time for the other students and sensei.
My Sensei even told me that a few weeks ago.
As a totally new beginner don't mind about knowing the terms or know how to count to 10 in Japanese ,
It will come automatically by time. Thinking about it to much will only cause you to get more frustrated.
Just relax , and try to copy the moves as best as you can. Watch the details , listen to what they say to you ; correct the bad form and adjust. Practice with concentration and try understand the philosophy behind karate for early on. Buy books , become passionate about it. Practice at home.
Once you signed in things will be very different and more meaningful.
I'm experiencing the very same thing again because i started practicing jiu-jutsu this week.
It's only a matter of time , the right mindset and training.
Karate is for life , and you don't give up on life either.
That sounds horrible.
I've heard of classes like that.
I was fortunate to start in a beginners class. There was about a dozen of us.
In smaller dojos that's not possible so beginners have to join everyone else. Some do well and others never come back. I believe that for them to do well that they need attention and to feel welcome. Otherwise they'll feel lost and not wanted like you experienced.
What I've seen done, and what I do is adjust the class and give some attention to the beginner(s) and continue with the regular structure for warmups, exercises and kata. For drills, a student is usually picked to work with the beginner. And everyone else will work with a partner. The instructor will work with the groups, review what's going on and move around.
After class the instructor should always talk to new folks. Find out what you liked, what you didn't, and to answer questions.
I'd suggest that you not go to that dojo but rather keep looking until you find one that will value you as a student and teach you well.
Don't do any kicboxing cause the trash is the trash.
I went to a Shotokan Karate school for a one-day trial before registering. I will share my experience there,Hopingsomeone would provide their insight on it. First they let me enter, and the receptionist told the sensei (Black Belt/not sure of ranking) that I was there only for a trial (meaning I didn't pay money). Then a black belt student came and formed a group. I noticed that I was put in a group with students with different belts (orange,red,yellow, no white belts), but what was interesting is that most of them were children (below the age 10) with only two yellow belt adults. They began warming up, after that, moved to basic stance, punches, kicks, then some sequences. I couldn't tell what they were doing, or what they were shouting during moves, or what the master was calling the moves. I kept looking at them and do as they do, and if I did something wrong the sensei would correct me sometimes. The kids were doing much better than me, it was embarrassing a little, but I made sure to do my best. I noticed the sensei was forgiving, but at the same time didn't pay much attention to me. The knowledge gap between me and the students was huge. I didn't feel anyone was interested in teaching me much, or even asking me after the training if I was going to join them and pay a month subscription. I didn't feel they were interested in a person who took the trouble to drive a long distance to come for a trial, and did his best to show interest and discipline.
