Different styles of teaching

My dear and good friend in Japan, Fukushima Sensei has a bevy of "champions" with his kids placing high in major Full contact and kick boxing tournaments. His emphasis is on competition and the training reflects this. From 4 years old and up it can be considered that mitt training is their "basics" followed by endless kumite. I cannot recall any of the standard kihon training normally seen in traditional Dojos.
His students do not do any Kata.

Here in Hawaii, my good friend Tamura Sensei also focuses on competition. He himself is a Silver Medalist in the recent AAU nationals. His training program is old style "traditional" of kihon, Ido followed by Kata and Point sparring. The number of techniques are limited. Kumite style is also limited making teaching simplified. His kids also do very well in local tournaments in Kata (an average of 12 tournaments a year based on WKF standards). 

My Dojo? Competition is not emphasized at all. (^^) But we do have a "Fighters" session for the upper grade and adult students for "fun" after regular practice.

Three different styles of teaching.  Full contact/Kick boxing, Point sparring/Kata and no competition training.  (Yokohama does have a competitors session for full contact).
Fukushima Sensei said to me without the competition he probably wouldn't be teaching at all. Seeing his kids do well in competition gives him his "purpose" in teaching karate.
Tamura Sensei feels competition adds incentive and goals to his kids as well as to himself.
Moi? I feel kids have enough pressures growing up and going to school. Why add more? If a kid wants to compete then he/she will have to put in the training.

All three styles of teaching provides self-discipline, self-control as well as better health to supplement the parents efforts in raising their children. As far as discipline is concerned , all three of us believe discipline starts at home and is not something that a child learns solely at the Dojo. Discipline has to work hand in hand between the home and Dojos. Parents and Instructors cannot have different standards of discipline. It only confuses the child and in worst case scenario develops the child into a wily one who at an early age learns to "play the field" or act the role depending on location. I have seen instructors "discipline" children as well as adults with smacks of the shinai (bamboo sword). I guess you could call it the "old style" of forging the spirit. On small mistake and "Thwat!". Yes, it probably gets the students not to make the same mistake. But, on the other hand it may teach a child that physical punishment or the threat of physical punishment will let them "get their way". Is this the mentality that we seek in our children?

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