>>235460Other than the sparring, that sounds exactly like the place I was at. Lots of black belts (like a lot; most of them started back in the 80s or 90s, if not much earlier). They explain the purpose of everything you do, they go on group trips to train in Okinawa, the other stuff you mentioned. Even down to recommending you learn other things, as well. They told me they used to spar when they were younger, but they stopped it altogether as they got older, but were thinking about doing more of it again. Whatever, that's their business. But meanwhile, there were loads of younger students there who weren't getting the chance to do that. I didn't actually have a problem with doing the kata. After all, I was there to try traditional Okinawan karate, and I was already told ahead of time that that would be a big part of it. But two people practicing complex stand-up grappling drills without proper resistance just seemed like a good way to lose the moment someone fights back with intensity.
The other part that bothered me was that even they seemed to be aware that some of the things they were teaching weren't the most practical and efficient, but that they'd teach you alternatives as you got more advanced. They never really explained why on that, though.
All in all, if I go back to training, I think I'm just going to pick something simpler, with more regular sparring, and something with more resistance from training partners. Shit, when I did boxing, you'd at least get hit a tap in the head with a pad if you fucked up a slip or a roll.