Nidan Melbourne

Would have said we needed a new plague to get rid of people; but then i remembered that we already had that. lol

Thats interesting how the club requires attendance at a Seminar, Camp or Kangeiko after earning your 4th Kyu. However what is the general cost of those seminars/camps mentioned? As it seems to be a financial barrier for those who are low income earners/unemployed. Also are all of those camps/seminars local or spread across the US?

Oh I am not denying peoples knowledge and skills if they give up their rank. What got you to go from 3rd Dan to White Belt? I've noticed that a lot of BB tend to give up rank when a time comes to it where their values, realities of life and how the two interact and can't resolve without causing issues.

When I first started training in 2001, my Sensei (at the time he was a Senpai) explained to my Beginners Junior Class (9th + 8th Kyu) that there are only a handful of times that one would give up their rank. He only ever explained one time, but did say that with training you will find other times that giving up ones rank even if not expected but is in a way the right thing to do. That one time is if you ever abused either directly or indirectly brought disrepute to what you have done as a BB or even as an Instructor. For me; even though I never physically or mentally harmed any of my students. I have chosen to strip myself of my rank until a time that I believe that I am truly worthy of it again and that I have rebuilt some form of trust with the community. I chose to do this as I believe my actions are completely against my values and beliefs. And that being a Dan Graded Black Belt when it comes up to those standards I held it to a higher standard. Since it became untenable in my mind i chose to go back to a 9th Kyu. If my sensei chooses to allow me to sit for a grading for any rank that he believes is appropriate. But I honestly insist on not just Instructors to assess but also have members of the dojo give their honest opinion on me being promoted to whatever grade it is. I say that because, through my thousands of conversations with students over the years surrounding perceived authority and respectability alongside with rank. And many have said that one who has achieved the rank of Black Belt tends to garner a lot of respect in relation to those over 18. So Recently I recently gave my original belt to my club and a letter to read asking the CI to tell the students my story and why I chose to give up my belt. And why i chose to give it back to him specifically. For those wondering; I gave it to him because he was my original instuctor and when he started his own club I went to him after a few years (so he could get established) and he awarded me both my 1st and 2nd Dans. So we had a strong relationship over the years that we worked/trained together. I also asked him that if anything were to happen to me over the years, or even if my daughter were to train with him and get to the point of being awarded her Black Belt that he award her that belt instead. In which would be a special moment in itself, so he could finally promote someone from my family to the rank of Shodan-Ho. Now for context for the above paragraph; My Sensei at the time had left our original club in 2008 more specifically a couple of weeks prior to my Black Belt Grading. So me going from 1st Kyu to Shodan-Ho. So he didn't get a chance to sit as an instructor at the grading nor be there to formally promote me at the promotions night.

I understand the fact that people don't want to donate their brain for research. Like I am donating quite a few things if they are viable for donation to others. I have my brain up for research.

I respect the fact you would rather stay at the grade awarded by your Dai-Soke. Were you formally assessed for Kudan or is it strictly because you became the head of the organisation? If I was the head of a club, I would have formally awarded you the rank of Kudan for your contributions to the community. A few friends of mine (who are practitioners) have joked that if I ever get to the rank of 6th Dan, that they would promote me to 7th Dan for my work here and within' the community.

We have 9 Kyu + 11 Dan* (There is context) Our Kyu Grades; you have two requirements to be eligible to grade, Training Hours and 'Tags' Awarded. Regardless of how many classes you attend in row (7pm Class then 8pm Class same day) you get credited for one. 'Tags' you need 5 on your belt to be permitted to attend a grading. 9th Kyu (White Belt) - 5th Kyu (Green Belt) - 30 Classes + 5 'Tags' = 3-4 months 4th Kyu (Purple Belt) - 1st Kyu (1st Brown Belt) Technically the same as above, however students tend to take a lot longer at these grades. On average 50-90 Classes + 5 'Tags' = approx 12 months+ per belt This greatly depends on the student their ability to understand the material Shodan-Ho (This is why i said 11 Dan above) 18 Months Time in Grade Shodan (1st Dan) 12 Months TIG Nidan (2nd Dan) - 2 Years TIG Sandan (3rd Dan) - 3 Years TIG Yondan (4th Dan) - 4 Years TIG Godan (5th Dan) - 5 Years TIG Rookudan (6th Dan) - 6 Years TIG Nanadan (7th Dan) - Judan (10th Dan) Years TIG OR Awarded for official contributions to the community.

I would suspect that in whatever way that he learns it as a solo practitioner, that he could learn the reason for the movements. At every club i've trained at and have good relationships with some instructors who have gone and opened their own clubs. And we do two things with the explanation of the movements for katas; Bunkai and Kyogi. So Bunkai is obviously our Clubs explanation for the kata, and Kyogi are our students explanation for the kata. Recently I have taught someone a kata, and until they can train with someone who can help teach them the bunkai they can find their own explanation. Also the upside of Kyogi, since its the students own creation they can use anyone as a partner. Defender tells attacker what to do.

Don't get me wrong; there is more to Karate than just the Kata. And totally get that there are things in our Art that you need a partner for. If you can't get your primary instructor; you can always check in with other instructors you have a relationship with who teach your art that could always go online for. For me atm the partner work i'm missing i actually fill in with friends or others wanting to learn what I teach. And build them up to the point that they are doing the same stuff as I do. Forcing me to find a different way of doing it; including when they ask questions forcing me to think about what I do in a different way.

For context; an Aussie Rules has a slightly weirder shape than an NFL ball. Its funny how you phrase it like that. When I teach, I actually use albeit might appear to be very childish; is something that was in the show Avatar: The Last Airbender. Everyone has a natural element that they have an infinity for; Earth, Air, Fire and Water. With each element having a different way of dealing with fighting. So for instance when I read your posts; I get that your more earthy - meaning that your steadfast in your movements and at times may be brutish. Aka strong defenses and not letting things through. But when I teach students; they learn that everything needs a certain attitude and with that they need the confidence to back themselves up. When we pressure test our students; it needs to be like you said in a "Controlled" manner but still teaching them how to overcome, manage and utilise those emotions that lead to fear as a positive force instead of a negative one. Now the difficult side is the Fight/Flight/Freeze Response; and that it is a natural response. But it is something we need to learn how control and work with

I was thinking the same thing. I am in a situation where I can't viably train at a dojo at the present, and I have asked various instructors (I'm a Goju-Kai Practitioner) to film stuff for me. Not just the Kata, little tid bits, but to help tide me over till i see them next. But every couple of months, i send them a video of progress and if theres anything i needed to work on then they give me the feedback. if there is something that need to work on or to add or even consider they bring it up. Even before whats going on; I did a lot of work on Zoom with students who couldn't make it into the dojo to train. Is it harder? Yes it is. But way better than the alternative - Not training!

Interesting analysis by your Dai-Soke; how do you teach it in your own words that haven't come from either your Soke your Dai-Soke? Its a smidge difficult to compare to our form of football and in itself catching a ball. This is an interesting concept; even if to a lot of people perceive "blocking" as stopping something. Something I was taught at school; blocking is just impeding one pathway, but forces a redirection to other pathways. When you think about it; when two things collide that energy has to go somewhere. Either going upwards or somewhere Left or Right - look at Car Crashes. Deflection you need to have the right angles; which i believe most of our "blocking" techniques work quite well for. As most are prematurely angled or have the angular force to move things.

In what way is it taking away choice away from the retired athletes? The way that i see it; shows continued care for their people. When you think about the amount that those players earn over their playing career; the league including the players can easily afford to cover those scans. If my google search is accurate; a Rookie in the NFL earns approx $840,000 per annum. If that were me; after taxes (so take home is approx $451,408 if your in California) you could put aside 10% of that annually ($45,000) for medical evaluations. And i'm sure surviving off $400,000 would be significantly easier. Even with a family and proper financial planning your fine.

Can you define an "Average Opponent" when it comes to Kids, Teens against Adults? Something I feel like a lot of people tend to forget is that kids face their own issues when it comes to violence. Looking at my own experience of growing up; did I face much in terms of potential violence against an Adult? Nope. But if I change that to Potential Violence coming from another Teenager? Of course I have. Now this is a two parter; the younger group (6-12 yrs) I woudn't expect that grasp the above. And this is where I'm ok with not awarding a Black Belt; but a Junior Black Belt. However Teens (13+), I feel like with the onset of puberty they have another world in comparison to adults. They face different forms of bullying (both physical, psychological and social) for a longer period of time in comparison to adults. What do I mean? I know i'm probably one of the youngest members here. But when I look at my education; as I went to a somewhat expensive private day school. And i dealt with a god awful about of rich-boy attitudes and rich-girl (via my schools co-ordinate program with the nearby girls school). The types of bullying (aka violence) I at least saw outside of the Physical Nature, was a god awful amount of the Social and Verbal bullying. Have I had to deal with the physical violence? unfortunately yes. We have these belts as our 1st Kyu rank; as it is a fair indicator that they aren't completely a Brown Belt but also aren't completly a Black Belt yet either.

The SSU (Shito-Ryu Shukokai Union) operates in Tokyo, Osaka and Kyoto. I have a few Australian Contacts who are a part of the union but i doubt that would be useful to you (assuming you're not based in Australia). https://shukokai-world.net/list-of-our-dojos-in-japan/ I didn't see an email, but didn't look that hard.