Lupin1

A good (short) book on this topic is Lessons From the Mouse. It frames it around customer service skills taught at Disney-- a company which is known for some of the best, if not the best, customer service in the world. If you have time, I highly recommend it.

I think I don't get that because I usually talk more about teaching and helping the kids than I talk about my own training (which I consider more personal). Coaching a youth sport is seen as a lot more "normal" to most people, and as I work with kids for a living, my coworkers just see it as a cool and unique extension of that.

Congratulation, Brian! You've certainly helped me and many others grow in our martial arts journeys time and time again. Ten years of quality contributions! You should be very proud as I know we're all proud and honored to have you as one of our top members!

My J/P is actually the strongest. I am a very strong perceiver. I took the quiz so I could get my percentages. Introvert: 74% Intuitive: 77% Thinking: 61% Perceiving: 91% Right now I'm leaning a lot more toward the introverted side because I'm not in a position where I'm interacting a ton. When I'm in a position where I interact with people a lot, I tend to test more toward the middle of the introvert/extrovert spectrum.

I love MBTI theory! It's been a hobby of mine for awhile. I've taken so many tests and read so many articles, books, and forum posts about MBTI that I didn't take this test (sorry), but at this point I'm fairly certain I'm an INTP: The Logician (or, as I prefer to think of it, The Absent Minded Professor) https://www.16personalities.com/intp-personality For awhile I went back and forth between that and ENTP due my extraverted intuition taking a front seat much of the time, and me getting incredibly hyped up and energized by positive social interaction, but I really think in the end I'm more of an introvert.

It depends on the goals and focus of the class. Our program just has one kids' class with all the kids mixed in (beginners are separated most of the time, but it's all going on at the same time). Because there's no dedicated class for younger kids, we don't accept under 8 years old. That's around the age they can generally stay focused through an entire hour long lesson and self-direct a bit when the instructors are working with someone else. If your school has time, room, and staff for a separate class, I would support classes as young as 3 or 4 years old. Of course, they wouldn't be learning too much martial arts at that age, but you could begin to construct the building blocks of balance, control, movement, etc that will help them when they get old enough start studying actual martial arts.

We're not part of any organization, so my instructor devised his own qualifications for instructors. First you have to be at least 3rd Dan and have been studying for at least 15 years. You have to do an internship of at least 4-5 years-- bringing a group all the way from white belt to Shodan. There's no formal class as it's so rare someone has the qualifications to even enter instructor training. Once you enter, you're given the instructor manual written by our head instructor and expected to pretty much memorize it and then you begin your internship/on the job training. Once you've completed it, you're declared an instructor. Now, you don't have to be an instructor to help teach. I've been teaching the beginners' class with guidance since I was a 4th kyu and have run several classes solo since getting my Shodan. I'm not an instructor and don't have anywhere near the time in rank for formal instructor training, but as I have a teaching degree, a state teacher certification, and several years teaching experience, they felt I was ready to start helping with the instruction earlier than most. So some of the requirements can be flexible depending on circumstances.

We don't belong to a federation and my instructor actually makes negative comments about people who do. He thinks federations cause martial arts to be watered down for political reasons. Too much politics crowd out the authenticity. He believes the martial arts are naturally fluid and each group is meant to do things differently and develop their own quirks and uniqueness and that trying to take that away takes away part of the martial arts. I can see the benefits and drawbacks of both joining a federation and remaining independent, but I thought I'd post an opinion from the other side of the fence.

We separate out the beginners for the first month or so. They do warmups with the entire class, then our senior instructors take the more advanced kids and I take the beginners for the rest of class. The go with me until they've learned all the basics and their first kata and they can hang with the rest of the class. That way they're still in with the rest of the class doing warmups and seeing how class runs, but they've also got small group instruction focused on basic building blocks. We are considering separating them into a "beginners class" that meets for 45 minutes or so before the regular class, but I'm not sure if we'll do it. It would be helpful in keeping the beginners focused and cutting down on distractions. It's hard to focus on doing your 57th front kick while kids are sparring on the other side of the room.

You can only drop a lure from the Pokestop, so you may have to walk over there to drop it, but you can leave once you do. If you are planning on doing this, make your user name has your dojo name in it, so people can see that it was you who dropped the lure. They'll be grateful. Also, if you can put up some signs around the Pokestop area. You could even make it cute and Pokemon related ("Gotta catch em all" with a picture of all your belt colors? A "which team are you?" faceoff where people can mark their team and see who gets the most?) I may or may not be way too into this game. I created an account last Friday solely to use it to promote my place of work. Now I'm zoning in on level 16 and I've taken three gyms. It's a lot of fun.

Starting from kneeling is also good-- even before a crouch. Start on one knee with the other foot on the floor. You can also start with your hands already in position on the ground. Kneeling gets you starting lower and already mostly in position. It also gives you less momentum, so it forces you to really kick off the floor to practice committing to it. Here's what I'm talking out-- It's the first and last roll they do.

The thing I was taught in Judo was the look at the wall in front of you when you roll. Imagine kicking that wall with your feet as you roll over. That'll get your legs straight over you (instead of falling to either side of your head) and will give you enough power to get all the way around. You can't half ask it. You need to commit and commit fully. It really is a mental thing.

We start weapons training at brown belt for adults-- junior black belt for youth. My instructor thinks it's best to get a solid foundation in empty hand karate first, but recognizes the benefits of weapons training on developing strength, which is why he starts it before Shodan, but not until someone's been training at least three years. It's up to your sensei. Different schools/systems do it differently, so your teacher is the one to ask about how it's done at your school.

I find it hard to interpret that verse to mean you can't bow to another person as a sign of respect. It seems to be talking more of not creating false idols, which is not what's happening when you bow to a partner in martial arts. But then again, I'm not Christian, and I know that Christian beliefs and interpretations of the Bible span the gamut. And while I do enjoy some friendly apologetics every so often, I would stay out of it in this case. I guess it comes down to how important bowing is at your particular dojo. My dojo doesn't place a huge importance on it. We bow at the beginning and end of kata and that's about it for adults. The kids bow at the beginning and end of class, before and after sparring, and after partner drills in addition to during kata. We don't really see it as integral to our studies and wouldn't have a problem if someone chose not to do it. But if your school sees it as integral, then, as Danielle said, the students need to question if that school/art the right fit for them.

I've never encountered it. I personally believe a refusal to bow due to religious beliefs is more a misunderstanding of what bowing in the martial arts is and what it represents, but I would never question anyone who stated it was against their religion and I would respect their beliefs. I would simply excuse them from bowing. Bowing isn't a necessary part of the martial arts. They can still learn to be effective martial artists without bowing and it's easy enough to make accommodations for them by letting them shake hands with their partners or give a verbal acknowledgement of thanks and respect when one would normally bow. I certainly wouldn't hold them back from testing or expel them because of it.

It honestly depends on how the belts are approached. I don't see it so much as "titles and honors" and more as grade levels in school. It's an instructional tool to split up a curriculum in an orderly way, make sure nothing gets forgotten and everything is addressed in its time, and give people smaller goals. As a teacher, I think they're very useful when used correctly. They help make learning more well organized and efficient. That said, I know schools that treat them like you describe and know that the general public and inexperienced martial artists are more likely to treat them like you describe. So your rant isn't invalid.

I always enjoy passing on my knowledge to others (I've got a degree in elementary education and taught for a few years, though I'm no longer in that field). But mostly I do it to give the kids a positive experience. Based on the statistics of our program, the vast, vast, vast majority of the kids who come through our doors won't stay. Maybe 1 of 10 will make it two years and one of 200 will make it to Shodan. Even the ones who stay a few years drop out once they hit high school and start other activities or get part time jobs. But whether that kid is with us for three weeks or five years, I want them to have a positive experience with it so that when they read or hear about martial arts, they'll know a little about it and have a frame of reference. They'll also have experience in trying something totally new, getting out of their comfort zone, and gaining a new skill. Even if they forget everything we've taught them, just having gone through the process of learning will make them stronger learners in the future. For the kids who stay with us a few years and make it to brown or jr black belt, hopefully they've learned some decent self defense skills, have gained more coordination and control of their bodies, and have experienced working hard and making slow progress towards large and small goals as they've worked their way through the ranks. Honestly I think that secondary stuff will serve them better through life than the actual karate. As much as martial artists talk about "the street", very few of us upon reaching adulthood will ever actually be in real life fights. But accomplishing goals and perseverance are always useful.

My instructor says bunkai is reserved for black belts, but in practice he teaches the basics of it to everyone. I think he means black belts are supposed to take on a systematic dismantling and study of each move of each kata while everyone else just learns the basic purpose of each movement as they're learning the kata. If I ever get my own class, I'll probably teach a bit more application along with the kata study. My current school moves people from one kata to the next as soon as they get the movements down decently and can do it without stopping to think. We also tie belt rank to which kata you're working on and don't have time limits in each rank, so kids especially (but also adults) rush through each kata to get that next promotion. I think I'd like to get away from that "gotta catch em all" mentality of just learning the kata well enough to get by and then moving to the next one. I'd like students to spend some time with it, grow in it a bit, learn some bunkai, etc.

Welcome!

They're kids testing for a very low belt. I wouldn't sweat it. I know many places don't see it this way, but my instructor sees everything below 1st Dan as pretty much made up ranks to help motivate people and structure their early learning. When he first started, it was just white, green, brown and black belt. He split the white belt into three belts and green belt into two belts to keep kids motivated. He'll move people (especially kids) through the first few ranks pretty quickly as he still views everything under green as just white belts. They're beginners. They're supposed to make mistakes. When you get up a little higher, you start realizing that low ranks are low ranks. Karate is a lifetime journey and expecting two kids testing for yellow belt to be perfect is silly. Yellow belt just means you're not an absolute beginner anymore. We don't really expect people to stop making basic mistakes until green belt. Even a brown belt making a basic mistake here and there is expected, though given a hard time about it. Shodan means you have all your basics down, not yellow belt (and even dan students make mistakes. We're still human). Look at their Shodans. If their Shodans are sloppy and making many basic mistakes, that might be a red flag. Likewise-- also realize that as an adult, you're going to be held to different standards than the kids. Don't expect the kids to perform at the same level as you even at the same rank. There's a reason many systems (including ITF) do junior black belts-- kids aren't expected to perform at the level of adults. I'd say focus on your own journey. If, in a few months time, you don't feel like you're learning properly, find another school. Don't get too hung up on belts and ranks.

Do some special summer programs for kids and adults. Make the kids' program a camp like theme with a special price for the entire summer and maybe a special Karate Camp 2016 t-shirt or something. Do more games and fun stuff in the summer and advertise it as such-- maybe have a barbecue or a full day of training once or twice as part of the program and advertise that as included. Try and make it different than a regular testing cycle as your week to week attendance probably won't be good enough for a lot of people to test on time. If you can, change the hours to have more kids' classes during the day when parents will be looking for things to do with the kids. You could get a lot of kids for the summer that'll stay on in the fall. Don't be afraid to do a more laid back summer program for adults, as well. People want things to feel more laid back in the summer and people will be doing thing with their kids, so again-- week to week attendance may suffer. Advertise a LOT. Get on Facebook with lots of pictures. Find out if there's a local Facebook group (my town has a Facebook group and businesses that have gotten in good with that group have seen crazy growth. There's one cake place that makes cupcakes twice a week, posts in the morning as soon as they're done, and sells out within hours every single time). Try to get a group together for a demonstration at any town fairs or get a group to march in any parades this summer. Even setting up a booth at a fair can be helpful. Contact your local libraries. I'm a children's librarian at a public library and this year's theme for summer reading across the US is "on your mark, get set, read!" which all about health and fitness and sports. I'm having a local Ninjutsu instructor come in and teach an hour long class for kids at my library, which will probably get him a new student or two. Contact every library in your area and see if you can come in and teach an hour long class focusing on health, exercise, and personal safety without violence. Libraries do the summer reading theme for adults, as well, so you could offer to do a separate hour long class just for adult patrons one evening or on a Saturday if you have time. If they can squeeze you in soon at the beginning of the summer, you could advertise your summer program during the classes and get some sign ups that way.

I'm feeling that right now. I got my Shodan in December and lately I've been feeling like I don't deserve it. Part of it is my work schedule has changed and I've only been getting to class once every other week or so and I haven't been practicing much on my own, so my skills are slipping. Next Tuesday is our last class before we break for the summer. I'll probably end up just taking a break for the summer, but I'm also considering possibly doing the three months at another school or in another art to just to mix it up and rekindle something. Summer is my busiest time at work, however, so I'm not sure.

Congrats!

If I ever start my own school, we'll wear black gis at least until black belt (then probably white tops with black bottoms as I think the black belt just looks better on a white top as opposed to the full ninja look.

I know this opinion isn't universally shared, but I kinda like the different colored belts. It gives people very clear goals to work towards as they progress and they receive a very visually and tangible symbol of that progress. This is especially good for kids, but people downplay the positive effects things like this can have on the self-confidence of adults, as well.