mal103

It's possible that you would want to do the best by every student and to make allowances or bend the rules a bit. Although some people are beyond helping so concentrate on the good ones.

Another family we are blessed with are slightly different.... Their daughter graded the week after everyone else with a few others who couldn't make the main grading, their parents were watching the other people grade and not their daughter - we both noticed this but couldn't figure it out. Later on we concluded that they were looking for mistakes in the other students so if their daughter got failed they would be able to point out the other students mistakes.... A sad reflection on some people, I sometimes just want to say "I ain't teaching you anything this week, we are just going to do Karate together and enjoy our way, stop concentrating on the destination!"

We've just had a great family join us, they had to relocate and were given advice from their previous Sensei to find a good club, we had a few emails and offers of free lessons to start followed by a few lessons before joining the club etc. They were pleased that they could keep their current grades and were not fussed a bit about not grading for a while or until they are back up to speed as they have had a break in training, there may also be some differences in syllabus and tweaks in styles but they are humble and keen!

You can do a free website from google that doesn't have tons of adverts all over the place. Putting out leaflets can get a few in but be prepared for only a few per hundred leaflets. Another good way is to grab a few members/mates and do a demo at a public place like a shopping centre, do something impressive, get a few people up to try and hand out info leaflets. When you start get a couple of kids or females to turn up early and hang about outside in Gi's in full sight of people (if the club is in a busy area) We've tried paper adverts before but not had much response. A lot of people need help with their first step to get over any pre-conceptions. Get existing members to introduce a friend for free lessons if they stay. Put up posters or cheap banners - try to get permission! Always carry business cards with phone number, email and website on.

We've had a few mums and students assume that the gradings are automatic just because they have turned up every week, there are even some that think by skipping lessons and then coming twice a week near a grading and just getting their Kata also qualifies them to grade. The way we operate is they don't get a form if they aren't ready. If someone turns up at your club with the assumption of keeping their belt, auto grading or getting annoyed that they can't get their way then maybe you are better off without them?

???? you must be reffering to that hammer fist strike ,you need to be as strong as a bull to throw someone with that ! we were taught it is a release of a grab and a strike to the head . 3rd move is the 180 degree turn and gedan barai, after punching someone you grab them and lean back whilst doing a turn and pulling them off balance as you twist. The hammer fist is a grab release as you say, can also clear a chest grab and then follow in to strike head or face.

I would personally be pretty ticked off at the organization I wished to join - and walk out instantly - if they refused to examine me on an individual basis to ascertain what rank/skill level I would be at in their association. Assuming the student applying has demonstrable skills, why should they begin as a white belt? Oh.... that's right. Politics. The only organizations I have ever seen in any sport or activity that refuse to take students in at their actual skill level (not rank but SKILL) were so caught up in politics and power structure that I wouldn't want to be part of them anyway. I tend to agree with you there, my point was more aimed at the beginner, they won't be aware of how it all works so at some point in their Kyu's they will realise how things lay, some may be a bit disappointed that they aren't part of a larger organision - maybe not straight away. My whole point of view on this is not criticising the great people out there that train/teach good karate, my concern is more with the lower end of the scale who are not raising or keeping their standards, but because of a lack of standardisation or minimum requirements it allows a few to get away with bad Karate. A small club I know of gave a demo and was openly laughed at by a few other MA's in the audience, another gave a public demo that was seen by a few of our club who said it was awful - they only take on kids but charge them a fortune up front. Another org/club we have met their main instructor who trained with us and was out of breath after 7 minutes and had to stand out most of the lesson due to being knackered. How many other poor examples must the public be exposed to? Sorry to rant a bit - kind of went off course too...

I helped teach basics to 60 kids with various disabilities and learning difficulties. A great day at Bath Uni with the Playground 2 Podium initiative.

Maybe they meant monthly? That works out around £10 per week and for 2 lessons that's maybe above average. That's 480 per year so roughly 4.6 per lesson, we charge 3 or 4 per person, discount families and less if they train 2 or 3 times a week. A club near us wanted a beginner to pay £50 monthly charge up front as well as a joining fee - which is also a good way of frightening them off. We let them train for free first and then have at least 4 lessons before they commit to join - even then the starting package has very little profit attached. It may be a part time business but we also want to spread good Karate.

A nightmare scenario is if an independant trained up several good students and they all passed their Dan grade, if you stopped training or they moved away or wanted to expand on their training they turn up at another Dojo and say "I'm a black belt, can I join?" The next questions maybe along the lines of which org/assoc did you get graded by or is it recognised by xyz? There are some out there that won't recognise their grades and they may have to prove themselves or drop back several grades, or worse still have to start again. I would be pretty hacked off with my Sensei if I got to that situation as most students don't realise how it all works until later on. It's not like passing an school exam where it's a national or international recognition. Going back to my earlier example of a Nidan giving out brown belts to students who in most Dojo's wouldn't be at 5th kyu level based on skills.

I see that I may have misunderstood the situation and I apologise, my thoughts on the second scenario would be slightly different... I would certainly talk with the kyu grade, it sounds like he/she was being over confident and should stick to sparring with their own level, especially if they were seeking a full contact spar. I would still criticise the Dan grade though, I may have been okay with them sparring but the Dan grade just blocking their attacks with a fair amount of force, enough to know they weren't going to get anywhere and only blocking to make them look foolish. But then you can't expect to spar with someone at a higher level and not expect to take a knock. I suppose we would have to witness the scene to know exactly how to try and answer but for some times there is no right answer. To stop them from sparring the kyu may have then boasted that none of the Dan grades would fight with them...

In most situations we spar with similar grades but we also mix it up so that Dan grades will spar with Kyu - or even beginners. It sounds like your "rules" are very much against mixing Dan/Kyu, you made it sound like the scene from Oliver when he was asking for more food! Also if it was a child Kyu and your Dan was an adult that is bordering on abuse or assault, the fact he/she was knocked down means it must have been hard enough to cause injury. I would say that the Dan grade was well out of order, if he agreed to spar then he should have used more restraint, i've read a book where a "famous" Karateka was annoyed at someone so when it came to partner up he chose this person so he could give him a good punching - totally wrong way of using MA or training - in my opinion. So to answer your questions, not as a CI but in the interest of conversation. 1) Now, what do you do? - speak to all of the Dan grades 2) Do you counsel the Kyu or the Dan or both? - maybe both, the above is a good way of losing students. 3) Was the dojo kun broken? - depends on how you read it or other rules you train by. We always instruct light contact below Dan grades and add an extra warning if a senior grade is matched with a much lower grade - especially when kids are involved! When do you, as the CI, enforce the kun? 4) Everytime? Yes! 5) Are you consistent in enforcing the rules? There will always be situations that test you and your methods, each student is also different, they could have learning disabilities or just be very different students, all of whom may have different ideas on what is acceptable. 6) Are you consistently fair while enforcing the rules? I suspect we all try our best... 7) In enforcing the rules, are you the bottom line or the bottom rung? In theory the rules and ideals should be set at the top and emulated by all.

.... or even the 3rd move of Heian Shodan.....

Who says the throws "belong" to them? If you explore the advanced Kata then they are full of throws, not many clubs seem to teach them though as we are not all blessed with mats and it increases the chances of injury if you only do them now and again.

Thought it only fair to add one with myself in, i'm on the left during the pre grade lesson line work. We then split into Kata and Kumite with the instructors helping groups so it looked even more chaotic. http://i196.photobucket.com/albums/aa180/mal103/20130420_122953_zpsc30b2705.jpg

Today we had 38 grade at our Westbury Dojo in Wiltshire

It may help a few to change their view on carrying knives. If it goes from a gleaming super sharp hard man weapon carried by mega hard gangsta guys to a life threatening dangerous bit of kit carried by idiots and cowards..... Edit to add that I personally think that knife/weapon carrying should carry an automatic sentence and not a caution. Using a knife/weapon in a threatening way would carry a higher sentence, trying to stab someone would be seen as attempted murder. Only a deterrent and knowledge will deter in my opinion.

I have to agree with Shorikid here, stop looking for imperfections and train and train hard! If you find that when you reach MA maturity and start to venture out to other clubs, and even styles, only to find your club/Sensei was actually brilliant then stick with them. (maybe keep venturing as well...) If you realise that they were more interested in money while teaching the same basics over and over then respectfully move on. Keep what you have learnt and build on it elsewhere. We have bad mouthed other clubs before but only for being bad. We try our best to do what we do for the LOVE OF KARATE, sometimes you have to have a few of the mcdojo-isms to keep your club going for the more serious members that you know will make good Black Belts and go beyond.

Sometimes getting someone "in-line" or "back on track" can be a gradual process and yes there may be other things at play, I train an autistic child who can't help themself for talking ALL the time, he is gradually improving but I would rather teach just him and see an improvement and 10 others who don't. If it concerns you then speak to your Sensei!!! Too many people walk away from their club or art with a misunderstanding or misconception. You may find that if members raise concerns the instructor will be more harsh with him.

It's proof that not all MA's get the good part of it - other than the physical training. There have been a few big names in the UK get found out lately and are now in prison, I personally think the charges should be increased for anyone in a position of trust - that goes for anyone like teachers, scout leaders, Sensei's etc. It must be very bad to see someone you trust and respect suddenly revealed as a monster.

Don't worry about spelling - those ipads can be terrible... I've not been teaching that long as well but if you let things slip now they will be harder to correct later. Try to correct things gradually so you don't scare them away, I would "slightly" embarress the gigglers by asking them "what's funny?" or something, but keeping it professional and slightly good humoured. It can be tricky with lots of different characters, I have 2 extremes - 1 girl is very "girly" while the other is a born fighter! Treat them the same. I also have a wimpy lad, I make some allowances like only partnering him with others of equal ability etc but generally treat them the same so he has to catch up. Remember you are also just their Karate instructor, not the one who has to "parent" them, don't feel you have to right all of their issues, by all means tell their parents so they have a chance to parent them. I had a chatting problem with 2 brothers, spoke to their mum who then asked for a report after each lesson, it went from "not too bad" to "a lot better" to "they were great", they got praise and stopped chatting so much, it gradually worked. In all cases where there is messing about, bad behaviour, giggling, then do what you are supposed to and teach Karate. Make them work harder so they are tired, don't allow them to stand around, if they are keen to learn then teach them full on. Expand on the syllabus so the whole class does a mixture of all moves, if the beginners get left behind on some then make it simpler but keep the whole class moving the whole time. When they are tired you can concentrate more on speaking, demonstrating, correcting and the finer work. On the other side of things I rarely give up on anyone and will try my best to make them better at Karate and everything. I currently have an autistic lad with dyspraxia on medication.... hard work but he is gradually improving but really enjoys it. One of the hardest things in teaching is watching someone get bored and leave, it happens but it's not your fault. Concentrate on the rest!

We offer them but rarely do them, there are time constraints and any time not spent teaching/practicing Karate should ideally be spent with the family. You would have to charge a fair amount to make it worthwhile, as we have strict child protection policies then if they were youngsters we would have to insist the parent(s) were there all the time. Also not everyone has a suitable area at home so you would have to find a hall. There are benefits to training with others and it's a lot more sociable. I have done a few classes with only 2 or 3 due to just starting up or holiday periods, you can get through a lot more stuff and give more advise. The other week there was just 1 student turn up so we had a full hour of Karate and they really benefitted from it. On the other side i've seen some train in a large class but only get a few seconds of the instructors time.

We rarely fail people but won't allow them to grade if they are not up to it. If they are poor on the day then a temporary grade may be given and they will have to prove they can do parts of the grading in the following weeks, they will also need to have a good next grade or fail. Gradings should ideally be seen as a celebration of reaching the skills level required and not a test. It horrifies me when I see a senior grade going through hours and hours of grading in some sort of endurance test, or having to spar full contact with several other more senior students, i've heard one such case which was boardering on abuse.

As we have a grading on Saturday then tonight was just fine tuning any weak areas, I got a green belt to relax and build up speed, a red belt to get a better stance, amongst others, all the time while trying to keep some junior white belts on the go. New move of the week was double punch. Easy to stick to the syllabus but reactive to build up any lacking areas.

Not sure what belts are needed for competitions but when I watch someone do Kata I watch the person, their stance, speed, technique. I would just put on my own belt...