mal103

I started teaching on 2 nights as a Shodan when I was part of a larger club, this meant I had backup from others and all students graded under a 4th/3rd Dan with my assistance. Some students would go to multiple nights so were trained by all Instructors, all of the students that only went to my nights were fine and obtained skills accordingly. After a few problems I left the club and formed my own for my students but still have the others train with me as well, I did this after passing my Nidan. I have formed close links with 2 other clubs where I now train so I have help and advice from a few senior Dan grades and several similar ranks. All of my students are happy and gaining skills whilst enjoying my instruction, I am confident that they will prosper as I don't have the closed mind set of someone that just teaches and thinks they are great even though not standing in line in front of anyone else for years. I recently was in a session where a 7th Dan was in line whilst a 5th Dan was teaching - we never stop being students. I will eventually grade to Sandan in about 2.5 years. It should be said that people expect to see a Black belt running a class/club but have no idea of the Dan ranks or experience, just that they have a black belt... there is also the whole package of child protection, 1st Aid, police checks, Insurance - these aren't enforced but should be considered mandatory. It should also be said that some can teach and some CANNOT! Just being a BB is no guarantee of being able to pass on the art effectively, you also have to be good at organising a club, managing people and being nice but firm all at the same time...

A lot of people train to become stronger spiritually and not to become walking punchbags. She does not need to man up, your son needs to learn restraint. He can learn to hit hard and fast with a punchbag but must show different levels of control based on the partner. if you exlude students who can't take a hard hit then how will we ever get new students? If a partner requests lighter contact then we should respect that, not everyone wants to condition their bodies that hard or risk injury. A wrong move from someone could cause internal injury or cracks bones. if you only train in MA to fight then you have missed the point of a large part of the MA. It can and should be able to support any student at any level with different goals.

Collect statements now from all who witnessed the grading/sparring while it's still fresh. Consider her permananetly banned!!! You should have nothing to worry about but it is not nice when someone is threatening legal action - what does she expect to achieve - a free Black belt? Sometimes better to cut losses with some students as they can be a pain in the behind. You may want to issue a statement to all students saying everyone is fairly treated but if they have any problems to come and speak with you/CI etc. Give the Nidan a couple of weeks and tell them to get back in the role.

I totally agree that it should be hard if that's what the student has joined for, for the average hobbyist MA then you need to build them up gradually though. Lets not forget that the topic here is a mid Kyu student went to try another Dojo to suppliment his training and ended up getting a hard kick in the ribs. The Sensei that did it had no idea of the students abilities or any previous injuries, had no idea if they were just training for fun or if they wanted to fight like Bruce Lee. I think it should involve contact but introduced gradually and only then to students that you know well, I have been in 2 new Dojo's this year and have been treated well, nobody has tried to stamp their authority on me or to get me to spar full contact to see what I was made of. If anyone joined my Dojo as an existing student then I would spend plenty of time assessing them before I allowed them to spar freely.

I teach 2 hours a week, although ths takes up 3-4 hours with openeing up, chatting and going over things after class or answering questions. I train at 2 other Dojo's total of 2.5 hours, this is where I pick up concepts to add to my teaching and to keep my Karate sharp. I am lucky to have a Gym at work where there is a studio so I combine gym work with Kata practice unless i'm tired or aching then I go for a day off. I also do an hour or two research on vids or books, would like to do more but only so much spare time...

Sounds similar to what happened to me but not related to previous Sensei and I can't offer legal advice. I was unhappy with standards and dodgy insurance so ended up leaving, started own school, I already had two clubs running in neighbouring towns so just an admin change. I told students they can train anywhere they chose, some left the old club, some stayed, some stayed but still train with me. Problems may occur later as old club gave away belts too easily so may have some joint students overtake mine but none of mine are belt chasers and shouldn't be bothered. I was lied about when I left and someone tried to threaten legal action about what was said, not said etc. I had a better case against them but didn't do anything. It is tempting to try and compete against the old club but not worth it, good karate and sound business will keep and attract students. My best advice to you would be to consider a name change of the style as he may claim it as his, if you were to call it something else or drop the name there should be less chance of being accused of copying the style. In addition you may consider changing the syllabus enough for it to be different. I was okay because it's Shotokan karate which is popular but I have changed a few things already. Everything else you are doing seems fine, train well, train hard and don't bad mouth anyone and people will see pass any problems and carry on training. You could try to keep a dialogue going with the father to try and see exactly what he wants but also try to convince him that you are not going to give in to demands, offer to work with him but not be dictated to. This may go in your favour as being the good guys. It is a nightmare when things go bad but I have come out the other side now and spend my energy in giving good training now which is absolutely great, stick with it and let us know.

She sounds like the sort of student that will be blaming the instructors if she fails or trying to state they don't know what they are doing. "He has no authority" - sounds exactly like the second part, the Nidan is further along the MA journey/path than she is so should be respected (although a few don't deserve it but thats another post) A keen Nidan, hot on basics and very firm, trying to maintain good standards.... Sounds familiar

I am in favour of both sides.... In brief I want something done about the local mcdojo's as they turn people away from MA as being rubbish, expensive and not effective. I am also against someone telling me what I can or can't do. In detail, there are 3 clubs near me, one is a money making machine that charges a lot to be taught rubbish by a "Master", one has watered it down too much and it's ridiculous, another isn't too bad but breaks all the rules like grading early or letting friends/family through - also run by a self graded 5th Dan!!! All three of these could do with being brought up to a certain standard as there must be hundreds of people who have gone through their doors who have been sold bad MA and will probably turn to something else, some may seek out a better club but a lot will be anti. I run my own club and nobody has ensured that I have insurance, I have student insurance, a police check (CRB/DBS), 1st Aid training or even that I have been training for several years and have been graded to 2nd Dan. Some students have asked but I normally show new students my profile and certs, some have said they checked out other clubs and liked mine better, some just assume that you have a BB that you are okay. I would have no problem with having to meet a basic criteria to open a club, this would then be a mark of approval that students/parents could look out for. Another scheme that I would be happy to sign up to is to be interviewed by a Senior grade in my Art (or similar), they would be able to ensure my MA was good and I had a fairly healthy syllabus and standard and not some idiot who has done a bit of training and bought their own BB/grade. All of this is to bring up the standard and not start to charge me loads of money and enforcing rules on what/how I teach. Purely to stop people from churning out rubbish or putting students at risk. There is a clubmark scheme in the UK and you have to apply for acreditation, the first question is "who are you national governing body as recognised by Sport England?" of course we don't have one, we have loads all bickering about who is more important.

Perfect attitude! You should really try to speak with her and see if there is another problem or try to get her to understand its more about training and not being better than someone else or thinking you should be at a certain level, belt colour etc. I have seen a few belt chasers who almost demand to grade because they have put in the time or have already worked out when they will get their Black belt based on the time/date of the next gradings. Utter rubbish approach, the Sensei who has gone before should be the guide to the students and let them know when they can advance, the best students will question the Sensei and ask for re-assurance that they are ready, not demand it. I only give grading forms to those who are ready, those that get upset because they didn't get one will soon leave. They don't get the MA, it's not in the colour around the waste it's about the ..... in the heart. I couldn't decide which word to insert above so left it as ..... humility, respect, consideration, valour, hard work.... - you decide.

The fact he is trying to get some mates together to help him means that he is SCARED of you and probably won't try to confront you again. His way of trying to save face is to tell stories to his mates and try to get them involved, if you know who they are then maybe trying to speak with some of them, say you are being bullied and you don't know what their problem is and say that hopefully they won't get involved because you don't have a problem with them. Hopefully if they see you as the level headed good guy they won't be tempted to try an unfair fight with you because their mate says so. Either way, don't try to meet them, stay out of the way, try to not be in the normal places for a while or get picked up, taxi, bus etc. You shouldn't have to change your routine but by not being there then there will be no fight. Ask your friends to walk with you but state you are in self defence mode only! Try not to let it bother you and seek help, although you are nearly an adult and sound okay, it is no great shame to talk with others and ask advice, I still do at 44 so no problem, you may find others will offer another solution that you hadn't thought of, a nice one would be for someone else to have a word with the bully and shut him up. You will know what's best but share the problem, never use violence to try and solve it unless forced to - then as said, hit them hard! Try ten ways to aviod it first though, a better person walks away from fights, a clever person won't be there in the first place. Karate Ni Sente Nashi....

Thanks everyone for your time in commenting, on reflection the below is where I am now so I will have a good chat to the student in question and offer guidance. The club he ventured to is a few miles away so I know nothing about it, I just know that if I started hitting my students with any force then I wouldn't be teaching for much longer, either the students would all leave or I would be reported to the authorities and my governing body, also have angry parents knocking on the door. It's slightly different with senior grades as they would have been conditioned to take a hit but still within reason and never full force, but by then you would have a rapport with them and both know where the limits are. Certainly not something I would do with a visiting student as you know nothing about their medical or training history and the belt colour doesn't always let you know what standard they are up to. At what point does "hard training" and "old School" turn into basic assault? I've had my legs swept and taken several knocks from Sensei's as part of the training but never been in pain and only after a certain level of training.

I should add that the student in question is a 6th Kyu but used to be 2nd Kyu years ago, he has started again from white to stay the same level Kyu as the rest of his family. He is an average slim fellow who trains hard and is always open for corrections and is normally very good technically. He has trained at a few clubs and never been a problem.

A student of mine went to another school and got a good kick in the ribs! The whole family train with me on a Monday and the parents take it in turn training on a Wednesday but the father still likes to get in another session somewhere if possible. Unfortunately the prefered nearest club also train on the same days as us - something I would like to change - so he has been looking further away. Had mother and kids turn up last night saying that the father was in too much pain to train, he went to another club where several students were asked out in front to demonstrate stuff, or to demonstrate where they were going wrong. He was asked out to demonstrate Gedan Barai (lower sweeping block/strike) and was informed it was too high but to make the point he kicked him in the ribs and stated the arm should have been covering the ribs! On a technical point I always try to show several applications to a move and don't get too hung up on the exact classical postion, ask 10 instructors where something should be and you will probably get 10 different answers, then ask different styles.... On another point - how dare he kick my student!!! It would have been accepted if he was corrected or shown reasons why, or shown that it can be anywhere between A and B - if he had come back with that feedback then I would have been happy to take it onboard, or maybe check myself, but to kick him hard in the ribs is unacceptable. I think they have lost a potential student but I will also advise him to complain or even investigate their insurance if he has received damage, they are linked to the JKA so should be all in order. It's tempting to go and speak to the Sensei, although he is a few Dan grades above me I think he is in the wrong. What do you think?

I thought I was great after getting bb in Shotokan but have also opened my eyes a bit.... Funakoshi once said that his art was just "karate" so not fussed about style etc, Bruce Lee was famous for taking what he wanted from different styles. There is no better, just good...

or any style that is done properly....

Thinking about it more you should do these drills progressively - meaning that you should play at kicking/blocking so you get the feel of what's going on and can work at distancing, reaction speed etc. Gradually build up to making it a more effective drill by adding more speed and power, ultimately you should end up trying to reach your target and perform a controlled impact before your partner has had a chance to block. A lot of this will depend on the skills of your partner. This leads nicely to my previous post where you should start to move out of the way of a kick, the average leg is far stronger than an arm and all you get by putting another leg in the way is bruises and bumps. What you could expect in the real world is someone kicking you in the groin or whilst you are already on the floor, if you are sharp enough to see a groin kick coming then just blocking it is very risky, you should be thinking more about moving the target out of the way. Not many people will be trying to kick you in the head unless you upset a fellow MA'ist so training to block a Mawashi Geri Jodan is not realistic, and if you do upset another MA'ist you will have no idea how good they are until after the kick... I have recently dropped all kick blocks from 6th Kyu upwards from our syllabus as by then the training should be preparing them better for Shodan and for realistic situations. There are still a few but the emphasis is to move, check/parry the leg and counter attack from a new postion/angle rather than just stand there and hope you can stop the kick with an arm. Sorry to go on about this but there are several drills done in Karate that only really work if you have the speed of lightning or arms like Popeye.

Do the drills with control, learn to kick with power against a bag. A skilled fighter will happily break your arms if you try to block a kick so don't match these drills to combat... move away from a kick, preferably at running pace.

Congratulations, although I am no longer a fan of double grading unless you have put in the time and couldn't attend the last grading. Or maybe have already trained and are being accelerated up the ranks. I have seen a lot of my students get double graded but they have not turned out well, especially after skipping essential time doing basics. A few I have taken back to basics and held them back until their skills caught up.

Well done!

They told me…. It didn’t feel right at the time and I kind of tried to justify it in my mind because they had spent a long time as a 3rd Dan so had put in the years overall. Although their reluctance to train elsewhere for years has meant their Karate has gone stale and is full of bad habits, I constantly had students question me who trained with both of us and the last grading we did together was a farce. We were happy to criticise others and to rant about standards but were becoming just as bad so I had no other option but to leave. Their 4th Dan came from the governing body we were with at the time but they didn’t need to see them which was a bit odd. The 5th came by the backdoor as a friend of theirs got hold of a signed certificate. The other senior mentioned who skipped from 1st Kyu to Nidan was just word of mouth but I have no reason to doubt it. I now train with another club as well as running my own and have been corrected on loads of things I was doing wrong, I have also been given alternative options of technique and kata based on different applications. I will endeavour to pass these things on and produce good students which is all I ever wanted to do. People with big ego’s and self importance that break all the rules can do their own thing but will be found out in the long run.

Sounds like you are training Shotokan which means there are 26, there is also a training kata which can sometimes be expanded to 3 versions. But over all there are hundreds.... A lot of them are similar, or like the heian (Pinan) kata they were created from other longer kata. Some people think they are qualified to change them, others to create them, some boast about knowing loads of them but read about The story of reading poetry - sometimes it's better to know some really well than to know loads of them. It's the study of the many applications and principles that will prove interesting...

Yep, basically what they said.... If you divide your journey to Black belt into 10 parts then these steps are 10th kyu, 9 kyu etc You will generally go up a level of skill each time and should take longer at 1st kyu to prepare for Black belt. Good questions, keep them coming!

Just practice, get different people to watch and offer help. There are several levels of kata, once you've got the routine then practice on breathing, speed, power, technique.... Ideally you should aim to get to a stage where you are in the battle, in the moment, a train could steam through the room and if you are doing your kata with the correct mindset then you shouldn't even notice it....

Wash it wish a product similar to glow white, a powder type stuff that makes it whiter.... Your best bet is to wear it as often as possible to get used to it but don't worry too much what it looks like, train often so you look okay!

Thought provoking.... I am in the position of a fairly new instructor that next year I am hoping to have my first student grade for Black belt, even though it will be grading under a different Sensei as I am only a Nidan it will still be my first BB. This is where the student reaching a rank has affected the teacher, not that the teacher is somehow stating that they should be loyal to him forever but somehow the other way round...