mal103

Take all advise as good advise, if they conflict then think of them as both being right and there is more than one way to do things. Look to your Sensei for the way that you should be doing it. He should be setting the standard and will also be the person who grades you. I also learn from different seniors, some have developed bad habits, others have just made mistakes, some have their own way doing certain moves. This also applies to Kata, you will find slight differences and sometimes its because of the teachers body limitations or the fact that the application works better for them their way, or they are thinking of a certain application when they perform the Kata. Take rising block, I have been taught to go straight up or to bring the fist in slightly then go straight up infront of your body. Both are good but thinking of grabbing an arm and going up underneath it then the second way makes more sense, if it was going up into a throat then the first way works best. Later on when you are a few grades on then judge if there are still inconsistancies with techniques and maybe question you Sensei (politely) about them. You should always question stuff, just be polite and enquiring. Too many people take the Sensei's word as law. Also, just relax and train, look how far you have come since starting and keep training. Mostly enjoy yourself!

Brown belt row.... There is another type of student who has so far found the training relatively easy, they are then pushed to go faster and put in much more effort, this they find awkward as they are normally quite fit and not used to sweating. Sometimes is because the syllabus is similar since around green belt so repetition plays a part in them getting bored. Also they may think "is this it"? I haven't been taught to be a superb fighter or can't defend myself against several attackers.... They assumed they would be awesome by now and either can't see where they are because it has happened gradually or they haven't been taught very well. I used to cringe when I was at that stage and an instructor was showing the kids applications to kata because that's all they had been shown. Shodan's should have been guided better to realise that passing BB can be difficult and an anti climax, it isn't the end - just the beginning

It's a well discussed topic on here so look down the page a bit or search. Generally it's the Dojo's that put profit before skills, people grading automatically or adding extra "half" grades. You could say that we are all mostly mcDojo's for doing a 10 grade system to Black belt but it depends where you think traditional is.

Give us your area and we can tell you which ones to try, any that are missed out will be ones to miss....

It's more important to be able to teach, I assisted as 1st Kyu and then opened my own Dojo as 1st Dan but they all graded with my Sense at his Dojo. I am now Nidan and have just gone alone so I will grade then to 1st Kyu and aother local club has offered to grade them to Shodan. Another massive requirement is for you to keep up your training, not just by yourself, this works out really well because you will get a constant feed of teaching material as your students will get bored quickly by just doing syllabus work all of the time. There are some orgs out there that will provide you insurance etc and state a minimum of 1st Dan. As for learning how to teach, this can be done but normally best to be left alone to get on with it, you either sink or swim. The great part is that you can taylor the lesson to how you want to do it, if everyone is bad with stances then work on that etc. So long as they keep coming back then you are okay, also if they are improving!

That is what my head and heart are thinking, i suspect a few of my students may end up in the wrong camp after a recent split but they will eventually reach a level when they realise. I was thinking of getting a bin put by our Dojo door with a sign to say "leave your Ego in here"

Last year someone I knew suddenly got their 5th Dan only a year after getting their 4th, I get the impression they got hold of a signed certificate from an old org and used it as proof, i'm 100 percent sure that the cert signer would not have signed it knowing who's name was going to be written on the top. Another case is someone who now runs a big org in the UK, I heard that they left one school as a 1st Kyu and started a club as a Nidan.... What can we do about these people, others work damn hard to prove their worth and earn their rank. The first case above used his 5th Dan to grade someone to 3rd and to join a professional governing body! Do you think they should be told, do you think they will give a damn?

I started teaching Karate a few years ago but was told by everyone to keep up my training which i did, i have seen a few examples of Sensei that have been teaching for years but have stopped training - or at least stopped lining up in front of someone else. one had a pot belly and broke into a sweat walking up stairs, another had developed bad habits and was even getting puzzled looks from white belts as things like age uke were way off. I was getting questioned by students who trained at both of our dojo's as they were getting conflicting info. I now think that its essential to maintain training, i have now linked up with a few seniors but they also take their turn in the line. can anyone stop being a student?

I have 2 students who struggle to learn new stuff and are really hard on themselves, i give them extra help and encouragement in training. One has pushed through and is now doing really well, the other has skipped training and regularly gets annoyed at themself and sits out rather than just relaxing and doing it again and again, they are still struggling.... When i see mistakes i say this is why we train, try again but i also make plenty.

As some may have guessed all of this is actually true, I have tolerated a lot over the years but recent events have included grading a pal to 1st kyu and another instructors daughter to brown belt, both are not up to standard yet. There has been another major incident involving insurance so I have left and taken my 2 clubs with 30 odd students to form my own club. I have also found 2 other clubs with great instructors where I can continue my training, one has also offered to grade my seniors as I am only a Nidan so can't grade black belts. Quite a bit of disruption but I'm looking forward to it. I feel like I have been disloyal to my Sensei but cannot forgive the problems.

I think if there are enough seniors then "in house" is fine, some seem to do this if there is a Sandan amongst the examiners. I expect some smaller clubs have just graded them regardless, especially if they don't belong to a governing body. I think in the case of just a Nidan running a club then he can grade to 1st Kyu but then needs to take his Shodan candidates to someone who has enough seniors to grade them, this can be a governing body but it would be more preferable at a nearby club/org. Maybe they could be advised to train with them for a few sessions before so they can iron out anything that the Sensei may have missed and for the student to get used to them. A 1st Kyu should be told they can grade when they are ready and not be looking at a calendar for when they can get their Black Belt. It is also very insulting when someone is put forward when they are not ready or haven't done the standard time in training. It is even worse if they were to be passed, makes you want to throw yours in the bin as it just lost a lot of value. Ultimately though it is the person that makes a good Black Belt and not the bit of material keeping their Gi tidy.

Here are a few ideas for the sake of discussion. Inconsistent technical details in kata. Grading people when they aren't ready. Grading people when they haven't done enough training hours. Grading a 1st kyu to Shodan before they have trained for 6th months and long before total minimum training time of 3 years. Changing the grading to make it easier, ie less sparring than. Allowing certain people more leniency due to friendships and family ties.

I would run. If not able to escape then I would see what the situation demanded, try to calm it down and walk away, maybe take a couple of strikes and make it obvious I wasn't interested. If no other options and the fists are still flying then again my response would be on the opponent or opponents, if I felt really endangered then my response would be quick, hard, fast and deadly. Maybe not the standard kick and punch as a lot of Karate is aimed as soft or vulnerable areas. I've just been learning a new kata that includes a jumping head twist which I think would be ideal....

I try to maintain a fairly strict atmosphere, I don't mind having the odd laugh but cannot stand it when I have to wait for others so if anyone messes about or chats then I will let them know. Sometimes it's hard and fast where there is not enough time to breath, other times we may be going through a talking point of a key principles that shouldn't take too long but can turn into a saga. I will tolerate some chat but if I feel that the lesson is being held up I will get it moving again. As we have a few kids then you can't just shout and train hard so again you have to strike a balance of learning, working hard but still enjoying it. If it's not enjoyable then you will lose people, if it's too slow then you will lose people... Not everyone is the same either, some you push too hard you will never see them again, others will grin and be back. A good balance is probably the key.

What if you are also on the management team and what if some actions have included breaking rules?

Hyperthetically speaking you note that something your Sensei does is wrong - In your opinion of course. This could be anything from showing the wrong move in a Kata to making a wrong management decision. How do you approach the subject? Do you just keep quiet, make excuses, go with the flow, confront them, ask them, move clubs? If you have tried a few things but have just caused a bad atmosphere of questioning a senior then what options are left. All theory but it is based on a sticky situation I may have soon, if any of the good MA'ist on here wanted to lend an ear then we could speak offline, I would appreciate the advice....

I truely believe that we train our minds whilst training our bodies, you can do a Kata a hundred times and feel nothing but if you apply the right mindset you may experience something. The best I can explain it in words is to be "in the fight". I have heard of a dance student watching Karate and then performing a Kata almost perfectly but this is just going through the physical motions. I personally feel a great calm after training Kata to its fullest of power, speed and strength, I have even felt surges of energy and had trembling fingers afterwards, this is the closest I have been to going crazy....

Cheers for the info, I forgot to add that its generally acceptable that you can only grade 2 below so a Nidan would only be able to grade up to 1st Kyu if you follow those rules.

For normal kyu gradings what should be the minimum rank of the grading officer? Thinking of a club nearby run by just a 2nd Dan, is that really good enough or should he consider sending his students to a bigger club for gradings.

If you are very good then in a standard situation hopefully a few seconds, but what if? Check the news where people have endured prolonged attacks, nobody will wait for you to catch your breath. But surely everyone would want to be as fit as possible so they can train hard to get the most out of their training?

Karate is not a sport - although it has a sporting aspect. If it's practiced properly then yes it will be very good for cardio and strength. You don't have to be fit to start as you would normally start out with just basics and build up, a good instructor will gently push you as your fitness improves, or push you more if you are already fit. I've visited other Dojo's -in one I did not brake into a sweat - in another I was exhausted! Everyone who visits us to train normally goes away with a wet Gi and a smile.

Making a little money is a goal of most Dojo's/clubs/associations, some do get greedy but nobody wants to fund things out of their own pocket so will normally need to make a profit. The thing I don't like is when they add several extra jumps/grades/belts to get more grading fees out of the students for no real benefit to their MA. I think the main point for mcdojos are standards, I have seen some videos and witnessed a couple of Dojo's that were plainly dreadful and should have been ashamed of themselves, these will do more harm to MA as people will get a bad impression of today's MA. If a senior well respected Sensei contacted us and said he would like to visit and watch our lessons then I would have no problem with this, even though I would make sure our best students were in attendance If I was part of a mcdojo then this concept would scare the life out of me... Makes you wonder when you hear of "Grand-Masters" who absolutely forbid their students from training anywhere else?

Go back to basics and do lots on one step drills where she knows where the attack is going and when. If you have to spar then hint where you will attack until she is used to responding and blocking/reacting. In time it will be fine but just take it one step at a time.

That's sound amazing but I think it needs years of practice to achieve, isn't it?! You will get it later, no rush, the best way to try and train it is to partner, one punches either high or low, you have to match their attack but don't know where it will come. Then try throwing random punches at random times. If you can react to most then you are getting there. Don't worry about laughing, you don't always need to take it seriously, especially when you trip yourself up and land on your backside - don't ask me how I know this....

Maybe it should be called a Skunk belt? All of what is required should be met by a good 1st Kyu or they shouldn't have got to 1st Kyu...