Nidan Melbourne

Hope your hunt finds you well and hopefully Google is your best friend. Have you spoken to your Renshi about recommendations of where you and other students can go and reach out to? Like I know my Shihan were to close, he would recommend clubs in the surrounding areas that were good and had similar standards. As he wouldn't want to let any of his students down in the training front.

I was having a chat with an American Friend of mine the other day, about different sports around the world and then shared sports that various countries play and their respective leagues. and how some sports barely exist in others. What Sports do you follow, that are outside of your own country? He had to get reminded that the "national" sports in each country might not exist in another country or has a small % of participation. When he asked about the Major Sports in Australia; where we have - Australian Rules Football (AFL) [Mens League is well over 100 Years Old, Womens League was created in the last 10 years]. Our primary national sport - Rugby Union + Rugby League - National Basketball League (NBL) - Soccer (European Football) - A-League (Mens League) and W-League - Cricket We have small participation amounts in sports like Ice Hockey and American Football. Before you ask why we don't have larger amounts of Ice Hockey participation. It is because Australia as a whole is a very hot country, even with our seasons; it can vary from 2-3c (~37.5F) to 50c (~122F). SO it would cost significantly more to keep Ice Hockey Centres at a low enough temperature to prevent the ice from melting and to keep it as a playable surface. Then American Football - is already similar to Rugby Union, Rugby League and our own AFL. So there is a smaller following of the sport in relation to being a player, however there does seem to be a decent following in terms of viewership. Although what was funny, is that he had no idea about what AFL was (understandably) so I told him to watch the attached video to get an idea of what it is. And btw Handballing you "punch" the ball from your hand, similar to the first couple steps of Saifa. Restarts after scoring, take less than a minute to do. International Sports I watch (when I can); - NBA (America) - Euroleague (Europe) - Rugby Union - Rugby 7's

This was part of my morning training from yesterday, I did add that note section just in case I forgot what shorthand I used also I knew that if I shared I could make it easy to show you guys.

Can't say that I have met anyone like that in my 20 odd years of training. But it does make me think about my early days.

So this is my Template I use to help plan out my training, then just print it off for me to go. I have a secondary sheet on the same document; which helps me keep track of how often I do each of the exercises/skills. Now on both Sheets I have - Exercise Now this is the most obvious thing for the Warm Up and Main Training. You just have to identify what your doing - Sets How many Groups of Repetitions you have to do. - Reps How many times you do it - Load This might sound strange, but if I am adding any form of weight for a Set I add it here. If unloaded; I either leave it blank or write 0. - Skill Type Whatever form of training area that item is. Kihon, Kata, Pre-Arranged Sparring, Breakfalls etc. I'm looking at making another sheet that gives me a tally of how many of everything that I have done. So at the end of a training phase, or when I review my training I can clearly see how often I do everything.

I should probably add, when it came to Throws and Breakfalls Training we had to be careful and limit to more advanced students when it came to training on Wooden Floors. Like I learnt how to fall on Wooden Floors; did it suck? yes it did. But definitely made me appreciate that having those "golden' rules when it came to learning how to do them and also teaching others. Throws are the same, as each throw has different mechanics to them; we had to have solid awareness of what is on the ground and what the surface is like.

You're doing great! Take it one day at a time. I have a little training diary that I make sure I do something everyday and fill it out.

Depends on what i'm wanting to focus on in any one day. Having been in the game for a long time now, and I'm training on my own; I like to go by feel and listening to my senses outside of sight. Why? because if your in a situation where you lose access to your vision; then you need to rely on everything else at your disposal. Kata - I go through the "Standard" way, then change it up. I did some on the beach recently, including in the water. Pre-Arranged Sparring - "Solo" Edition. Makes you look like a complete Psycho, but this allows you to work on that internal intensity outside of class.

This is more directed towards those who have multiple locations. So for context; the club I first trained at had 4 locations (2 of which I never visited). So our Hombu Dojo used Mats for both floors, and the Dojo I was based at didn't use any mats as we trained on hard floors. So the only time I visited our Hombu was for Grading Purposes. Now out of curiosity; for those who have multiple locations or teach for several clubs. What surfaces do you teach on and how differently do you teach when on different surfaces?

that is so true when it comes to a temporary space. Both clubs I've trained at have used a rented space, both at recreation centres (one now at a school). We can have signs up (Banner ones) and mats out for training.

Thats great that the owner happened to be watching and spotted the issue.

We use the Shodan-Ho designation betwen 1st Kyu and Shodan. But we have the same issues as those who promote students straight to Shodan from 1st Kyu. Over the years, I have noticed that more kids quit once they get to Black Belt than the Adults do. I remember going through the Kyu Grades; and was told NOTHING about the Dan Grades and what training is like after attaining the rank of Shodan-Ho. Although to be fair, at my dojo at the time there were no students ranked above Shodan. We had several Shodan-Ho Students, even when I transitioned to the Seniors Class there were only a handful. But when I graded to Shodan-Ho, I had 1 classmate going for Shodan who was the most senior student there. However club-wide, my instructors (1x 3rd Dan, 3x 1st or 2nd Dan) were some of the most senior. But from what I know all up I think we had 3x Sandans (including my Club Owner), 3 or 4 2nd Dans and a handful of 1st Dans. My current club, we have 1x Godan, 1x Yondan, 4x Sandan, 5x Nidan, 8x Shodan, and several Shodan-Ho. But the reason we have so many higher grades, is because of my CI (Godan), our Yondan came from another club, and the remainder have come to the club as Black Belts and were consequently promoted. But it is possible for a student to have started in 2008 and be promoted to around 4th Dan (if awarded BB in 2012).

A dojo at most imho should have a Shrine with the founder of your style and your Chief Instructor. So at the Dojo I taught us, had 3 photos; Chojun Miyagi Sensei (Founder of Goju-Ryu), Gogen Yamaguchi Sensei (Founder of Goju-Kai) and my Shihan (Headmaster of our School). I think there was a plan to add photos of Goshi Yamaguchi (Son of Gogen Yamaguchi) and Tino Ceberano Hanshi (Brought Goju-Kai to Australia) to the lineup.

The dumbest thing I managed to do was dislocate my small toe on my right foot, courtesy of the person to my right and their pant leg. I can't remember if I was getting up or down, but my toe for whatever reason snagged their pants and dislocated my toe. Otherwise I've had no other injuries because of my training.

My condolences to the family.

I enjoy doing it with my Adults Classes; so they can be comfortable doing it early on. Whilst I tend to introduce it in my Junior Advanced Class, as it takes a lot more control in my opinion than your normal sparring. For me, I am definitely a close range fighter so this is my preferred way of teaching how to fight. A lot of students I've fought over the years struggle with this range of fighting, because they've only ever been taught the more "tag' version of sparring. Sparring for me is more about communication at a distance, and ending it close in. Thats where I believe BJJ works great for pressure testing, because you have no chance of escape it is deal with your threat then get away.

I trained with a collector who had around 100 different uniforms that he has collected over the years. although the older ones that no longer fit, he had admittedly framed and had a little thing of time frame that he used and any milestones or accomplishments that he achieved whilst wearing it. I collect Karate Gis for a little time, but had maybe 12 different ones that I used concurrently.

I agree with you on that fact! We can have disagreements, but when we can have a friendly discussion around something when it comes to opposing points of view. Yet when it goes past civil, we can longer have civil discussions. I love discussing differing styles, because I love to learn about how we differ and why they do things the way they do. But then it also challenges my perspective of why my style does what it does it does. So true, to me they are meant to help form a key part of our core values. Especially if we start training from a young age, as the virtues that we learn in our training for some are the first ones they are introduced to. My Core Values; in a large part was formed from the IGK Virtues and evolved as I got older. The other Core Values for me; formed outside of class and what I held as important to me. Its interesting with how different generations were raised; like I am a Millenial and you are part of an older Generation. When I first started learning my clubs virtues, I didn't really understand what they meant to my daily life and how important they would become to me. Now as an Adult, they are incredibly important to me. The current generation that is starting out, I don't know how much they understand. But definitely is a little project I will be working on over the next few years. I love the virtues that the SKKA have, and when I look at them they just slot in nicely for me and don't cause any ruffles with my core values. I'm updating a Dan Grade Exam atm, these make me think it is worth adding ours in to our exam to see if they know them and their understanding of each.

Recently I was speaking to a student, and they asked me about whether my club (the one that I was in the process of starting up) had any virtues that would be a core aspect of our club. So I wonder what does your club or organisation have in terms of Club Virtues? Back to the story: I said yes we do, and follows the virtues of the International Goju-Kai Karate (IGK) that was formed by Tino Ceberano Hanshi. They were the same virtues that I learnt from my time at my first Club (Australian Goju Karate; from what I've heard they formally closed a few years ago). So they are: 1. We are proud to study the way of Goju 2. We are Courteous in Manners 3. We strive to Develop Courage and Fighting Spirit 4. We Cultivate Fellowship and Understanding 5. We Respect the Ideals of Loyalty and Honour When I talk about those to my students; and they normally do ask questions about them and how they help our training and our lives. Some aren't as straight forward or clear, yet as we develop as karateka and as humans they should be clear. Now when I first learnt these virtues, I wasn't given much in terms of an explanation as to what they mean. But was generally told that as I got older, I would understand what they mean. But I try to make it a little easier on my students, and have them explain them in their own words to me. Here are my interpretations; but I leave it open for change as I continue my training and I get older these may change. Simply put, you should be take pride in what your learning and to give 100% into what your learning. Can be substituted for any style or martial art. Sometimes I feel like this one is a "no duh" type of situation. But sometimes people need to be taught that they can take pride in what they're learning or even if they are teaching. This is something I really struggled with growing up, but as I got older this became clearer to me. It talks about how we treat others, more importantly how we treat ourselves. This is in my mind a lifelong pursuit. As we need to have the courage to stand up for whats right and also to have the courage to fight when necessary. Overcoming our fight/flight response. Now Fighting "Spirit" - having the ability to fight like you mean it and without fear. I personally love this Virtue, as we as a community need to foster relationships. Then once we foster those relationships, we need to develop an understanding of one another through communication and how we look after one another. In my mind it is so important to cultivate these because it is at its essence how we work together in class and learn without causing conflict. Closely tied to point 4, where we show loyalty and honour those around us but also to those who have come before us. When we train, we need to keep in mind the efforts of those before us (especially those who taught). If it weren't for them, we wouldn't have Goju Karate that it is today. Also this talks about our relationships as a whole; current, future and past.

thoughts are with everyone and for the safety of everyone during the fires. I hope your state and federal governments do the right thing surrounding water supplies, considering what I've heard about the state being dryer than the Sahara. Being in Australia, I and my fellow Australians see the impact of Bushfires regularly. some of our fellow members (also aussies), unfortunately experience those 1000x worse than I do. So my prayers are going out to everyone suffering atm.

Here in Victoria, we recently started running a Recycling Program where certain eligible bottles could be returned for 10c per item. South Australia has run such a program for a long time; but was only for 5c per item, but don't know if it has upped its return amount to match Victoria or not. The main condition of return, is the item had to have the Barcode to be scanned to prove what the item is and to ensure that it can be recycled in the program. So 10 items = $1 100 items = $10 You can get paid Electronically (at all locations), Cash (some locations) or you can Donate the amount to the charity of your choice. If you choose electronic payment; I have found that it is paid out normally within 5-8 hours on a weekday, or a couple of days after a weekend deposit. So if your a massive Soda or an Alcoholic then you can return a lot of cans or bottles. I'd love to return some of these, as I find the laying about everywhere where I go as there is a homeless population around where I live that drink wine everywhere. So out of curiosity, does your country or state do something similar? and how much do you get per item? If you are interested, and your state/country runs a program like this please share.

Hope you and the family are safe Patrick. I know how scary wildfires can be, along with the others Australians that are on this forum.

The Gi already has a fantastic pocket for holding mouthguard and for the instructor/coach to hold onto things without an actual pocket. its the overlapping flaps with the belt keeping things up. Great pocket it is

Fortunately I haven't met many karateka who have a Shogo Title, but from the ones I know have simply said call them Sensei or whatever title they had, no need to make a fuss. over which. One Kyoshi I've met said he doesn't care if we address him as Sensei or Kyoshi as both are terms of respect. My Shihan has the same attitude to naming conventions. Because his view is that mistakes happen, and if we have visitors or guests from other schools "Sensei" may be the only one they know and use. I was told by a well respected Australian Martial Arts figure; that a Shogo Title is special thing awarded and should be well respected if your awarded one. And that they educate others (when asked) on why such titles exist, but don't place them on a special pedestal. But when they say to students "its ok if you still call me sensei, but you can also call me Kyoshi" it is a reminder for themselves to remain humble. He also explained that each level was similar to a qualification at University (college) - Shidoin/Bachelors, Renshi/Honours, Kyoshi/Masters and Hanshi/PHD.

I get where you're at with your training, BUT the difference is that for you; it surrounds your mentality around training and the belt system. AND not the actual training itself. For some, training for them feels like it has become stagnant so motivation to go becomes difficult. So for me; currently I have some external factors that prohibit me from training, unless I can find a dojo that would permit me to train but also meets my requirements. But first and foremost what is impacting me I need to resolve first before I think about returning. Yes, people talking about discipline and motivation when it comes to training. But understanding why a person is finding it difficult to make it into class is a different story. I see 3 things happening when a person goes to class without having resolved what is causing their issues: 1. Low attentiveness = Your not getting much out of the class = Disrespects the time and effort of the Instructors and the other Students there 2. Not focusing on what your doing = Injury = You miss even more time 3. Poor Attitude = disrupts everyone around you = Pisses off everyone I recently spoke to a few students who are continuing to train or who have taken a break from training. To get a better idea of whats going on for them and also how I can improve on what I teach and how I do things. So the ones who took time off; some took time off because of their studies, health, personal or financial reasons. For others they felt like their training wasn't well defined once they reached a certain point in their training. And for some it their training became "Boring" because they were often doing the same stuff day in day out. Yes I can appreciate the importance of training the basics regularly throughout the ranks; BUT in my eyes once you reach a certain rank there should be a certain amount of stuff in your curriculum or things you can add to make classes more difficult or interesting. When I look at our Junior Classes; everything is new to them ergo it is difficult. But for say a Shodan or even a Nidan, those requires are now considered "standard" or "easy". But when I see our Black Belt Classes a lot of instructors aren't introducing "new" things to enhance the knowledge of their students. SO when I teach our advanced classes; I do teach what they need to know but also introduce new concepts to keep things interesting. Especially when whatever "new" stuff I teach might actually answer some of the questions they may have had in relation to something they have learnt previously or currently learning. When I first stepped away for a period of time, I lost my way but when I returned to train I had a renewed interest in what I was doing.