Nidan Melbourne

Personally I don't use Gels to help warm me up prior to exercise as I haven't really seen much research to show that there is any evidence for them working. As JR said that they really don't go that deep, which can be an issue as most muscles are quite thick. If you are actively moving the whole muscle can warm up and lengthen.

Being Fit and Healthy are two separate entities themselves, despite being closely linked. Someone could look like the Rock, who could say is very Fit. But for the Rock he is also very heatlhy, as he maintains his health extremely well. Yet the person could in actuality be unhealthy.

Good luck on your search, don't limit yourself to just Kyokushin.

Don't use any apps, i'm a tad archaic and still use Excel for planning/programming

Preparing for a tournament will vary greatly for each person. From what i know you will have a dual curve for your physical preparation, where you can hit your peak twice; once part way through training and the second near the day of the competition. Usually you'll be tapering the week of, and usually is just refining technique at a lighter rate.

it's definitely worthwhile to be able to do it. But i'm also a fan of changing their focus whilst attacking. i.e. strike shoulders (distraction) whilst attacking the legs

Hope your search goes well. I found the same link as Sensei8 when I googled Kyokushin Rome Italy. But there appears to be many karate styles that are located in Rome. Maybe if you can't find a Kyokushin Club, that you might give one of them a try. Shotokan from the top of my head is the closest in terms of "hardness" to Kyokushin without being actually Kyokushin.

I hear that a lot through a lot of my friends, but also from some of the parents [of kids] that I teach. But the thing is that I don't strictly teach just teach Karate. I also have clients come in for Personal Training on a daily basis to have other income. And that is before any classes occur!

Congrats all

I think it might vary school to school and also the martial art they do. When I trained a lot in BJJ they said to either wear your Gi or your Rashy + Shorts (No Gi). At my karate club we don’t really do Open Mat, but my sensei is open to the idea. He would say to wear what is appropriate for what your training for.

To be honest never really thought of kata as Masculine or Feminine. When I think of kata, I think of whether it is Hard or Soft (or a mix of the two). Like sensei8 said, that those kata have jumps in them. but for me they should have a real sharpness to them. But on the same token a kata like Chatanyara Kusanku is quite complex. Which you stated is not something you want to do. Although if she is as good as you say she is, you can teach her more complex kata and she should do alright.

Welcome to the forum Pancor357. That sounds very concerning that they are providing you an instructor to actually teach you the curriculum and how to do things safely. It may be worth speaking to your CI (Chief Instructor) to raise your concerns. Otherwise i'd recommend you move clubs, because I feel like there is no loyalty that you really owe that club.

Hikite Hiki = Withdrawing Te = Hand

Having not heard of Cipro before, I had to google it to find out about it. The site I was on gives you info on the medication. I saw that they put what happened to your achilles as a major side effect (not just achilles, but tendons in general). So are you able (if you want) elaborate why you are giving the heads up?

This is targeted to the Chief Instructors or Owners of schools that are here . We know that there is the Wikipedia that we all can access (and modify; also be barred through your IP). But what I want to know is how many of you have a Wiki that is private just for your club or organisation. And it contains information that is pertinent to you? By that I mean it looks and feels like a Wikipedia page, but has just information that is relevant to you. And how many of you would recommend it?

I'd say that you should go get it checked out, as many people have a high pain tolerance but in reality could have an injury. When it comes to conditioning you need to be aware of how much is safe and how much isn't. As such when you switch things up, you should be aware of how hard you are hitting + how much pressure you are placing on joints.

We have no steadfast rule on age. But all our students are promoted to Shodan-Ho, regardless of how good they are. 90% of our Black Belts wait longer than the minimum time before going for promotion. Our kids seem to wait 3-4 years prior to attempting for Shodan.

Congrats!!

Originally we teach our students that it is to assist in engaging the hips more. As they progress, we teach them that it is applied when: trapping + controlling, pulling the opponent in, striking an opponent from behind (i.e. from a choke) etc.

I think it was my 2nd Dan Grading, where he pushed harder than I have ever seen him. To be honest, I feel like I was broken mentally during that grading. And it was only during the last section where it was Kumite.

Hopefully you never have to use any physical technique in self defence. For me using a karate technique means that I have no other option but to use it. And to answer the question in the OP; clearly it is useable if it has lasted this long. And also how you respond to the threat! If you deliver a powerful front kick like I know Shotokan has, then yes. If you deliver a weak front kick then who has really failed you or shotokan?

We all use terminology in our dojos that are specific to our style or school, but may be slightly (or outright) different to other styles or schools. For example: the humble 'Upper Block', to date I have seen two different terms for it "Jodan Uke" and "Age Uke". One meaning Upper Block and the other Rising Block. For you as instructors, how often do you hear different terms for the techniques that you teach?

How would you define having 'Mastered the basics'? As you'd have to define very clearly how to master a basic technique. Or more precisely what a 'Mastered' Technique looks like. As I believe if you asked 100 different people, that you may get 100 different answers. Personally i'm a 2nd Dan, but do I feel like i've mastered the basics? Nope not even close. This is due to the fact I personally feel like I am learning about them; despite my proficiency in them.

We haven't had any issues with the length of our syllabus. With the exception of those having transitioned from our Juniors to Seniors Program. That being due to the fact that we have extra requirements aka introduce harder "curriculum" than in comparison to our juniors. So we commence testing + teaching Bunkai at 5th Kyu (Green Belt). So if we have a student transfer at 5th Kyu w/ 3 tags (we test Bunkai + Pre-arranged at 4th tag). They will take a lot longer to pass their test to receive their 4th tag, due to the learning phase that is required of them. Although other than that, I feel like our syllabus for all students to be reasonable. Which I believe is due to the fact we gradually introduce different things (kihon, kata etc) at different times. So instead of throwing everything at them at once, they'll learn and becoming accustomed to it first prior to us throwing more at them.

My general kit has - Band Aids (Duh) - Latex Gloves - Non-Latex Gloves (I’m out of them atm) - Surgical Tape - Anti-Bacterial Wipes + Gel - Dencorub - Strapping Tape - Notebook + Pen