Nidan Melbourne

Depends on their Grade and also the tournament that they enter. Here in Australia, Australian Karate Federation Tournaments are considered the norm for Karate Tournaments. So the only time a student would get an advantage is if they end up dropping a division bracket. For Instance we have 10-7th Kyu, 6th - 4th Kyu then 3rd kyu+ Divisions. So if a 3rd Kyu gets demoted to 4th kyu, they 'may' have an advantage if they know what their doing. However a 1st Kyu getting demoted to 2nd Kyu would have no difference in the above scenario.

It varies, my sensei was in his early to mid 20's when I first started training. Albeit he was a 2nd Dan at the time, then he got promoted to 3rd Dan when I was 11 and he was 25. But he continued to study and learn from absolutely everyone and anyone that would be open to teaching him.

To the bolded point, my sensei finally did that with his Sticks Training (Balintawak Arnis, he is currently a Level 6 [Completion of the Art])

As the header says what is your clubs protocol for Passing and Failing Students at Gradings? Our Clubs protocol for Passing Students are: Results [Pass]: Students find out the following class, so they receive their new belt & promotional certificate. In-Grade Restrictions: During the Grading, instructors determine if students have any weak areas in relation to our In-Grade Tests. We indicate the weak areas as a +6, which means that we will give students additional time to develop that area prior to being tested. As we normally test students every 6 lessons, so they will be tested after 12 instead. Additionally our protocol for Failing StudentsInvolve: Pass/Fail Limit: At each of our gradings, we fail students after they receive more than Three (3) +6 Lessons. Sometimes we will allow students to be promoted with 3 +6 Lessons, but is purely dependent on how their attitude and levels of effort on the day. Notification of Negative Result: Our Chief Instructor notifies the Parent or the Student (if over 18), of a negative result prior to the following class that they may attend. Explanation of Result: Not only does our Chief Instructor explain to the student why we failed them (or their child), we will sit down with the student (and parent if present) to explain in detail why and also what they need to do to be successful the following time.

Hi Lynn, That is unfortunate of the situation that you are now in. It is difficult on the two scenarios that you have listed. For the lack of payment, how is your club going in terms of numbers of students that train? But I do see it strange that he decided to take over your classes and not pay you for your services. Especially if it was after a certain amount of time that you were actively paid for your services. As I started of as unpaid, but only till mid-2016 that I started getting paid and that was after 4 years of actively teaching with him. It happens when instructors are replaced or leave, a drop will occur in terms of student body. As it happened when my sensei left our former club, 90% of the students left the dojo and followed him to his own club that he started. Then your second situation regarding one of the other instructors, can develop usually out of jealousy or a comment that you may or may not have made and rubbed them the wrong way and they never said anything about it. I'd say either train/teach on a day that they're not there (if possible) or move on. As you have every right to not have to deal with what has happened and to be treated fairly. So if you left, then your students would be understanding if they found out your reasons for leaving. As much you want to train in a Traditional Dojo, are there any other dojo that are closer to your place of residence and work that is more of a reasonable distance to travel? I ask because, in a way I feel like you may be slightly restricting yourself in the type of school that you can train in. Because I know many dojo that exactly "Traditional" but teach in a way that is still traditional yet taught in a way that is scientific and through best practice to enhance the training of the student.

That is unfortunate that it 'protudes' out. The most I have seen from Shock Doctor are their mouth guards, and not much else.

I stopped for a total of 1.5 Years, because I was completing Year 12 at the time and also needed the extra 1/2 year off cause i needed a break. It wasn't hard for me to get back into it, because it was a relatively short break.

They do concern me, as i know what the potential risks are and what can happen to my brain. When I am training, that is something I work on is protecting. my face.

- Put effort in to your training & gradings - Work Hard + Smart - KISS Principle - Don't Rush especially in Kata - Look after your body - Don't treat others poorly

I do like it when my CI has multiple styles/arts under his or her belt. As they took the time to learn each one, and also that they can pass on that additional knowledge too. My CI does Balintawak Arnis as his additional MA, and every now and again teaches us that curriculum. Which means that we are also learning it, but also will dramatically improve our primary art of karate due to the amount of rotational force being required.

Now you all may of heard these terms before, either on here or somewhere else. It is important as martial artists to be aware of these terms, as we are susceptible to being affected by one or the other. As is anything sport and health related. Undertraining is where you are training less than what you are supposed to, and can have a negative impact to your health. You may not become injured, but is similar to being inactive or sedentary. Whereas Overtraining is defined as doing way too much training or doing something to excess and without sufficient rest. Athletes are often at risk of this especially around competition time. The potential risks are burnout mentally, and also putting your body at risk of injury. These risks may appear as either very minor or severe, often as athletes or non-competitors not caring or taking extended amounts of time off. But how do these impact us everyday martial artists? It impacts us where we don't look after our level of training, too little or too much.

I use Skins under my Gi which I find to be comfortable, but have found that the durability of portions not to overly fantastic.

It isn't overly consistent at my dojo, but we do try and educate our students that they should practice good hygiene to prevent spread of infection etc. But I am picky with Fingernails and General Hygiene with my students, and have sent people home for poor hygiene before class has even started. And those I sent home smelt BAD, and you could tell that they didn't think about others. I wash my gi's after each usage, but depends on what i've done as well. If I wore it for 1 hour and did very little I might stretch it out to a 2nd day for usage. So I've washed both my gi's that i've worn this week, and will most likely take both with me tomorrow to the Dojo. As I am going to teach for a couple of classes, then will be going to the new dojo to assist with a Grading.

Well Two Things; but they interrelate so much: 1. Relax!!!! When you relax, you develop and form better habits than when your tense. Also it prevents you from doing something silly that could lead to injury. 2. Listen to Your Body! Also means to remember that you need rest, as all humans do. Because if you don't then you will get hurt.

That I am capable of way more than I believed!

I practice my Kata/Forms in different ways like you said. It is honestly amazing to see what deficits that you may have by adding or removing something. On Monday we did all our kata without our Arms, which is harder than it looks especially with the more advanced kata. Other way we do it is without our legs, so we remain stationary and do all the related arm movements. If I get time tomorrow morning i'll film it and load it up.

Well deserved for your time here

When I teach a student to Kiai, I normally to tell them to do a short + sharp Kiai. I used to yell "Kiai" when I was told to do so, but years ago it seemed to have developed to a "aisha" or something similar.

Welcome to the forum KarateLdy. We look forward to discussing various topics with you. May I ask what style of Karate that you currently train in? So I can cater and adjust terminology appropriately.

People relax in different ways, for me it is to do Karate or listen to music (Rarely do I combine them). Whereas for you it might be something completely different. Often people are tense for reasons that they may not be conscious about or they are fully aware of. But for some reason they can't seem to offload those reasons, or there is just a lot on their plate that makes it difficult to relax. When I see students who are tense, i like to make them relax by getting them to laugh and have fun. Which works like an absolute treat, because they realise that is what they were missing. For you i'd recommend taking time off (if possible) for yourself and do what you enjoy with the pressures of everything else in your life. Often this works for those who have multiple sources saying the same thing in regards to being tense (among other things). But obviously that only works if you are able to financially take some time off + also have the annual leave to do so. Thanks for the response and the advice! I teach for a living, so I'm "mostly off" from work until the end of August. Yes, that helps immensely. My issues may stem from what I went through growing up - I was never very coordinated, and typically failed miserably when attempting anything physical (outside of art.) I was also bullied quite a bit. While those issues aren't immediately prevalent in my life, I still have some mindset issues that I need to work on. Well we are here to support you if you need people to talk to! I have always had tremendous respect for the hard work Teachers put in day in day out. Especially how hard and stressful it is for you and others to get through to the next generation. Being Bullied when you were younger takes a long time to get through and work through everything that happened. I'm 25 and was bullied in Primary School and part of Middle School, in which i'm still working through things.

The NCAS is the National Coaching Accreditation Scheme, which is a nationally recognized training scheme where we are taught the essentials of being a good coach along with the legal requirements as dictated by State and Federal Guidelines. It covers; coaching styles + principles, health and safety recommendations, legal guidelines and other information on how to be a good coach within' the Dojo and sporting realm. Only my Club has something called "Lead Instructors", we require them to have the NCAS Accreditation because it is recommended by the Australian Sports Commission and Australian Karate Federation that at least one person teaching has such qualifications. At present I am 1 of 3 people who have those qualifications in my dojo and as such I can lead a class with the knowledge of what is required of me legally and also of what records to keep.

People relax in different ways, for me it is to do Karate or listen to music (Rarely do I combine them). Whereas for you it might be something completely different. Often people are tense for reasons that they may not be conscious about or they are fully aware of. But for some reason they can't seem to offload those reasons, or there is just a lot on their plate that makes it difficult to relax. When I see students who are tense, i like to make them relax by getting them to laugh and have fun. Which works like an absolute treat, because they realise that is what they were missing. For you i'd recommend taking time off (if possible) for yourself and do what you enjoy with the pressures of everything else in your life. Often this works for those who have multiple sources saying the same thing in regards to being tense (among other things). But obviously that only works if you are able to financially take some time off + also have the annual leave to do so.

Can't lose belly fat fast unfortunately. You need to put more energy out than what you put in to lose weight. Some people will lose belly fat first before any other area, whereas some will lose fat off their glutes + legs first.

I have fought outside of my own style a few times, to give myself a reality check (of sorts). It was the best thing I ever did, because then I could grow and learn even more.

Would those who may be the most senior still be able to train under your master after he retires, or would they have to find someone else who is more senior to teach them?