Nidan Melbourne

Solid Post KC1996. In my opinion Student "B" was indeed out of line as they hadn't spent more time in grade as Student "A". IMHO if we all lined up by who has trained the longest then there would be a mishmash of colour grades everywhere. At my dojo there is are only 2 other people (other than my sensei) who have trained longer than I have. One is a Nidan and a few months younger than I am, but he earnt his Nidan before I did so no qualms there. The other however is a Shodan-Ho and is many years my senior (in Age and in Training); he commenced training prior to my sensei getting his Black Belt when they were both part of the IGK (Tino Ceberano's Organisation; Goju-Kai Lineage). If we went with whoever has trained longer, he would stand in front of me and the person I mentioned above. But at the end of the day this as I feel like would disrespect those of Higher Grade if someone ranked lower stood in front of them. When you're a Kyu grade i understand that there may be some petty squabbles of who stands where, often we just tell them to alternate if they can't sort it out. However Dan Grades tend to be in each grade of a fair amount of time, so petty squabbles like this don't exist. When I train; there are normally 2 or 3 other Nidan's in Line and we all line up according to who got it first and then who is older. Simple as that

No I'm not seeing a PT or similar, as you suggest, but I'll bring the possibility to my cardiologist. Sounds quite intriguing, and one that I must look into. Thanks, Liam for the advice!! OK... Walked up and down the stairs at my apartment 50 times...up...then down...equal 1, and so on and so forth. I suggest an Exercise Physiologist or similar because they are trained to deal with special populations (cardio, muscular etc). Your cardiologist will be helpful in finding someone. As having someone like that will help give recommendations to what your doing, and ensuring that it is safe for you to do so.

At my dojo we look at who received their grade first, if attained grade on the same day then whoever is older. Out of myself and the 5 other Nidans (total 6 Nidans), i rank second in senority.

Solid Post Alan; personally i do see a lot of students who are "weekend warriors" because they are not physically active and may be classified as Inactive or Sedentary (two different classifications). Conditioning is a life long pursuit and as such people later in life find that they cannot keep up with the demands of the instructor because of it OR due to pushing their bodies for too long causing damage. Often this is due to people training and conditioning for say only Flexibility instead of a combination of Strength, Flexibility and Cardiovascular.

Thats great your making a change to your lifestyle. You are definitely on the right track to improving and extending your life! Are you seeing a Personal Trainer or similar to monitor your Afib?

Annoying I can't and don't have access to a Makiwara at my dojo due to our physical location (we rent) so we can't put one in. Also where I live doesn't permit them because i'm on the 1st floor (2nd Floor to some people) of an Apartment Building. Personally I would love to use them because it trains you to target and apply force correctly through your knuckles.

Its up to each individual school to decide what you are graded at. We often get students at our dojo who have transferred as a Kyu-Ho, as such we will go with whatever was lower, as such we would have done what the other instructor has done. Normally we only do that because of differences in curriculum and we will give you a grade that is equivelant to the curriculum you know.

Congrats!!!

My dojo didn't celebrate it, but i managed to find a couple of hours and did it. I ended up choosing Naihanchi to do the 100 repetitions.

Gyms and Dojos can mix quite nicely as long as there are pre-existing guidelines and boundaries. At my dojo we operate out of a Sports Center and have had zero issues. Although we have had some issues with people coming in and interrupting once or twice; but have politely asked them to wait till the end of class to speak to us as we need to give our attention to our juniors.

Thanks for sharing Noah, they are really interesting variations of kata and entering.

Well you are getting onto the point in your post about Joint ROM. Everyone physiologically is different and that is where people have to learn how they move. Range of Motion (ROM) is different to flexibility; as it is more concerned about the Joints and how well they can move. In comparison to Flexibility more being concerned in regards to Muscles and Tendons. Why am i mentioning that? Because from what you are talking about, is exactly that and people who attempt to apply a technique on another person may or may not work. Hypermobility can also be a Double Edged Sword, as you may actually put those respective joints in danger of further damage. By that I mean especially in a Sparring Situation your partner may have to apply even more power being their techniques and can then overextend what those joints can handle

There are no Physical Requirements for you to learn a Martial Art, as it is made for those who are strong or weak doesn't matter. Is there any particular style of Karate that you've looked at? My fiancee is lighter and shorter than you have told us, yet she is very strong physically and very strong technically.

First off welcome to the forum Talukdar54 and hope to see you introduce in the Introduction Area and look forward to reading your posts. As sensei8 said Methology and Idealogy. Because every Martial Art + Style of each respective MA will vary in what they teach. Usually it boils down to what the "Founder" of each one had a preference for teaching.

My opinion of Brown Belt, stems as a whole for the entire Kyu System as is the School System. White Belt (9th Kyu) say is Prep or Year 1 then progress through to 1st Kyu as being in Year 12 about to graduate to University. At my dojo we have 9 Kyu Grades; Then for Dan Grades we don't automatically Promote Students to Shodan from 1st Kyu instead we promote to Shodan-Ho. For Me Shodan-Ho is like a Combination of Year 12 and 1st Year of University/College. Brown Belt at my Dojo is at 2nd Kyu + 1st Brown Belt is 1st Kyu; so they are fairly "advanced". So when I discussed it with my friends when I were those grades they were impressed; probably due to majority of my friends have training in some form of Martial Art. Well I haven't been bestowed the Title of "Sensei" just yet, because it is given to us at Sandan (i'm a Nidan). But when I think about them, I think that they are close to being a Black Belt so i'll work them hard enough to get to that standard that i'd be proud of but also would be still be kind to them for them to stay motivated

It is always weird to get something picked up; even if you have done it for a long time. It happens to me all the time when i get something mentioned to me and i go "that feels so weird!" Practice it Correctly over and over again; usually around 100 correct repetitions IN A ROW will normally do the job; but depends on the person. But if you make a mistake you have to restart at 1

I have had Multiple Knee Injuries and Surgery over the last 15 Years. On top of that I also ballooned in weight; which i am currently working on losing. In relation to my training; i have primarily modified my stances to work for me. This was also partially modified by me after having spoken to my sensei about modifying techniques to work with my physiology and biomechanics. But I still try and get into the correct stances when I can, as to not be a bad example for the more junior students. Although by modifying my stance, it has enabled me to evaluate students who also are in a similar position to correct their stance and also have the best outcome for them.

Just so I am clear on the format of the tournaments you attend; as I don't live in the US: Are they WKF (World Karate Federation) Sanctioned Tournaments OR NASKA/ISKA Type Tournaments? If it is a WKF Tournament: If they wanting you to "Chase Them" then they can get penalized for failing to engage in combat; especially if you are attempting to engage. Also the one that is just bounces around waiting for you to engage is most likely a counter-fighter, as such most likely expects you to come to them. the last tournament i entered in for kumite; i had 20 people in my division and 10 of them were that type of fighter. If a NASKA/ISKA Tournament Unfortunately I have little to no knowledge of these tournaments and their rules; as I haven't really competed in them. Also the ISKA Tournaments here where I live in Australia are in inconvenient places most of the time bar 1 round near where I train. Either way in Both Tournament Types Force them out of the ring and have them penalized. As it should get them to actively engage you more often.

In Modern Times people do need to take safety into consideration. As these days there are more issues in relation to health and injuries! Then there is also the view that the "old-school" Training will mean that they can't keep their schools open to those wanting to train as the physical repercussions can be long term and very costly. In Relation to your 2nd Example many schools have found that they just don't have the time to focus on the strength training because of the expense of operating a school. So instead they focus on Technical Training instead, and have students do their own Strength + cardio outside of class.

Welcome to the forums Spsosicmsise It is hard to start something where there can be a language barrier. But always give it a try and you'll pick up things quite quickly you'll be surprise. Yes it will be difficult and scary at first but you never know it will be very exciting at the same time

I understand your frustration at a lack of feedback by your sensei. But his intentions may lay around the fact that you should be able look internally for what you felt like needed to. be changed. At my dojo, even though we are a club of 100+ students; we have in our advanced seniors class only 5 regulars. If sensei is busy he may tell us to work on something; we will but will focus on the small things and not just the overall thing we were told to do. Example: i was asked to work on Seisan, shisochin and seipai along with Gekesai & saifa bunkais. Now this was at the start of the class and spent 90% of the time on small details.

When i said one of our awesome sensei's i was referencing Wastelander who posts regularly. So you can easily youtube "Karateobsession". My dojo sensei doesn't upload videos for himself or for the club that i am a member of.

Well for belts irregardless of how old I don't throw them out as they of sentimental value to me. If I was to part ways with one of them it would be to a student who i believed was worthy of receiving it and would treat it well. So far I have only given my old Brown Belt to my fiancee, as she i felt like was worthy of having it and would do it justice. As for Uniforms I am able to part ways with it much easier, as they may become to frail to wear or are damaged. So i can't sell to someone else unless i clean it like crazy; even then i wouldn't because in my eyes is still unhygienic.

Do you accept Card or Pre-Payment of x Lessons? Say classes are $10 per pop; students pay $100 so they are covered for 10 sessions. I agree, as third parties will charge you just to manage those systems will in turn costs you more money. I'd rather use that money i could use on that for the more important things like what you said. Also I'd reinvest that money into helping our students.

I have a few MA Bloggers that I actively watch and one of them happens to be one of our awesome Sensei's here on Karateforums. Bunkai Ideas - Karateobsession (Filmed and Produced by Noah aka Wastelander). - Iain Abnerthey Kata and Technical - Karatebyjesse (Jesse Enkamp)