Nidan Melbourne

Thats awesome! Thats something that not many students have the opportunity to do.

Thanks for contacting your old sensei MatsuShinshii. It does help thank you very much, other pieces of information i heard was that Yamaguchi Sensei created the kata but may be a stretch of the truth???

It is always a good idea as long as you can put the time and effort into both. As you will progress if you do both

Solid Post! When I see students get double graded I think that they must have deserved it and been very talented.

Solid post brian! I feel like what you said was spot on

Personally I feel like it is always important to have some training in both areas; especially if you are a stand-up fighter. Because from my experience most fights tend to end up on the ground, so you would want to know what to do there. But at the same time it is important to know how to be a stand up fighter. As you can get the best of both worlds. in my eyes jujitsu is great for learning how to get out of those situations that require various escapes and how to move.

Welcome to the forum Hameed! I agree with what Sensei8 & JR137 have said, as you should just focus on what you're learning and not what worry about double grading. At the end of the day it will be up to your sensei to decide whether you are deserving to be double graded to the following rank above Yellow Belt. IMHO it isn't common for white belts to be double graded from the very beginning due to the persons relative inexperience. You will be graded to what your sensei thinks that you are at in relation to your skill level and abilities, if they think your at that level you'll get that double grade.

Specifically to the bolded point above in your qoute. I was enrolled into Karate by my parents because they wanted me to learn how to defend myself and also allow me to make friends at the same time. As such I have always seen my train on multiple fronts, that way I remain interested and not quit when my interest on one of those fronts lapses. Originally up until the point I got my black belt i didn't think much about what it was I was really doing and why i was doing it. When I moved clubs I realized that there were a lot of things i was missing out on and changed that; therefore my training changed for the better. I know a few people at my club that aren't as into Martial Arts as I am (I've been dubbed a Karate Encyclopedia or Karate Nerd by some), and thats ok. But if they don't train hard and with an open mind they may struggle when it comes to a Self-Defence Situation because they weren't putting themselves in difficult situations in the dojo.

Each school irregardless of style has a different procedure for bowing in and out. How does your school or organisation do this? Also whether it is a formal or informal manner also. At my dojo (and old club) we had two forms of bowing in/out: One formal and One Informal. Our informal bowing procedure is from Musubi Dachi (Heels Together, toes out at 45 degrees) and we only have 1 single bow for this. The Lead Instructor (our sensei or most senior instructor) says "Informal Bowing In/Out, Otagani Rei". Our formal procedure is from Seiza is as follows Instructor: Seiza Instructor: Mukuso (then Mukuso Yame after a short while) Instructor: Shomen ni, Rei Most senior student: Sensei, Sempei Kata ni Rei naote Or Sensei, Sempai Ni taishite, Rei naote. Depends on number of Sensei's or Sempai's in attendance. Instructor: Otagani Rei ("oos"), naote

Like ps1 said they will speak with you about goals, what to expect, expectations of students and instructors, get to know you before training.

my dojo hasn't done it yet over the last 9 years, because we rent our space in a Leisure Centre. But I would love to have this one day and hold it each term or once a semester. But have it mainly aimed towards the Kids and Teens. Many dojo's I know here in Aus do hold this type of thing but make it like a sleep over where they play games (board games, team games, wii games etc) and also watch a movie.

This is usually why cleanliness is a must among martial artists where you should be keeping a clean uniform and also be practicing good physical hygiene. Also in part why in "Traditional" Dojo's in Japan and Okinawa they clean the dojo after every session to ensure that the training area is clean and also prevents the spread of anything unwanted. I know at my dojo our sensei cleans the mats regularly although currently due to replace several mats due to being damaged (Corners Broken) or due to older age of usage. Often those who have seen a Doctor will have been informed (or should have at minimum) to either change what you're wearing (i.e. add socks) or to cease until treatment can be completed. We don't allow shoes on the mats due to the risk that the person wearing them could have walked on something that was ripe with bacteria that could be harmful to humans especially where their Immune system is damaged

Solid post Alan. It's interesting as butter they're (Researchers) have actually found that having around 1 tablespoon (from memory) a day was actually beneficial for heart health. Then again depends on the type of butter you use. When i'm at work tomorrow i'll find that piece of research and share here. If i'm wrong due to me misreading it then i'll redact my statement above. Salads are great, but the real kicker is the dressing you use due to the sugar content of most comercial dressings. Personally i make my own dressings so i know what is there. Cereal is a double whammy; i am assuming you're more talking about fibre enriched cereals and the like? Still worth reading the side of the box listing whats in there.

Welcome to the forum aurik! Hope you find some very useful information here. Sounds like you had an amazing journey so far throughout your Martial Arts Life.

As JR 137 said is the same thing i've heard, along with Sweat reacting to whatever detergent you use. As my gi around the collar has turned yellow because of it.

I am curious about what the additional kata taught either by Miyagi Sensei or his most senior students (Yamaguchi Sensei, Miyazato Sensei etc). I thought i was on top of any extra kata that were taught but may not be part of their "official" curriculum. UNTIL my Sensei mentioned a kata last night that i hadn't heard of before nor seen; named Genkaku (not Gankaku). is a visual representation of the kata. As you can see it doesn't look like anything like Gankaku (Shotokan).

I haven't heard any of the brands that you mentioned at the end of your post. I have however heard of Adidas, Tokaido, Shureido and Seishin. It does make life harder with a smaller budget as most gi's that are awesome for tournaments are normally more expensive. Probably will depend what type of tournaments your son is entered into as well. Due to the nature of the requirements of those tournaments. Do you happen to live near any Supplier that you might be able to check them out? Where i live in Australia i am quite lucky as there are a lot of suppliers around the CBD and also a few further out. I used to own a Sportsmaster Gi (I think that was the brand) many years ago and they were good. But for tournaments not as great from memory since it didn't have that snap to it.

Done and Done. Look forward to seeing results

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.