Nidan Melbourne

Using High Kicks is and isn't counterproductive as it depends on the person using them. I have many friends who are flexible to do those kicks, BUT can't produce the power with those kicks; whilst in comparison i have others who have both flexibility and power (includes strength) in their high kicks. I don't think that those styles who don't do those high kicks are any less important. This is because they may have a different focus on what they do for technical skills. If you have the speed behind your kicks then it is fine, as even the every day person may recognise those types of kicks if done slowly. But as DwX says it is good to have the ability to do those kicks but can be helpful to prevent further injury when performing any type of kick; as the human body will recognise lengthening of the muscle itself. As much as my style of Karate has some high kicks; me personally i don't do them as much because I have restricted Hip ROM (Range of Motion) even when I pivot sufficiently to Technically and Theoretically kick higher.

I believe that the Koreans are able to dominate the Archery Competition because they have had it as a cultural hobby and hunting tool for centuries.

I use WKF Approved and AKF (Australian Karate Federation) approved gloves but they don't protect fingers as much due to the expectation that you would have fists instead of hands open. Speak to your sensei about what he or she recommends, as they may have requirements on types of gloves. As this may be due to what type of kumite you undertake and level of contact permitted. As my dojo can use either cotton mits & pads (cheap), AKF gear (approved usage for tournaments in Australia; moderately priced) or WKF gear (worldwide approval; in my eyes expensive but last ages for quality). I know Wastelander has used MMA gloves previously, but he can say otherwise.

Best advice i can give is see a physician and get scans on your thumb. So i can't give a diagnosis for that, but a physician can because they can palpate (feel) your thumb and do a range of tests + order scans. I'd say don't leave this for much longer because if there is damage to nerves or blood vessels you don't want there to be further damage. Hopefully it is just structural and no other damage.

Interesting you don't really find many Uechi-Ryu dojos outside of Okinawa. But haven't heard of Shohei-Ryu before. From what i know there is approx 7 kata but not much else unfortunately.

No!! Students don't teach; they learn!! Students will, as part of their Sankyu to Ikkyu, will assist, not teach, in classes with an instructor that possess no less than a Sandan. Shodan's and Nidan's also assist. Assisting isn't teaching, and teaching isn't assisting. I suppose it also depends on how you define a student and instructor. Is a Sandan that lines up with class not a student themselves, when they elect not to teach but train? But anyway, I feel a black belt 4-5 years of experience in most arts is capable of teaching when needed. To the bolded above: even then there are some Black Belts with that experience may not be suited for teaching, even in emergencies. For instance I know a few black belts that are either very talented but can't teach because they just can't explain how to do things (even kihon). Then there are some that I know that can't teach because of their behavior and attitudes aren't designed to suit being teachers, and they take their aggression out on the students. Well in relation to your question; an instructor and student are not restricted to two distinct roles like in Schools where there is an adult as the teacher and students are children. In Martial Arts; Instructors are at times even when teaching become a student and vice versa. When I train, I have my 'senpai hat' as i help other students whilst training; even when I teach i still have my 'Student Hat' on because there are times that I'm teaching and they [the students] make a comment or suggestion to techniques or anything that we are doing and it makes something just click for me.

from my knowledge a very small lineage of Ryuei-Ryu practice this kata, or a shito-ryu usage. As far as i am aware the WKF only permit kata that come from recognised styles (mainly Goju, Shito, Shotokan and Wado). Wayneshin may be able to assist with this, as he is a state and national coach in Australia. This is what I thought too, but there is so little out there about it. It is on the WKF list too. Thank you both for the reply. Thats why thought has to originate somewhere, because they [the WKF] wouldn't make one up to include in their list.

from my knowledge a very small lineage of Ryuei-Ryu practice this kata, or a shito-ryu usage. As far as i am aware the WKF only permit kata that come from recognised styles (mainly Goju, Shito, Shotokan and Wado). Wayneshin may be able to assist with this, as he is a state and national coach in Australia.

Welcome to the forum Focused Mind. I look forward to reading and seeing what you have to say.

Congrats on passing your grading, hope you enjoy your training

We have student instructors, but they are only permitted to assist in the class and not be running classes on my CI or senior instructors behalf. The reason why we don't allow them to operate classes without us present, is due to insurance and also the safety that is required whilst teaching. But also parents have the expectation that Black Belts are operating classes and looking after the welfare of their child. We require our Student Instructors to be a minimum of a Nikyu (our Club it is a Brown Belt), and will be paired up with a Black Belt Instructor. The only time we don't have them paired up with a Black Belt Instructor is where they have specific Higher Education Training (Bachelors Degree Minimum) to deal with particular cases (i.e. Autism, Aspergers etc). The classes they are permitted to teach are dependent on the following: 1) Grade 2) Age 3) Day of Classes 4) Education 5) Training History As such our Junior Instructors are permitted to teach our Beginner and Intermediate Juniors Classes which is up to Purple Belt (4th Kyu). Our Adults who assist are permitted to undertake the same classes, and in certain circumstances our advanced juniors class. No Kyu Graded Instructors are permitted to teach our adults class, due to the requirements that we have for those students. Our Black Belts are the only ones permitted due to the knowledge of the curriculum taught and also experience. Yet no BB under the age of 18 may teach these classes, they have less experience and in-depth knowledge of the techniques taught. Currently other than my CI; there are only 3 others who are permitted to operate classes on his behalf. And the three permitted are all 2nd Dans, and be over 19 years of age. I was the 2nd Instructor authorized to operate classes on my own, due to earning my Nidan formally at the end of last year, but also having the required in depth knowledge of Karate that i can help guide students along. Our third authorized instructor was recognized at the beginning of this year, and is able to teach our mid-week classes due to his availability. BTW I may sound ignorant but what is a SWAT Team in regards to Martial Arts? my club doesn't have any special 'Teams'.

Happy Birthday Zaine!!!

Kenshin-Kan is essentially Matsumura Seito Shorin Ryu. It's currently headed by Fuse Kisei. Ahhh ok that makes sense. Thanks for that Zaine, it explains why i haven't heard of it before.

I haven't heard of Kenshin-Kan before, i'm interested to find out what they do differently.

Welcome to the forum! I look forward to reading your posts and learning from what you have to say.

I'm curious to know as well to be honest, because I feel like when people see it they will want to join up and try it out. But on the same hand though the main negative i see with it is that people may not care for the rest of the training, as such will push for specific Kata or Kumite Training and then start competing. Although it would in my eyes help any dojos that are struggling to stay open due to the current economic situation worldwide.

My club shuts up shop a week before Xmas and goes back 2 weeks into jan. This gives everyone a chance to relax and recover

Bob there won't be any freestyle division, it is only traditional. There is an approved Kata List that you have to choose from, which is quite extensive in itself.

Smaller, Independent Clubs more often than not do that. But obviously there are some that don't both with the Time in Grade

That is Crepitis; it is a natural occurance to have and no need for concern. It is just little air bubbles popping inside the joint itself. I'm 24 and have it in my joints.

Each of our Kyu Grades has a set minimum of 30 Lessons and having passed 5 in-class tests (spaced 6 Lessons apart). Those tests where you've passed is denoted by a Black 'Tag' on the students belt. More often than not they will normally have 40-45 lessons prior to grading, as we don't normally operate gradings for less than 10 people. If we did then we would be operating Gradings on a Fortnightly Basis. As such our gradings are held normally every 3-4 months which most students will be able to grade. Our Yudansha is time in grade based, as such you cannot grade until you have trained consistently for that time frame. Our Shodan-Ho students must train consistently for 18 Months (1 year + 6 Months), Shodan Students train consistently for 30 Months (2 1/2 Years) so on and so forth. At the Moment I have only seen 1 Student reach black belt in just over 3 years and that was him training 4 Days per week consistently throughout that period. Personally I prefer and insist on having students spending plenty of time in grade to ensure that they can improve technique in grade. As this will ensure that students can solidify knowledge and technique prior to being promoted; as such they won't create poor behaviors later on in their training

Sensei8 I am writing this as honestly as possible, but do not wish to cause any disrespect on those lost or to you. As such i shall apologize if I unintentionally cause such disrespect or anything else. From what I've seen you've discussed your By-Laws here on the forum, there would have been no clause for what has happened. As such Personally I believe that even for the meantime if you cannot find persons that cannot fulfill the requirements due to rank or otherwise you should consider finding people that can undertake the role even if they don't meet such requirements. Maybe have discussions with the most senior instructors in each region, and discuss with them about shared responsibility and take up additional jobs. In relation to your Hombu Dojo, it may be beneficial to employ someone in the meantime to take up any responsibilities that aren't running classes; unless they are students of the Shindokan. Yes this may be an expensive operation but may still allow for classes to operate without that added undue stress on you and the legal department.

Thanks for that Reece. It does help along with everyone else who posted their awesome responses here. We aren't linked to an Organisation over in Okinawa; I as of yet unsure of why. As such we would do it if we could if we were part of one. As such that is why I asked because I was unsure and knew that there were many dojo owners and instructors here who would know and are wise on this subject. To me and the Yundansha I discussed this with, they agreed that there are some titles that we shouldn't touch because of what you said. We agreed that Shihan is an appropriate title (other than Sensei) that would be appropriate for us to award him. Do you know if there is almost an age requirement in Okinawa for certain titles?

Thanks guys, will pass on your messages of congratulations. He was very Happy to have passed and surprised at the same time.

At your dojo, do you use the titles; Shihan, Kyoshi, Renshi etc? If so what are the requirements to your knowledge are there for them? Be it grade (more often than not), age or position in the club/organisation. For instance at my club we have the title of Sensei awarded at Sandan (not earlier). Also who decides the promotion of title? Is it the student or the instructors instructor? I ask because my sensei today was promoted to Godan (i made a separate post with details). And several of us Yudansha were considering making a formal promotion for him in regards to title. But we are seeking on advice of Senior Martial Artists for their honest opinion. Arigato Gozaimasu