Nidan Melbourne

There may always be a small gap between the two. But then again I have had that kind of feeling last night in class (How Ironic??). But I went and slowed everything right down so I could find where it was going wrong. Once I corrected it, returned back to normal and was feeling better than I normally do

Congratulations Hawkmoon! Well deserved and we did miss you from the boards

Personally don't mind it so much because I have taken kids to MA Parties as a babysitter. A couple of the parties I have seen is fun but not getting the kids inspired to take up a Martial Art. The others have a heavy influence on a MA Lesson getting those to learn something. So overall there is nothing wrong with it, as it can show parents that there is a MA school and that they can meet potentially the CI so the chances that they may sign up. Most schools offer it because it can be a safer option for kids to have fun and learn something fun. So this a big plus for some parents as they see safety as a big one.

We don't have to do much advertising because of where we are located. Since we train out of a Recreation Center, people will see us training throughout the afternoon. Otherwise we have a flyer that was posted up by the Center on our behalf so people can see it and make a decision from that. We have many people come in and watch or they watch outside. Another reason why we don't advertise in other ways is because of a lack of space available to us. So if we had more people sign up we would be putting safety and inhibiting people from learning. Although I do feel like my sensei could update his timetable to make available more classes for students. And have some of the senior instructors take them for him. Even utilizing larger areas like Basketball Courts would make space better for students.

Welcome to the forum. That is totally normal to feel like that! Many adults seem to feel like that more easily than the kids.

Double Congrats!!!! Blending both together can work as every style is not confined to their curriculum. Every Martial Art is meant to grow and develop! I do that with my Karate and BJJ Training where I blend them together so i can have a more well rounded approach to training and self defense. But I only incorporate the BJJ stuff when it is appropriate and vice versa.

Great job on passing. Do you feel pleased with yourself by passing?

If you start in a different style probably best start again. Shotokan is a good style as I have dipped my toes in once or twice before. I don't live in the U.S. so i don't know the proportions of each style spread across the country. So go try another style because you never know you might really enjoy it. Kyokushin is good but you will need to strengthen your body a lot as well throughout your training

Martial Arts is a great idea for an essay. Because it demonstrates many factors about you and qualities that they will be looking for in students. I have done a few university papers over the last few years relating to Karate and how it impacts the human body during impact.

I agree 3:45 is a tad lad considering many people would like to relax for the rest of the afternoon. That is partly why our classes run from 8:30 - 10:30 in the morning. So people can do other things for the rest of the day especially if they have other sporting commitments.

I've left my belt home a few times over the years. It was a pain but the upside was that my instructor generally keeps a few black belts in a store room and it is usually just for the Black Belts that help out a fair bit.

From my knowledge Shotokan keep be quite deep in their stances. Now having such stances are great in practice, but in fights on the street your not going to be able to go "hold up and let me get ready". But what Shotokan Practitioners should have in their arsenal is the speed, power and strength in their techniques as a result of their training. So when it comes to a self defense situation they should be able to utilize those stances from a natural into a deep stance with that power. Being a goju practitioner, we have more natural stances which require a lot of hip movements. But we do use a combination of deep and shorter stances in our curriculum.

My sensei doesn't ask at all. If your running a few minutes late all he expects for you to apologize for being late, get your card out and bow in then go to the appropriate placing for you or go to the appropriate group. I rocked up 30 minutes late because parking was terrible. I apologized big time and he just went "you came which is the important thing!"

We only change our scheduling when absolutely necessary. But is hard to add classes because we rent the space so it will depend on availability

Yes it does fall under the scope of ASD now since the newest DSM (Diagnostics and Statistics Manual) came out. Do some of your instructors that aren't trained in psychology still come and help out or is just the ones that are trained in psychology run it?

Its a mixed bag. Many schools use Oos/Osu in lieu of Hai. Personally I don't like it when people use Oos/Osu when they are saying yes to something. But I have always trained in a dojo that has Oos/Osu as a greeting and Hai as 'Yes' so hearing different makes me cringe. But I do acknowledge that there are schools that do operate differently and when I go train there I will use their variation of it. We have 1 student that recently gained his black belt. And he originally used the word 'Hai', until he started going to Gasshaku's run by Isshinryu Karate where he picked up the habit of saying Oos/Osu instead of Hai. And he has been told off a couple of times by sensei for doing it. Then Senpai/Sempai is what we use and haven't heard anyone use the Senpi variation as of yet.

We started such a class this year. One of my Black belts is a Psycologist specialising in working with autism. She is assisted by another who is studying to be a Psycologist. The class has been an enormous success - she has a waiting list. I conducted their first grading a couple of months ago and it was quite moving to see what these children can achieve when give the right support. Thats awesome! is the class dedicated to those just with Austism or is it open to those with Aspergers aswell (Going off the DSM-IV here, the DSM-V has it classified as Austism Spectrum Disorder). I would love to see how those classes are organised and run. It is a great thing to see how dojos run classes for those that would struggle with others. Because it is nice to see how they can feel a sense of belonging in a class so they can have fun and learn something + come out of their shells. Now that is truly special.

Thanks for sharing. MA is great for people of all ages and physical ability. For those who are disabled due to some form of physical injury or birth defect (ie Multiple Sclerosis). One day when I have my own dojo with my partner we are wanting to run specialised classes for those people. Have specific classes for those with Aspergers + Autism and then other ones for various other disabilities. As she is training to be a Child Psychologist she has an understanding of the psychology of those children and adults and I understand the physiology

Go to a Physiotherapist or an Exercise Physiologist (AEP) for specific exercise. An AEP (Accredited Exercise Physiologist) will have more exercises readily available. For good shoes go to a Podiatrist, because they are most qualified to tell you and not anyone else.

Some schools will start you off as a 'no-belt' and after a set amount of time you become a white belt. But Majority of schools you start as a white belt immediately upon joining the dojo. I've always seen white belts as no belts. It's a uniform piece, not a rank. What would you then say if there was a rank prior to white belt where you physically have no belt?

Some schools will start you off as a 'no-belt' and after a set amount of time you become a white belt. But Majority of schools you start as a white belt immediately upon joining the dojo.

I started teaching by my own choice and wasn't asked by my sensei. I have been teaching regularly since 2006 and have started teaching classes on my own at the start of the year. But it is more of a replacement role when my sensei is away.

Yes listen to your doctor but they shouldn't be leaving the realm of practice. A Medical Doctor should not be prescribing any exercises, UNLESS they are aware of specifics that is best for treatment of a condition. BUT should NOT be prescribing general stretches or exercises for anything else unless they have further qualifications that gives them that knowledge. - Qualifications should have or take advice from: - Cert 3 or 4 in Personal Training (Lowest form) - Diploma of Personal Training - Diploma of Health Sciences (or equivalent) - Bachelor of Exercise Science and Human Movement (or Equivalent)/Bachelor of Physiotheraphy - Master of Exercise Science and Rehabilitation (or Equivalent)/Master of Physiotherapy or equivalent - PHD Exercise Science/Physiology or PHD of Physiotherapy or Equivalent The better the qualification the greater the knowledge. And Medical Doctors often overstep their boundaries I've never considered that in the past because, well, I just haven't. I, not being in any medicine field, suspected that a doctor can prescribe anything because, well, they're the doctor, and who am I? Thats where they get you because doctors often do it because they think they know everything about everything. They do not get the required training to be able to prescribe or train in exercise. All they can legally do unless they have that extra training through university do one of those kind of degrees mentioned previously, is to treat any physical ailments through treatment. They cannot provide injury rehabilitation nor advice in regards to exercise prescription. As they are required to abide by their scope of practice and shouldn't go outside of it and open themselves to a lawsuit if they go outside of it. IN that regards they can only refer to a Physiotherapist or similar. Although Exercise Scientists and Exercise Physiologists have a better understanding of exercise prescription and how to apply exercise as a method of treatment. As you will find that you would yield better results seeing one of those two over a physiotherapist. Having a practitioner that is either a Physiotherapist, Exercise Scientist or Physiologist + Osteopath (can prescribe stretching) are better equipped to deal with such things. So it is understandable for many people to believe that doctors can prescribe anything because they're doctors. But unfortunately not true. For example it is like a Police Officer to tell a person that they will serve 30 days in jail for an illegal behaviour and have them convicted instead of having a judge convict them of that. And the Officer does that because they have some understanding of the Law.

Duration will vary greatly, but usually better to be shorter than a few minutes (5 minutes). Because obviously doing them is in a similar fashion to tuck jumps where there is force going through the joints. But obviously the impact is lower in star jumps because your not going that high but still landing on an angle when you look at angular acceleration and deceleration. Also how you land can impact and determine injury levels because if your going quickly you could potentially land awkwardly and stuff up a joint, ligament or tendon (or all of them). Having an appropriate floor and your taking the motion at a safe speed then you should be fine long term especially with a good mat. But certain floors are a positive contributor to bone health and to a small degree joint health.

Yes listen to your doctor but they shouldn't be leaving the realm of practice. A Medical Doctor should not be prescribing any exercises, UNLESS they are aware of specifics that is best for treatment of a condition. BUT should NOT be prescribing general stretches or exercises for anything else unless they have further qualifications that gives them that knowledge. - Qualifications should have or take advice from: - Cert 3 or 4 in Personal Training (Lowest form) - Diploma of Personal Training - Diploma of Health Sciences (or equivalent) - Bachelor of Exercise Science and Human Movement (or Equivalent)/Bachelor of Physiotheraphy - Master of Exercise Science and Rehabilitation (or Equivalent)/Master of Physiotherapy or equivalent - PHD Exercise Science/Physiology or PHD of Physiotherapy or Equivalent The better the qualification the greater the knowledge. And Medical Doctors often overstep their boundaries