Nidan Melbourne

Happy Mothers to all the beautiful mothers out there

Just wait and relax + train hard. Because time in grade is just a guide of when you should expect to grade. Since you were out injured, your instructor probably just wants you to have more time on the mat prior to grading. May I ask what was the injury that you sustained? The more time on the mats you have is better than less. Even with a natural skill you need time on the mat to refine that skill.

I'm curious to know how do all of you active competitors (or parents of) prepare before on the day of competition and the week leading up to competitions? If you compete in both kata and kumite do you prepare differently or the exact same way? Be it a warm up (what do you do), listen to music or whatever you do?

Thank you for the reply. I agree with you on the experience. If I had not been self studying for years I would not be confident in doing this. My rank could be 3rd or 4th dan IF I had stayed with the school I was with before but I branched out on my own and thus gave up advancement. The main reason that I want to open a subsidiary is because it would give me a few things, one I would be able to attend and have my students attend functions with the parent school, such as testing and tournaments. Two, I would have a very experienced and knowledgeable instructor to oversee things and bounce ideas off of and also he would be willing to help me in any way possible when I needed it. Plus there is an umbrella that I would be under and could use his resources, such as vendors, other instructors, etc.. I am not afraid of going it alone but I need the sanctioning body otherwise any rank which I award would be useless.. I do not want to start my own style or organization. Having the subsidiary is a good idea because you can at least have that assistance with teaching and training to feel ready. What if you had your own dojo but it was in partnership with your old dojo (if you and your old sensei are on good terms) so you could allow the student to train at both and potentially be graded at the other dojo if you felt like you weren't happy on running your gradings yourself? I can understand that you would require state or national accreditation with the governing body to aid in support, insurance and opportunities to become available for you and students. What is your current rank if i may ask? I just looked up the Australian Karate Federation website in regards to membership and they request that you hold a 3rd Dan in your style and that all your instructors hold a Dan Grading. Although many clubs that I have spoken to have opted to only go for the state membership until they reach such a grading. This is exactly what I was hoping for. I think it would benefit everyone if I could do this. I really want to be able to have my old CI in my loop, I think that it would only help my success and my students.. I am hoping this will work out. I am a black belt.. In my system you get black belt, then 1st dan, and onward.. I think the highest person in my entire organization is a 7th dan. This is why I was thinking in the beginning that I could get one of the 3rd or 4th dans which I am still on good terms with to come in and be my CI. I would still own and operate the school but I would have them to oversee things while I work up to the appropriate rank. The main reason I am looking to do this now is because I am going to have the money to do it.. Down the road I may not.. If I could be the owner and an instructor I would be fine with that.. I don't mind a higher rank in my school, I am not looking to be "in charge" in all aspects I just want to teach MA. I know about 3-4 3rd and ups who I am sure I could get in at least a couple of days a week.. As far as the certification goes, I don't have to have anything on the state or federal level, again my organization is small so I would just need the blessing of the founder who I know fairly well, I spoke with him last week when we both sat on a testing board. Unfortunately I did not get the time to speak with him in regard to the school idea, it was a fairly hectic day. The bold type is the same at my school as it was the same at my old dojo. If you can get assistance from then that will be great as you can look to them for that guidance. I may not be that much of a higher up in the organisation but still a senior instructor. But when you mentioned that you didn't want to be 'in charge' of all aspects, i feel like you need to be that person to be in charge. Because I think if you aren't in charge of everything then you go and have a tiff with the instructor then there will be some in fighting (not in the kumite sense). Let me clarify, because to me a CI has the final say on curriculum and whether people pass/fail tests + gradings. Whilst the Owner primarily is behind the scenes. So that is why i see many people who run schools are both the CI + Owner. But if you want them as the CI you should put into place what roles said person can have in charge of but the owner has the final say.

Thank you for the reply. I agree with you on the experience. If I had not been self studying for years I would not be confident in doing this. My rank could be 3rd or 4th dan IF I had stayed with the school I was with before but I branched out on my own and thus gave up advancement. The main reason that I want to open a subsidiary is because it would give me a few things, one I would be able to attend and have my students attend functions with the parent school, such as testing and tournaments. Two, I would have a very experienced and knowledgeable instructor to oversee things and bounce ideas off of and also he would be willing to help me in any way possible when I needed it. Plus there is an umbrella that I would be under and could use his resources, such as vendors, other instructors, etc.. I am not afraid of going it alone but I need the sanctioning body otherwise any rank which I award would be useless.. I do not want to start my own style or organization. Having the subsidiary is a good idea because you can at least have that assistance with teaching and training to feel ready. What if you had your own dojo but it was in partnership with your old dojo (if you and your old sensei are on good terms) so you could allow the student to train at both and potentially be graded at the other dojo if you felt like you weren't happy on running your gradings yourself? I can understand that you would require state or national accreditation with the governing body to aid in support, insurance and opportunities to become available for you and students. What is your current rank if i may ask? I just looked up the Australian Karate Federation website in regards to membership and they request that you hold a 3rd Dan in your style and that all your instructors hold a Dan Grading. Although many clubs that I have spoken to have opted to only go for the state membership until they reach such a grading.

I can understand your concern in regards to this. Although when you look at the worldwide scene in regards to major schools there is the Hiyashiha (Potentially Incorrect Spelling; therefore my apologies) lineage and then the shito-ryu lineage. Although I wouldn't think that you would have to start from scratch if you went to this school then left to go to another. As every school has some differences to things, but if this sensei is modifying kata a lot then it may just take you longer to grade to the next rank if you were to change. I have trained with a few people that have trained at 1 goju-ryu school for years then for some reason transferred to our dojo and since there were some slight differences in syllabus and they spent a little bit longer on that rank to ensure they learnt the differences.

Yeah basically you can't really get them from exercise in general. But I am not saying that it can't happen, because human physiology is amazing and wonderful so it can happen. So if you have had a sudden weight gain it can occur. Although with a sudden weight gain it is unusual from my perspective to get stretch marks around the legs. Because they normally occur around your stomach.

I like the pros but the cons not so much. Obviously the sensei wants to have a little bit more creativity to it to what they want to teach. Like Sensei8 said go with your gut feeling. What 'consequences' do you feel like are going to occur if they are to come about? Also do you know if the business partner is active in running classes etc or are they are strictly behind the scenes? Also payments made a year in advance sounds fishy to me. purely because schools that i know and have a good relationship with have multiple membership types. So people are paying at different times of year etc.

I use them, especially in my age, and I'm in Karate. Habit started when I began learning our brand of grappling, in which, years later, I still don them; kind of like a security blanket. For the longest, our Hombu had NO mats at all; bare floor. I know, some of you here will rib me to no end, but that's cool because it's true...habits are hard to die. I know how painful they are as i used to train on wooden floorboards. But we only ever did a little bit of grappling on them because of it. But i know throws and takedowns hurt like a female dog (as a substitution for the that 1 b word i'd rather not use). But totally understandable for your age.

No I don't have stretch marks because of karate. I have stretch marks because I am overweight and used to be obese so my stretch marks where weight related not martial arts related. I am not all that knowledgeable in removing them. Probably best in looking it up. Although from my knowledge it is unusual to get stretch marks from Martial Arts, but the only major change (other than weight) is muscular hypertrophy (Muscles getting larger)

Good luck to him for the event.

Same my old dojo had issued a book on what we need to know for grading which is greatly helpful. But my sensei can't issue the same formatting because the CI of the old dojo had placed a copyright on it. So my sensei has to modify how he is going to format and present our syllabus book. I don't write down in a diary of what we have covered as we cover 1 or 2 things every lesson. But when it is important or i know that I suck at remembering it (ie Bunkai) i will write it down. I have found training on my own over the years I will focus on the important things that I know my sensei has told me to work on. For instance for the last few days I have been focusing on remembering Bassai Dai as I recently learnt that kata in class (even if not in my style of karate).

Which of your MAs require the Elbow and Knee Pads? Because Karate you wouldn't use them. Otherwise good luck in your search

Congrats on the point that your at. It is a difficult decision to make if your going to open your own school or a branch dojo of your current school. If it is just a branch dojo then you will have access to help from the Hombu Dojo. But not as much if opening your own stand-a-lone school. But I have never heard the rule of you having to be a 3rd Dan to be considered a CI before. But I do know many schools that have been opened when the CI has been at least 3rd Dan. BUT I do have friends who run schools and they are either 1st or 2nd Dan and they are the CI. Personally I believe it is the amount of experience that you have and not the number of Dan Grades you hold.

Personally I can understand why you become frustrated by this. When the kids finish school for the day, many will acknowledge that they still need to work hard and they are the ones that get the most out of the class. Whilst others don't try and just "go through the motions" because they are unable to focus for that extra amount of time. But I do believe it comes down to the instructors having a level of control and ability to get ALL students to work hard. And to have them realize that by working hard for that little bit extra that they will find it more enjoyable and fun all whilst learning something new. Many of my students have realized that and have started working harder during their classes, so that I can say yes and pass them on their tests. But that better behavior isn't just restricted to the days that they get tested, it actually goes into every single class they attend. Maybe it is because I come across as 'scary' but when they think about how tough of an instructor I am, they see that by working hard and giving it their all then I am actually not that bad. One of my students recently come up to me after class and actually apologized for his poor behavior since he had started training (he started training in 2006). He told me that he was under the impression for all those years that he could just train and have fun with minimal rules. Me being tough on him for all those years never sunk into him, until the other day when he was forced to think about it. He was forced to think about it as he was recently assaulted and he tried to defend himself and failed. Many will say we failed in teaching him fully, but in reality we actually had tried to test and push him every single class for those years for him to realize that poor behavior like that is worse than anything else. All he had to do was listen and learn to what we were saying and asking him to do. But back to the original point, when kids don't try at my dojo I fail them if they are being tested on something. IF their attitude isn't in the right place on the day then they aren't passing on my watch. We teach Juniors 4-7 and then Adults 7-9 (1 hour classes), with how advanced they are on each of the hours. Yes many of our juniors don't try all that much but it is also prevalent in the adults where they slack off. On a personal level i am not affected by others lack of motivation because I am self motivated and also focus a lot on my training all whilst careful of those around me. But it does sometimes get on my nerve when those who aren't trying are partnered with me and they try and lower the ability for me to learn. That is when it annoys me the most! Although on the other hand I let it serve a purpose for me to not get to that point in my training where I don't try anymore. In other words it is a visual reminder.

When you say a "legit" School it can be very broad in terms of what people are talking about. Are you wanting to know whether it is a school that offers the style of kyokushin that is recognized by an international federation? or whether it is a mcdojo in how it is run? Like Spartacys Maximus said go in and speak to them. Also sensei8 is right in saying that it does look pretty good. My biggest recommendation is go in and check out a couple of their classes. Because you might find that they may not be the type of people that you would like to work with. Personally $120 per month is fair if you train in all 3 if that is the combined price. Probably better than some other schools that offer more than 1 MA. So like I said go in a check it out and speak to the CI so you can ask. At my dojo we only do Karate and I pay $85 per month, which admittedly has increased since I started training again. When I started training again it was $80. So to answer the question in the header, you can never truly tell if a MA school is good until you go into it and watch. And you can't only tell by its website if it is good or not. I do find it interesting though that they have a purple belt head instructor for bjj. I mean no disrespect or anything to them. And do acknowledge that purple belt requires a lot of experience just to get to purple belt. But personally I feel that the instructor should be at minimum brown belt and above, because it means that they are close to being able to grade for their black belt but it is difficult just as hard to get to brown belt because many quit before then.

29/4/15 1 Hr class Kata Marathon - Seeiunchin - Sanseru - Sanchin - Tensho - Seipai - Shisochin - Jion (Only one who was training that knows it) - Anan (Same as Jion) - Suparenpei last 20 minutes learning Bassai Dai the shitoryu version

At my dojo for our junior students we have 3 classes; beginner, intermediate & advanced. And our Adults 2 classes; Beginner & Advanced. But our Adults Classes everyone attends the beginner classes when they can because it is awesome for kihon. But on Wednesdays we have a beginner class for everyone but the advanced class is only for 2nd & 1st Kyus and above can attend. We have very few dan graded students but even fewer do the advanced training which is a bad sign. But that is usually because of various bits and bobs that they have outside of class. Personally I find that it is enjoyable to train together, but then again having that advanced class is preferable because we then can focus on the stuff that us advanced people need to work on.

At my dojo we don't do it purely because my sensei is still a 3rd Dan. His instructor is a godan (hasn't bothered to grade in a long time because he is content where he is). and still wears his black belt which is in taters. But he believes you should just wear a black belt no matter what your dan grade is

I don't have any children just yet (i'm 23!) but i have taught privately my cousins children because they are getting bullied and my cousin wanted them to learn how to defend themselves. So that is fairly close though; 1 is very interested and the other is kind of interested but not fully in to it.

I fight predominately in orthodox but i fight a lot of people that are lefties so they fight southpaw. So I have gotten used to those types of fighters along with the orthodox. I trained in both orthodox and southpaw to accommodate for more of a well rounded approach.

In relation to stretching are you doing them dynamically or static? Stretching should be a daily thing and not only twice a week. For rest/recovery days you currently are doing it just as much as you are active. On average you should have 2 recovery days per week. so the other days are to be active days, but the other two should still be light activity.

For example, the gedan barai (low block) in Tekki Shodan/Naihanchi is clearly explained to be an arm bar by Gichin Funakoshi. Whilst it is important to develop skill with that technique in static and then live training, you must also develop the principles relating to that technique too. Especially when training in live-based sparring as you might not be able to perform the technique exactly, however you can still use the principles learned from them. I cannot see how practicing just the solo kata gives you the skill (of timing and distance) to move your body effectively in a real confrontation. And even if it did, then why do kata have arm movements? If the kata shows an age uke or a gyaku zuki or a manji uke, why does it matter? why are there hand motions in the kata at al if all the kata are about is moving the body? Yes it may have been described by Funakoshi Sensei to be an arm bar. BUT are you going to restrict yourself to just using it as an armbar? NO you're not going to, because you may not see it that way. Every technique in every single kata there is has more than 1 usage. Look at the humble Age Uke (upper block), yes you can use it as the block as the name suggests but you can use as a strike (ie to the jaw) or as a setup for an arm bar. Also when you said "And even if it did, then why do kata have arm movements?" it is the same as me going to you "Then why does kihon have leg movements?" When you move your BODY it is not restricted to your legs, trunk & head BUT YOUR ENTIRE BODY THAT INCLUDES ARMS + LEGS Kata is a template for learning skills that you can use instead of just practicing individual techniques. But it (Kata) is not meant to be giving you the skills for a realistic situation. Because timing and distancing are two skills that will vary person to person and have to be developed. Every kata has techniques (obviously, DUH!!!) that assist in teaching and training techniques and movements that you can use. But every movement has the correlated leg movement be it a step or a turn which can be used. And also have hard and soft variations of it + ensure that you can learn to judge how hard to hit. Even some movements you are able to use as evasion to prevent being hit from an attacker hence why many kata have you go on various angles. So kata gives you the tools and possibilities of usage of the same technique in so many different ways. But so many techniques in kata you won't necessarily use in relation to a situation like kumite or a self defense situation. But training in kata will assist in training you to move in a way to assist in setting up a better line of attack or skill. At my dojo, we not only practice Bunkai which is set by my sensei but also we practice kyogi kumite which we create ourselves which is based from kata. So we use this as a way that we can explain the kata from our perspective and use them to exhibit how you can use techniques in a self defense situation. Why do we do kyogi kumite? because every person is unique so they see movements in kata very differently and have a different use for it. But also their physiology is different as in injuries that inhibit movement or general restrictions etc.

Thanks for the welcome! Unfortunately I can't remember his surname. I've trained at a few other schools around Australia but it never stuck - it was never quite as interesting. I'm open to training elsewhere, but if he's still in business I'll sign up with him. Is your old school still in operation? If they are still operating you can probably contact them to find out what happened to Robert and what his surname is? I hope you have luck finding him.

No I haven't seen a Dojo for Rent before. Very interesting concept though. We rent a space but we have to bring our own mats but have to pack them up at the end of classes.