Nidan Melbourne

Personally for me calling someone "Master" or "Grandmaster" should only be done is if the style uses it specifically as a title. In Karate for instance we wouldn't use those title because usually people will use the titles: Sempai/Senpai, Sensei or Hanshi. I've met 8th and 9th Dan Black Belts that prefer either being called Sensei or just their name. I have personally gone to schools to watch and they have used grandmaster or master instead of proper honorifics. Although there are some Martial Arts that I know of that do use those terms because they may not use other terminology or because of native languages so it makes it hard to use such a term. I do Balintawak Arnis and they use the term Grandmaster and Master (Reference: http://www.internationalbalintawak.com) But all people that do martial arts are still students of the art. BUT then again such terms are more titles bestowed upon people yet still doesn't stop them from learning.

Have you taught previously in your respective arts? I haven't started my own system or developed it. I would recommend you figure out your curriculum etc before you open your school. Are you going to teach a combination of Muay Thai and Shotokan or just one of them with hints of the other? What do you feel like that your going to bring to the table? Once you open your school are you going to affiliate yourself with an association (i.e. here in Melbourne, Australia if i opened a karate school i would affiliate myself with Karate Victoria and the Australian Karate Federation)?

Yes it does sound expensive. Are the classes all of those Martial Arts combined in the classes or separate? For me my dojo it is only a karate school with a little bit of Arnis thrown in when it suits my sensei (and only to the advanced adults class). And I only pay $85AUD ($66.36 US) which includes tax and that is a monthly fee (includes unlimited training, gradings, insurance, belts upon promotion). then the only things we pay extra for are for mits + pads (most will normally buy the AKF or WKF Approved gear) which is usually rather expensive (can cost at a minimum $90 combined), groin guard (for males required), mouth guard (Not much $6 minimum). Then belts that we need to get replaced if it doesn't fit anymore or lost. Finally Gi's; we get one standard when we pay and sign up to do the introductory lessons. Otherwise free to buy our own but they cost varying amounts from $30 (low range) to $200-300 for the better quality gi (ie Seishin, Tokaido etc)

Well I didn't get a chance to choose my martial art (Goju-Ryu Karate) because of my parents chose it for me (I was 9 at the time). And i had absolutely no idea of the styles within' karate at the time. But glad they chose Goju-Ryu for me because it suits me so well (Including my personality). I chose BJJ through my later years of high school because i wanted to learn grappling, throws, locks etc. and it helped my knowledge of karate expand even further. And my ability to use my groundwork and throws during my karate training. Balintawak Arnis i chose by chance because my sensei from karate is a practitioner of it (Bobby Taboada's school) and is preparing for his Instructor Level Promotion at some point (just have to wait for GM Taboada to come to Melbourne, Australia). But it is a fun thing to train in (until you get hit in the hands when you don't block properly)

Love seeing your background Sensei8.

Very Cool indeed!

heck yeah! great ps1

I'm not training till Monday as i am moving house over the weekend. I'm giving him time to sort things out anyway. But one of the other factors that is pushing me to leave is that my dojo is starting to become a mcdojo which is concerning me and i'm not only one who believes this.

So on Wednesday during the adults class that i was training in. Peter (who was the honorary BB that I told you all about previously) decided to be the bad guy and bullied me. - Clarification: He only got his BB because he told everyone that he had to stop Karate because he doctors told him that he can't continue because of his eye sight and hearing, of which if he got hit in the head he would go blind + deaf. This was during the warm up and he decided to go "you have to lose 20 kg because i can't work with ANYONE over 90 kg, and your too fat to work with me!" Now on the inside I wanted to tear him a new one and rip his head off his body for that comment. But I didn't and all i could say was "Dude that is so not cool and should NEVER say anything like that to anyone no matter what" Now being the bad person that he is (instead of the certain 'C' word) didn't care what he said and didn't apologize. Sensei had heard what Peter had said and tore him an absolute new one. Sensei didn't a chance to speak to me because he was the only instructor teaching and he had to leave prior to the last class of the day. But We have spoken via email since the incident. As I have told him that if he (sensei) doesn't sort out Peter, I will leave the dojo and not recommend any more people to the dojo. My only conditions were that Peter has to apologize to me and/or leave the dojo because that behavior is not appropriate or i leave. I am one of the few experienced instructors he has and that he knows that I am very honest when it comes to this. I tried to brush it off but this behavior and type of comments can't keep going, and not for the rest of the students sake or mine. It made me angry yes because he doesn't realize that i have been busting my guts out to lose weight (lost 10 kg in the last month) and is extremely difficult due to me having a thyroid problem. Considering I go to the gym 4 times a week, karate 3 times per week, then also run and do own training every day that i don't have karate. But then again he should know that people shouldn't be saying stuff like that especially with the effect that it has on people. The dojo has always been a safe spot for me (a sanctuary if you will) and everyone treats everyone with respect. They never make any negative comments about anyone. Even the smallest of partners ive worked with has never complained about my weight or who i am. Because they at least respect who i am and not judge me for it. And that if we are required to do something that involves putting the other person on their back or whatever they know that i will do something different for their own safety. Now I have suffered from Depression for the last 5 years and have been very much suicidal for the last 3 years. And currently at a real low point. So this did affect me to the core and have spoken to my psychologist already about it because i didn't want to get worse or do anything stupid. What are your opinions on this?

Sorry about your sister Bob. We are here to support you and your family when you need it. I am sure the Shindokan family would love to have you pop by when you want to. And [hopefully] would let you train/teach when you want. Because they are family too

There is a line between being their friend and being the instructor. I understand you were brought in a lower rank than normal, and you didn't know how to separate the two. It is ok to be tough on them, as you have to show them that you are the instructor and that they have to listen. You can be friends with them (i believe) outside of the class but when it is class time you are in charge. as others have said respect is earnt. When I teach I am very firm with them, but i do reward them with fun when they have done a good job for the day. And learnt early on that just being the fun instructor gets you nowhere (I started teaching the day i got my brown belt). Some of my students do get worried when I teach them because they know that I have high expectations, and that I may call on them for something. But they get over it after a while when they realize what I am getting them to do isn't that bad or they know what i am asking of them to do or they give me a good answer. But I acknowledge to them when they have done something well, which would be giving them a comforting moment knowing that they met my expectations and that i said to them "good job" They show respect when you give them the respect to push them to strive to be the best they can be and when they show improvement they feel like they accomplished something positive. But they also will show respect towards you if your completely honest with them (even if it hurts) they will learn from it and that they know your not wrapping them in bubble wrap. When teaching the lower ranks you do have to show them that you are the boss and that you can allow them to have fun when it is appropriate. For instance i have one student (8 year old) of whom is a purple belt, and this is the rank we start testing them on Gekesai Ich. Now previously he has struggled big time with some of the steps, now i ran him through the kata to see what was wrong. Following that i got him to practice certain steps in the kata several times so he can improve. By the end of the class he was so much better than before and I told him that i was proud of him and gave him a high five. He didn't get his kata tag at the end of the class because he got nervous and make a few mistakes. But told him after class that it was ok and you have gotten better anyway and to not give up and not feel bad for not getting the tag. Now normally in class I am extremely tough on the students, so by me taking my time with him so he can improve and being nice to him he learnt faster than he has previously. And the following class that he came to he passed because he had practiced everything that I told him but also what sensei mentioned to him. So his confidence grew because of the time we took to show him how to do it without freaking the hell out. Even though you need to be tough and all that jazz, but still use please and thank you for results as it shows that you want them to listen.

I teach young ones (5 +) and as much as I am a stickler for technique. I have them doing it in a fun way whilst not being overly picky with how they do it as long as it resembles the correct form of the technique. But normally I will play a game with them at the end to see if they remember the techniques that we had run through. And they love it. Since they have short attention spans I normally make sure we change things up every few minutes. So we would say do blocks and strikes for 10-15 minutes then change to stances then to kicks then add them together.

Currently I own a Jols Gi (Jols I think only serves Australia), A Seishin Gi (It is amazing even though it had to be shipped from Sweden) and it is an amazing gi to both Train and Compete in Kata with. Then i also have a Tokaido Gi which is of a heavier weight which I hardly use cause it is so starchy

I agree with sensei8 change when it is not serving the needs that you require. Also I think if you feel like you can't learn anything or have an environment that you feel comfortable in or safe then it is the time to change

thanks it was smaller than last year but still a good turnout.

If your wanting to check out some pics from the tournament click the link in my signature. Just have to get some off my partners phone as my camera ran out of power during my event (my bad lol!) I am not overly tech savvy to upload to a media sharing site most of you use. But I have very Facebook savvy and thought it was easier to share that way

every single person has a different bunkai to each kata. But in relation to the dojo each is different and how they are supposed to be done. I know my bunkai for some kata at my dojo is different to the goju school around the block. But a persons kyogi (basically it is your own bunkai for each technique in a kata) is your own

that is totally normal for you to feel like that. But don't try and overthink it on the day.

It is very uncommon for it to occur. I have done it once previously where 2 students have been misbehaving badly enough that it warranted the removal of their belt but only til the end of class and not for an extended amount of time.

It is ok to be hit in the dojo. The more times you get hit that fear will go away. Your partners in the dojo won't go out of their way to injure you. For you face your fears and get into the midst of it, allow yourself to get hit. We all have had that fear when we have trained. You don't need to fear about hurting your partner! hit them and they will tell you if it was too hard or not hard enough. So you can then adjust how hard you hit.

My sensei is not replaceable at all. He does encourage us to learn from others as much as possible. But for me personally he is much more than my sensei. He is my mentor, guide along my journey, the first person to encourage me at karate. And most importantly a friend!

Thanks Sensei8 For me the medal was a bonus. The guy that I competed against (the national squad member) said that I had improved big time since last year (competed against him at the same tournament last year). And he agreed with me when I do it only for the fun of it and the experience. Although we were all frustrated like crazy because one of the competitors rocked up late even though he had just competed 10 minutes prior on a different tatami. The officials were going to let him have the bye in the 1st round and let him go straight into the final. But us competitors protested prior to that occurring, either disqualify him or wait a few more minutes. He didn't apologize or anything when he did finally show up.

What we require our students to know in japanese is: Blocks Strikes (punches, knees, uchis, teishos etc) Kicks Stances Numbers (up to 100) General bowing procedures Titles

I finished competing for the day. I got eliminated in the first round but still got bronze because of the lineup positioning. As either way i was going to receive a medal I did Jion but made a few mistakes. But i knew what they were so i can work on it for next time.

So this coming Sunday is the Alan Murdoch Cup and I shall be competing again this year. Currently I am one of 3 people entered to compete but likely there will be a lot more that have entered via snail mail (the post if you don't know). I'm pumped and looking forward to it. Especially since it is going to be the first tournament I am competing at that will use a shotokan kata (Jion). It is funny because my sensei, one of my friends who teaches now more than he trains and a parent who is heavily involved with his two sons training for competitions all said that Jion is very well suited to me even though Shotokan isn't my style of choice. Hopefully my fiance (Got engaged last november) will get plenty of photos of me competing. I will be putting them up on my business' facebook page if you want to check them out. As it is an easy format for me to share all my photos for people to check out. - Patrick or admins can I share the link to the page or should i stick it down to my signature (Will remodify it to fit the guidelines)? My kata this year are: Seisan (Maybe)? Seipai Jion Kururunfa Suparenpei Anan (If needed)