Nidan Melbourne

Recently I was checking out a few Karate Clubs, and I realized that clubs go different routes for gloves for all their class when it comes to sparring. So I was wondering why did you choose them or why did they get chosen as a club wide used thing? - WKF Gloves MMA

True, but some of their "spirited shouts" sometimes sound a little off to my Australian Ear.

Welcome to the forum!!!

I love the usage of conditioning in Karate. considering the purpose behind why we may learn the art, it is always a good idea to strengthen our muscles and bones. I formally wasn't taught how to do it until well after being a shodan. Then again it was more me going out at learning from other instructors, watching videos on Youtube (Noah Legal Sensei for example) and a whole bunch of other sources.

Its funny i've taken 2 periods of time off my karate life; once around completing Year 12 and my Diploma (2010-2012) and the 2nd period is this year as i am dealing with some serious things. Oh and during 2020 cause of COVID where I still trained but didn't really teach me anything. During that first period; I learnt that I truly loved Martial Arts and how much of an impact it had on my life. Now during this stage of my life and the 2nd period of my training that i've taken off. I've learnt a whole lot more than I could imagine which has honestly improved what i do on the mats. Even the way that i view techniques and how they are applied has changed. In someway they kind of reflect how the old masters may have performed said techniques. In other words definitely feeling the "Ju" in Goju when i'm doing my kihon

Well not "easter eggs" per se. but when i go on a site that i've used for such a long time (like here), and love seeing the changes and functions added. Like the pleasant surprise coming back on here before going to bed and a little notification popping up letting me know of ur response.

not technically music, but just listening to a Tedx Talk about Dads

To me a Kiai has different purposes; from 'Drawing Attention your way' to 'I'm going to rip your face off' At the same time it doesn't necessarily have to be a "shout" but more talking louder. So if I was to draw attention a situation or make something clearly known i'd be saying "Stop" with an increased volume but also being firm. Which draws attention your way. Then that initial strike where you hit them like your life depended on it; you'd do a kiai basically saying "i'm going to rip your face off if you keep going".

Looking great Patrick! Thanks for the mention I'm looking forward to finding all the easter eggs you may have left here haha

What about one of those wedding rings women sometimes wear that have a big diamond on it? Seems like that could be a problem. If it is the wedding band, then I can see that being left on, but I've known instructors and students who take it off when training. Also, what about a tongue ring? Though that seems to have phased out. They were more common about 25 years ago. I'd definitely want those nose rings out, or any ring with a loop that could get yanked off. Big problem. I say to everyone especially when it comes to rings, that we have a few reasons as to why we don't allow them on during training: 1. Safety Reasons - you can easily hurt someone 2. You could damage the ring - it was actually shown recently at a Taylor Swift Concert that rings could be easily damaged, so you would need to get it reshaped. OR you could lose one of the gems that is in-laid. 3. Lost Gems - we aren't responsible for that occuring.

It might be worth breaking those kicks down into their constituent parts and train them then build up and apply the same principle. Because when you think about it, each segment your foot is at a different position. So when students start getting comfortable with that segment, work on that transition. Then transition to next segment of kick then do the same. My sensei does it a lot to train feet, hips and knees for roundhouse kicks.

It is mostly for health reasons and not so much for training. The muscle helps burn fat and store glucose, both are heath benefits. The guy who runs the gym explained to me that with cardio it stops burning the fat as soon as you get off the treadmill, but when you build strength, the muscle will burn the fat 24/7. Not 100% accurate. When your doing cardio, your heart isn't the only thing working hard; your whole body is working hard. So your body has to expend energy to repair your muscles, bones (say if your using a Treadmill for instance) from all the impact that your putting them under. Then also further energy has to be expended to perform vital functions to move things around and for it to be expelled in some way out of your body. Also if your already in the area burning fat, you've already expended the carbs in your body that are available for usage. So until you put more carbs into your body, it will keep using the fat as a source of energy. With Strength Training; the usage of fats is part of it, as your body consumes carbs also. Since Strength Training places an increased amount of strain on your anatomy it does take more energy to recover. That's why you tend to feel sore for a couple of days post-strength training. But yes, increased muscle mass and strength training as a whole can burn a lot to recover and to maintain. Thats why when I work with clients, and if they are wanting to put on muscle mass (which is a good thing). I remind them that anything they put on should be functional and also maintainable for them. Because I say to all clients regardless of age; is that having a healthy amount of functional muscle and healthy (increased) bone mass is crucial as we get older. So we need to be able to support that for a lot longer than what we are thinking about. What a lot of people forget is that even if you are older, you don't have to lift a dumbbell or kettlebell. But lifting everyday items around the house is far better than anything else.

For us; rings, bracelets, anklets, necklaces etc are to be removed. Earrings - if their small studs/hoops then they're ok. but if they are large then they have to be removed. Although we do advise students that if they do get pulled/yanked/whatever it is on them when it comes to sparring/self-defence stuff. We do ask for watches to be removed as well. Although we do acknowledge with our students that we know that when it comes to self-defence you'll be wearing this stuff. But for the sake of practice and not damaging your items, we remove them.

I have my Dan Grade Certificates in a folder. I have only a couple of my Kyu Grade Certificates, as I never really thought about keeping them. But now I regret not keeping them (especially my 8th Kyu Certificate; as it was the first one I received). My Kyu Grade Belts are tied up and at a Holiday House down in Portsea. I just have to find space in one of the rooms to hang them up. My variety of Black Belts tbh are kinda floating around the house; along with the one I wear the most in my bag.

hahaha how else do you think your going to know what is going on? but seriously though, not only are you having to retrain your muscles that have different attachment points with something inorganic. Also you are having to do a whole lot of proprioceptive training to get used to them anyway. but also then some for your training. I use this acronym with my clients; DBAD when it comes to training post-op or even in general training when you haven't had surgery. It stands for Don't Be A Dummy. Which just means train smart and listen to your body

Interestingly, while I generally have a lack of motivation to do weight lifting, I am easily motivated to do work with hojo undo equipment such as the Chi Ishi and the like. I think that it's because I connect to the hojo undo work more directly to karate. I understand that doing squats with a weight rack can be easily traced to improvement in kicking power, but doing it with hojo undo equipment makes me feel like I'm improving my karate more, somehow. Hojo Undo counts definitely; especially with the Okiniwan Tools/Items they use for training. Especially when it comes to grip training, and from what I know about some of the items grip is greatly improved. not something that normal exercise items can really train in the same way. Which is something a lot of people actually overlook when training.

I understand that, as your training your muscles and whole body in a way that it isn't typically accustomed to. Depending on the PT you get and where, they are a hit and miss. Because they are [usually] forced to get people in and signed up to a gym membership. That's why you might find that they don't do a thorough assessment or history before starting up. But for me (I'm an Exercise Scientist which is above a PT, so Bachelors Degree), I have also programmed in for me, a lot of things that I don't necessarily have to use the gym for. So Karate, swimming, walking or anything else I can do on my own, with my daughter or attend a class. I do find lifting tedious every now and again, but my trainer has done my programming in a way that it is specific for my goals. And also the movements he has me doing, is related to my Martial Arts Training. But also I find music to help with my training as a whole, and that I actually realised today when I was at the gym that I have different tastes when it comes to different movements. So for example any PUSH movement I do country, but any PULLING movement is Rock. But when it comes to Explosiveness (i.e Deadlift) I have to have AC/DC. I'd be careful about Online Coaches, even though they are "good in their field", you don't actually know if they are who they claim to be. Even if they are 'real', they can't program appropriately for you let alone provide you with advice on your current state of health. Part of the minimums that I work with, along with PT's who should at a minimum be getting: - Pre-Exercise Questionnaire - Base Healh Standards (Heart Rate - Resting, Blood Pressure*) - Appropriate Minimums (Exercise Testing) *Unless there are absolute contraindications requiring you make an appointment with your doctor Film yourself when doing whatever it is your wanting to see an improvement on, so you can have a visual guestimation of the differences between reps when evaluating performance.

I might not have had a Hip Replacement (so no double), but have worked with many people who have. They have continued training with some modifications. I asked them your question yesterday, they were saying that when they restarted that finding how to move and engaging everything felt weird. But they did say that they were under strict instructions to work closely with the physician (who is also a Karateka) and a couple of our senior instructors who are qualified to work with those with special conditions in the health industry.

From my perspective, I can inuderstand why they may not want you attending a seminar run from another organisation. As there may be some confusion in what is being taught. Obviously I haven't read their Ethics or Disciplinary Actions Manuals, so I can't read more into what the consequences are. I wouldn't really restrict students from attending seminars, as most seminars i've seen were worthwhile for people attending.

Thanks for sharing! It's so true for white belts and the level of nerves that they would be feeling. Although "High-Orange" Belt has me confused. @Bushido_man96 can you fill me in on the ranking system for your organisation? and what makes one a a "high-??" Belt? What I do with our white belts to help is the week of I review and we do like a mini-grading. So they are introduced to what it is like, but without the pressure.

Its funny, I was thinking about this post after i posted it the other day and how it translates to our daily lives. Because for us to grow as individuals, we need to understand why we did things when we were younger. Yes even the stuff about ourselves we don't really understand. Is the key for us to understand us here and now in this time of day. For instance, I am not the same person even remotely from 2019 to the me here and now writing this particular post. Back then, I honestly struggled with identifying how I felt and couldn't admit that was something I was dealing with. Even in rehabilitation I was in denial about it. Now during the worst time of my life, I am having to admit that the path i took was the wrong one and having to go back and forge a new path. Because here July 19th 2024, I have an amazing child in my life who I absolutely adore. The journey of self-discovery, and re-parenting myself has led to a lot of eye opening moments where things are clearer than they ever were. Now how does this relate back to the topic at hand. Karate like Life, has different paths for us to follow; some dead ends, some long, some short, some baffling, some straight forward, Ups and Downs. So as I have taken some time away from the mats, I look at things with new eyes and a new mind. So I am understanding where I came from, understanding where I am going and have the ability to follow those various paths of my Martial Arts Journey but also in my own life where I can safely grow, and allow myself to truly feel where to go and what to do. Which is something that I believe the old masters intended, that we need to feel for what is the right thing to do and for us to go.

On Ko Chi Shin - To learn from the old is to understand the new. A fascinating thing that I learnt about a few years ago courtesy of Jesse Enkamp Sensei. At the time, I never really gave it much thought or explored it much since with my training or even teaching. But since I have taken some time away from my training, I have noticed that when I do look at what i've learnt; I find that I am understanding that line better and finding that I am learning from the old and understanding the more recent "stuff" I have learnt to a much deeper level. One of the things that I have explored and perform more naturally is our Gyakusoku Kumite + our various Bunkai. Doing each step with natural stances, movements and angles, also not "returning" to Kamae after every step. When I did it in the dojo previously, it felt unnatural to return to kamae where you finished the last step and not returning to your starting position. But now as I train, it feels natural to do each step from where we finished up. For example, Gyakusoku Kumite San for us teaches about angles. So we would move in a U shape. What does that line mean to you and your training, or how do you interpret it?

Congrats mate

OMG How did I forget the AFTK!!! another excellent group

Thanks for all the posts. So my Clubs i've been affiliated with have had quite varied lengths. My last grading i attempted (did a trial run for my 3rd dan), there were 18 people at the grading. - 2 [Practice Run] for 3rd Dan - 3 for 1st Dan - 10 for Provisional 1st Dan - 3 for either 2nd or 1st Kyu Kata - everyone does it at the same time, lowest grade stands in front for their assessed kata. All Black Belts perform a Solo +1 Kata. But for time we may do 2 at a time. Pre-Arranged: - Gyakukumite - everyone does at same time. - Bunkai - same as above - Kyogi - 3 or 4 pairs at a time (2 instructors per per) if more instructors more pairs upstairs Kumite - everyone at same time