Nidan Melbourne

Do you teach the spiritual side of Martial Arts? and How do you teach your students the spiritual side? I ask because i have had many students ask me about it and i wasn't too sure about it. I told them that Martial Arts transcends all religions, nationalities and everything that this world is. We are all one family, friends, brothers, sisters. Martial Arts is a journey not just physical but a spiritual one where we find peace and harmony in ourselves. It is one of the highest skills to gain within every persons journey and is the most difficult to master.

That is AWESOME that you're hooked!! Enjoy your training

Everyone is different and progress at different rates. Just take your time and don't stress. You are progressing at your own rate. Don't compare yourself to others. Especially since you only recently graded as well. Just practice and you will get there. Kata takes practice and patience. Go slowly through it so you can get the hang of the footwork, then build it up to the pace that you have to do it at. Partner Work you can't stress about, as much as it is important you just have to let it take its course. Cause it gets easier and easier as time goes on and the more you do it. Your a Yellow belt and your not in big trouble. Roundhouse kicks everyone still works on! Even my sensei who is a 3rd Dan and has trained for over 2 decades still works on his even they are perfect. Practice the correct technique/form of the kick (Quality) and then try and see how many you can do whilst maintaining the correct form. and then work on from there. Like what Lupin1 said trust your training and your instructor. You learn something new at every rank, so this is totally normal for you to feel behind. You learn, practice and practice to get better and definitely doesn't happen overnight. At my Dojo (I'm a Goju-Ryu Practitioner) as an Instructor we teach white belts how to do roundhouse kicks but they need to know the kick but not have it perfect. As Yellow belts they need to demonstrate the kick and show that they have improved in some way. So for your dojo you start learning it at yellow belt so the further in your training you go the better your kicks (should) hopefully get better. It will also improve your [so called] "Rubbish" Balance. and btw you were definitely not graded too soon! As gradings are there to test what you are required to know for that rank and will get tested on things from previous ranks that you should know. And that you were competent in what you had to know as a white belt. My best piece of advice when learning or practicing something in martial arts is not to rush it! Struggle with kata GO Slow, Struggle with kicks GO SLOW (Technically harder but improves your muscle strength, balance and definitely ensures that you are doing correct technique) then the easier it becomes then speed up whilst maintaining correct form. As I have seen people who do kata full speed and looks absolutely terrible because it wasn't strong or correct form which is disappointing.

I can totally understand why your having to step down from your roles at the school. We are here to support you Sensei8 when you need it. So you are not alone in the MA world. I am sure Patrick is going to keep you on board for all your hard work on the Forum. And that being a moderator will keep your spirits up. Taking the break as recommended by your doctor will probably make your karate even stronger. Don't give up hope

I don't live in the UK unfortunately but I hope you find a training partner

all the people i know that suffer from PTSD, i remind them that they can come to me for anything and that I am not going to tell anyone unless they let me to. Because it is not my business to tell anyone else what they are going through. Everything that the person tells me or doesn't tell me I will hold close to me because it takes a lot for them to tell me. And they have the belief that the trust that i will keep it private. All the kids that I teach that have PTSD, I will often sit down near them and if they want to talk i'll let them or if they don't thats cool. Most of the kids I have advised their parents that they need to talk to a psychologist. Although many of them haven't needed to see someone because they have found that they could trust someone to the point they found skills to cope with their episodes. Even recognizing what is causing their episodes. For them it was being hit during kumite to certain points of their body. But what we did with them was to have private sessions with them to work on it. As this was recommended by their psychologist. This is working slowly but we are seeing some results.

HIGH FIVE!! Congratluations

My fiancé suffers from ptsd and i also teach many children who suffer from it also. When my fiancé has an episode it is usually due to stress and being put into positions that remind her of her abuse. But she has been working on it for some time now to recognise it (onset) and how to control it. With the kids they feel most comfortable moving off the mats and going into the toilets that are in the room. These kids i have taught for several years so they feel most comfortable with me there. As they find it easy to let all those emotions out, and have someone who will listen to them. For all of them meds is the last thing they should need

Happy New Year my loving KF Members!

congrats mate you deserved it

18th December 2014 2 hours - Balintawak Arnis - 12 Basic Strikes - 12 Basic Block and Counter - 4 Groupings 4 hours Karate - Kata - ALL Taikyoku Kata - Gekesai Ich + Ni - Saifa - Seeiunchin - Sanseru - Seisan - Seipai - Shisochin - Kururunfa - Suparempei - Jion - Anan Each Kata i did 4 times each - Slow and strong - Fast but still with control and proper timing (Full Timing) - Back to front (start at the end of the kata and work progressively towards to the actual start of the kata (can't do with some of the katas ie saifa) - Start with the opposite foot in front - The Taikyoku Kata you step forward with the right foot and pivot left. But this one you will step forward with the left foot and pivot to the right. - Kihon - All Basics with no exceptions

Congratulations and great work!

I understand that you don't feel like you had earnt it because you didn't spar either of them. But did the grading feel alright to you as a whole and did you spar people that pushed you? It is unusual that they wouldn't want to fight you. but does show that they believe that if they fight you they will be showing others that they aren't very good. And what makes a genuine karateka for you? For instance we give GKR flack for not being very good but many of their students do still train hard to be the best they can. It is hard and frustrating when you can see that the curriculum has been watered down and aimed at the juniors. I am continually frustrated by that when instructors do that. Having a Licence book is different between schools. At my dojo we don't use them, but sensei keeps a record of all gradings and events that you attend on behalf of the dojo and when it comes to registering with our state and national federations every year we provide them with a list of the updates. Maybe even if you have good control and haven't hurt anyone, there may be a chance that you might hit too hard but they don't want to tell you. Also being unaffiliated can occur when a club doesn't associate with an association of the same style. Because they may want the freedom and not feel restricted. But does often show how sketchy their training is.

I don't have any tattoos but I have considered getting a yin/yang tattoo on my forearm as a reminder that there is always light at the end of the tunnel and that there will always been evil in the good and vice versa.

Welcome to the forum and hope we can help with things. I look forward to seeing things that you put up. Like Cheesfrysamurai i train in a more traditional art that is rigid in structure. But is still fluid with its forms. My kata may be set in stone with what techniques i have to do. But the speed, strength and power is up to me. even the kihon (basics) of my style i may have adjusted slightly to fit me as a person. I appreciate how you started your own style. Do you plan on continually training in your previously 'main' style of martial art whilst doing your own?

We don't really have academic requirements but we do require our students grading to Shodan-Ho and higher to do a written exam with some questions. It disappoints me when our juniors don't know some information that they should really know. Like the terminology and other general knowledge questions that all karateka should be able to answer. & Lupin1 why isn't it a requirement for students to have the isshinryu badge on their gi's for you guys? I am already looking at opening my own dojo in a few years time or even a branch dojo of my current school and I would have extra requirements for all students at my dojo to have that knowledge.

As the header says what annoys you personally the most when it comes to the type of people in your dojo that they don't do what their meant to. Or even schools that you have seen but don't train at? And on the other hand what do you love most about your school or other schools that you have seen?

Speak to Zach about it. Because he may or may not be interested in it. If he does take up jujitsu he will evolve his karate to the next level as he will see things differently and will be better equipped to think outside of the box

It varies from manufacturer to manufacturer. But speak to your instructor for advice on sizing. Otherwise if he is wanting to get a specific belt from a specific company and you have no idea then contact the company and ask about what size to get.

I believe anyone can achieve the rank of black belt. Many believe many are under the belief that if they pay an amount they will get a black belt with minimal training. But I am under the belief that people that want to get their black belt should put the time and effort into it. We pay $85 per month which covers training fees, grading (including belts and certificates), insurance and training hall fees (to pay rent). The only other things we pay extra for are uniforms and sparring equipment for when we need them. And the only time a student will pay for a new belt is if they happen to lose their belt.

Happy Holidays to you Patrick and the loving KF Family

That is unusual where the sempai and sensei refused to spar you. I know many schools that have a desk and the instructors will sit behind it and tell you what to do from there. Every single grading my sensei has run and i have ever been to 90% of the instructors that are there jump in and spars everyone. The only reason it is 90% and not 100% because they need 1 or 2 people to write any notes down on people who are fighting.

I did a small tournament on Sunday the other day where it was just my club and 4 other clubs. we for some reason had it as a compulsory kata list that had the following for each round for the Black Belt Division: 1) Seeiunchin 2) Seisan 3) Seipai 4) Kururunfa 5) Suparempei 6) Tokui (Free choice) We had the opportunity for a Tokui Kata in the final round because many of us black belts were advanced enough to know more than just the Goju Kata. I made it to the final round at performed Anan whilst my opponent from one of the other dojo's performed Unsu. I came 1st which was awesome. Each of the 5 clubs had to have 5 people from each rank to compete in the divisions. So 9 ranks * 5 Students = 45 students and had to have 45 juniors and only 18 adults to compete. This was meant to be for fun and preparation for tournaments, but also at the same time we were able to test people for kata (if they were eligible). We also ran kumite that afternoon but i didn't enter, and any student from the dojos could enter into the appropriate rank. We ran each division the same way as the WKF runs the international competitions; aka and ao. But we provided the belts to those who didn't have them. The Juniors kata was Tokui after round 3.

We often change the footwork to further our understanding of the kata. But it doesn't change the dojo version that we do. It is a lot of fun and very interesting way to do it. Say seeiunchin where there is a lot of shikodachi we will change that to say zenkutsu dachi.

I have our juniors ask me all the time how much i practice outside of the dojo. I tell them that it varies week by week. But when I am at work (2 jobs) when i am stuck behind the desk I can't as much but when i am with clients in the gym i practice stances. outside of work i practice usually practice by myself everyday. but when my fiance (newly engaged by the way) stays over we do partner-work.