Nidan Melbourne

Well i'm a Goju Practitioner. But from an educated guess, is the number of kata taught across all the branches itself. So chances are the branches, deemed it not to be important enough to be included. Now the variant, I think we may have lost who may have made the changes to time. But unless it is Branch specific, and its the creator of said Branch.

Recently when I was on Youtube, and saw how a Canadian Club ran their Black Belt Gradings totalling 24 Hours. Which got me thinking, how does your club run such Gradings and how long are they? For instance one of my old clubs; where I received my Shodan-Ho, ran a pretty strict grading to 4 hours. Albeit looking back at it, despite having 13-14 attendees we only had 1 person being promoted to Shodan and no one else above that. And my 2nd Club, it really varied between 4 - 9+ Hrs on 1 day. Depending on the number of candidates and the ranks people were grading for. For instance the last grading i'm aware of lasted 4.5 hrs due to having only 1 person attempting for 1st Dan, 7 for Shodan-ho and no one attempting for any other grading.

The only place (real or fictional) that i've heard do that was a book called "Trials of Morrigan Crow". But never in a martial arts tournament. I'm used to the Flag System (WKF Tournaments) and the score system (ISKA/NAS/NASKA)

Out of Curiosity; what does your country have in relation to Coaching Accreditation and your Martial Art of Choice? For Instance; Karate Australia (Formerly Australian Karate Federation); has - Bronze, Silver & Gold Bronze is essentially your local coach/instructor, Silver is your State Level Coach and Gold is your National/International Level Coach. Each has their own requirements in terms of what you have to get to get it. One of the biggest factors seperating Bronze and Gold is the knowledge required for Sports Psychology and Physiology. Along with appropriate Training Planning for maximum gains. Now I know a lot of people might not be part of a WKF affiliated National Federation. So if that is the case, what does your club or a Federation have in terms of coaching? *edit: not mandatory to have, but worthwhile

It's great you got that off your chest, as it can seriously weigh you down, and cause issues in your life. I've had Serious Mental Health Issues over the Years; Depression, Anxiety, PTSD, Codependency, Brain Trauma. So I know what your going through with your own Mental Health. [qoute]I have had a recurring on-going battle with depression for a little over 10 years, I have seen a therapist, and gone through different CBTs (cognitive behavioural therapy) but it's something that has kept coming back.[/qoute] What a lot of people don't realise is that Depression is a life-long issue, as we all have our ups and downs. Just like waves in the ocean, but for people like us those "downs" sometimes may be bigger than others. No matter how much progress we make, there is always the possibility that a depressive episode can occur. But at the same time it is how we look at it, and manage it is the real battle. This was an interesting comment I read in your post. And I know it may sound controversial and some may disagree with me on this. Yes Family is important, as you have a responsibility to your wife and children. BUT At the end of the day; YOU are the most important person in your life. WHY? Because if you don't take care of yourself, you can't take care of your family. When your children look at you taking care of yourself, you are teaching them about SELF-CARE. After I got married, I had a Car Accident and left my job and this was a few months after my daughter was born. I stopped looking after myself and doing what I needed to do. What happened caused so much tension between my wife and I, and it eventually led to our seperation this past December. During that period, I gained 70 Kg (154 pounds) and this year I started looking after my head space and my physical health. So I can lose that weight that I had gained over the last few years. [qoute]I can't figure out if it's a good or bad emotion though[/qoute] Growing up, I had the same issue where I couldn't recognize what I was feeling emotionally. More often than not, it led to me being short tempered even if it was actually a positive emotion. But over the last few months, and listening to others and allowing myself to hear what others have to say has allowed me to process what you said. Emotions, are there to help you stick to your values and to enjoy or learn from a moment in time. Happiness and Sadness have the same end goal and message that is trying to convey. Even though Sadness can have multiple meanings. Then you compare to Anger, what is it trying to tell you? what occured? Reflect and Learn from it! Everyone goes through a big change when they become a parent. Sometimes you think your ready, but when it happens it may kick you saying "you weren't ready". For me I thought I was ready when my daughter was born. But in reality I hadn't opened myself up to the difficulties that we were going to face. and that I wasn't actually ready because I was the youngest in the family and never actually held such responsibility in my own family. So I truly struggled in changing and being open to becoming the best father i could be. And I would do anything for my little one. So I am doing what I have to do to get better for myself, so i can be there for her. Because at the end of the day, if we can't be open to ourselves especially with the difficult stuff. We can't be open with our partner or kids.

I'm not a massive fan of Mechanical Keyboards. As the Clickiness of it gets to my ear after a while and becomes intolerable. But like the ones that come across as silky smooth when using. but do find that either way both are expensive. Even the keyboards on my Mac and Acer, can be quite annoying after a while.

Currently a mix of Peyton Parish, AC/DC, Lena

Being a Goju person myself, i have seen some schools (Goju based) include Naihanchi into their syllabus. They are definitely designed to teach different things. As far as Naihanchi blatently has several foot sweeps, whereas goju katas dont really utilise such a technique in their katas. But when you compare it to Sanchin, which heavily focuses on the breathing and the tension. but Naihanchi is more relaxed and has more fluid rotation. Shuri and Tomari Styles might not practice Sanchin because their teachers either weren't taught the kata. or the "Founders" didn't find that it fit within' the scope of what they were teaching at the time. Applying Naihanchi to your training in Goju, it is quite easy. Break it down, understand the movements and techniques that it teaches. I found when learning it and performing it, that it sits quite nicely within' the world of goju. It just has some movements that we don't have in other kata - namely the lateral movements. And Yes I do teach the kata to all my students, as so they can understand the importance of their centre of gravity and how to move.

you're doing a great thing for yourself Ken. I myself had an issue with Alcohol; and quit drinking many years ago. Although I do rarely drink nowadays, but I have strict rules surrounding me touching the stuff and how much.

well atm i've got Barbara Rhubarbara stuck in my head ( ) Otherwise i've been listening to A Thousand Miles by Vanessa Carlton

I visited a Dojo once as I was travelling for work, and this particular dojo has a rule. If your late You can train, but you have to wear a "Barbie" Gi the next class. But if you actually liked "Barbie" then the sensei gave you something you didn't like. And he seriously had 20-30 Gi (all in our standard sizes) of different "costumes".

I do like the idea of recording classes; so you can review the classes and also for students in attendance can check it out. Also from experience, when I do record classes it comes in handy if I need to review it when any issues arise (student behaviour, injuries etc). Although I have 2 Rules when it comes to filming any class: 1) Get consent from ALL students (and guardians of those under 18 yrs) 2) Those training can withdraw their consent at any time. They can still train, but i'll ensure they aren't seen. Also I do not upload any footage from any class to our facebook or website unless I have further written consent from the people involved.

At the end of the day, you don't have to run classes for kids if you aren't looking to make a profit. Even if you were to make a profit, you can still run classes for 16+ or even 18+ years. With the explanation that for the safety of participants, they need to be able to consent to what they're going to learn and classes may be physically demanding. I know a few instructors run classes for 18+ only for profit, their reasoning is that they are going to do "real world" stuff. and run classes at different times throughout the day and locations. So being over 18 is a requirement.

When I did BJJ, I think it took my instructors several classes before considering having us start rolling with other students. Doing Rolls; we did start learning them in our 2nd lesson, but the instructors took their time to teach us how to do them safely. But standing was only if we were 100% comfortable doing so from lower "crouching" positions. Gradings/Promotions in BJJ does vary from club to club or organisation to organisation.

Recently I was speaking to a client (I'm an Exercise Scientist by trade); where they were asking me about how and why we do certain exercises in certain movement patterns. Then how it might relate to our Martial Arts Training. As we spoke; I explained that when we exercise it should be done with "Natural" movements. Which is the same for Karate in many ways. As they never had any formal training in Karate and had limited exposure to working out in a Gym. We did a workout comprising of both; where I would ensure that they learnt how to safely to perform the movements. What truly surprised them; was the similarity of how you often stand for stability when performing a split stance cable row vs performing either Moto Dachi (Fighting Stance) or Zenkutsu Dachi (Deep lunging stance). even writing this post; it reminds me of a qoute - The Advanced postures becomes ones Natural postures.

Which can be way sky high or don't cover what one thought. I spoke to one of my friends who recently competed for Australia at a recent Youth Tournament. Yes there is insurance for the event; but they were encouraged to get their own insurance prior to leaving to ensure coverage. Especially for the kumite competitors; although there is some cheap options here in Australia that is not going to cost you an arm and a leg like it might in the US.

Depends greatly on what I am working on. Something slow when I'm in on a Tai Chi flow vs something like Linkin Park when I am in the Kumite mood.

Congrats to those who earnt their awards this year!

Recently on Facebook, the cost for the Elite Tournaments (Premiere League, A-Series etc) for entrants was released. most of the entry fees were approx 150Euro ($245aud or $161usd +/-) just for the tournaments themselves. Yes I understand there are other costs factored in (Travel Expenses and Accommodation) to why people have caused a fuss. But what erks me is how much of a privilege it is to 1 be on the National Team in ANY Sport, but also not understanding that it costs money to run such events. And Yes that a lot of countries may struggle to even compete because of the cost. When I was a teenager i travelled to South Africa and the UK to play rugby as a schoolboy. The school didn't cover the costs of us going; it got us subsidised accommodation but certainly wasn't free. And I know how special it was just to go do that. For me tournaments I enter vary from $75-100 AUD. With my most expensive tournament being $110 (+$15 for every additional event i enter). Now for those who DO compete; how expensive is it for you to enter? but also if you do travel interstate for tournaments how expensive does it get? For me the furthest from home I have competed has been in New South Wales; which is north of me in Victoria. But I made my time there worthwhile for not just competition but also to see family and also sight see.

From experience a lot of people who use these machines misuse them or weren't properly taught how to use them. When I was at University getting my Bachelors Degree, we only covered the use of these machines over the course of a few lessons. Not in terms of use by the general public, as no gym that I currently visit use them. But for use by Health Professionals (Not "Fitness" Professional) to help clients in activating muscles in sequence after prolonged periods of inactivity or injury.

We have a monthly direct debit option which covers training fees, insurance, rental fees (location hire) etc. We make it clear to all prospective members where their fees are going in its entirety at time of signing up. and notification of any changes to where fees are going.

To the bolded; i'm a Nidan myself and have been an Instructor for close to 20 years. Personally I don't believe that it is disrespectful to buy your own belt. Generally people I know will just go with what their given, but for me I give all my Black Belt/Dan Grade Candidates a choice when it comes to receiving a new belt. They can choose the Brand, Style (ie Satin, Cotton etc) and also Color of the writing of their Name. For me, when I was promoted to Shodan-Ho my club awarded everyone an Adidas Black Belt regardless if they opted for names to be put on the belt. All grades after that, we don't provide new belts unless they are given a special belt - ie 1/2 Black 1/2 Red or the "Candy Cane" Belt. Or if they are receiving a Menko Kaiden or a Hakama.

Anything where you get your HR up or forces you to utilise your lungs where you get a bit of a puff out is always fantastic. No matter the duration. Even though the recommendation is 30 mins a day for "Apparently" Healthy people. Time for people is often an excuse where they go "I don't have 30 mins to work out" But 5 Minutes x 6 times a day is easier, and I tell clients that too. If your stuck on something at work; go for a walk, do a few push ups (be mindful of others obviously) and do what is appropriate for your surroundings.

Hey All, What is everyones favourite warm ups to do with both Kids and Adults Classes?

No it doesn't include any at all, as it is illegal to own guns where I live with very few exceptions to that rule.