Nidan Melbourne

I agree with you on that! train hard and if one person lacks focus they will get hurt. A few weeks back i was doing seeiunchin bunkai with a fellow black belt, and mistimed dodging the attack and blocking it so i got a swift punch to the nose and caused a blood nose coming out of both nostrils. This was because i wasn't paying 100% attention. And I learnt a valuable lesson, and i knew that i should have been paying attention. Mistakes do happen, but without mistakes in training we never truly learn what NOT to do. When i leave the dojo going "that was a great class" i will either have worked so hard and sweated like crazy or have done that and left sore and bruised.

Thats great the your instructor is very talented and has the skills of a 5th dan. Do you think he/she will grade soon?

The system that we test people is fair. If they fail they will either get retested the next class or in 6 classes time. After Gradings if they are weak in something they get a +6 lessons (or at my old dojo a 'G' on their card; which signifies a grading fault/error) so they don't get tested on that part straight away. Say if they got a 'G' on kata; they wouldn't get tested on lesson 18 but would on 24. It is so they get extra practice on that part. At the end of the day it is down to the student to work had at what they have been taught, especially after the class they just attended. If they learn it faster than someone else, great but it shouldn't mean that they can slack off on it. I have taught some students at my dojo in the adults class, picked things up extremely quickly and learnt some potential applications for it. But several weeks later (and of training 3 times a week) they couldn't even show someone else it.

Fair enough! At the tournaments I compete at we can now perform any kata we want instead of having to perform a shitei kata in the first 2 rounds which was the former rule. Originally we had to perform one of these kata in the first 2 rounds: Goju-Ryu: - Saifa - Seipai Shito-Ryu: -Seeiunchin - Bassai-Dai Shotokan: - Jion - Kanku-Dai Wado-Ryu: - Chinto - Seishan So round 1 you would have to do one of those kata then round 2 another. It doesn't matter what style you do you have to do one of the 8. But they are specific and are slightly different to what majority of dojo's do. Which originally was to even out the playing field irrespective of ranking. Since they (the World Karate Federation) removed the shitei requirements, it is all now tokui kata (free choice). The upside of the Tokui is that if you don't practice one of the styles listed above and don't do any of those kata then you can do one of yours. But strategy comes in to play and how difficult each kata is. Clarification: Suparinpei (Goju) is much more difficult than Gekesai Dai Ichi, so Suparenpei is marked much higher.

I love some of these. I do them during kumite

Any way you can upload the video?

It is rather hard

I get you get that there should be no set time contraints. But in the end the student dictates how often they train and how hard they train (and how much effort). Students who pick things up quickly doesn't mean what they can do is quality. Because the student who takes 6 months to learn it will have practiced it more than the one who picked it up in 2 weeks. Even if the sensei is amazing in terms of knowledge and experience, in the end it boils down to the student to learn the technique. The sensei will teach the student and give him advice on how to improve and what he/she is doing wrong. BUT the student has to take it on board to improve. At my school for each rank (with the exception of Black Belts); you get tested every 6 lessons for a different test (and have to pass). To be eligible to grade you have to have 5 'tags' (which means you have to have passed all 5 tests). Basics, Combinations, Kata, Pre-Arranged Sparring & Sparring are the tests. The 1st Kyu (1st Brown) you will be able to grade with 4 tags (and not have the 'Tag' for kumite). For Blue Belts (sankyu) and above you will spend more time on those belts over the other ranks. Every rank (obviously not black belts) have to spend a MINIMUM of 30 lessons on each rank. So Blue Belts & above will usually spend about 50 lessons prior to grading, and 1st kyu's spending on average 70 lessons.

That is absurd of her behavior! In kumite you should expect to be hit, not because of your gender but because you have to learn how to fight! Every student gets worked hard at gradings, if a student has been lacking they will get worked harder to help them realize that they need to lift their effort levels in class. She has to have proof that she had a concussion AND that it was because of that one thing. he could counter-sue by saying that she could have caused him to become infertile and faced serious medical issues because of the damages to his man-parts I get hit hard a lot in kumite and have had numerous concussions from other students and from instructors. I stop straight away if something doesn't feel right and they apologize for what happened and that it was accidental if they hit me too hard. I respect the Nidan's decision to resign from the role that he was in. Because obviously he respects the school to much to have it sued.

It's interesting about what your saying. I had to look up the conversion of the weight of your child. Obviously I live in Australia and we don't use the Imperial System, so i had to convert to the metric system. I understand where the lady is coming from about contact and her body may not be able to take it. BUT she should understand that in kumite that people are going to hit hard. IMHO if she didn't want to be hit so hard, she would have had to told whoever her partner is about contact. If she said that he was punching too hard, then why didn't she mention how hard he hits when she was sparring him? Although what Spartacus Maximus said I agree with. As he should focus on correct form and then the control. Speed can be important yes, but doesn't mean that he will be accurate or have form. Also your son does need to learn how to control techniques. As you can't just use the same amount of power on everyone. You will always fight someone who is either lower or higher than someone. So you need to know how to adjust it. Since he competes he may find an issue on form and technique when doing techniques and the referee & judges wouldn't award them. SO he has to do them extremely well first. also the term "man up" isn't an appropriate thing to say really. IMHO it isn't good because Martial Arts aren't only for males, but also for females. And also there are a lot of females that are tough.

relax and breath. Obviously nerves still set in. When you start don't rush.

It is a shame to see students stop before reaching black belt & continuing their training. yes training does get harder but students who stop because it is too hard, can't see the bigger picture that you just have to practice and persevere to get over that hurdle.

don't forget it comes down to thinking about it as well and all the ways you could potentially apply it as well

I teach that method at my dojo. Everyone loves the fast as possible. I also make everyone face a different direction while doing their kata. Messes with their visual ques. Really helps when they go to a tournament and nothing is fimiliar. My students HATE going fast with a passion. Which is quite amusing. A lot of them like doing it normal speed or slow & powerful. I love making them do it in the corners to make them think and also to have them face another part of the dojo. Because they usually only face the front of the dojo due to the number of students in the juniors. With the adults it is much easier.

I know there are a lot of variations of Naihanchi out there. Which version do you do? Any chance of a video?

oh man i can agree with you on that point. Not with Chinto but with some of my kata at least for my style. There are a few movements in Seipai (Goju-Ryu Version) & Kururunfa (also goju-ryu) that were a nightmare to learn. But after a while they became my favorites!

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I have trained with sandans (3rd Dan) in a park a few times over the years for classes. And we wore our GIs. And we had a lot of people stop and watch. We all drummed up some interested parties wanting to sign up. And we were all of different styles as well

Kensei I agree. There is indeed a limit to when students can joke around. I joke around but I know when not to and not to disrespect others. But when I train at other dojos I do not dare do that. Because I obviously want t treat the school with respect and show that I am serious about my training.

Im not sure tbh but probably someone here will know that has trained over at his dojo will know

Im looking forward to hearing about it. For kata you only have to show the kata that is required and none of the prior ones?

True that. My sensei will only do hard contact for kumite and if his partner is old enough and high enough to understand he isn't doing it maliciously. He will aim to hit hard to spots that won't damage vital organs. With me he will hit hard to the legs (upper leg) and to the ribs. Obviously more force to my legs over my ribs. For demonstrations he will still hit fairly hard but ensuring that he doesn't injure his partner.

Loved that last video you put up

Personally i don't like the sport, because of all the acting that the players do just to get penalties. If they were serious and didn't decide to act the foul just to get a penalty, then i would watch it. Considering the size of the pitch I am surprised many penalties are given. Also what puts me off the sport is the spectators, because those who attend the matches do go overboard with their celebrations and the amount of violence that i've seen at them. I prefer basketball, rugby (Union + League) and Australian Rules Football (AFL) because players take the games seriously and not act fouls/penalties. The Spectators as well behave themselves, with the exception for a few matches where the spectators get out of hand. And Basketball is one of the hardest to officiate because you have to make split second decisions and everyone has a different view on things where they think it is one thing and another has a different view on it. Plus there are so many official interpretations given by FIBA and interpretation of the rules by the referees.

I had this conversation with my girlfriend and friends on saturday about the restrictions and how constitutions allow weapons + whether we as a society world wide should use and have the allowance on owning weapons such as guns etc. And from here I APOLOGIZE if this offends anyone, and a lot of this is my opinion unless specified. I am happy to discuss privately if anyone is offended by what i say. In Australia; guns are extremely regulated and can only be used in certain situations and sports. It is so regulated because of the Port Arthur Massacre. Which led to automatic and semi-automatic guns being banned to the general public. Also you need to acquire a firearms licence and a Buyers Permit to be able to buy any gun. If you only acquire the firearms licence you can go to a gun range to operate them. Now from what i know of American Law & constitution any person may buy a gun as long as you have a licence for owning them. And have a seperate permit to carry it. To be honest my issue with that is how many people carry a gun around with them in a daily life. I respect that you have the right to own it for protection. But there have been so many shootings over the years that hasn't shaken people up about wanting to have reforms on it. Please know I DO RESPECT your rights and not wanting to restrict them BUT having so many available firearms that are so readily available and so many people own them that something is going to give. I understand that you will want to own one because someone else does but that causes more issues than good. But this is the one reason why i don't want to live in the USA, because of the risk of someone coming into my workplace, home or wherever i go and shooting up the place and there being the risk of me or someone i love dying. So my safety is more important than living my dream of working and living in the US. In England as far as i know deaths per year are less than 200. Which is lower than others. And also their right to possess is NOT guaranteed by law. In terms of non-gun weapons, but still can project something such as a taser or mace i think should still be regulated and should have the same treatment as guns. because Tasers can be potentially lethal if someone has a heart condition (known or unknown) or has a severely weak heart. mace could also be dangerous if in the eyes and not treated quickly, plus if capsicum spray someone may have an allergic or anaphylactic response to those chemicals that are in it. Weapons that we use in class such as the Bo, Jo, Tonfa, Sticks (Arnis/Eskrima) and other common martial arts weapons may be restricted but you can easily prove that your only intentions with it are for Martial Arts training and that you would only use that training for self defense. I own Arnis Sticks and train with them but only after i spoke with the police about it. The more exotic weapons that may not be seen all that often should also be treated carefully because of the view that people have that they may be dangerous (which admittedly they are) but we wouldn't actually use them in a self defense situation anyway because we wouldn't be carrying them around all the time. My friends agreed with me on a lot of this, two of them are pro-gun supporters (along with their families) but even they agreed that guns and weapons should be so regulated that people should feel safe and that gun owners would be more accountable for their actions. Their parents also chimed in (they were at the house as well), by saying that firearms should be a privilege not a right and if someone abuses it they lose it and get punished severely according to what they did. Now the parents are all in their late 50's early 60's and have been pro-gun supporters their WHOLE LIFE. They own a gun BUT only will use it in extreme cases to protect themselves and their family.