Nidan Melbourne

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

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.