Nidan Melbourne

Hey all, Out of curiousity, if you invited a Guest Instructor to come help run a class or grading. How much would you reimburse them for their time? Would you pay them their hourly rate, or something else?

Are the pupils you're instructing total beginners? Do they care about advancing in rank? I ask since I am simply a Shodan and cannot advance someone over brown belt. I figure I'd target potential clients who are interested in learning the fundamentals, etc. These are for Private Tuition, so it doesn't matter the rank for me. If they were wanting to "advance in rank", then I have a Membership Option that is cheaper than what I charge, but still enough to cover overhead and give me a couple of $.

I charge $70 for a 60 minute session, and $35 for a 30 minute session. I discount if they purchase multiple sessions ahead of time.

I attend a Coaches Course Annually which is run through my States Karate Body. But plan on upgrading to my Silver Accreditation in 2024.

I don't mind the look of the Faded Black Gi. All it makes me think is that you have trained for a fair while in it it came like that.

My sensei has always said that Gradings aren't just a reflection of the student but of the instructors also. So for me, if an instructor fails a student because they haven't failed before it just looks bad on them (the instructor).

i'm not a fan of failing a student because they haven't failed a test/grading before. I would only ever tell a student that they aren't ready to attend a grading if I believed that they genuinely not pass. As I am normally given a heads up of the difficulty level for that grading and the expectations given to student. For instance if they are getting ready to grade for their Shodan-Ho, and we have multiple going for a higher grade. I know that the overall difficulty is going to increase.

That sounds like a school making lots of money on each belt testing.It was eye watering! $75 for ALL Junior Kyu Grades + $100 for Senior Kyu Grades. $130 for Junior BB and $180 for Senior BB.

oh the irony of seeing someone having commented on this post, as I saw a club the other day had ummm a unique array of uniforms. Their Junior Program had Belts with White Stripes in the middle. Whereas the Seniors it was just the full belt without the stripe. So their uniforms also reflected those ranks! So if you were a Red Belt with a White Stripe, then you wore a Red Gi with a White Stripe somewhere on the uniform.

9th Jan 2023 9 - 12 Taught a Monster Class of 30 People (they stay for the entire duration). We in depth reviewed absolutely everything from 9th Kyu (White Belt) to Nidan (2nd Dan). Could easily have spent the whole day reviewing things. Many of our students had a "Oh yeah" moment, which as an instructor is awesome.

Speak to your Healthcare team. Doctors majority of the time may recommend plenty of exercise and healthy diet. Also best advice look after your mental health. because that can have a large impact on everything else.

There will always be a debate on the use of the Blade or Heel for this kick. For me both have their uses depending on your intent and usage of it. Potentially you may have a preference for the Heel as it was more comfortable for you to execute it that way instead of using the blade. I teach both methods, depending on the persons mobility and functionality of their body. But at the same time, I provide mobility exercises to assist if I know how to help.

Congrats Zaine!

If in a Gym, Punching bag is a great option.

I have two routines; one I will do throughout the day that helps with my Mobility then the other is my technical approach. Mobility is to "wake up" my body and get it moving, along with stretching out any tired/sore/inactive muscle. Then the technical is me focusing on each biomechial action of the technique

well deserved Alex

Hi All, Out of curiosity who uses Ali Baba for buying uniforms, belts, equipment etc? if so, what was the quality like or even worthwhile? I'm looking at purchasing at a few items through it, but don't want to waste money if it produces some questionable products.

I don't mind the idea of Pockets in Gi Pants, especially as an Instructor. As it would make life easier to hold a few key items whilst teaching.

thanks for letting me know. i'll check both out

congrats on the promotion

I agree, i've heard from several former students who quit after participating in their first grading and bought an expensive Gi then complained that they should never have bought it in the first place. Which is funny as they passed on the uniform that we generally give to students as part of their introductory program. Which we also sell at the price we purchase them at. hmmmmm $200 Gi over a $50 one that is still pretty good quality.

I have only seen a handful of White Belts go out and buy an expensive Gi over the years. Although i've trained for 20 years, and i've only bought 1 expensive Gi (Seishin) over the years. But can't bear to go buy another any time soon. That might just be my hip pocket talking and not wanting to dish out over $200 on a uniform that i'd have to get customised anyway.

Thanks Nidan, one thing is, I checked and different companies are offering different rate. What is the average monthly cost for insurance and public liability? Obviously it will vary country to country, but from what i've seen some are on the cheaper end of the scale (approx $50-60/month) to some being several hundred dollars. But at the end of the day the amount that your requesting and the excess will impact the cost. At the moment all my private sessions are being covered by my senseis club, which I am quite fortunate. But I am only covered if my sessions are run out of his club.

Hey everyone, I am looking at ordering a few uniforms for some students, who wouldn't fit into the largest size I can get (To fit 220cm tall). I am not looking at spending an arm and leg to purchase these uniforms and Belts.ssss

For Insurance typically you need Public Liability and a Comprehensive Insurance. And all you need to is google the different companies that offer those and covers Martial Arts specifically.