Nidan Melbourne

Best of luck for your grading. Hope you did well

Congrats was he pleased with how he went?

Sounds like an amazing challenge. Even if he doesn't pass, he knows that he did his best.

I know how you feel about getting outnumbered. when i was a kyu graded karateka i was the only one who a kyu ranked student. the rest were highly ranked dan graded students. now it isn't like that since i moved schools. As now i am the 2nd highest ranked student at my school as a 2nd dan (the other is a 2nd dan also but he has trained for much longer than i). The other students in my class are; 2 nidans (myself and the other nidan that i said before), 4 shodans, 5 shodan-hos, and 1 1st kyu. It is scary when you are learning new curriculum before your black belt, then the review and preparation. It is amazing when you do get to that stage where you realise how much you have actually learnt and how much you have improved.

Hahaha maybe I should. According to shihan it hasn't been done before in his entire life. Which made it even more special.

As most of you know i attempted for my shodan in august and passed. But i had forgotten to tell you all is that shihan (who is my sensei's old instructor) told me to expect some very important news when he is in the country next which he was last night. Apparently he told my sensei to double grade me after the grading finished. Which makes sense as i did all stuff that a person going for their nidan would do. And turns out he told my sensei that i am worthy of my nidan and not my shodan. So i am now a 2nd dan. I was not expecting it at all. As shihan had been training for over 60 years in goju-ryu karate and 40 years in kung fu. So no one at my school could doubt his wisdom. According to him i performed everything as a 2nd dan level student, the determination in everything i did. And apparently he even saw that i would make any technique look strong or soft when necessary and the bonus that i can change any movement part way through if it isnt working first time around.

my sensei (and sometimes his sensei when he comes to teach) to our absolute max. And both push all students in different ways. As each of us a lacking in one thing or another in life and they push us harder and harder until we realize what it is and we either break and tell them off or they can see that we have improved. 9 times out of 10 we break and crack it at our sensei. But we always have the same conversation that you had with yours. We all are greatful that they do it for us, as we come out as better people for it

1st Dan in Goju-Ryu karate (since 2008) and a white belt in Brazillian Jujitsu

Unfortunately i haven't learnt these as they aren't from my style. But i have seen them on youtube but they seem to be really interesting

We have a couple of students who had their appendix removed. and they took about a month off to recover, when they started back they started very light and then built up slowly over a few months to get 100% They didn't miss out on any gradings as they both were 1st Kyus (now black belts)

Listen to your body and doctor. Maybe avoid kumite for a while.

This was an interesting story. But this didn't occur at my school thank god. We charge different amounts according to length. So either you pay for x amount of lessons, monthly or yearly. The sensei had actually told them that the financial conversation was best handled privately. The sponsors who help fund the school had no real stipulations on the school performing. All they said was to run the school and provide the best instruction of karate you can. All costs for business registration and location hire is covered.

How would you respond to this?: Case: Parent A (we will call Janet - not her real name) and Child A (Chucky), Parent B (jackie) and Child B (Tommy). Both children started at the same time (14-15 years of age), both teens get up to their green belt at the exact same time. The kids memberships expire, and is up for renewal. When "Janet" (Parent A) is renewing with the sensei she is explaining that the family is in a tough financial situation currently (even though she didnt have to, but she showed the sensei both her and her husbands most current bank statement, which inded showed that they were in a tough spot financially), and she had asked if there was anyway that "Chucky" could continue training and how she could pay for the classes. The sensei agrees to let him continue training, and for safety reasons he still needs insurance, so he works out a payment plan which can vastly help with the costs of training him and still have him on board. "Jackie" (parent b) hears this conversation (as she was waiting to renew also), and demands the exact same membership as he just agreed with "Janet". but the sensei refuses as "Jackie" has no valid reason to make any special deal with the school. As "Jackie" and her family are an upper class family whilst Parent A's family is lower-middle class. "Jackie" and her family never made any contributions to the school nor has there been any favortism for her child. She [Jackie] decides to take Tommy out of the school, because of this. But what she didn't know was the other family was struggling. The school has three families (upper class families) that sponsor the school, and also does sponsor kids to join up. Both children have been friends since they were in kindergarden. Tommy apologised to Chucky and to sensei about that. and they didnt want anything to do with that. But before Jackie and Tommy left, one of the sponsors came forward as they are always there watching the students so the sensei and sempais can get a drink and deal with parents. He offered to pay for Chucky's classes until the family can get back onto their feet (and they NEVER have to pay it back). Not to that sponsors knowledge the 2 other sponsoring families were there also and both donated $1 million dollars (Australian Dollar) to the family. After the 1st sponsor left. Now how Would you deal with this?

Hey all, I am curious to see what all you senior instructors throw into each section of a Black Belt Grading. These are the areas we have: Warm-Up Basics Combinations Kata Pre-arranged Sparring (our normal pre-arranged we teach all students, Gekasai and saifa bunkai - gekasai for blue belt and above and saifa shodan-ho and above, and kyogi) Sparring And just so you know we normally combine basics and combinations together

I'm curious how often do you all find that you just have a bad day in class? Like things you know aren't flowing smoothly, stuffing up pre-arranged sparring etc. or is it sometimes your partner that makes things extremely difficult to do everything because they just don't care or listen (and pay attention)? And why was it a bad class? Mine was last night, i had a combination of a difficult of an extremely rude, disrespectful and didn't pay attention type of partner and a bad night. My partner (17 year old male) is 1st kyu going for his black belt end of year, but he doesn't pay attention in class (especially when it comes to learning things that he actually requires for his grading). We went through 4 pre-arranged sparrings (yonhon kumite, gohon kumite, roppon kumite and nanahon kumite). And in each of them he stuffed many of the steps up (yonhon and gohon he had to know to get his 1st kyu), but when i told what to do (including when he missed steps) he brushed me off going "this is my first class back so i dont have to do all the steps and i really dont care", not only did i crack it at him for not having the right approach to training (and deciding to chop and change pre-arranged sparrig) and that with that attitude you will have a hard time doing well at the grading. Also my sensei saw what he was doing (i am the most patient student other than my friend steven who teaches adults now, but when people see me crack it they know it is for a valid reason) and he also told him off. After the 1st couple of mistakes, i HAD to remind him that he should be taking these classes seriously, and should be doing it like you are at a grading. Unfortunately i have to be on his grading panel (i am the 4th most senior student which doesn't include my sensei), and we have been told to work them to their absolute limits. And that they have to truly earn it Before i continue I wish to apologise if that offended anyone. i just had to have a rant. We only hold 2 black belt gradings a year, both of which are extremely hard to do well if you weren't focussed in your classes the 6 months leading up to it, and also have to do your absolute best at the grading without any slacking off or a bad attitude. As i have assisted with many, many gradings over the last few years, for kumite and i rarely have to join in. EXCEPT for when there are students that (like the one i had in my rant before) i do join in and make life a living hell. Since i am one of the most annoying guys to fight in my dojo because i am (relatively) an unorthodox fighter. When we go into "light" kumite where we allow takedowns, locks, chokes and grappling i do all those on those students who need that extra motivation to actually try harder and do better. I am not doing it out of spite but i actually want them to do well. If they have been sloppy in one or two areas we give them a chance to prove themselves with me. I've graded over 150 students, and only 15 of them needed some tough love during sparring. And after they receive their promotions those 15 asked why i chose them and why was it even more difficult. I explained why i chose them and that it wasn't anything personal but they need a massive kick up the butt to get over the line. But also on top of that i found out that my grandmother had another stroke and was in hospital again.

We got like 30 people to sign up over a few days. and a few of them are starting in the next couple of weeks

What was that course like? Actually learning BJJ is amazing, hurts but still amazing. Personally i have found some of the techniques already have helping me understand some techniques in karate (even if i've done karate for 12 years)! and my ability in kumite has shot up since i started doing it, as i have that extra perspective of what happens if this goes to ground. Some of the moves i learnt in BJJ, have actually transferred over to karate so i can use them just as effectively

agility i use cones to weave in and out of. movement i do: Right Moto Dachi (Sparring stance), back foot kicks (any kick you want, preferably a roundhouse kick). Drop that foot down, then a gyaku Tsuki (reverse punch, aka back hand punch). Then repeat off the other side

I know the feeling. Even at my Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu academy I often want to put that we train "Real" Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu. And it's a relatively new art form. It's just that, with all the tourneys and "no-gi" grappling stuff out there, too many are losing the point of BJJ's inception. Which was self defense. So here's an art, developed in 1925, that already has a great deal of watering in less than 100 years. Whaaa..?!? Ya'll in BJJ/MMA are experiencing the same thing?!? Stick a post-it on my forehead and call me "stupid"...lol I didn't think you guys had to deal with this; that this is one of the main reasons MMA came about... As I mentioned in my thread starter about MMA seeming to figure it out for themselves, what did you do, or continue to do, to figure this out? Style aside, what are you guys on the lookout for in terms of "watered down" JJJ/BJJ/MMA and "McMMAs"? For instance, what does your specific BJJ/MMA gym do (or don't do) to "keep it real"? I can't speak to MMA, which is a sport in and of itself. But in BJJ, there are three factions. 1. Traditionalists: Those who believe the system was developed for Self Defense using leverage based techniques with a focus on grappling over striking. It should be trained primarily in a gi because the gi slows things down and allows you to become very technical. Free rolling should be done both with and without striking and is always best to start standing because that's where most confrontations begin. --->>>> This is where most of the Gracie Family falls. It's also an art, not just a sport. 2. Players: These are the guys who do BJJ and believe it's just a sport. They don't practice it as a self defense art. They may be quite skilled but honestly don't know/care what to do if someone is striking at them. 3. Pretenders: These are usually all no-gi guys that trained a little bit and feel they are experts. They see no use for the gi and usually focus on physical attributes over technique. They'll pump iron for 3 hours then go "grapple." These guys annoy the heck out of me. I agree with the three categories that you have listed for BJJ. Where i train for BJJ caters for all 3 categories. and when you sign up, they ask you if your wanting to learn the traditional system, the "sporting" system where you compete, or no-gi. My issue with the no-gi option ("pretenders" in the list) is that they wear skin tight clothing. How often do they actually think that their walking along a street and someone comes along and attacks them whilst wearing that skin tight clothing? Most normal people wear comfortable clothing that isn't like what i just described. So they are going to struggle to know how to apply techniques that they have learnt. And that they go on for their physical attributes are more important than technique. BUT what happens if someone picks a fight with them that knows how to fight and can stop them in their tracks.

well exercise-based punishments can be contradicting the message that your giving them that you should do these because they are good for you. Especially for children, as they are learning you don't want to make exercise (like mountain climbers, push ups etc) look bad. If they keep acting up and you give them more of those exercises, they won't want to do it and will associate exercise with punishment (ergo bad) . So in the long run they may not want to exercise because of that one instructor gave them lots of punishments in terms of exercise. But for adults, its fair game because they already have a basis that exercise is good. Like DWx said, you should punish the whole group instead of the single person. This would make my above statements different. If you punish the whole group they will be on the ball of that any bad behaviour gets us all punished. BUT what i do to ensure that they don't start thinking "oh that sempai is so mean he gives us all push-ups because 'Johnny' misbehaved". I actually explain why i punished the whole group and make sure that all of them are aware that bad behavior isn't acceptable inside the dojo

Well, even if it's a large community, you will never really get it going because it's a closed group. If you can't teach anyone but community members where you are, then to grow at all you will need to find a different place to teach. As far as ideas about attracting students: - Demonstrations at grade schools - Home depot has events geared towards kids every couple months where other groups can show up and demonstrate/have an interest table - Boy/Girl scout groups, self defense seminars - Kiosk at a mall - Demonstrations at movie theaters when a MA themed movie comes out Always have a schedule or card with contact information readily available as well. Welcome to the forums! John I agree completely with John here. TBH (to be honest) you can leave and have more students from the surrounding communities join you. The things he has suggested are great. As my school (even though we are in excess of 300 students currently at our one dojo), we do school demonstrations to get the children aware that they could do martial arts. Recently I managed to convince my sensei to allow me to run anti-bullying classes at schools during the school day. and so far we have had 3-4 schools agree to this as they want to lower the amount of bullying that occurs in their schools. 1 of those schools is my old school (of which i am an alumni), have agreed to multiple sessions every term. They pay me for my time and knowledge. I make about $1500-3000 every time i attend the school but varies on the number of school students that are willing to attend. But with that money, i pocket 60% and my dojo receives the rest. The only reason why i am getting 60% is 1) my sensei has agreed with me on how to split the money 2) i take time out of my busy schedule to run it. If you show them that you mean business and that your curriculum will get plenty of business. Even maybe having an offer for YMCA members that sign up? As that the business will be able to benefit from and you will also. If you want more adults you can do a demonstration at a shopping centre (will cost $$$ but will make you $$$ in the long run) with your students if they are available, if not have some colleagues of yours from your old school to help out.

I have taught both and honestly for me it is a combination of the two. Because some of the kids i've taught aren't wanting to learn or aren't even excited to be learning karate. Some are enthusiastic and want to learn it. Whilst 30% of the adults are the same where they are doing it because they have to. and the rest are wanting to learn, even the more difficult techniques, kata and pre-arranged sparring.

Jujitsu and Karate do compliment each other very well. I have been doing BJJ which compliments my karate (goju-ryu) very well. Especially to get an understanding of ground-fighting

Congrats Andrew. Are you going to study further (ie get a diploma, bachelor etc) in the fitness industry?

At my old dojo and my current one, if we had a 12 year Junior Black Belt and they were interested in teaching we would restrict them to the juniors classes and not let them take the adults classes as intructors for obvious reasons (and they wouldn't be able to show the techniques to be effective for a demonstration). Although for the more advanced juniors they are partnered up with older black belts (at my current school we are 15/16+ except for my sensei who is in his 30's) so they can see how to manage a class like that. But often we will allow the JBB to take a small group with that assistance but the senior instructor will watch and have input of what to do.