Rich98

Wow sorry for the HUGE gap in updates, I was made redundant about a week after my last post so everything went out the window. Good news is I managed too sort a new job at the start of Jan, less hours and pay but much more relaxed. I ended up pulling them out of the club in Nov after chatting with another Sensei that runs a class a bit further out. Its £25 a month for 2 lessons a week at an hour a lesson... I almost spat my coffee at him when he told me the prices. I kinda figured that it was far too cheap and a waste of time but its like night and day. The last place was all about expense where as now its all about Karate, no silly 'special clubs' for additional membership fees and DVDs ect. The guy running is always there and you can tell he has a real passion for teaching it, lessons also seem a lot more focused. Also youngsters only do a 5 min warm up as he figures kids rarely need anything beyond that. The one thing that really shocked me was at least 8 members had came from the old club, they had all apparently mutinied the previous year. Also I've just started last week myself, pulled a muscle in my second lesson but still great fun with the kids!

I'm not entirely sure on the full details but I believe the Sensei has a full time job that prevents him being there very often. He also has a second dojo so any spare time he has is spread between the two I guess. Last time I saw him was at the start of the month though I think that he was there to collect membership money. Its sort of frustrating because when I went for the initial interview and trial I got the impression he ran the lessons and would be there a lot. It wasn't until the next few weeks that I discovered that he only really ran 2 maybe 3 lessons a month. As a side note we got back from a meeting and trial run at the new dojo this morning and wow what a difference. It was far more structured and Sensei was really great guy, he got my two engaged almost immediately. They actually said they never want to go back to the other place soon as we got out lol. I'm so happy to see my youngest get that spark after being put off. I also noticed the Sensei was fairly strict, soon as the little ones started messing about it was push-up and crunches all round. Though to be honest I prefer that, will hopefully help with discipline. And I'm sure I'll give it a go at some stage, I think I'll see how this new place works out over the next few months and look at get a on and off membership depending on how work is. Must say cheers again guys!

No not at all, I just don't have the energy. I can just about stay awake half the time Maybe in the near future if I change jobs and start to take it a little easier but as the main earner, gotta get those hours in to pay the bills.

I think you've pretty much nailed it, we had a class yesterday that I timed as being 9 mins of Karate, 2 of which the instructor spent looking at paper work. It was mainly younger pupils in so there seemed to be a lot more games and exercise which is fine but the kids already get to do all that at home. At the current rate of training I'm not likely to see any progress anytime soon. I managed to locate another Dojo not to far from me on KUGB.org and I'm due to pop in this weekend. I'll be honest I feel a bit bad if I do decide to move them as the Sensei genuinely a nice guy but he's just not there often enough and there seems to be a lack of focus as a consequence. I'd love to but I'm working 45 hour weeks, leave's me with just enough energy to tolerate the wife =)

I'm must thanks for all the advice guys, a lot has really hit home. Most of what you said JR 137 immediately reminds me of what I'm seeing now. Its a fairly small dojo with only one room and a waiting area but with 10 students in there you can barely swing a cat so you can imagine what its like when you have 4 groups of 2 - 3 people all spread out swinging fists and kicks in various directions. My wife attended a couple of times and couldn't make any sense of what was going on. I think now that I have spoken to you guys, I know what sort of questions I really need to be asking. Wish I had know this prior to spend in excess of £600 on this lessons and clothing I've managed to locate a couple other Dojo's and a similar distance so gonna pop in and see what they are like in comparison. Really appreciate it guys!

Wow both of you have a much different training setup to what my two are doing. Its Shotokan though I'm told that other things are mixed in to help improve other aspects of your fighting ability but my knowledge of it all is a bit limited. My 10 year old loves it and I'm loathed to take him out and find a new school somewhere else as he's made a friend or two but I want him to have the best possible experience. They also do this additional club for an extra fee that has a few more lessons and they go more in depth (also wear different outfits so make them stand out) which all seems a little odd. Think I might need to take a look round and see if there any other schools in my area, is Shotokan a good place to start for kids as young as 5 / 10?

I won't post the name of the dojo as I don't want to upset anyone just in case any of the more long term members frequent this board. I would question the Sensei but he's rarely there. Training is handled by other instructors atm with maybe 1 lesson with a week taught by him. My 10 year old has been learning a Kata I think which is like a series of punches in various directions and that has been the main focus on and off. Its kinda of difficult to give more detail as they always seem to be doing something a bit different each lesson. My 10 year old has resorted to youtube to practise at home. He seems to like it but I get the impression he wants to progress but isn't getting much of a chance. There had been one grading but neither was given the option to go for their next belt. So does 15 - 20 minutes of Karate a lesson seem about right? Is there anything else I should be looking out for or that I can do to try help them enjoy it a bit more?

I recently decided to try get my two kids into a Karate school a bit of a distance from me on the recommendation of a friend. Both my kids have a few issues with confidence and I figured it might help a little with that. One is 5 and the other is 10 and the initial month went ok but there are a few things that just don't feel right. I would like to say that it seems a little expensive at £130 a month for both of them but from what I've been told this is a good rate considering they can attend up to 3 lessons a week. Its the content on the lessons that seems off and hope someone might be able to help me feel a bit better about it. The lessons are 50mins each in which they'll do 25 - 30 mins of exercise work like running, jogging, push ups ect. A 5 min break and then 15 - 20 mins of actual Karate which seems so chaotic. What I mean by this is that there are several different groups of people with different belts, each is given something to practise and sent to their corner to work on it while the instructor focuses on the people with higher coloured belts. At the 4 month marker and my 5 year old no longer wants to attend out of sheer boredom and my 10 year old has grasped some very basic stuff but that's really about it. Is Karate meant to be this drawn out and does that sound right for a normal lesson at a Dojo? Any help would be appreciated.