Rig

I've looked at loads of different Martial Arts specific web platforms as well as other general purpose CRM ones and I'm yet to find what I'm looking for.. https://www.martialytics.com has a good reputation and is used by a few of my friends for their commercial clubs. I find a well thought out Excel spreadsheet works well for me and I use use Google Contacts for managing student data, not just names and addresses (useful to have on your phone in cases of emergency) but also the notes field and custom dates (I use one for licence expiry as well as birthday)

I've attended a number of Iain's seminar's. Simply put, if you get the chance, go! you won't be disappointed.

Hi Hudson1984, Always great to hear from another UK Karate-Ka.

Welcome Kwon_Artist, sounds like your week is pretty full (just like my own)

No, I don't wear t-shirts or rash guards and the fleece that I wear over the top is white as well. I do wear 3 other gi's throughout the week and none of them have the marks. All my gi's are worn the same, same kind of class, washed the same and hung up the same.

I've contacted both the supplier and Hirota direct and neither have heard of this issue before and unable to help It's a shame as I love Hirota gi's

Just trying to play devils advocate here. There are 2 issues here, 1 of the licence/insurance and the other regarding the grading. I know some associations that have 'blank' insurance slips and manually fill them in for each students license return, this doesn't make them a forgery, just hand written, the student is still fully insured. Some associations buy their insurance in batches, say up to 500 students, others pay per student. I would have asked for details of their insurance company as well as a look at the instructors own insurance certificate, if they can't provide it, why now? The issue regarding the lack of kumite and the grading, again this may just be down to circumstances, some grading examiners have the ability to waver some requirements in a grading? Why not give us some clues about who they are?

One thought was maybe I had a cut or spot on my neck and that caused a small amount of blood to seep into the material and this was my current theory but then I've heard from someone else who has had the same issue (red/pink marks) so I'm back to square one.

No, not from a label. I've contacted both the importer and Hirota direct and neither can explain why this has happened and claim never to have had it happen before. I just wondered if anyone else had had this issue? I'm my nearly 30 years of training I've never seen anything like this and my other gi have not shown and other signs.

I purchased 3 Hirota Pinack gi's just over 1 year ago and I've noticed that all 3 of my gi's have developed a red/pink stain around the top of the jacket, just where you might see some sweat marks. I have have 3 other makes of Karate gi's and wear all 6 gi's over the course of a week so that the wear and tear are divided between these dogi's and my other 3 gi's have no developed these red/pink marks just the expected sweat marks. All my gi's are machine washed on a sub 30 degree wash. Has anyone else had this issue with Hirota dogi's? it just seems strange that it's only on them.

I advertise all the costs involved at my club as a matter of principle, I feel that it's only fair to be open about these sort of things.

Malcolm, great to hear how things are going, looking at my student capture statistics 98% of my students were via Google so a good website and website marketing will help. As PS1 has already mentioned do not let your website be all about you, it's not a place to highlight your ego, make sure it's aimed at the what prospective students will get, i.e. fitness, confidence etc. There is a very good book on this subject by Matthew Chapman called Black Belt Biz (https://www.blackbeltbiz.co.uk) that contains loads of marketing ideas as well as what to do when you get prospective students as well as retention ideas.

We do it at the end of our lessons at my instructors club but at my own club we perform some qigong breathing exercises instead to help balance the lesson out.

I've heard only good things about this gi, my only issue is the location of the Kyoto logo on the front and back. I'm a big fan of the Hirota pinack gi but they obviously cost a lot more.

I agree, the parent was astonished when I said that they would have to wait until they are at least 5! I think she was after a babysitting service rather than a martial arts class.

We take children from the age of 5 but as wagnerk has said, it's down to the individual child as some 5 year olds have fantastic focus while some 8 year olds don't. I did once have a parent ask his her 2 year old could take part (and this was after she had come and watched a lesson)

Have fun!

Yes, a great topic! My first Karate lesson was in 1984 and I was 14 years old, I had been learning Chow Gar Kung Fu for the past 4 years and was a brown sash when a friend told me that he wanted to go and 'do karate' at the local sports centre and as I knew about his stuff would I go with him and support him, being a cocky 14 year old brown sash I thought it would be a laugh and I might get to show up these white pyjama wearing Karate people! We arrived and there were about 30 people in white gi's all wearing different coloured belts including 3 wearing black belts, we had a chat with the main instructor (Mal) and then began following the warn ups, after about 30 minutes (I was knackered!) we were called into line and the beginners were taken by another black belt (Rod) where he taught us how to make a fist, how to stand, how to punch and front kick etc. After 2 hours the lesson was over and I was totally worn out and just about managed the 3 mile walk home! My mate decided that it wasn't for him but that 1 lesson had ignited a spark and even thou the training was way harder than I was used to I loved it (and hated it) I was hooked! After that single lesson I never went back to my Kung Fu class, I'm not saying one is better than the other, just that this martial art 'fitted' me it made sense to me and my body. The best part is that I still train with Mal and Rod to this day!

I love my Hirota Pinak. I bought 3 of them from kuroobiya.com and after waiting about 8 weeks they finally arrived (they took 3 weeks to clear UK customs!)

DWx, thanks for the info, I've signed up and I will see if this is suitable. I've been on your clubs site as well as the demo site and it looks very well designed and implemented. Cheers, I hope you have a great Christmas and fantastic New Year. (BTW I've heard good things about your club keep it up!)

While I've been teaching for over 10 years it's only been recent that I've opened my own class. We normally train in a full gi or if students prefer they can wear a while t-shirt, our Karate association has it's own t-shirts available, and this is what the majority of students wear, but recently I've had a number of enquiries regarding students wishing to purchase my own class t-shirts. Can anyone recommend any online UK t-shirt suppliers?

Welcome to the site.

Muttley, thanks for post, I've just bought Judo Memoirs for £0.01 :)

Muttley, thanks for post, I've just bought Judo Memoirs for £0.01 :)

Born Fighter by Dave Hazard is a great autobiography.