Tepul

I know many people who got 5th dan because of their work in the karate world. For example promoting karate as a teacher/dojo leader or national trainer. Most of them got their belt from the Shinhankai (Headquarter ) Now there are also some that took the test, but 5th dan is the highest rank you can do OUTSIDE Japan, so the test itself is pretty strict from what I heard. But most of my friends who took the test were already teaching for many years and also still training themselves, so all of them passed. 6th dan in JKA karate is required to be taken in Japan, which my teacher did. Seemed it was pretty hard, but I could not get too much info, as my dojo did not want to seem to weak. (understandable)

I got all 3 degrees in JKA karate, from a headoffice teacher. (Kawawada Sensei) Shodan: - Basics and combinations checked. Nothing special, but you must be confident/profient. - Kumite: Normal kumite, just show some skills, you dont need to win - Kata: your preferred kata. Depending on how well you perform, you might get some questions (bunkai, meaning) Not really difficult if you know what you are doing. Nidan: A little bit more strict then Shodan, but still very much manageable. Sandan: Now it starts to get tricky. You get a lot of questions. Since Sandan is trainer level, a good examinee will thoroughly check you knowledge. For example, Bunkai of a kata is not enough to answer with only 1 variation. I was asked 2 or sometimes 3 variations of certain parts. Which I had no troubles with, since my dojo did a lot of bunkai. Cant tell more abiout higher degrees though, sorry.

Quick update from my side: It is great teaching in this dojo. My kids are up to 4th Kyu (14-15 years). 3rd Kyu and Dan degrees train with the adults. And we teach them to take care of their juniors. Which means that I can sometimes let them teach the white belts (Kindergarten kids). They also reply with a loud YES when you explain something or give them orders. No issues at all with them accepting me as their teacher. Took maybe 1-2 weeks for all of them to official address me as Sensei. The adults were a little bit more difficult. Mainly the young guys (18 years) Some were calling me Senpai or Kyoshi-dai (sub-teacher), but everybody calls me sensei now as well. Had some troubles adjusting them to the same level as the kids in regards to replies. As you know, answering with a loud YES to some guy is humiliating for young adults. But I guess they understood my explanation that they are being a bad example to the young students and quickly caught up! In contrast to many people's believes though, the level for adults is rather low. Mainly because many older students come rarely, due to work. But when they come to train, then you get 100% of their attention. On the other hand, my current dojo is not very technical, since they do full contact shotokan with gear. Main focus is often POWER, but I am trying my hardest to let them see that real power comes from the core/basics. Some are starting to see the light, haha. Anyway, thanks for the continuous positive comments! I really enjoy this forum. Keep up the good work, OSS.

I am doing/teaching Bogu karate in Japan. (Full contact Shotokan with protective gear). In our dojo, we have several levels of kumite. - Full contact point system: like normal ippon kumite, but you can hit full power. No low kicks, no throws, no elbows/knees - Adults kumite (black belts) Knees/elbows, low kicks allowed. Throws are partially allowed (no uchimata or seioi nage) - Veteran kumite (black belts): Everything goes, kicks, punches, throws, newaza, headbutts, flying kicks, kamehameha

Dear all, thank you for the positive answers. As for myself, I have been training myself steadily and shown my skills/discipline. Additionally I have been kind of training with other people during free training time. (aka teaching) Also, my sensei knows about my past accomplishments/ranks as I have shown him my JKA passport. Now during training sessions we often talk and have discussions where I actively participate. I guess he judged my skills on my performance during training. To make a long story short: my sensei saw my level and decided that I am worthy to teach in his dojo

Thanks to all. But no, I am not teaching in the HQ! I am not that good! I am teaching in a small dojo in Toyota city

Dear Sensei8, Thanks for replying. I always enjoy your posts and replies in other topics. Yes indeed, the other trainers and the sensei are very helpful. I am mainly responsible for kihon and speed training. As you might know, semi-contact shotokan is known for its speed. But if you add full contact to it, speed decreases while power increases. Both of course have their merits and demerits. Kids are very disciplined, I can for example tell on of the 4th or 3rd Kyuus to look after the white belts and they will do this very thoroughly. The adults on the other hand are very sloppy. Since most of them are normal working adults, the drive/motivation is very different. Especially since the work environment is different in Japan. Work comes first, then hobbies. So adults training is mostly light training to prevent injuries or overwork.

Oss my dear fellow Karateka's I have been mostly lurking on this forum and I have to admit, you all have great knowledge but dont push it onto others. It is proof of great character. It would be great if we could train together once! Now to the main topic, I just came to share my joy with all of you. Because I have been promoted to trainer in my dojo in Japan. I have 2 days were I officially train childrens class and adults class. My original style is semi-contact Shotokan (JKA), but now I joined a full contact Shotokan style that also allows throws and groundwork. (Full contact with protective gear) Which means I need to work on my shin/fist conditioning and groundwork. Really looking forward to teaching in Japan. Thanks for reading!

I agree. I am actually conditioning my shin, instep and ball of the foot (toes?)

Dear all, Thank you for the advice. I did indeed ask my sensei and he adviced me to take it slowly. Also to kick with both instep and shin. Time to get working now

Oss! Easy question: I am getting started with karate again and have been training Shotokan before. Now I switched to a dojo on Japan that practices Shotokan, but with protective gear (full contact). So I was planning on training on the heavy bag as well. But kick it hurt my feet a lot. Feels like bruising and the next day it swells up a bit. I generally quit after it starts hurting. Now I checked with google sensei, but most threads are about kick boxing or muay thai. So they kick with either the shin or with shoes. Karate on the other hand, kicks with the foot, so I was wondering what you all think about it. Just stick with it?

Dear all, Thank you for replying. Yesterday I did some sparring in the new dojo. The helmet is terrible to breath in! But it is interesting to be a little less scared to hit your opponent, which was my biggest concern. And yes, we use point system with Bogu, but for example a jodan mawashi would give 2 points instead of 1. First one to get a 5 point lead wins. And a little off topic: The training for kids is awesome! My kid (6 years) trained with children up to 10 years and they were so disciplined! Highest belt was blue belt (girl) and she lead the group extremely professional! Loud and clear orders, and that from a cute 10 year old Japanese girl! My daughter was also very enthusiastic, since all students were very open. My daughter was officially introduced by the sensei and all students came to her to welcome her individually! IN regards to my training, my techniques could keep up, but my leg muscles couldnt... I forgot that zenkutsu daichi hurts this much xD haha ANyway, thanks for reading! Oss!

Oss! I have been lurking around this forum for almost 2 years now. So it gets about time for me to register, right? Just wanna boast that I am finally going to train karate again! I am so excited about it! And the best thing? My daughter (6 years) is going to join as well! Some background for those interested: I originally started Shotokan (JKA) in Holland, got my 2nd Degree there. Moved to Germany then where I got my 3rd Degree. But the dojo and German karate weren't very interesting, so I kinda of lost my interest in karate. (add full time job and kids into the mix) Now I'm living in Japan and there is a karate dojo near my house! The sensei there is not 100% shotokan, but general Bogu Karate practitioner. But the trainers are both 100% JKA shotokan (4th Degree for Kumite and 6th Degree for Kata). So there will be no need to adapt me for! Only thing changing is bogu (so full contact point system with protective gear). But this might even be better, since you will learn a better feedback in your body when actually hitting/getting hit. Looking forward to using kizami mae geri as a counter without fear of kicking somebody's teeth out. Anybody got some experience switching from semi-contact to full contact gear karate? I would love to hear your opinions. Best regards, Tepul