Dr. Flem

For those of you that do Shotokan or know about this martial art.... From my understanding, it is a well rounded and traditional style of Karate that is great for the mind, body and spirit. How long have you been training in Shotokan? How are you finding it so far? Is it useful for self defense? How many times a week do you train? Thanks.

Does anybody know of any good Goju Ryu schools in the Eastern Suburbs of Melbourne, Australia? I'm in Balwyn North if that rings a bell. This is the only Goju Ryu school I've found in this area and I'll visit them after the holidays are over but just for a heads up, does anybody know of it? One of the instructors is named Gill de Vries and he seems to be the only instructor on there without a bio so that's a little discouraging. The other is Hennie de Vries. Anyway...here is the link. http://www.schoolofmartialarts.com.au/ If you can let me know of any other schools in the Melbourne area, that'd be most appreciated. Thank you very much for your time.

The Shotokan school has an introductory lesson where they take me privately for $15. That's bad right? hehe Anyway, yes, I will be looking around. I'll be trying different schools but if I suddenly find one I really like, I'm gonna stick with it. I just wish that these damn holidays would be over with already.

I guess they all cost around the same amount. The uniform is $140.00. Quite a bit but from what the instructor has told me, it's "made of canvas(not cotton) and the quality is very good".

Well thanks alot for all the help. After much searching and research, I've found only two schools in my area that are within my price range. 1. Shotokan -- http://www.shotokan.com.au/ $75/month with a $75 yearly membership. Have to buy uniform seperately. Is that alot for 2 lessons per week? The teacher(or sensei?) says that after two months of training, I'm able to start on 3 lessons per week for no extra charge. 2. Goju Kai -- Still closed for the holidays but my friend goes there and she told me that it's approx the same price as the Shotokan school. Just remember that that's $75 Australian.

Thanks guys and gals....... It's beginning to make alot of sense now. Good teacher = worthwhile school. Bad teacher = waste of time. All martial arts eventually reach the same point and each have their good and bad points. Very much appreciated. I've learnt quite a bit in the last few days.

Thought I might add that I've found anther Goju school. Although, the add doesn't specify wether it's Gojukai or Goju Ryu. It just says... International Goju Karate Do (phone number etc) I'll give em' a call when they're open again but I'm just curious....does this mean it's Goju Kai or Goju Ryu?

OK... Thank you for the help guys. I've been doing alot of searching for MA schools over the past few days and all I've found are a couple that interest me. Strangely, my area is almost completely dry of MA schools. Shotokan - http://www.shotokan.com.au/ Now this one seems good and from what you have told me, it's a well rounder MA so it'll be my first stop. The website seems quite well done and from their info area, they seem well respected. What do you think? ----- Go-Kan-Ryu - http://www.gkrkarate.com/default.asp I'm not too sure if this is a well known style. Seems as though the founder trained in Goju-Kai so that brings me to my next school.... ----- There is a Goju Kai school within a 10 minute walking distance from my home but I haven't seen it as of yet. I want a complete system and from what I have in my area, Shotokan seems to be the only one. Nevertheless, I'm going to have to visit each one and have a chat with the Sensei.

Thanks again P.A.L. You've helped me out quite a bit tonight.

Sorry mate but could you tell me what JKA is? I need to get used to the lingo. EDIT: Just did a search...Japan Karate Association right? Is JKA Shotokan any different to normal Shotokan?

Yep...I'm aware of the McDojo problem. Thanks for the help. As for the styles mentioned, do they all involve hand and foot techniques to all parts of the body? EDIT: Just noticed your post P.A.L. Thank you very much for that.

Can you please name a karate style that incorporates... High kicking aswell as low Striking Some grappling/throws ...and whatever else you might feel to be important for a beginner. I was thinking either Goju Kai, Go Kan Ryu or Shotokan. I might be wrong so any help is welcome. Thanks.

Hey, as a newbie, I'm not too sure about the fundamentals of Karate. I'm trying to make the same decision as the original poster although I'll be choosing between Goju-Kai and Shotokan. I'm just curious but does Shotokan involve kicks above the waist line? If so, how much striking is there in comparison to kicking? Percentage wise. Thanks.

Pardon my ignorance but what does that actually mean? Tournament Karate? I don't want to enter any tournaments, I just want to learn Karate. It'd be great if somebody could explain this to me. Thanks again Master Jules.... I may have asked you before but do you know much about Shotokan? Would that incorporate the high kicking, striking and everything else I've been wanting to learn? Sorry for all the questions...you just seem to know your stuff and it's better than creating a new thread. Take your time in answering if time is an issue. Thanks.

Another detailed and intense post Master Jules, thanks alot. As for Zen Do Kai, it was founded not too long ago. I've spoken with a former pupil and he seems to think that it's a mix of Boxing and Martial Arts but with alot of Muay Thai kicking. I don't really think that that's what I'm looking for. Glad to hear that Goju Kai kicks above the waist line. It sounds like what I'm looking for but being the new guy that I am, I'm going to have to ask this question.... Is Goju Kai a very traditional MA in comparison to Goju Ryu? Do many people train in this style? Does it involve meditation and body conditioning etc? These are some of the factors that I'm looking for. Thanks cross..... I'm in Melbourne, Australia and that link takes me to the site but won't let me into the Victorian locations area. Oh well..... There is a Goju Kai school within a 10 minute walk from my home but I just thought I'd check out some other locations before I commit. Thanks again everybody.

Fantastic post Master Jules. Thank you very much for the help. I'm just curious but does Goju Kai involve kicks that are above the waist line? I've heard that it's mostly a striking MA. Can you confirm this? I think it'd be better to stick to the original but unfortunetely, there aren't any Okinawan Goju Ryu schools in my area from what I can tell. Another MA I'm looking at would either be Zen Do Kai or Hapkido so any information you can give me would be most helpful. Especially in reference to Zen Do Kai. You seem to be quite knowledgable in the ways of Karate. Thanks again.

Thanks for the link jedimc but the Melbourne links don't seem to work. Could be a problem on my side but still.... Thanks anyway.

Ahh, ok. So the fighting style has to have some subtle changes from what I can gather. I'm just not sure how it works. I noticed that you're in Australia. Which state? I'm in Melbourne and the only Karate school I can find in my area is a Gojukai Karate Dojo which is based in Balywn North. Do you know of any good sites that will have dojo listings in Australia? I'm looking to start up with karate but I'm not sure as to which style I want to do.

Hi there.... As some of you know, I'm quite new to the martial arts so I'm gonna keep on asking the questions I need the answers to. Can anybody please tell me the main differences between Gojukai Karate and Goju Ryu Karate? Can't seem to find anything on the net so I just thought I'd ask you guys. Thanks alot.

Will do.

Just for the curious.... The school I'll be attending(hopefully) will be run by Sifu Del Fisher. From the website.

Why do I want to learn? I suppose it's a matter of personal growth and a change of lifestyle. From what I've seen, the martial arts are good for the mind, body and spirit. That's exactly what I'm looking for. I know it's not something that'll be mastered in a month or two. However, I do know that it'll be something that I'll have to work hard for and I'm willing to do just that. I'm leaning towards Wing Chun at the moment. It's a 30 - 45 minutes drive away but if I'm serious about this, it really shouldn't matter how far I have to travel.

Ok...thank you very much for the help. I've already checked out both classes and both schools are fantastic. Great atmosphere and a very helpful sifu/sensei. It just comes down to what I'm looking for really. So Wing Chun has alot of low kicking, centerline stiking and trapping moves whereas Goju Kyu is alot of striking and blocking with quite a bit of high kicking. If only there was a martial art that had a mix of both. Any ideas?

G'day all...this is my first ever post so I'm sorry if something similar has already been discussed. I've done a search but couldn't find anything to help me with my query. I'm just curious but this is for the people who do(or know a bit about) Goju Ryu Karate and/or Wing Chun Kung Fu. Which one(for yourself) would you be most interested in and why? Weaknesses and strengths are what I'm looking for. What are they like in comparison to each other? I'm quite new to the martial arts. I'm torn between these two styles mainly due to the distance from my house and I have quite a bit of interest for both. One is approx 45 minutes away and the other is within a 10 minute walking time. I know that this shouldn't be an issue but it's something I have to look into. I really hope that this is the right forum section to post in. Thanks for the help.