RichardHangHong

In our classes most of them are mixed grades, but I have 2 classes that are specifically for 6th kyu and above, 1 night kata, 1 night kumite and also another class for brown and black belts only. It's good training with mixed grades, but it's also good having an only high grades class. The atmosphere intensity is considerably higher/different in those classes.

I'm a firm believer in not washing the belt. But if you really are having trouble with an overly stiff belt then put a little warm water around the knot as this will help take out some of the starch. Just make sure your kid isn't wearing his belt when you do it or it'll look like he's wet himself!

Wow! Looks like you've got some test coming up eh? Not really sure I can help with advice on the controlled sparring as kyokushin is full contact and I train in non-contact. Only advice I can give is follow the do's and don'ts for kumite, whatever they may be. Perhaps you could share a little light on that subject for us...

We have quite a few training seminars throughout the year for out students. Usually focused on either 1 or 2 katas or on kumite, we also do self defence seminars in plain clothes which is a lot of fun. And on ocassion we get instructors from other organisations to teach a seminar for us as it always helps to have another insight as to how to do things.

Keep practicing, that's all you can do. Just remember the 6 P's Persistent Practice Prevents Pitifully Poor Performance

I second Jiffy's thoughts. Wait longer, until you absolutely have to move and then move at your usual speed and intensity.

Definitely apologise, to both the guy and your Sensei. Sounds like you over-reacted and without thinking either. Your first reaction in an event like that should be to assess, rather than just lash out. A little thought can go a long way.

In our school we don't practice jumping kicks apart from in katas, the first one being in kanku-dai for 2nd dan. Ocassionally we'll get the bags out and have some fun with a few jump kicks, but generally they're seen as impractical, therefore we don't use them.

Like everyone else says, it's the instructor that's important so go check out a few schools first before you decide one which one to go to. Let the instructor know what you're looking for and they can tell you if they can provide that for you. All karate has grappling techniques. Just some schools don't focus on it as much.

LOL! Oo-err missus! I'll refrain from making any obvious puns about who wears the trousers in that dojo then! oops! Sounds like it was pretty hilarious! I'll make sure my trousers are tied up tight if I'm ever in a dojo with you then.

I always thought that 9th and 10th dans had to be somewhat advanced in their years so I found it quite a shock to hear of a traditional karateka who is a 10th Dan at the tender age of 47. I don't think he's Shotokan though but I may be wrong.

Oh I see. Who's the head of the organisation?

Was that the live action one or the animated series? My memory can't recall.

ISKF?

The 5 Heian katas were extracted from Kanku Dai to make it easier for students to assimilate. Kanku Dai was originally the first kata students would learn, but it was so difficult for beginners, hence the Heian katas.

It's called the Freedom of Association Act. I can't stop people from training elsewhere if they want to. A lot of clubs out there are so paranoid or insecure that they think if they let their students go and train in other places they'll quit and go over to that other club. Just look at GKR as a prime example. To stop their instructors (whatever low grade they may be) from leaving for a better club, they're not allowed to train with any other clubs. I think they even have to sign a contract to that fact too, but I can't be 100% sure. I'm confident in letting my students train elsewhere. I even encourage it, from brown belt onwards only though. This is because I want the students to at least get some sort of solid foundation before they start mixing it up.

I like people to be straight forward. If they just said that they were going to try out some other clubs for a little while I would have been fine with it. It's the whole cloak and dagger stuff that bugs me. If someone is honest with me, even if I don't like it, I'll respect them for being straight with me. But lying to my face or avoiding and hiding stuff loses my trust straight away and they find it very hard to regain my trust again for a long time.

It certainly puts some interesting views forward. Do you think that if the whole belt system was changed to just white-green-brown-black or white-brown-black or even white-black that there would be more people training in karate/martial arts, the same amount as now or less? Personally, I think that less people would be training as people like to mark their progress this way. It's ego at its best but it can be a good thing in a way. In an ideal world it gives you a rough idea of where people have progressed so far in their chosen art. A lot of styles use the mon system (tips on belts) with children. I can't comment on this as I don't really know much about it, perhaps someone here could shed a bit more light on it for me? The simpler the explanation, the better. LOL!

Confidence and self esteem Fitness Lots and lots of friends A better understanding of the body and it's movements. The joys of teaching and seeing my students progress. The biggest thing I feel I have gained is a passion for karate and the martial arts. I wouldn't give it up for the world. I just can't see myself not ever doing it.

I've got a student who has been off for a few years and he came back for a month last year as a white belt then stopped again. He still keeps in touch either by phone or on our website forum and is trying to get back into training but finds it very difficult as he suffers from depression (bi-polar or something similar). He knows we're all looking forward to seeing him in the dojo again.

Sounds like the instructor was being very petty indeed. There would be certain circumstances where it would be perfectly valid to refuse re-entry but given what you've said about the whole situation I don't think there's any good reason at all. I had a situation a couple of years ago where a father and son who trained with me were getting along just fine in training, but the son put little effort in and the father was extremely stiff. Both of them were 7th kyus and were both very eager to get their next belts. The son knew the basic pattern for his grade kata but put no effort into doing it properly and the father didn't know all of it and/or kept forgetting bits/making mistakes. Anyway, they'd been 7th kyus for a few months and then they disappeared. I was still in touch with them and the father had said they were having some family troubles so could not train for a while but would be back as soon as they could. I thought fair enough and left them to it, but still kept in contact as they were nice people. I found out that they had both snuck off to go to another club similar in style to ours. When I asked him about it he said straight to my face that he wasn't training anywhere even though I said I didn't mind if he was. Also at this other club, the son was instantly given his 6th kyu and the father given 5th kyu. I was very shocked, for two reasons, 1) that they told me a bold faced lie about them going off to another club and 2) That the other club gave out 2 belts to a couple of students who obviously didn't know what they were doing and were nowhere near the standards required. The dad popped into my dojo a while ago to say hello, his son had quit training because he was bored and the dad couldn't train because of an injured ankle. How much of that is actually true I don't know or really care, but needless to say, if they ever walk back into my dojo again wanting to train they'll be promptly asked to leave.

Took me 4 and a half years to get my provisional black, 3 and a half was training full time (5 days/nights a week) and also had a 2 month break when I got run over by a car, luckily only had a broken thumb from it. A year later I got my full shodan.

I can only speak from a karate point of view. I don't think it's just Karate or TKD, but you'll find lots of martial arts schools out there which can take 4, 5, 6 years or more to get to black belt, whilst others you can get a black belt in a year. Look around and you'll see it happens everywhere. Any less that 4 years (on average) and I'd be somewhat wary. If on the odd occassion an exceptional student grades to black belt in a shorter time then that's okay, provided it doesn't happen too regularly.

Good luck! I'll keep my fingers crossed for you!

I choose my fiancee's ring quite carefully. She'd mentioned about a year beforehand what type of ring she would always want should we ever get hitched. Without telling her, I saved up enough money, found a ring that matched what she wanted (marcus cut, not sure about the spelling but it looks like an oval but the ends are pointed). I snuck through her bag during training one night to get a mold from one of her rings so I could get the right size. All in all it took me 8 months and £1100 to get the ring. I spent the next 4 months secretly planning a weekend away in Paris for our 3rd anniversary together. I proposed to her on the Pont des Art Bridge outside the Louvre overlooking the Eiffel Tower which was flashing lights at the time. She said yes and was amazed that I remembered what ring she wanted after so long. (I don't have the best memory in the world)