NothingsShadow

If we are talking about what is the best language to allow for the best international understanding of an art wouldn't that be both the native language of the art and the native language of the martial artist. If we use our native language as we practice a martial art there is no need to learn any language just technique, if at the same time we learn a little of another language (the native language of the art) our understanding will be more global.

I would have to agree with those that have argued the point about Karate and Sensei not being English words, if you want to use only English in your training then do just that. I do personally believe that the traditional language of a martial art is an important part of the tradition for that art as a whole and those who wish to not use (or learn) their arts native language are to some extent missing some of the tradition of that art. As has been said in this thread already translating Japanese into English correctly is difficult but that's not a good reason not to use it. I'm sure most would agree that few of us do martial arts because it is easy. I have read a number of times in this forum that people believe the Japanese language is often mistranslated and misunderstood (I agree), but I believe one of the objectives of a truly traditional martial artist is to seek out these mistranslations and rectify them. Some things need to change and some things need to stay the same, the individual will decide what falls where. I personally use as much Japanese as I can, and strive every day to gain a better understanding of it as I see this as another doorway into the philosophy of Karate-do. I do get concerned sometimes by schools that seem to use Japanese terms when it suits them (e.g. titles) but at no other times, this kind of use of the traditional languages seems to stem either from laziness or ego, neither of which are traits becoming of a martial artist.

Yes I had a go at tug of war last night too and it went over quite well. I also had a go at the Sensei doesn't know anything game, I think I need to try that a few more times before they fully get what I want them to do, but it's still a great idea.

Well done on your surprise grading. It's good to see that you instructor understands that life it what happens when you begin to make plans. I have had this happen to me as well (not the MRI thing but the grading thing) and I remember feeling the same when I worked out what was going on. Good luck with your MRI.

Our dojo is similar to Sohan in that no one gets double graded mainly because the gap and skill level between each grade is large. We have only 5 Kyu grades in our system and once you get to about 2 Kyu it would normally be 2 years or so between 2-1 and 1-Shodan (normally at least 6 months between each of the lower Kyu grades).

Yes star systems work very well with kids, we have used a punch card star system in our dojo for a number of years (a card with lots of stars on it and you get them punched out as you receive them). We hand them out a little less liberally though, but the idea is the same, you get patches for your dogi and prizes once you have go a certain number.

I think the rough plan you have laid out looks good. It's a good idea to brake up the gaps between the karate sessions with something completely different (especially if most of the kids have little Martial Arts experience). A few ideas I would put in for some fun stuff would be follow the leader (outside around a playground or something if you have access) and something that I remember doing once when I was a kid on a Karate camp was Joke telling (the older ones may need to be warned to keep it clean), it can help everyone to gain some confidence and to get to know each other (if they don't already). I think the most important thing if your looking to "wet their appetite" is to make the week as fun as possible, obviously is the kids don't enjoy themself they are unlikely to continue training after the camp.

I don't think anyone has ever been expelled from our dojo. Our dojo is very tight knit (as I would expect are most), if someone did something to dishonour the dojo or themself they won't be expelled they will just be ignored, eventually they remove themselves. Fortunately we have never had anyone do some of the things some of you have suggested (like violent crimes), I'm not sure how that would be approached, that may a case were someone is strictly expelled.

Also ... I completely agree with this, and I think you have really hit the nail on the head with regard to the problems western dojo's face when using Japanese terminology.

ps1, I understand and agree with what you are saying, I don't think that you need to speak Japanese in order to successfully learn martial arts (or that doing so is any less traditional). That said if you do wish to use the Japanese terminology (this is what I meant by "Seek out the native language", there is no need to do so if you don't use it in your dojo) it is important to understand it (our idea of what a basic understanding is may differ some what). As I said a few posts above I know there are some issues with the use of Japanese even within our dojo that has stemmed from many years of misunderstanding (e.g the use of sempai and kohai and even the use of sensei). Just for the record Isshinryu_heart, in our dojo any dan grade is regarded as a sensei (it takes about 7-8 years to get shodan in our dojo with 5 kyu grades in between). In the years I have been involved at our dojo I have seen about 14 people promoted to shodan only 6 of those still actively train (not including Kancho our head sensei).

Unfortunately this is often the case but I don't see this a reason to not use the terms at all. It is up to all Karateka to seek out and understand the native language of the art they are learning (at least at a basic level) as this is part of the tradition and origan of these arts. If you do not understand what these titles mean it is part of ones training to find out for oneself.

I feel the same way. Although our dojo's do charge some grading fees in the lower grades and our training fees have slowly increased over the years (to keep up with our local council trying to bleed us try) but even with these things in place the rewards I have received from my training far out weigh the minimal cost.

Five years training in one style is unlikely to be that useful when it comes to adapting your own style (especially if you are looking to improve martial arts in general not just your own fighting ability). One reason martial artists train under high level sensei is because their sensei has trained for many years under his sensei and his sensei under his and so on. Hence the style has evolved from one sensei to the next with the assistance of the many years of experience of the teachers of the past. By branching off at such an early stage of your training circumvents this process and instead of further strengthening an already good thing you would essentially be starting from scratch. If you really do wish to apply your style to the training you have currently done and don't wish to continue in the traditional vein then DokterVet's idea is probably a good path to take as it will give you some hands on time to try out your style and ongoing contact with other martial artists.

"You cannot forge a strong body with a weak mind, you cannot forge a strong mind with a weak spirit"

I agree that $6000 is ridiculous but not unheard of, I have heard of a few dojo's that have grading fees this high. I think you really need to look at what your grading fee is getting you. Some smaller schools don't have the resources to grade above shodan, hence they may need to bring in instructors from interstate or overseas to carry out a grading, this costs money. That said a can't see that the cost of importing several instructors from the other side of the world (which is about what $6000 would get you) should fall to one student who is attempting shodan after 3 years with the dojo. This is obviously a farce and I personally would start looking for another place to train. Fortunately in our dojo there is rarely the need to import high level sensei to sit on grading panels so our grading fees are on a sliding scale. They start at about $50 for your first grade and by the time you get to shodan your gradings are free. This is because the more time you put into your training and the more you put into the dojo the less you need to support the dojo financially. Our dojo is a non-profit dojo and any fees collected are put back into the running costs of the dojo. The lower grades contribute financially, the higher grades contribute with there experience. That said everyone pays the same training fees.

From my understanding the Shogo titles roughly mean the following: Renshi - a sensei who is practiced Kyoshi - a sensei who is knowledgeable Hanshi - a sensei who is a good model The exact grade and timing that these titles will be awarded will vary but I believe that they are very important to signify a sensei's overall ability to teach. If a sensei wishes to be called by this title is up to them as they have earned that right (self appointed titles are obviously a farce). In our dojo we use these terms a long with the term "Kancho" which essentually means "head of the house". Also the term Sempai need not be restricted to just senior non-dan grades, it really could be extended to anyone who is senior to you, with any one who is junior to you being your Kohai. In most Karate schools however (ours included) Sempai is reserved to the senior kyu grades and Kohai is seldom used.

Ultimately every dojo will need to be run like a business to some extent, whether they be non-profit or professional, this is to keep a dojo viable (but how business like you make it depends on your definition of viable and too much business and not enough martial arts make for a bad dojo). karatekid1975 your sensei sounds like he has had many years experience and "should" be a good instructor, unfortunately those with many years experience aren't necessarily the best instructors (depending on their personality and their sensei's ability to teach them). If you haven't already, maybe you could speak to some of the other Black Belts in your dojo and try to work out what their take on you problems are. Having been there before you they may have a more accessible insight into what your sensei’s philosophy really is.

Maybe it is a problem with the inexperience of the people running these dojo. IMHO there seems to be many people that aren't experienced enough to be running a professional dojo (by that I mean a dojo where their major income is derived). In Japan many professional sensei will have been training for 40, 50 or 60 years (maybe longer) where as in the west it seems that many professional dojo are run by people who have significantly less experience (15, 20, 25 years). I only know a very small hand full of people who would fit into the 40+ years experience category (personally I mean) who aren't Japanese. Hence, I think maybe some people may need to reassess who their sensei is and are they really qualified to be a professional sensei. Obviously years aren't everything but they are a significant factor. Unfortunately in the west there seem to be fewer opportunities to learn martial arts professionally, hence there are fewer avenues into professionally teaching martial arts. I don’t personally think that anyone who wishes to make some serious money from martial arts should be running a dojo as in my opinion it undermines what martial arts are all about. That said professional sensei are needed so that they can commit themselves to their respective martial arts full time. For some it's not feasible to run a non-profit dojo, but for a large number it would be, and I believe this is an important step is gaining experience and respect for the potential running of a professional dojo. Remember respect (true respect) cannot be demanded, it must be earned.

They're some good ones Rateh, I especially like the "sensei doesn’t know anything" one (I might have a go at that tonight). I have another that is similar to one of Rateh's. All kids except one line up along a wall facing the front, the one kid left over stands at the front (facing away from the rest) and calls out go .... stop (in whatever language you want) in quick succession. When they call go the kids in the line will run forward, when stop is called all the kids in the line must stop immediately and adopt a stance, the kid at the front will then quickly turn around and if they catch anyone still moving after they say stop that person must return to the start line. Also the kid at the front will check that everyone else is in a good stance (you can't do the same one twice) and if their not (a senior may need to help with this) they are also sent back to the start. Then the kid at the front turns around again (so they can't see everyone else again) and calls go .... stop again and repeats the same action as before. The aim of the game is to tag the person standing at the front without being caught moving by that person and maintaining a good stance each time stop is called. I find this game a lot of fun because it is quite subjective what makes a good stance, hence you can be very harsh on the senior grades allowing the little ones to have a chance, meaning everyone can join in and have equal chance of winning.

I couldn't agree more. A lot of people see Self Defence training as a way to learn how to get away for a variety of attacks, a way to defend your self against anything. A seriously dedicated martial artist has definitely placed themself on this path but for most people, the overwhelming majority of people, a life dedicated to martial arts isn't the life for them. This being the case everyone still has the right (and unfortunately in a lot of cases the need) to know something about how to defend themselves. The short courses you are all sceptic about are aimed at the majority of the non MA people of the world to do exactly what "Spirit At Choice" has said (well not all of them do, but the good one's do). A good short self defence course shouldn't teach you a range a techniques, it shouldn't really teach you any real techniques (that the average Joe won't already know), it will teach you to be confident, to feel that you have a sporting chance if push came to shove and very importantly to show you what it really feels like to get attacked so when it happens your not shocked by it. I agree "Spirit At Choice" you are taking a step well and truly in the right direction, my Sensei has always told me "there are no victims only volunteers", don't be a volunteer, hold your head up high, and my biggest advice would be to seeks someone out who will teach real down and dirt basic self defence that has nothing to do with technique and everything to do with a state of mine that we all have but most of don't know that we have let alone how to use it.

I agree. Also it is important that you don't just always run through your kata one after the other without stopping to correct yourself. A good way to train on and improve your kata (even if that means just remembering it) is to allocate a set length of time that you will only practice one kata (a lesson, week, month, year), spend some time getting to know that kata and only then move onto the next. This is especially important when you move into the longer and more complex kata, if you spend all of your time thinking about what the next move is you're kata will never improve.

I tend to agree with Jiffy, obviously you can do one without the other but in doing so you are missing half the story. I have seen karateka within my dojo who have excellent (technically very good) technique but no zanshin, focus or intent, this stems from the fact they don't truly understand what they are doing (bunkai). On the other hand some have amazing intent, looking like they are really fighting while practicing their kata but their laking in precise technique. Only those who truly understand both sides can execute their kata well. IMHO kata hold the key to most things in Karate, I think beginner's are essentially taught the bunkai first in that they will probably learn some generic basic applications before they get right into kata. Once they have got a solid grasp of the basic kata and bunkai it is really up to the student to investigate their kata and find their own bunkai, constantly refining it to find techniques that truly do work for them. I have no idea how the kata/ bunkai relationship first started, it may have been something like this or something completely different.

That is a very good way of putting it, I too haven't invested the time in getting my breathing up to scratch, looks like we all need to work on it.

I guess there are a lot of people who don't breath correctly (either they have a medical condition or they just don't know how). Fortunately I don't have asthma (to hear that ibuki has helped yours is fantastic), but I too have found a profound improvement in my ability to recover (get some oxygen into the blood, slow that heart rate down) when I work on using the things I have learnt from breathing exercises like ibuki and the like (simple meditation is fantastic for this too).

No, just their ego. Even if you're a guy the gender responses tend to be the same. I guess the other response I normally get (other that the dismissive one you've spoken of) is something like "So not only could you kick my but you could make it look funny while you were doing it". Most guys are concerned when they meet someone they perceive as being better at fighting then them, but once again it's just ego. That said you have to make sure you're not trying to come across as a tough nut because then you're ego is to blame not theirs.