RJCKarate

My adults program uses white (8-7kyu), green (6-4kyu), and brown (3-1kyu), so it's fairly minimalistic, and modelled on the common system used in my ryuha in Okinawa. New students don't generally have a concept of exactly what the belts contain, and personally, think it puts the focus more on the learning than belt.

For me, probably the greatest challenge over the long term has been balancing genuine personal development with the responsibility that comes with running a dojo. Travelling to Okinawa has always been important to me because there are things you simply don't get by bringing a teacher to you. Being in their dojo, following their training rhythm, being around their other students and seeing the broader context in which they teach is part of the education. You're also there as a student—not the host, organiser or person responsible for everyone else. At the same time, bringing teachers to Australia has enormous value because it exposes more of our students to them and allows that relationship to extend beyond just me. But hosting is a very different experience. You're inevitably organising seminars, accommodation, transport, meals and looking after everyone, so your own training can sometimes become secondary. The biggest challenge is probably time and consistency. A relationship with a teacher overseas can't just be something you engage with occasionally when it's convenient. It takes years of returning, training, asking questions, making corrections, going home and working on them, and then returning again. I've increasingly come to see those trips less as collecting new material and more as continuing to foster a strong relationship. For me, that's probably the real value of maintaining the connection.

Currently, I'm focusing on building a better academic understanding of anatomy, and biomechanics, with a particular focus on contact and non-contact forces and how they generate power.

I think there are two particularly important reasons why kata remains necessary in karate. The first is practical: kata is a mnemonic for solo training. It provides a way of recording movements, combinations and principles so they can be remembered, rehearsed and explored without a partner. It isn't the fight itself, nor is it intended to replace partner or impact training; it gives us a framework through which that knowledge can be retained and practised. The second, and perhaps more unique, is that kata preserves the thinking of our teachers. Within a kata are decisions about movement, positioning, timing, power generation and combative strategy. Those decisions represent the ideas and experiences of the people who developed and transmitted them. We can question them, test them through bunkai, and develop our own understanding—but the kata gives us something remarkably valuable to keep returning to. In that sense, kata doesn't just preserve techniques or history. It preserves a conversation with the karateka who came before us.

This is a very interesting grading format, and I can see how it could work for clubs who come together. Personally, I would hope that people don't become candidates if their attitude is unacceptable and has been screened beforehand. I wouldn't expect many candidates to be failing on that portion... although I've had a circumstance where I've observed a candidate behave in a way that wouldn't generally be acceptable, but the reason may have been permissible. How did you find evaluating grades that are much senior to your own? That's also a big grading... I don't know many clubs in Australia that would have such a number of senior grades.

I'll have a chat to them, then their parent. If they're simply no longer interested, I usually recommend a break.

I didn't, no, sorry.

Actually, I believe there's one under Onaga Yusuke. But neither Shitoryu or Wadoryu are considered Okinawan karate.

Both have a strong foundation in Shorinryu (more Chibana than Kyan), but life any style, there are subtle differences that really define the stylistic lenses. As the parent style, perhaps they somewhat have the ability to look at their grand/children and day, 'hey, I'm happy with that'. For example, I tell my students up until 4Kyu we're rally just learning Karate. From 3Kyu it should be obvious of the differences between Shorinryu and other styles, and from 1Dan it should be clear they do Matsubayashiryu not Sho/Kobayashiryu. Just my thoughts!

My group, of which I'm in, is from 13:30!

The class requirement scales up for each grade. 0?8Kyu 20 classes, 2>1Kyu 48. We have a minimum attendance policy of attending twice per week, so it's really based around this. 40 classes would be at least two terms, which is on average, how people progress.

I don't refer to myself as sensei, and, I use 'Kancho' when it comes to any reference needed. Some interpret this as being grandiose, but it's the opposite. This is my position, and others choose whether to call me sensei. However, I maintain a student-teacher relationship with all my students, and while I have strong friendships, I don't create friends at the dojo. This is how I was taught, and it's how I find it best to operate (and I do the same as an educator). I would expect that my students attach an appropriate honorific in all our correspondence, because to me, Karate isn't an activity, it's a way of life. If they don't identify with that, I've no issue. There are many dojo.

I have a classes policy rather than time, as I believe hours training is more important than time in grade. It also accounts for individuals learning differently. The requirement is quite minimal. Most take around 5-8 years to become Yudansha. For BmYudansha there is the nominal years (eg 2>3Dan 3 years) as well as the classes.

Cheers all! Whilst many new ways to engage have developed over the last 18 years, I still very much enjoy the forum format, and I read the topics here regularly.

I recognise the AFK provides sports coaching accreditation, but Australia has a variety of ways to get accredited as a coach, but the word "accredited" is the difficult bit. The AFTK, a body for traditional karate and kobudo, also provides a certification process recognised by various bodies throughout Australia: https://aftk.org.au/membership/certification/