ashworth

Just a quick rant on cars! So I have been driving for about 8 years now, have never really been in a position to save and buy a half decent car, so have always bought old second hand cars, have had about 6 different cars! and i am finding it frustrating that I'm always spending out money just for a car that I'm going to need repair 6-8 months down the line. My current car, Honda Civic, is the latest pain in my bum! whilst I admit is hasn't been a bad car for the past 6 months, and I knew the clutch didn't have a lot of life left in it I was kinda hoping it would last at least a year, but in the past week its started playing up and struggling to go into gear sometimes, so now I'm worrying every time I take it out. So this time I'm putting my foot down, I have decided that I'm not going to spend the money on it to replace the clutch just so something else can go wrong in a few months time, I have also decided that I'm not going to fix the situation by going out and struggling to find the money to buy another old second hand car. This time I'm going for a brand new car! obviously I can't afford to buy a new car, but have been looking at dealership's finance deals and spoken to a few people that have done that sort of thing and it definitely seems worth it! especially now some dealers are throwing in insurance with the deal all for one monthly payment. I was always planning looking into this but was going to be in a couple of months after my holiday, but now I'm being forced to take action now... Sooooo people on this board that are in the UK; whats your opinion on car finance deals? is it something you have done before? and I know there are a lot of people from the US on this board... how do the finance deals work over there for cars? do you think they are practical?

I'm a big fan of watching love actually around Christmas time, great film!

Also can't believe I have nearly been on here for 10 years... looking at my post count I definitely need to start contributing more!!

Thanks Guys! I'm quite shocked! never thought I would get member of the month! Just happy that I have had something to say about recent topics on the forum. Look forward to contributing more in the future.

I have a diary that I take to every class, in it I write what students turn up, what they pay(Students pay per class rather than monthly payments) then when I get back home I transfer the data onto an excel document. It works for me, simple easy to use.

The thing I love most about my art isn't anything tangible, its the feeling I get from training, turning up to the dojo leaving all outside problems at the door, and forgetting about all the worries of the world.

I would say definitely try to mix them up a bit more, maybe some team activities and choose the teams your self so they have to work together with others outside of their groups. Keeping them within their own little groups will just fuel the situation and push them further apart, when it comes to sparring I like everyone to be able to spar with anyone in the class. Just what I think anyway But good luck with all those girls! your very brave!!

Great Work! OSU!

Welcome to the Forum!

Thank you a bunch. Most welcome, I must say I am a bit jealous! must be nice your have your own location, the little dojo I teach from is a great little place, but its not mine

Looks like a lovely little dojo! best of luck in there

I think of all the scenarios I've heard of from instructors over the years that start with, "a guy comes up to you in a bar or pool hall and...." I always thought, "I don't spend much time in either of those places, I'll never get to use this technique." lol But you must be the guy these instructors were with when they came up with applications for their lessons. Just Kidding. all in fun. Haha! certainly, I have actually been playing pool with a student that helps me out with teaching in the dojo and we have spoken about these kinds of scenarios! I actually engraved my pool cue with my name in katakana...

Totally Agree, Tom Hardy played the part really well. I'm a sucker for any kind of MA related movie anyway but it is one of my favourites!

All depends what your hoping to get out of your training, you don't need our permission to do what you want. I Used to actually train with a family member that hadn't done it for a few years, but I was also training in proper classes. Do as you wish, train with her for now just be careful not to pick up any bad habits and if the chance arises that you can join a club take it.

I play darts in a local amateur pub league, and also captain a pool team...

Depends how long ago she was in training, she may be able to help you but shouldn't be your sole source of training, ideally you should try to attend a class. Trying to learn it yourself or from someone who doesn't really do it anymore isn't recommended, would be too easy to pick up bad habits... you need an instructor who knows what they are doing to watch and correct you. Just what I think..

I started when I was 5, growing up with karate it felt really natural to me, changed clubs a couple of times and always seemed to pick everything up pretty quickly, then when I became an instructor I had to learn all the mistakes and bad habbits that can be made so that I can help the students, I make a point of using this experience to reassure my students, that it doesn't matter how long it takes them to get it right or how many mistakes, because making those mistakes helps them gain the experience to be able to identify it later on if they end up becoming instructors or assistant instructors.

At the moment I'm only running a small club, two classes, one for kids and one for the older students. for me to break even with the cost of hiring the dojo I only need 3 students! which is good for me as I prefer teaching small classes of between 5-10 to focus more on students individual needs.

1) How did you first become interested in martial arts? Was bullied as a young kid, and I Loved jackie chan! 2) What discipline did you decide to practice? Karate 3) Why did you choose that specific discipline over the other disciplines? was the first discipline I found in the area, ended up loving everything about it, the art itself, the sport aspect of it. 4) What is your skill level within your martial arts discipline? average, a Dan grade black belt running my own classes 5) What other things do you like to do? (When you're not in the gym/dojo, what else do you like to do with your time? This can be physical or nonphysical pass times) I captain a pool team in an amateur league, also play on a dart team, 6) What are the first 3 martial arts related brands that come to your mind. (FIRST, not BEST). Blitz, Tokaido, Shuriedo 7) How do you decide what martial arts gear/equipment to get? (How do you select one type or brand over another?) Depends what I need, with some items I know what brands are better quality 8 ) Roughly how often to you buy new martial arts equipment? I normally put an order in once a month 9) Where do you get your equipment from? Is there a reason for this? Blitz mostly as I have a trade account set up with them so get it for a good price

Allllllllll the time! every time I'm at work, Martial arts is the biggest thing in my life so takes up the most of my thinking time...

In terms of kobudo I would say the sai.. no reason why really, just always the one I have leaned to... if we are talking about weapons in general then thats easy, the Katana! hands down, nothing else even comes close

The point of this post is to get views on having an instructor from another club/style come along to train in your class.. I have been teaching properly on my own for about 4 years now, my instructor due to personal reasons had to leave, leaving me in charge of the classes. There is only so much we can achieve by training on our own, we sometimes need to stand in line and just focus on being a student again and follow the instructions of another instructor... Thankfully I do know a few other instructors that are happy to have me train in their classes, one of them being my very first instructor from about 19 years ago. But there are some who don't like the idea at all, that will make you feel unwelcome and awkward by being there. What is up with these people? I'm not their to poach their students or anything, all I wanna do is train!! Your thoughts on the matter?

My club is still relatively new, but one of my very first students I am currently training up to be an instructor, as he will be my first one, I'm not exactly running a course for him, just have one on one sessions every week, training him how to spot mistakes, how to correct them, and just the general aspects of teaching a martial art class. He also assists me in our current classes, often taking small groups in the class, soon I'm going to let him loose with running a complete class while I watch. I have been doing this with him for over a year now, its more like a apprenticeship type of thing that we are doing.

I would say definitely ask your sensei if you can spar more in class, how often do they do kumite in your class? I wouldn't want any of my students going into a tournament without sparring in the dojo first, to let them know what to expect, and get a feel for it...

Open Hard to say no to parents that want to see their kids during a grading, but I do make sure they aren't near the mat, in our last location there was a separate room that had a view into the dojo so parents used to sit in there. and luckily for my adult gradings normally no one wants to watch them, except for one time a higher grade aikido-ka decided to pop in to see how I do things, was nervous myself! let alone the ones grading! So yeah my gradings are open to all, but I do prefer it when everyone is on the mat with no one watching...