Zanshin

Yeah! You 1st Degree. You rock!!

Yes, all of the above.

Hi AikiGuy, No worries. All too easy for the written word to be misunderstood on these forums. I think you are right, that at blue belt, what people might be demonstrating is "experimentation" of what they are learning, and actually I don’t think that’s a bad thing for a beginner to be exposed to that as its all part of the communal learning thing. It is however very different to the Su-Ha-Ri principle, as these "developments" (rather than adaptation) occur at a much more senior level. This explains it way better than I can: https://www.wadokarate.eclipse.co.uk/shuhari.htm

I do take your point whitematt, and I am not saying that the efforts you put in should not be rewarded, of course they should. I never said that running a part time club wasn't time consuming, but there is a huge jump from running a club on a part time level and becoming a full time professional instructor. As bearich suggests, the dynamics change hugely as soon as you need your students more than they need you! Also I take your point about professionals such as landscape gardeners and the like, but perhaps they offer a service that has a broader customer base than that of a martial arts instructor and so therefore work is more abundant. If anyone feels that they can make a living out of it then I envy them and they should go for it. Whenever I have spent time thinking about whether I could do it as a job I tend to arrive back at the same conclusion: - Karate is something I love with a passion, I would hate it to become something that I had to do because I needed to pay the mortgage and therefore grew to resent it.

I've managed it quite successfully for the last ten years. It doesn't have to consume your life to the detriment of your family. In fact my wife also trains in Karate, and when they are old enough, my kids probably will too (as long as they want to). I suppose my true feelings are that one shouldn't seek to "eat from karate" you should teach because you love it and not try to support yourself financially off the back of it. That said don't lose money over it either, and make it worth your while.

Not at blue belt though I think. Yes, most certainly at blue belt (although sometimes they shouldn't). When I was a blue belt, I taught lower ranks all the time. The other blue belts and I would compare methods and found that we had many different ways of doing or explaining the same techniques. If there was a big difference, we usually agreed that we all had valid ways of doing them but we should ask Sensei which way to teach it so we don't confuse the newer students. Everyone who said check with your Sensei is right. However Lexmark, you have a good point about not wanting the assistants to think you are wasting their time. The next time two assistants show you conflicting explanations of the same thing, point it out to either of them and let them take it from there to clarify it. Say something like "Here's your way and here's his way. Are both acceptable?" or "When should I use each variation?" An assistant can then compare notes with the other assistant or check with the instructor and give you a better answer. This way you don't have to offend anyone by going over his/her head to the Sensei. The assistant will appreciate this too since you are letting him do his job instead of making him look bad to the instructor. Hmm, I am not to sure that a blue belt is really qualified to teach, but that aside my point was not so much about teaching ability, but was more in response to Bushido_mans comments about "adjusting techniques" to suit each individual. Whilst in accordance with principles of "Su-Ha-Ri" adaptation does take place, I am not sure it’s at blue belt. It’s a bit too soon in my opinion.

I thing that a karate club and a karate dojo are two different things. A dojo is a room where you practice your system, as opposed to a club which is the sum of the members within. At the club where I teach, we train once a week, for 2 hours. For the rest of the week the dojo is a church hall. For those two hours though, the club members make it a dojo. If that makes sense.

What!! you pay for this in addition to your monthly tuition fees? If so I am in the wrong business. As a student yourself, you should know whether he is giving you a receipt or not. On the surface, it sounds to me that this guy has an agreement with the school owner that he will pay him a percentage of the takings. To be quite honest, as long as you are getting a decent lesson out of it and value for money, the problem is not yours. If on the other hand you are paying for stuff you don’t get, then that’s different. Is that the case?

Not at blue belt though I think. I take your point though, and also maybe the subject was discussed more on an informal level, i.e. one club member to another rather than a formal teaching. Again ask your sensei for clarification, but also chances are you will work it out for yourself.

I agree with everything that has been mentioned above. Learning to relax is the key to delivering good technique but equally very hard to do. I think its down to really hard, ongoing training, that will pay off. I know that sounds like a cop out but its true. You need to "forge" your Karate by training your body as hard as you can, eventually muscle memory, timing, and experience will begin to kick in. Its not a five-minute thing though, takes years.

I think you have a number advantages starting at the age you are. You have the maturity of mind to take on board what the instructors teach you, you have no pressure to do the things that a younger person might want, or be expected to do. Your approach to learning will de different as well as you have had 30 years of learning skills under your belt. I am 40 and have recently started training in another discipline (still training in Wado though). I am very much the new boy and the oldest in the class, but I love it, as I have nothing to prove and I can just learn. Go for it.

And lets not forget that its capital city is fast becoming the biggest in the world. Why? Because its always "Dublin" he.he.he. Sorry couldn't resist.

I would also use the time available to promote your new club arround campus. Starting a club from scratch is very difficult. Invest some time now.

Just a personal choice but I would look at Judo as my first option. Perhaps it’s the “Nipponophile” in me but I have a tendency to think that if your going to learn something from the ground up, do it in a "classical school" first then when you have learned the basics this will open a lot more doors to you, be it BJJ or whatever. But its your choice, I hope you enjoy whatever you choose and welcome to the forum.

If you are competing in all day events then eating junk food is the worst thing you can do. If I know I have a long event coming up, I usually have a good rice or pasta meal the day before to store up slow release carbohydrates, then during the day eat lightly. Fruit like bananas are a very good source of energy, they also contain potassium which reduces the risk of muscle cramp. Also drink plenty of fluid, the right type (I don’t know anything about "Gatorade" but if its mass produced, it may not be that good for you) a lot of the guys drink SIS electrolyte drink, which is a carbohydrate drink, and very fast working. A lot of cyclists and marathon runners use it. You can improve your performance enormously by just eating and drinking the right thing at the right time.

In what us Brits "laughingly" refer to as our summer, I do find it hard to get to the Dojo as opposed to coming home from work and cracking open a cold can of beer. In the winter though, seems like the right thing to do. Thank goodness I don’t live in Southern California. Not only would I never train, but I would have to be “dried out” every few weeks.

I think you have to weigh up what's more important to you; the instructor as an individual or the school / association. I would always go with what gives you more opportunities as a student. I lost a truly talented instructor (who taught me from the ground up) to another association, and the decision to stay behind tore me in two. In the end I stayed with the association I was with, as I felt that the depth of knowledge and access to other instructors / courses / competitions was far more advantageous. Over twenty years later, I am still training and as far as I know the instructor in question gave up long ago. That’s just my experience and circumstances though, yours may be very different.

If he is good then go and train with him. Think of yourself though. It’s always good to be a bit selfish when it comes to your MA training. Consider the opportunities that you have with your current association (access to courses with quality instructors, competitions and grading opportunities etc.) and whether that will improve if you move clubs / associations.

When you refer to the lessons as "independent" ie not with the chief instructor, what exactly does that mean? The reason why I ask is to try and work out who the fees for the lesson should be going to. If he is an employee of the club who is receiving money from students (on behalf of the club), he should record it and receipts should be given as proof of payment. Most importantly though the money and records should be passed to the club and banked accordingly. If however Independence means that he simply hires the club space from the club, he may have an agreement that anything he takes is his to do what he wants with. As long is he pays the hire fees, what’s left is his. Now if he chooses not to keep accurate records of his income, he may find himself in hot water with the IRS, but that aside he may not be steeling from the club. If in doubt go to the club secretary or treasurer and just ask.

Why don’t you look at it as less of a commercial venture and a way to earn a living, and more as giving something to the community? You can hold down a stable job elsewhere (which pays the bills) whilst teaching a couple of evenings a week. Keep overheads down and enjoy your MA rather than worrying where the next buck is coming from. This also allows you to keep your club standards high, without fear of financial implications and very importantly allows your to carry on learning yourself, which I think is key to the success of a good instructor. Try it, I guarantee it will make you feel better.

I'm confused. Surely you knew this a while back, so how come you were thinking about opening a club? My advise to you is to get your studies finished first, then look at starting a club when your position is a bit more stable. There is no rush. Learn as much as you can first (Karate that is). Remember, what you get out of the sausage machine is only as good as you put in.

Yep, that's pretty much it. Takes some practice to maximize the "snap" from that position, but when you've got it...Oh BABY...it's powerful. I don't know the first thing about TKD, but is'nt it possible that styles, dojangs and instructors are going to vary in terms of what they teach. To my knowledge the kick you are describing is not unique to Okinawan karate. Most decent systems will have the short range whip kick that you describe in their repertoire, so maybe he already does it. Just playing devils advocate

The Harry Cook book "shotokan Karate a precise history" gets a very good review. Could be what you are looking for. https://www.dragon-tsunami.org/Dtimes/Pages/ShotokanJNE.htm

Can anyone expand on this ATA lot. Being from across the pond as it were, I have never heard of them. We have had the recent introduction of GKR in the UK, which, shall we say, have a "driven" approach to their propagation. Is this the same thing?

Yes. One account I have heard is that Ohtsuka sensei viewed karate as way to give his Aiki Jujutsu "Teeth". That said I am sure that learning to strike efficiently was not the only thing that he took from Okinawan Shuri-te, as the Katas in Wado do play a vital part in teaching students like me how to move correctly.