Kwon Shu Karate

[AngryDelldo]

Sweet! a board with other BLK people on it! Which studio do you study at Angry?

Nice! I study at the Spanish Fork studio. Which are you?

... to Bushido I'm really not sure, he didnt get that specific.

[gamedweeb]

I study at the Logan Studio.

I think as far as TKD goes, some of the kicks we learn are imported from TKD. At least that's the impression I got from one of Master Lawrence's books.

[AngryDelldo]

We were shown some of the Akido moves tonight, so I guess that is something to add to the list.

I am having so much fun that I cant wait till I decide which black belt club I want to join.

[bushido_man96]

I am having so much fun that I cant wait till I decide which black belt club I want to join.

What kind of different black belt clubs does your school offer?

[gamedweeb]

As far as clubs go, they're more levels of commitment I guess you could say. Each level includes all the curriculum from the level before it.

There's the "Classic Karate" as my intructor calls it. It's the basic curriculum for the whole system. You learn basic self, but effective self defense, basic Katas and Forms, very basic boxing, and some "Showtime" kick (jumping, variations of basic kicks). This is what's required to earn a Black Belt in the system.

At the "Black Belt Club" level, some basic weapons are introduced: Nunchucks, Escrima Sticks, and Bo Staff, there are forms that go with each of those. There are extra self-defense techniques that are taught as well. You also start sparring at Yellow as opposed to Purple in the "Classic" program. More boxing skills are included.

At the "Masters Club" level bladded weapons are introduced Kamas, Bokken/Shanai (which translates into the Katana at 3rd degree Black), and Sai. There are forms that go with each of those. My instructor has also included some other forms that Master Lawrence has pulled from the system for some reason (Heian Nidan, Yondan, Tekki Shodan, Bassai Dai). More boxing skills are taught as well as more Self Defense techniques. Interactions between different weapons are also taught.

Then there's the "Instructor Training" level, it includes leadership training, more weapons forms, more empty hand forms, more self defense, kick boxing skills are also taught. There are three levels to the instructors program.

Year One: Happy Wander: The student is given responsibilities in class, such as helping other students, and spreading energy in the class.

Year Two: Assistant Instructor: The student generally starts leading basics and other sections of classes, occasionally an entire class.

Year Three: Instructor: If the school can support it, this is generally where other paid positions come into play. *When this third year is completed the student is considered to be ready to run their own school or a club. (* at least that's my understanding)

Also at each level there are extra classes that are taught for each specific level, such as two extra classes a month focusing on Black Belt Club skills, two extra focusing on Masters Club skills, and an extra 1-2 classes per week for Instructor Trainning. I think the school owner really decides the ammount of extra classes.

There's also other clubs like SWAT and STORM, SWAT is kind of the teenage leadership, and STORM is the demo team.

Wow that's a lot of stuff, now that I look at it...

[gamedweeb]

By the Aikido do you mean stuff like Locked Wing, Twisted/Spiraling Twig?

[AngryDelldo]

By the Aikido do you mean stuff like Locked Wing, Twisted/Spiraling Twig?

He wasn't teaching us Aikito, but rather the methods used to stretch our wrists and get them to be streight. While showing these stretching methods he also demonstrated how they are generally used in Aikito to bring an opponent down to their knees. I have no idea what they would be called though.

[bushido_man96]

I kind of like the set-up your instructor has. It is very incentive laden and goal oriented, which is great for student retention.

[gamedweeb]

Bushido, funny you should mention goal oriented. Goal setting is one of the biggest skills that students are expected to learn at BLK.

Angry, that's cool about the Aikido stuff, I don't think I've been taught any of that stuff per-se. But joint manipulation is fun, as well as useful.

[bushido_man96]

Bushido, funny you should mention goal oriented. Goal setting is one of the biggest skills that students are expected to learn at BLK.

That is great. Goal-setting is something that a lot of people don't do correctly, and knowing how to set your goals and manage the path to accomplishing them is very important, and useful for everyone.