I have very strong feelings towards this subject, Karate instructors or Martial arts instructors in general have a MASSIVE responsibility upon their shoulders, but some do not take this responsibility anywhere near as seriously as they should.
Karate or martial arts instructors are in a very strong position of influence, the kids look up to their Sensei or teacher, they want to reach the coveted Black Belt and in some cases will do anything the Sensei or instructor says.
When I was competing I saw many Sensei or instructors, from different karate Dojo and martial art schools, some were fantastic role models, but unfortunately there were an awful lot of instructors that made the evil karate instructor from the movie ‘Karate Kid’ look like a saint! Oh, and guess what, their senior students were just the same as them.
I did notice one positive from these sad people, sometimes the parents of the kids that trained with these sad instructors were just like the sad instructors, so I suppose it’s true what they say, ‘like attracts like’, which is good in a way, because one day they may need to be rounded up and shot and it would make the job all the more easier if they were grouped together.
Seriously, I find it very disturbing that there are karate instructors out there imposing their sad and disturbed way of life on small and very easily influenced children. In defence of the parents, we are all taught from an early age to respect authority, so when a parent brings their child to a karate school, they trust and believe the instructor, because the instructor is a black belt and we all know black belt means expert!
I may not be the best Karateka in the world, but I take my teaching responsibility very seriously, I want our karate kids, in and out of the dojo, to ~
• Know "right" from "wrong"
• Develop good self-esteem
• Treat others as they want to be treated.
• Assume responsibility for their actions
• Know that Karate begins and ends with respect
• Behave Responsibly
• Know that time is precious, so make the most of it
• Work cooperatively with others
• Use self-discipline to achieve goals
• Never Quit
• Resist negative peer pressure
• Be a positive influence on everyone they come into contact with
Ossu
Linden
Learn Karate At Home
Friday, December 11, 2009
Thursday, December 10, 2009
The Dancing Kata People!
Several years ago one of the black belts at our Dojo decided he was going to enter a competition.
We all knew what was going to happen, he would lose in the first round.
He was a great Karateka! his techniques were focused, strong and fast. Every time he executed a technique it was like it was his last.
The great Karateka Terry O'neill, always says, you must be able to switch on and off at will.
Well, this black belt could certainly switch on and off at will, he would die rather than lose, a very hard man to stop.
The day of the competition loomed ever closer, as an extra to normal dojo training we were running early in the morning for several weeks before the big day, we all prepared ourselves as best we could.
We arrived at the venue and warmed up.
Our black belt friend was the first one up, the first event was kata and the heian katas were the chosen katas.
The chief referee called Heian Nidan.
We sat and watched as our friend bowed, announced the Kata, flicked the switch on and performed a very strong Heian Nidan, that looked AWFUL!
His opponent strutted onto the mat like a proud peacock, as soon as his eyes met with chief referees eyes there was an overwhelming look of love. The chief referee announced Heian Nidan and our friends opponent replied OSSU with a look at the referee that translated as, 'I love you, please vote for me to win'.
Our friends opponent bowed, screamed the kata, didn't switch on, well that's not exactly true, he had already switched on, he was in Hollywood performance mode before he even walked on the mat. When he came to the first kiai I thought someone had been kicked in the nuts while trying to announce something on the tanoy system, also when he performed a kiai his head shot forward as if someone had hit him around the back of the head with a sledge hammer while his body was held completely still.
Saying that, he performed a very fast Kata that was text book technique and looked GREAT! I think.
Needless to say our friends opponent won.
Many years ago I watched Yahara Sensei perform Unsu, it was amazing but at the same time it was almost frightening, it was alive. I can always remember thinking, Yahara Sensei is actually fighting, really fighting.
That one performance from Yahara Sensei had a strong impact on me. I thought to myself, am I going to dance, or am I going to fight.
I believe competitions are good, great training arenas, places where you can test yourself with people you don't know, but I believe the emphasis should be on training, not winning a trophy, don't get me wrong, I would rather die than lose and it's a great feeling to win, but if I lose, I lose graciously.
If you are aHollywood film star Karateka, I have a question, do you wear underpants that match the colour of your karate suit label? If you don't, then you should, If you do then you really should give the chief referee a quick flash as you strut on the mat, it can only help!
Ahhh.... That's made me feel better.
Linden
We all knew what was going to happen, he would lose in the first round.
He was a great Karateka! his techniques were focused, strong and fast. Every time he executed a technique it was like it was his last.
The great Karateka Terry O'neill, always says, you must be able to switch on and off at will.
Well, this black belt could certainly switch on and off at will, he would die rather than lose, a very hard man to stop.
The day of the competition loomed ever closer, as an extra to normal dojo training we were running early in the morning for several weeks before the big day, we all prepared ourselves as best we could.
We arrived at the venue and warmed up.
Our black belt friend was the first one up, the first event was kata and the heian katas were the chosen katas.
The chief referee called Heian Nidan.
We sat and watched as our friend bowed, announced the Kata, flicked the switch on and performed a very strong Heian Nidan, that looked AWFUL!
His opponent strutted onto the mat like a proud peacock, as soon as his eyes met with chief referees eyes there was an overwhelming look of love. The chief referee announced Heian Nidan and our friends opponent replied OSSU with a look at the referee that translated as, 'I love you, please vote for me to win'.
Our friends opponent bowed, screamed the kata, didn't switch on, well that's not exactly true, he had already switched on, he was in Hollywood performance mode before he even walked on the mat. When he came to the first kiai I thought someone had been kicked in the nuts while trying to announce something on the tanoy system, also when he performed a kiai his head shot forward as if someone had hit him around the back of the head with a sledge hammer while his body was held completely still.
Saying that, he performed a very fast Kata that was text book technique and looked GREAT! I think.
Needless to say our friends opponent won.
Many years ago I watched Yahara Sensei perform Unsu, it was amazing but at the same time it was almost frightening, it was alive. I can always remember thinking, Yahara Sensei is actually fighting, really fighting.
That one performance from Yahara Sensei had a strong impact on me. I thought to myself, am I going to dance, or am I going to fight.
I believe competitions are good, great training arenas, places where you can test yourself with people you don't know, but I believe the emphasis should be on training, not winning a trophy, don't get me wrong, I would rather die than lose and it's a great feeling to win, but if I lose, I lose graciously.
If you are a
Ahhh.... That's made me feel better.
Wednesday, December 09, 2009
What Karate Dan Grade Are You?
When people ask me what karate Dan grade I am, I always respond with the same answer, DESPERATE DAN!
Many years ago, in ancient China, oh! Sorry, I’m getting carried away here. I'll start that again, several years ago I attended a seminar in London, England, there was a selection of Japanese Karate masters, all were brilliant.
There were hundreds of Karate practitioners, all ages and all grades. The Dojo captain shouted, 'Line up' and we all moved to where we thought our Karate Dan grade equivalents would be standing.
I remember looking towards the top of the line and there were some awesome Karate legends in the line, Terry O'neill, Bob Poynton and several others. There was also a group of very senior looking Karateka, their black belts were extremely worn, they had a certain look of authority about them, but they also looked worried and were standing down near the 1st and 2nd Dans.
The training began, warm up and stretch lasted maybe 20 minutes, then onto Kihon (basics), the theme of the seminar was to be a particular Kata (form). I will refrain from mentioning the Kata being taught, because a lot of karate seniors will know what seminar I am referring to, because they were probably on it, not that I’m saying they were the group I am going to talk about, because there were some hot Karateka on the course. I later realized that these paper martial artists were only on the course because it was a Kata seminar, if it had been Kumite (fighting), they would definitely have stayed at home.
I was near this group of what I thought were senior karate instructors, I was still wondering why they were down my end of the Black belt lines when I suddenly noticed one of them execute a sort of, reverse punch, it was weak, slow and with about as much focus as my 1 year old son has, when he’s watching the CNN news channel.
I know what you’re thinking, why wasn’t I concentrating on my Karate, all I can say is SHOCK!
There was 5 or 6 senior karate instructors in the group and in my opinion, they were awful, nice guys, but their karate was of a very poor standard. I later found out that the lowest grade in the group was Godan (5th Dan). Now I’m not the best in the world but when my instructor packed his bags and moved away, he said to me, ‘Linden, always train with the best, because there’s a lot of s**t out there’. I now know what my instructor was talking about.
Now there is a point to this story, thank god I here you all say. Because of this event happening all those years ago when I was still a teenager, I decided wasn’t going to test ever again, what a PRATT I was, I stayed Nidan(2nd Dan) for 15 years because in my mind I thought the Karate ranking system was a joke.
A great karate man changed my mind, he said, ‘ It’s all about you! Do not worry what everyone else is doing, it’s what it means to you that’s important, now go and grade.
I now realize more than ever that Karate is a one man/woman journey, it’s your journey and I wish you the best of luck.
Ossu,
Linden Huckle
karate for beginners
Many years ago, in ancient China, oh! Sorry, I’m getting carried away here. I'll start that again, several years ago I attended a seminar in London, England, there was a selection of Japanese Karate masters, all were brilliant.
There were hundreds of Karate practitioners, all ages and all grades. The Dojo captain shouted, 'Line up' and we all moved to where we thought our Karate Dan grade equivalents would be standing.
I remember looking towards the top of the line and there were some awesome Karate legends in the line, Terry O'neill, Bob Poynton and several others. There was also a group of very senior looking Karateka, their black belts were extremely worn, they had a certain look of authority about them, but they also looked worried and were standing down near the 1st and 2nd Dans.
The training began, warm up and stretch lasted maybe 20 minutes, then onto Kihon (basics), the theme of the seminar was to be a particular Kata (form). I will refrain from mentioning the Kata being taught, because a lot of karate seniors will know what seminar I am referring to, because they were probably on it, not that I’m saying they were the group I am going to talk about, because there were some hot Karateka on the course. I later realized that these paper martial artists were only on the course because it was a Kata seminar, if it had been Kumite (fighting), they would definitely have stayed at home.
I was near this group of what I thought were senior karate instructors, I was still wondering why they were down my end of the Black belt lines when I suddenly noticed one of them execute a sort of, reverse punch, it was weak, slow and with about as much focus as my 1 year old son has, when he’s watching the CNN news channel.
I know what you’re thinking, why wasn’t I concentrating on my Karate, all I can say is SHOCK!
There was 5 or 6 senior karate instructors in the group and in my opinion, they were awful, nice guys, but their karate was of a very poor standard. I later found out that the lowest grade in the group was Godan (5th Dan). Now I’m not the best in the world but when my instructor packed his bags and moved away, he said to me, ‘Linden, always train with the best, because there’s a lot of s**t out there’. I now know what my instructor was talking about.
Now there is a point to this story, thank god I here you all say. Because of this event happening all those years ago when I was still a teenager, I decided wasn’t going to test ever again, what a PRATT I was, I stayed Nidan(2nd Dan) for 15 years because in my mind I thought the Karate ranking system was a joke.
A great karate man changed my mind, he said, ‘ It’s all about you! Do not worry what everyone else is doing, it’s what it means to you that’s important, now go and grade.
I now realize more than ever that Karate is a one man/woman journey, it’s your journey and I wish you the best of luck.
Ossu,
Linden Huckle
karate for beginners
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