Returning to karate training after an absence of any length can feel intimidating.

Life can throw a lot of curveballs, and sometimes it’s difficult to find the motivation to get back into training after facing personal challenges, illness, injuries or other setbacks.

Finding the motivation to return to the dojo after a break, especially when you have other commitments and responsibilities competing for your time and energy, is challenging.

Read on for tips to help you get back on the mat and rediscover the benefits of karate.

Start slowly

Getting back into the habit of training can be tough, especially if you haven’t been active for a while. Gradually increase the intensity of your training sessions as you build more strength and stamina.

You may find it helpful to go back to basics and review the fundamental techniques (kihon) to regain muscle memory and refresh your knowledge.

Remember to be patient and give yourself time as you ease back into your karate training routine.

It’s important to listen to your body. Don’t be afraid to take short breaks or scale back your training if you’re injured or unwell.

Seek additional support

Have realistic goals and ask for guidance from your Sensei or Sempai to ensure you are training safely and effectively. They can help you review techniques and concepts you may have forgotten and offer encouragement and support to assist in your return to training.

Our Online Dojo also contains an on-demand library of Kata videos that can complement your in-class training.

Set achievable goals

Setting achievable goals is important when returning to karate training after a break.

Consider your current fitness level and any physical limitations you may have.

Set short-term goals that are attainable within a reasonable amount of time, such as mastering a specific technique or increasing the number of push-ups you can do without a rest.

Starting with small, achievable goals can help you stay motivated and keep you from feeling overwhelmed. Progress may not always be linear – modify your goals to suit your current abilities and needs.

It can also be helpful to set long-term goals, such as earning a particular belt or participating in a tournament.

Celebrate your victories

As you return to training, celebrate your accomplishments, no matter how big or small. Recognising your achievements and reflecting on your progress helps maintain your motivation and a positive outlook towards your karate training.

Acknowledging your growth can give you confidence to continue working towards your goals.

Focus on the present

It’s natural to compare yourself to your previous performance levels, but try to stay focused on your current progress – what you can do today. It’s okay if you’re not at the same level as you were before your break. The most important thing is that you keep moving forward.

If you’ve been away from training for an extended period of time, you might find that you’ve forgotten some techniques and concepts. You may feel frustrated by this, but your instructors are committed to helping you reach your full potential, so don’t be afraid to reach out to them for support.

Train with a friend or family member

Training with others can be a great way to stay motivated and accountable. You’ll have someone to encourage you and push you to keep training, even when you don’t feel like it.

Karate is different from many other sports and activities, because families can train together if they wish to. Karate training as a family is a fun and enjoyable way to share a common interest, learn new skills and build stronger family bonds. Our classes offer a great workout and teach practical self-defence skills to people of all ages and abilities.

Change it up

If you’re feeling burnt out or discouraged, try starting a new training program or switching up your routine. Sometimes a change of scenery or a new challenge can be just what you need to get back into training. Try out a new GKR Karate dojo near you, or train on a different day.

Returning to karate training after an absence can be a challenge. But with the right mindset and approach can also be incredibly rewarding.

If you’re considering getting back into karate, don’t hesitate. Find your nearest dojo, attend your next class, and continue your karate journey today!

If you recently received an email from us, make sure you use the links provided in the email to reactivate your membership and continue your karate journey. We look forward to welcoming you back to the dojo soon!

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There are many words in the English language that begin with ‘Pro’, such professional, promotion, progress, prodigy, production, and so on. Each of these terms suggests something positive. In contrast, procrastination, the age-old art of putting things off, is negative in its connotation.

The procrastinator’s mentality says ‘Why do something today when I can easily put it off until tomorrow?’. Yet when the morrow comes, the same verse is repeated once again.

At one stage or another in our lives, we have all been guilty of ‘stalling’, ‘delaying’, ‘giving it a miss’, or any other of the pseudonyms that procrastination hides behind. As it knows no bounds, it can rear its ugly head in every area of our life. From small things that lead to temporary frustration, such as taking out garbage, doing homework, or cleaning the house, to major areas, which can lead to a life of disappointment, unhappiness, and stress. These may include dealing with, or controlling problems, to making or taking opportunities in our life.

The road to karate success is also abundant with ‘procrastination pot-holes’. Have you ever had a strong impulse to take up an extra class? To practise kata at home? To start a new fitness or stretching regime? These are all common short-term ‘Gunna Goals’ people set for themselves. Gunna Goals are those things we are ‘gunna’ do, but for some reason never get a start on.

In his book, The Art Of War, Sun Tzu wrote “know your enemy”. Considering procrastination is an enemy of all humankind, let us examine it. By understanding the way it functions, and the attitudes that fuel its fire, only then can we eventually conquer it.

It is worthy of noting, that procrastination is often a symptom of a deeper problem. In such cases, the only cure is going directly to the root to deal with the true problem.

Firstly, it is often a symptom of a lack of self-confidence. When we lose confidence in our ourselves we tend to do very little of anything. Secondly, it is often a symptom of apathy, the ‘couldn’t care less’ or ‘couldn’t be bothered’ syndrome. After all, if you don’t care about something, you generally put it off.

What can we do about it?

Often people believe they are either born with a certain level of confidence, or apathy – but it has become clear that these are learned attitudes and fortunately like anything we learn, we have the ability to improve and show growth in these areas. There are many books and regional karate instructors who can help you in both of these areas.

When a person feels that neither a lack of self-confidence or apathy is contributing to their procrastination habits, then we can look at our list of ‘Procrastination Triggers’. The most common causes of procrastination include:

• Too boring
• Too hard
• Too complex
• Too time-consuming
• Too confronting
• Too shy
• Too embarrassing

If a given situation involves one or more of these triggers, then procrastination is a likely outcome. This is because when we procrastinate we are probably obsessed by the task, not the outcome. We tend to be focused on the short term, the drudgery or the difficulty.

However, if we shift our thinking and our focus to the completed task, then a whole new world can open up to us. If we imagine the task completed – if we can imagine how we would feel when it’s all over, then actually doing it can become a lot simpler. Our motivation becomes the ‘now’, so our mentality changes to “why delay the feeling of success any longer?” or “why put off the feeling of relief…let’s do it now!”.

Procrastination is a reflection of your state of mind

If your attitude and your perspective on things is good, then procrastination becomes a thing of the past. You will also find that once you begin a task, it is never as difficult as expected, nor does it take as long as you originally thought it might. Indeed, it might even be more enjoyable than you envisaged.

By tackling procrastination in every area of our life, starting with the small, we create a new habit – of productivity. If you feel the task is rather daunting or complex, break it down into small pieces that you can easily digest. This will also help to build your confidence along the way.

Give yourself permission to make mistakes along the way, and learn from them. Review what you have done, reward yourself for progress and never give up! Remember DDP (Discipline, Determination, Persistence!).

So what are you waiting for? Get to work on your attitude shift right now, and be a ‘Do-er’, not a ‘Gunna’!

By Sensei Antonie de Bruin

See also:

• For more helpful tips on getting things done, see New Years Resolutions and the Power of Change
• Learn more about the psychology of procrastination at Psychology Today

Photo by Julian Hochgesang on Unsplash

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Climbing Back Up the Mountain

Have you ever missed a month of training due to illness? Missed two months because you were flat out at work? Missed three months with a back injury, or six months due to pregnancy? If not, it’s likely you will at some point. Karate is not a competitive seasonal sport but a lifetime journey. In short, it’s about longevity and anything of this nature is going to have ups and downs. Life can distract us and at times one area of life can demand our full attention. This is why it’s perfectly understandable that students sometimes miss a period of training. Of course, being organized to get to at least 2 classes per week is ideal; it keeps our goals on track and maintains balance in our lives, but occasionally it’s beyond our control and were forced onto the sidelines.

The Universe Is Speaking 

Some throw in the towel when forced onto the sideline. As much as they enjoy training, they feel as though the universe is bullying them. Work, injuries, illness etc, they’ve been chosen to have every case of bad luck. The universe is speaking and they begin to think “give up”. The universe, however, does not victimize people. We’re all plagued with negatives from time-to-time and we simply need to ride them out. We’re all entitled to have a hobby, stress-release, and enjoyment, and so if life is preventing these, it’s more likely the universe is telling you to get better organised; to take better care of your health; warm up properly to prevent injuries; visit a physio for treatment or avoid kicking for a while. It’s telling you to speak to your boss about delegating some of your workloads or to look for another job. The universe is speaking, but it’s certainly not telling you to give up.

The Dreaded Beginning 

Beyond feeling that fate is against them, there are other reasons why students quit after a break. They feel their fitness, flexibility, and technique slipping away and dread the idea of beginning again. Sliding down a mountain and having to climb back up to where you once proved too much of a deterrent for some. Others do make it back but some focus too much on starting over again; on how rusty or how sore they are. Some even feel extra frustration because others have since graded ahead of them. Soon they also decide it’s not worthwhile trying to climb a second time and drop out.

The Second Climb

As discussed earlier, karate is about longevity and having its ups and downs. We all have periods where we slide backward after a break, but we get back in, climb back up and continue to progress higher than we ever were before. We can almost count on a future setback at some point, in which case we need to ride it out again, get back in, climb back up and progress even higher still. It’s like a jagged line with ups and downs, but each down is higher up than the previous.

Second time round you will get your flexibility back quicker, you will shed the weight quicker and you will get your fitness back much quicker.

The good news about climbing a mountain the second time is it’s that much easier. The first climb requires you to learn the route – the most time-consuming part. The second time around you may feel sore, rusty and lack flexibility but you don’t have to learn the route; merely remember it. Not only will you get your technique back sooner, a second time around you will get your flexibility back quicker, shed the weight quickly and get your fitness back much quicker. And it shouldn’t matter that others have graded ahead of you because karate is not a race!

Blessing In Disguise

Did you ever think that coming back from a break could be a blessing in disguise? While we progress most though consistent training, we can also hit roadblocks by developing bad physical habits that prove hard to break. Time off may cause us to slide back, but they also allow our bodies to start afresh upon return. No longer with conditioned physical responses, we accept change more easily. Furthermore, because our physical body always moves towards the images our mind projects, we also stagnate due to poor mental habits. Much the same way as where we struggle for hours to write an essay or speech, then come back a day or two later and quickly see 10 ways we could improve it, a period on the sideline allows our mind to switch off. Coming back, we’re able to see things with new eyes, and these new mental images allow our body to move more effectively.

By Sensei John Blighton

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PANIC ATTACKED

How committing to karate helped a worried white belt overcome crippling anxiety

CHATTING to Shimbun amid the hustle and bustle of the GKR Karate World Cup, Linda Shanahan cut a calm and confident figure.

Unflustered by the hundreds of competitors and spectators swelling around the Marshall Arena in Milton Keynes, the 57-year-old wore the broad smile of a seasoned competitor accustomed to performing on the international stage.

And although the experience of competing at the 2015 World Cup in Liverpool will have helped ease any pre-kata and kumite nerves, the 2nd Kyu’s relaxed demeanour was nothing short of remarkable given that just five years ago she suffered from crippling anxiety which made going beyond her own front door a major ordeal.

“I used to be paranoid around people and preferred being at home to going out,” the brown belt confided to Shimbun. “I was depressed, overweight, used to self-harm and would overdose on medication.”

Explaining that her road to recovery – and becoming someone completely at ease with the tension of tournaments – began with a chance knock at the door, Linda added: “I wanted to get fit again and I am so grateful to Jon Marsh [a GKR Karate instructor in Northamptonshire, UK] for not only coming to my home but encouraging me to give karate a go.

“Through the club I have made so many new friends and it has given me the confidence and ability to do things that at one time I couldn’t do. GKR Karate has made me believe I can achieve and can have a life – it has stopped me doing the bad things I used to do to myself.”

Now a regular face at regional and national tournaments, Linda has a growing collection of competition medals to chart her march to mental wellbeing, but is clear as to her biggest achievement to date.

“The thing I am most proud of is that I have stuck with the club,” she concluded. “I never used to be able to commit to something and even when I’ve gone for a grading and failed to get a belt, I have not given up.

“I put that down to those who have encouraged me. I’ve got brilliant sensei in Linda Sale, who helps me so much, and her husband Steve – they deserve a medal.”

Unsurprisingly, the feeling of admiration is mutual. Sensei Linda has helped guide her namesake through the GKR Karate ranks since first meeting her as a white belt and is full of praise for her student of five years.

“I am very proud of her,” she said. “She has overcome so many challenges in her life and gives 100 per cent every time she comes to class. She is always happy to help others and is a lovely lady.”

Modestly playing down her own part in Linda’s turnaround as just giving “lots of encouragement”, the Region 33 instructor added: “Linda will get her black belt – I’ve told her this and have got every faith she will because of her determination. She doesn’t stop when things get hard for her; she just keeps going and going and I couldn’t ask for more as an instructor.”

This article features in issue 2 of Shimbun – which is available to buy now.

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Expert Tips for Perseverance

On the journey to achieving your ultimate goal, whether it be a karate goal like a black belt or one outside the dojo, such as starting a business for example, you will inevitably have times where self – doubt or outside pressures or distractions weaken your resolve – this is perfectly normal. It is important to remember that success does not come at our convenience; it comes at our inconvenience. Anything worthwhile achieving takes time and effort and because of this, along the way we may have numerous occasions where we question our ability or desire to achieve what it was we first set out to achieve.

While we may not be able to prevent these occasional feelings coming on, we can make ourselves aware and set up a plan to help us stay focused – to help us stay strong in tough or down times.

The following are some expert hints from Joseph Galea on the topic of perseverance:

1. Surround yourself with people who believe in you. These people may be fellow students, teachers, coaches or friends. They will supply you with feedback, emotional support and perhaps even new strategies. Their input will give you new perspectives on your goal and can rejuvenate your resolve.
2. Enlist the support of your family. By starting out with gaining the support of your family, you will not only have them for inclusion for the “People who believe in you” group mentioned above, but you will also avoid having them sabotage your success for other endeavours in the future. When given the opportunity to be part of your plans, your family will instinctively want to help. Often siblings in families can bring each other down due to the familiarity of their relationship – No harm is meant but it still occurs. Try asking them for support. Mention that you really want to achieve something but the road ahead may not be easy and their support and encouragement would mean the world to you.
3. Understand that the realisation of your goals is not an overnight thing. Change is a process, not a project. Focus on your intermediate goals, objectives where you will see changes more quickly, such as mastering an individual technique. Before you know it, your bigger goals (such as gradings) will be achieved as well.
4. Overcome your frustration. Anthony Robbins outlined that one of the 5 key ingredients to achieving success in your life is to learn to handle massive frustration. Every person on the planet gets frustrated at times, especially when we feel we are not progressing, but it is how we respond to this that makes all the difference. Some quit in frustration, while others dig deep and keep pushing. Dig your way out of frustration by setting tiny goals to achieve. Remember that success as a big goal is the consistent achievement of many small goals. Remind yourself what it is you want. Imagine how you will feel once it is achieved.
5. Focus your goals on the positive, not the negative. This helps your psychological motivation to succeed. It is much easier to succeed when your goal is positive. For example, focus on ‘wanting’  to become lighter and faster, rather than on ‘not wanting’ to stay slow and heavy.
6. Re-evaluate your goals. Don’t set the bar too high. Start with small pieces of the picture – an achievable goal. There is a saying, how do you eat an elephant? Piece by piece. If your goals are too big you must be able to see this and size them down to something realistic that you believe you can achieve. Pursue your goals in a reasonable and fun manner.
7. Reward yourself. Treat yourself to something fun when you achieve your goals. Whether they be the small goals along the way or the big goal. It does not have to be something expensive or elaborate – just something you will enjoy.
8. Follow the peak-to-peak principle. In life, we have ups and downs. We are either up on the peaks or down in the valleys. John Maxwell, one of the world’s foremost speakers on leadership, talks of never making decisions when you are in one of life’s valleys as you have no clear view. All you see is either side of the valley. When people make decisions in the valleys they make poor choices as they lack proper vision or perspective of the situation.

By Joseph Galea

Further reading:

• Procrastination a Problem?

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Preparing for a Major Tournament

As the 10th GKR Karate World Cup is drawing closer, we take a look at the story of David and Goliath, which if studied, can unlock principles that can help us to take on our own ‘Goliath’ and win.

David was the youngest of eight sons. He took care of his father’s sheep and, at times, would bravely fight off wild animals that tried to eat his flock. David was fit and strong and as he cared deeply for his sheep, he developed his martial arts prowess through necessity, by way of the sling-shot and practised regularly for the safety of his sheep. Once he killed a lion, and another time, a bear that was carrying away a lamb.

David’s three oldest brothers were soldiers in the army of King Saul. His country of Israel was in a desperate battle against the army of the Philistines. Both armies were camped for many months despite no fighting taking place. This was because both armies were weary and had no real desire for battle. One day David was asked to take food to his brothers on the battlefront. When he arrived, a Philistine giant named Goliath, marched up the hill and yelled to the soldiers of Israel “Choose a man from among you to come fight me. If he can kill me, the Philistines will be your servants. If I kill him, all of you will become servants of the Philistines”. This thundering giant who stood over 9 feet tall struck fear into the hearts of King Saul’s soldiers and the entire army fled, including David.

This went on for days where Goliath challenged the army and no-one accepted. So King Saul offered an incentive, that he who killed Goliath would become a Prince and marry Saul’s daughter. Still, no soldier took up the challenge, focusing not on the reward, but on the certain death that awaited anyone who took on Goliath.

Yet David found much incentive in the title of Prince, marrying a princess and saving his country from war. He had taken up the sling-shot for the self-defence of his sheep, but now it could do far more. So David walked out to face Goliath, carrying with him only his sling and five smooth stones. Breathing a quick prayer, David placed a stone in his sling, drew back his well-trained hand and slung the stone quickly straight into the forehead of the giant. The giant fell face down onto the ground and David ran quickly to his form, grasped the sword from Goliath’s sheath and finished the task. The Philistine army fled in panic for they knew the promise Goliath had made and the people of Israel shouted, danced and sang for joy because of David’s victory.

SO WHAT PRINCIPLES CAN WE TAKE FROM THIS STORY?

Anyone Can Win

David had only ever taken up his martial art for the self-defence of his sheep. He was no war trained-solider, but still had the tools required. Likewise, while you may not have tournament experience or train specifically for tournaments, this by no means says you cannot prevail. You receive all the necessary tools to win, just by training in your dojo.

Perfect Your Arsenal

David had no elaborate array of arsenal. He had his sling-shot. Yet in a second he had killed a giant and won a war. Winning a kumite title is not dissimilar as it does not require all the techniques, just a carefully selected few, or even one (as in David’s case). Bruce Lee always said the two most important ingredients for sparring are ‘timing’ and ‘distance’. A carefully timed, well-placed and clean technique can win any confrontation. Don’t go to work on sixty different techniques. Instead, focus your energies into developing a few attacks and counters and then perfect them through massive repetition and analysis. Aim to minimise telegraphing by every millimetre and develop explosive speed and you are on your way.

Road Test It

David knew he could kill Goliath because he had killed a lion and a bear. Nothing will prepare you better than hours spent road testing your techniques in a tournament scenario. Whether during, before or after class, or even at home with fellow students, make time to tournament spar every week. Create a ring so you are comfortable sparring in a confined space and be strict on all the scoring criteria: form; Kime; stance; control etc.

Develop Your Body

Much is written for kumite on developing self-belief, and for good reason (visualisation, affirmation etc). Developing your body is not only for physical sake, but yet another way to strengthen this. By taking up a physical exercise routine (running, strength training etc) the physical improvements may only be minimal, but the mental benefits are often enormous with new-found confidence. Before taking up the sling-shot, David had to wrestle wild animals. He had a fit, strong body which gave him confidence to do so.

Purely from a physical viewpoint, when the body is tired, the mind soon follows. When the body is weak, the mind will be weak. For every second you are thinking about your tired legs then that is a second you are not thinking about your tactics or your opponent. If a tournament bout runs for two minutes, practise your tournament sparring in four-minute intervals. Become so used to going well beyond time, that come the day, focusing for the entire two minutes is easy.

It Starts With An Incentive

The first time Goliath challenged the Israeli army, all fled, including David. It was not until David had the incentive of the title of Prince that he decided to take on Goliath. An ardently desired goal will move you to train harder, train more often and face your fears. While David focused on the title of Prince, focus on the title of World Champion.

Focus also on what it will make of you, just by doing the training – do this and you will be disciplined. Focus on the sacrifice required or the thought of losing and you will lack the discipline. It is said in life, we live either with discipline, or we live with regret.

Entry to the 2019 GKR Karate World Cup is now open!  For more information regarding the most prestigious event on the GKR Karate calendar, including location, dates and qualification criteria – head to the event page here 

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Have you ever heard someone else say, “I can’t wait to get my black belt”? Perhaps you have said it yourself. Personally, I believe the correct way to say it would be, “I can’t wait to become a black belt”.

A black belt is a very powerful symbol. Before even having to do anything, the simple process of putting on your belt instantly derives admiration among fellow students. I could not count how often I have heard said, “Wow, you’re a black belt!”

Each time, while trying to remain humble, a smile escapes my face. There is nothing wrong with a feeling of pride over your achievement, and to be a black belt is just that, an achievement, not a title.

Allow me to make my point. Whatever your perception of a black belt, try to forget about the title or the idea of ‘getting‘ a black belt. Instead, focus on ‘becoming’ one. Although it is only a tiny difference in vocabulary, there is a fundamental difference in their mindsets.

‘Getting’ a Black Belt Focus 

The focus of “getting” leads to a number of incorrect karate-do attitudes. These are: » By focusing on the belt, you are surrendering control. When our next belt is the primary focus, we think about the number of classes we must do. And we think purely about the aesthetic appearance of our Kata.

In karate, attitude is on an equal par to ability. Most would agree that there is no sadder sight than a black belt with a bad attitude. Generally speaking, in GKR, a student with a bad attitude would not be sent to grade. However, on rare occasions, a black belt’s attitude becomes riddled with disease, and while they wear a black belt, it could be argued that they are no longer truly a black belt.

‘Becoming’ a Black Belt Focus 

This implies that you are bringing the focus back onto yourself, therefore remaining in control. This focus is vital, as a belt, in essence, is nothing more than a by-product. A by-product of who you have become, the effort you have put in and the ability you are now able to demonstrate. Self-focus works like a paradox; if you want the best, forget about the belt. Just train to be the best you can be and the belt will come to you.

As previously discussed, karate is as much about virtue and character as it is about learning how to punch, kick and perform sound Kata. Let me explain the virtues that I personally look to develop in potential black belts training with me.

1.  A desire to be excellent.

It may sound obvious, but I have seen a lot of people (usually found whinging or complaining) who are preoccupied with getting a belt rather than working to be a great karate-ka, thus deserving one. They argue they have done the adequate number of classes or served their time. This path will only lead to frustration and negativity. Focus on improving your ability. Take responsibility for each part of your training. If your back leg is bent in forwarding stance, lose the excuses and fix it. Also, focus on your effort and your character.

Genuine desire to become a great karate-ka is the most crucial determinant of whether you will achieve your black belt. For most karate-ka, all too often it is overlooked. A burning desire is what underlies your training ethic and clarifies your goal of who you want to be. Without a goal (an idea of the karate-ka you want to become), how will you train to achieve it? What will push and drive you in your training if you don’t have a goal in mind? Bruce Lee said, “Achievement of anything begins in the mind”.

To develop desire, firstly think about what you want to achieve, what you want to be able to do and the kind of person you want to become. Get more specific and if you can try to make these goals measurable, like, “I will kick above my head”, “I will hold my own against student X in kumite” etc. Secondly, think about these goals constantly (especially while training). Put pictures that represent your goals up on your wall. Repeat affirmations to yourself while training, “I have flawless kata” or “I have a six-pack!”

Lastly, now that you’ve decided what you are going to achieve and are focused on your goals, resolve to pay the price to achieve them, whether that’s doing an extra class, training at home, or eating better. Preferably write down your goals along with your plans of how you are going to achieve them.

2. Train with determination. 

A black belt must have drive and spirit. Training hard when you feel up to it is not a spirit. Great karate-ka develop discipline, which is the ability to carry on with a resolution long after the mood in which it was made has passed.

To be a black belt you must learn to love a good hard class, not just because you like the pain, but because you have strong goals to get fitter and stronger mentally and physically. When you have a goal, it’s not ‘work’, it’s enjoying the satisfaction of achieving. Shihan Anthony Ryan often says that “Character, like the Samurai Sword, is forged between the hammer and the anvil, not between flowers and pillows”.  The best thing about discipline in the dojo is that it teaches you the value of pushing yourself and stretching yourself out of your comfort zones so that you can grow.

A good black belt should have a determination about them when they train because they have learnt the value of pushing themselves so that they can grow. If Black Belt Certificates were found in cornflakes packets, would you put one on your wall? Would it mean anything? A black belt is made special by the sweat and tears that went into its achievement.

3. Think about your karate.

Training hard is not enough; a karate-ka must also be a thinker. You cannot always rely on your instructor for advice on how to improve your karate. You need to think about what you are doing to develop self-awareness so you can minimise your mistakes and create good technical habits. Think also about ways in which you can improve in your karate.

Thinking is nothing more than asking yourself questions and then answering them. The trick is to ask the right questions. Don’t ask negative questions like, “Why can I never get this right?”, “Why can’t I do that?” Ask questions that are looking for a positive solution, like, “How can I make this better?” “What can I do to get this to be even sharper?” Some great questions to ask yourself while practising Kata are, “How can I use my hips and centre of gravity more?” “What can I do to get this move faster?” “What is the most important thing I could do to look sharper in this sequence?” By the way, don’t just ask yourself, ask your instructor as well!

Kumite is another great area that demands thinking. Thinking both about how you can train to improve your Kumite, and thing on your feet while practising. A black belt must have the ability to change and be adaptable in Kumite. That is they must be able to see if a strategy in Kumite is working, and where it is not, to change it. If you only have one strategy and limited combinations and defences, Id start by developing more.

4. Focus on you!

There is a saying that goes “If you take a walk through the woods and someone passes you, does it change the scenery?”

Achieving your black belt is a personal journey, one in which you should be focused on what you want from it. One of the biggest traps of poor thinking a student can fall into, is looking sideways at everybody else. Forget everybody else and focus on your karate and your training. If you suffer set backs focus exclusively on what you can do to improve.

Michael Jordan learnt a life changing philosophy from legendary basketballer Doctor Jay, it was, “Hold yourself to a standard higher than anyone else could expect of you, that’s how you become great”. In order to achieve a black belt you cannot aspire to, or even accept being adequate. A black belt should always be striving to be the best they can be.

I once had a discussion with a student who said their legs in sanchin-datchi were actually bent, but their gi trousers hid the bend. I questioned how bent they were if their gi trousers could hide it? In becoming a black belt you must commit yourself to mastery. So if your karate is adequate or good or even great, it should still be in your mind set that it’s not good enough.

5. Humility and character.

To be a black belt you should be an example of humility. This is not saying you are not proud of your abilities or your accomplishments, it simply means you don’t boast about them or become arrogant.

Once at the end of a black belt grading I overheard someone who had just failed (they were a bit emotional and they were proclaiming to their peers), “It doesn’t matter, I know I’m a black belt”.  As soon as they said that I thought, “No, you’re not”. I thought this not because they had just failed the grading, but because a true black belt should never be so arrogant as to proclaim to be something they haven’t yet become. There is also a very egotistical implication there that they were not at fault, their assessors made a mistake.

The correct attitude would be to walk away from the attempted grading thinking to themselves, “What can I do to improve and get better so I pass next time?” Incidentally the person who said they knew they were a black belt in spite of failing didn’t change and didn’t improve (because they thought they didn’t need to) and consequently were not even sent to the next black belt grading.

Kancho has in the past talked about how he meets students from around the world. Of his meetings he has said “I am always delighted to see such strong technical standard wherever I go. But it is in talking with these students and instructors afterwards where a true feeling of pride overwhelms me, for it is here that I am able to witness their technique is backed up by sound character.”

The post Becoming a Black Belt appeared first on GKR Karate.

The moment a person puts on their first gi and stands in line, their journey to becoming a karate-ka begins. Along this road, they await many karate grading and belts—symbols of knowledge, experience, and achievement gained through hard work.

This road will often be smooth and straight as there will always be techniques and parts of training we pick up quickly, enjoy and feel comfortable with. Yet, we will find many bumps, bends, and potholes along the way. These appear in those techniques and exercises that challenge our coordination, patience, resolve and even our fears. This is how it is for every person who embarks on the journey, but the rough areas may differ for each person. One person may find a specific stance rugged to land incorrectly and sparring a challenge on their courage while another has no fear in sparring but has difficulty in their basic blocks and a different stance.

Despite where our challenges come from, they are an essential part of our development to becoming a karate-ka and can significantly positively affect our lives.

I believe most of you reading the above would agree. Indeed, many students have told me how their challenges in training have equipped them with a stronger resolve and a more positive attitude when facing other challenges. But that is not what this article is about.

Over the years, we have heard stories of how so many GKR students have found karate to help them in their life outside the dojo. This article is about allowing these newfound confidences, disciplines, and beliefs to filter back into the dojo. Confused?

So often, students have told me how their karate has helped them to have the confidence to tackle challenges outside the dojo. Others have said that karate makes them feel they can accomplish anything they set their minds to, which is terrific. But when I then tell them they are ready to grade, these same people look at me and say, “Grading?…me?…I’m not ready”. Perhaps you have been in the same situation yourself. Or perhaps you’re the person who never asks the question about your readiness for your grading until you know you are well and truly ready, and after spending a year or two on your blue belt, finally feel, “I’m ready, I’ll ask”.

Don’t feel at all that I am condescending to you. A person who feels unworthy to grade probably has high expectations of themselves, which is an excellent quality to carry around. But I often believe it is due to fear of failure or looking bad. The question of why karate makes us feel confident everywhere but in the dojo where we practice it is rather compelling. If this article strikes you with a nerve, let’s look deeper.

We spoke earlier about the smooth and rough roads in our journey to become karate-ka and how we all have times when we are on one of these two paths. The problem is that most people focus on their weaknesses and the things they struggle with. A person may drive for 20 minutes in smooth traffic and spend 10 minutes in gridlock. When they arrive home, however, they will often comment, “Boy, the traffic through the city is slow”. This is because the mind is said to work like a camera lens. When it focuses on one thing, it focuses on another.

An exercise you can try to see this working is to get another person and have them in a room or place that they are not too familiar with. Tell them you are going to give them a memory test, and you will give them 20 seconds to try to remember everything in the room that is red. You will notice they look everywhere, trying to jam everything in their mind that is red.

After 20 seconds, have them close their eyes and ask them to tell you everything in the room that is green! You will probably find if it is a room or place that they are not familiar with, they will laugh and realize they have drawn a blank. When they open their eyes, they will notice plenty of green things they have looked over while looking for red items. The challenge was that when they focused and locked their minds in on everything red, they automatically locked out on everything green, even right next to those red things.

The same happens in the dojo. We may have an overall strong kata, but when our instructor picks us up on two or three techniques that we need to work on, we start thinking that our Kata is lacking and forget that there were 20-30 techniques that the instructor didn’t need to correct. When we lock in on our few mistakes, we lockout on all the splendid techniques we possess. It has been said that too many people make monuments from their shortcomings and see their successes as moments. Instead, people should make monuments of their successes and see their shortcomings as moments.

Perhaps you’re reading this and thinking, “But my Kata is all bumps and potholes, and my instructor is still putting the fear of having to go and grade to me”.  Well, yes, a technique can be worked on and improved upon, but there are many factors to consider when sending a student to grade. Techniques, attitude, effort, and etiquette are all very important. Perhaps your instructor will see more than you see if the above is a case similar to yours.

Another reason many people feel unworthy of grading is how they judge a good karate-ka. This stems from being influenced by those outside of karate. Should I elaborate?

Have you ever been asked by someone if you have ever had to use your karate? If I had a dollar for every time I have been asked: “Have you ever had to use your karate?” I would have $473. Truthfully I have no idea, but it would be a lot. My usual reply is “No”. I say this due to the fact that the question they are really asking is, have I ever been attacked, which thankfully I haven’t.

If I were to answer their question truthfully, I would say, “Yes, I use my karate every day. It shows up in the way I shake a person’s hand and respond to ‘How are you?’ with ‘Fantastic and improving.’

It shows up in my willingness to try new things and to focus on my task at hand”. But if I were to say this, they would only look at me puzzled and then ask, “So, have you ever been attacked?”

Society views a karate-ka by how they see us portrayed on TV, as shy hermits with no people skills but who valiantly appear in black trench coats to take out anyone who dares cross our path or the path of a friend. In reality, nothing could be further from the truth. Unfortunately, society’s view of a black belt is that of someone with unbelievable fighting skills, but little else can quickly become our view. From this, it can be easy to see that if we do not fit the mould of an excellent wrecking machine in Kumite, then “who are we to grade?”

Looking back, originally in Okinawa, fathers taught their sons karate primarily to develop their character and nobility. The self-defence aspect was secondary. After all, what was more valuable, being prepared to defend oneself against an assailant like a mugger who might approach you once in a lifetime or being prepared to defend oneself against multiple assailants like fear, doubt, worry and distraction who will approach you every day of your life?

Regarding grades, one thing to remember is that your instructor knows best. They have been watching your progress for months and would only wish to send you a grade if they were confident you were worthy. An instructor has an unbiased view of your training, and they are looking at you as a “whole” and not just tending to focus on your shortcomings. They are also probably not focusing on whether you’re ready to take on a gang of thugs in a trench coat. Understand that anytime your instructor says “I want to send you to grading” it is another way of saying that they are proud of you.

Achievement is defined in the dictionary as “Accomplishing something by special effort.” Each week, we put our whole effort into our karate training. As long as we continue doing this, we are guaranteed to succeed. Grading is not easy and will not be given to you, so the next time you feel unworthy when your instructor feels otherwise, try to focus on your strengths. There are probably more than you think.

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The post Grading – “I’m not Worthy” appeared first on GKR Karate.

From the title of this article, you may be wondering who or what I am referring to when discussing your ‘greatest teacher’. Whilst I am confident that your personal sensei is someone who you can look up to and learn from, I believe that your greatest teacher is in fact – YOU!

Irrespective of your grade level, there is always much to learn and only a fool could ever claim to have ‘arrived’ at the finish line of karate learning or prowess. Your instructor can give you detailed feedback and regular technical corrections, but it is ultimately YOU who has to embrace and adopt these changes. In effect, your sensei can only give you knowledge – either by telling you or showing you how to perform a technique or kata in a more advanced way. The rest is up to you!

What I am saying is that you have more to do with your karate growth in the future than your sensei does. As an instructor myself, I have had the chance to train many people over the years. The students have pretty much all received the same insights and coaching, but not all have made it to black belt or beyond. Some progress more quickly than others. Some master difficult techniques or applications that others are still struggling with long after.

The politically correct reasoning behind this is that all people are ‘different’. They learn at different speeds and in different ways. This theory may have some truth, but I’m not sure that any of us who aspire to a high karate standard are helped by this built-in justification for slow progress. We all have physical characteristics that could be viewed as a retardant (eg: too short, too stocky, too thin, too old etc), but by far the most debilitating physical/mental characteristics are as follows:

1) Assumed limitations 

Those who say they CAN and those who say they CAN’T are both right! Take note that other people can try and build ceilings over your head but only you can approve the construction! Become a no limits person – but be smart about it, ie: if you’ve started karate later in life, then look after your body before trying to copy the 21-year-old next to you. You have a greater awareness of your body than a younger person. Provided you look after it – it will serve you better than you think.

Question: Are you being held back by any pre-conceived limitations?

2.) Training without purpose – (just going through the motions) 

Practice doesn’t make perfect – perfect practice makes perfect. Train in each class with mind and body. Push yourself physically. Feel your energy dropping, and then feel it returning. Be aware of how the techniques you’re performing could be used in real self-defence. Let your physical exertion empower you mentally. This will give you deeper reserves for life’s challenges.

Question: Are you training with a purpose or just going through the motions, then wondering why you aren’t progressing?

3) Lack of discipline 

Contrary to conventional thinking, discipline usually precedes motivation. Put simply, if you live a disciplined life, you will be extremely motivated and self-empowered. Motivation alone can give you a buzz every now and then, and may even conjure up some positive activity, but without the discipline to back it up, it is never around long enough to give us sustained growth. Nowhere does this principle apply more than to our karate training. Whilst you may enjoy training in karate, there will be times when you just don’t feel like it. Some people wrongly hope that motivation will come and strike them into action. Instead, their ‘Do It Anyway’ reflex (ie: their self-discipline) needs to kick into gear and get them started. As Kancho would say, “The magic is in the first few punches,” meaning, once you get started, the blood flows, endorphins gush around your body, the sweat pours off you and you are in a peak physical state – and motivated to keep going! Self- discipline is the ‘starter-motor’ that generates all of your positive momenta.

Question: Are you living with self – discipline or wrongly waiting for motivation?

4) Lack of training goals

What are you working on right now? Is it your side-kick, your back leaning stance, your Sepai? If you’re not very specific about your training goals (eg: I just want to improve my karate… fluff, fluff, fluff… etc.), then you will not be giving yourself a goal to achieve. After all – how will you know if you’re improving if you have no system for measuring growth?

Question: What goals are you working towards right now? 

These four training ‘hand-brakes’ can afflict any body type or shape, age or gender. As teachers ourselves, we need to embrace these principles in our own training so that we will always have the motivation towards our karate growth.

By Shihan Gavin Samin

The post Your Greatest Teacher – by Shihan Gavin Samin appeared first on GKR Karate.

Every decision we make has enormous power. One decision can change our lives, taking us down a new path. I’m not just talking about words here. We have all muttered, “From now on, things will be different”, only a week later to find ourselves returning to our original habits. I’m talking about actual, deep-seeded decisions. The word ‘decision’ comes from the Latin ‘de’, meaning ‘from’, and ‘caedere’, meaning ‘to cut’. In other words, we commit to achieving a result and then cutting ourselves off from any other possibility.

Why People Procrastinate 

In our moments of decision, our destiny is being shaped. Because of this, many people fear to decide for fear of making the wrong decision. This leads to procrastination, which gets you nowhere. They live hoping that, at some point, their destiny will reveal itself to them somehow, enabling them to make the perfect decision. Have there been essential decisions you have put off for fear of making the wrong decision? The worst decision you can make is to decide to be indecisive. To idly sit and go nowhere for fear of taking the wrong path means living in limbo, waiting for something that will never come. We can only make sound decisions with sound information. Therefore, it is far better to make a decision, any decision, and act upon it. Even if it leads you down the wrong path, you will soon realise this and may turn around by making a new decision. So don’t procrastinate; make a decision today.

A Clouded Vision Leads To Indecision

The more specific our vision for our future, the easier the decision-making process becomes. The problem is that most people fear visualising their future because they fear failure. Could we take a karate example? A person would ‘like’ to become a black belt, but something inside them says, “You’re not good enough”. So they ‘go along for the ride’ to see where it takes them. People who are along for the ride in life are scared of failure, therefore afraid to commit and rarely achieve their goals. This reinforces their lack of self-belief and carries through to their next endeavour…a deadly cycle begins.

In contrast, the person who becomes a black belt and visualises themselves wearing one will likely commit and focus during training. This will result in their goals being achieved, and a positive cycle of self-belief begins. In the movie, ‘The Karate Kid’, Mr. Miyagi explains this to Daniel: “Either karate yes, or karate no. If karate guesses so, then squish just like grape.”

Making A Decision Is Paramount For Self-Defence 

The topic of self-defence and decision-making was the catalyst for this article. Still, it is necessary first to consolidate the importance of proper decision-making, or else this article might fall short. Most people in karate have pondered at some point what might happen if they find themselves in a real-life self-defence situation. The question that runs predominantly through their mind is, ‘Will my techniques hold up and disable an attacker?’ An equally important question is, ‘Will my belief system, morals and values hold up?’ Let me use an example; in most cases of rape, the woman admitted she knew what she should do to defend herself but refrained for fear of hurting her attacker. It may mystify you to read this, but when faced with the possibility of having actually to cause irreparable damage to another human being, we can all be hesitant. And in self-defence, hesitation can be critical.

In a Self-Defense article, martial arts instructor Jason Stanley wrote, “Have you ever stopped to consider how your beliefs can determine your fate in a self-defence situation? Have you ever wondered what you believe morally right or wrong might be the difference between being attacked and injured or staying safe? And deciding your beliefs before you’re threatened might be your most important choice ever?” It’s a compelling question: Could our belief system, not our training, be the weak link in self-defence capability?

There Is No Half-Defence 

When it comes to self-defence, there is no defence. It’s not a tournament where you can be down by 2 or 3 points and then make a comeback and snatch victory in the dying seconds. You can ill afford to be hit once. There is no grey area; it’s black or white. Act or procrastinate, you or them fully commit, or, as Mr Miyagi so eloquently puts it, “squish just like grape.”

There Are Many Complicated Emotions 

Remember, this is a serious topic, and many of you may feel my points are overkill. But if you read statistics on violence, you soon realise that when push comes to shove, our emotions, morals, and religious beliefs can easily suspend our actions, either briefly or altogether. I can assure you this is not overkill.

For animals, it’s simplistic. An animal does not stop considering, “Should I defend myself?” Ironically, however, for us and our highly developed intellect, we can become very good at ‘not choosing’. Our advanced mindset wants us to weigh all the pros and cons before acting. Then there are the moral implications and the ‘is this happening?’ emotional response. This takes time, and time is not a luxury we can afford. We are not buying a house; it is simple – them or you!

Author Jason Stanley posed the following questions. I do not wish to evoke uncomfortable images, but I would visualise each and then answer each with a TRUE or FALSE.

• I feel comfortable hurting somebody else to survive
• I would quite happily knock someone out during a threatening confrontation
• I feel comfortable kicking someone in the groin with all my effort to prevent them from hurting me or someone I care about
• I feel comfortable putting my finger in someone’s eye to protect myself.
• I would do whatever it took to save my life, even if that meant taking a person’s life where it was necessary.

If you answered ALL TRUE, then that’s a great start. If you answered ALL FALSE, that too is excellent; at least you know where you stand and when the time comes, you know how you will act.

I’ll Shoot You First And Pray For You Later 

The questions above are similar to those faced by police officers. There are many devout Christians in the police force. People who live by the Ten Commandments and believe with their whole hearts that it is not right to harm another human being. Many pacifists and people do not endear to violence. Yet they all understand, have made an advanced decision and even visualised what they would do if faced with the prospect of protecting the life of another. For Christians, they can decide in advance, “If you try to hurt me or my family, I’ll shoot you first and pray for you later.” The point is not to argue about what seems right or wrong; know where you stand.

It’s Not An If Question, It’s A How Question 

Suppose you answered the test with a mixed bag of TRUE and FALSE or had difficulty visualising the TRUE scenarios. In that case, it implies you still must decide if you will protect yourself when seriously threatened. For you, your best method of self-defence is the ‘flight, not fight’ option, but this is not always available. So, it is something you need to get your head around. This is a complex issue because many people are willing to protect themselves to a point, such as a kick in the groin. But there is a line that, when standing at some, would have great difficulty crossing. The actual decision is not IF you’ll use your skills; it’s a matter of HOW you use them. When faced with a real-life confrontation, will you fight fire with water or fire with fire? And how much fire?

By Adrian Cowley

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