Karate a way of life? What the heck does that mean? More psychological garbage? More Ying and Yang? More Grasshopper sayings?

Karate as a way of life is what it becomes the more involved in the art you get. Over the years I have seen many students being absorbed by everything to do with the martial arts. They hold on to your every word, buy all the latest magazines and watch every video available. You learn to see that this is just a fad and within a few weeks, months or even years, they have lost all the enthusiasm and moved on to other activities. Some will only want to achieve a 'status' that is they will want to tell others that they have trained in the arts and perhaps even reached black belt. The problem is that you are only as good as your last lesson and if you have packed up two years ago, then you certainly aren't a black belt any more.

I have also seen students give up training and start with another group, because they couldn't reach their goal with our association, so took an easy alternative. Karate is a way of life ONLY if you stick to it. I could never imagine NOT running classes or training. It has become a way of life, one that is fulfilling and satisfying.

Achieving 5th Dan has made me more determined to go further and work to help others reach their goals. Getting black belt is only the beginning. It is NOT the end. One must always move forward to make all aspects of their life better. Quitting isn't an option. My life is balanced because of karate and I hope yours is too.

Discipline is a state of mind which is built from a solid home base. Discipline allows us to think rationally and behave properly. It never ceases to amaze me ho little discipline kids of today have. Karate training is a great way of  developing a child's mind and prepare him or her for the world out there.

Over the years I have been insulted and shouted at by kids and parents, but this usually happens at a very early stage of their training or by children who are not a part of the classes. This is not my concern, because these kids will be like that for the rest of their lives probably, and they would never be strong willed enough to take up an art like Shukokai. Therefore it is not my problem (thankfully).

What is a disappointment is when one of your students is rude to you and he or she has been with you for many years. This happened recently at one of my classes, where I had to tell the child to leave. What was more disappointing was the fact that he was so close to his black belt and when I was confronted by his father, the rudeness continued and it was clear to see where the boy had developed his behaviour. When a child (or adult) undertakes classes in the martial arts. They hopefully, quickly learn respect, politeness, self respect and discipline. Having trained this individual for so long it was a great shame to see that the boy had not learnt any of the above.

His loss in the end, because he looses out on so much in the long run. Joining another club may be a quick fix, but nothing compares to your old home club and surroundings. How long will his training last?

I would guess that many instructors will be reading this and nodding in agreement, but the shame is that this is not the first time it has happened in clubs all over the country, and  (I am sad to say) it won't be the last time either.

Parents have a responsibility to teach their children the different between right and wrong. I hope I will not fail my son when the time comes.

What we as parents, have to realise is that our kids (no matter how much we love them) are not angels all the time. They are not always right and they are not always faultless. What we have to accept is that sometimes they will misbehave, sometimes they will be rude and very often they will do things they regret. Before jumping the gun and blaming everyone else. One must look at the child first.

Or perhaps, they should look at themselves?

Decisions, decisions!    

Over the years an instructor will see many people come and go in the class.

He will find that some are there because of their friends involvement, some there because they were curious, some because they thought that it 'truly was for them'.

Whatever the reason the student has to join a class, it is really up to them if they make the grade. I have seen many students take up training and showing good promise, only to see it all being thrown away for no apparent reason. This is most annoying but a fact of life for a martial art instructor. What hurts (even today) is that when an instructor meets the ex student on the street a few months later, he notices that the ex student has a sheepish look in their eye, are obviously embarrassed and try to avoid eye contact. To this day I do not know why this is so. This country (thank God) is still a FREE country and people are allowed to come and go as they please. Just because they decided to stop training it does not mean that the relationship between instructor and ex student should end. Indeed, it will mean that they are no longer in regular contact, but surely they can remain friends?

Sometimes the particular student has been training for a number of years sometimes three or four times a week. If they thought that karate was not for them even after this period, then the instructor should respect that decision. The student on the other hand feels this is not so. They feel that they have let him down and hate the day when they have to come face to face with their former Sensei in future.

If the student would take time out and speak to the instructor BEFORE packing in then at least friendship and embarrassment could be avoided. Maybe, just maybe the instructor could help solve the problem of why the student feels it necessary to end their training and maybe not. But by not bringing the subject out in the open students are turning their backs on themselves as well as their teacher.

We all have to make decisions in our lives, some will be right and some will be wrong. Whatever decision we make we must make it for ourselves. This is not to say that involving another person should not be made. Sometimes and quite often two heads are better than one. If I ever had a problem with my training (even now) I would hope that if I could not sort it out with my wife, then I could pick up the phone and speak with my Sensei.

I have seen so many promising students pack it all in before making the grade. I have also seen so many students packing it in after making a grade. I have also seen students get too big for their boots after tasting success and thinking they have done it all by themselves. I am very grateful to all my Sensei's for their help and knowledge, even though some of whom I am not in contact with anymore due to internal politics. But this is another subject I will cover in the future.

In the meantime, if you are a student in karate and there is a problem with your training, then speak to your instructor. If he is not approachable then this is part of your problem. A good instructor always has time for his students. The amount of time I have spent emailing and speaking to my students in my private time is too long to mention. But I genuinely want to help if there's a problem with me, my student or their training. After all there should be some sort of bond between Sensei and student.- Don't you think?

Sensei Gareth Edwards 5th Dan Shukokai