It’s important we don’t allow our standards to slip. It’s easy to want a full Dojo, particularly when it’s your business and livelihood you obviously want to have plenty of students training, however your reputation will soon be destroyed if you allow your standards to drop and ignore the watering down of Shotokan or any of the traditional styles of Karate for that matter!We try to make training sessions enjoyable, but I also believe we should try to teach Shotokan in the way it’s been taught for generations. All the elements we teach are important. Kata, Kumite, Ipon and Combinations are all necessary parts of the learning process.
Kata is an excellent example of traditional Shotokan. Powerful and exaggerated stances can be practiced and perfected and in truly understanding how all these elements fit together is what makes a good martial artist.
I’ve lost count of the times I’ve been asked by someone, “how quickly can I become a Black Belt”. There’s nothing wrong in having aspirations to achieve Black Belt status and anyone seriously practicing Karate should have this as their ultimate goal. However it doesn’t matter how often you train and how good you are, getting to black belt with the Zen-Shin Academy will take a minimum of 4 to 5 years training.
Some go away and don’t like what they hear, but I find in general most people respect your honesty and know that by training with Zen-Shin, they can be sure of getting the real thing.
To me it all comes back to the standards and reputation I referred to earlier.
I want Zen-Shin and all those who achieve Black Belts with the Academy to be proud of that achievement and to know that they’ve earned it, deserved it and can wear it feeling the same pride as I did upon receiving my first Black Belt.
In training classes I often remind my students about the importance of challenging yourself. I firmly believe in the benefits of taking part in competition, it’s not just an opportunity to win a nice medal or trophy, but more importantly it’s about facing your anxieties and any self doubt you may have, putting what we learn in class to the test and being able to perform under pressure.
Zen-Shin means everything to me. The Academy and Shotokan Karate are a huge part of my life. Being able to pass on what I have learnt to others is what I love doing and seeing my students progress through the various belts and become capable martial artists is the ultimate reward.
Kyoshi John Richards
