Blog
Injury Free Week
If anybody out there has an injury free week please contact us so we can throw a party! It is a fact of life that nobody can escape injury, because at some stage or another, we beings will fall over, get our fingers caught in the car door or even break a foot etc. Sportspersons can be prone to injuries because of the activity they do but the trick is to minimise the risk. Ironically, most students receive injuries outside of martial arts.
Sometimes, we perceive injuries to be worse than what they really are and we unnecessarily allow them to get in the way of what we need to do or want to do. The golden rule is 'don't do anything which may aggrevate the injury' but that does not mean cease doing everything.
Temporary injuries may bring your life to a halt and sometimes those injuries will change the way you do things because of limitations to what you can do. In the martial arts, 
injuries (temporary or permanent) have been a blessing in disguise for some people forcing them to seek other avenues and discover hidden talents. Those who do not know Bill ‘Superfoot’ Wallace (former World Champion Kickboxer), he became a legend with his incredibly effective and fast kick (approximately 100kph). It was because of a right knee injury which forced him to kick with his left leg only. Bill could kick the front, right and left side of anybody’s head without putting his leg down and there was nothing anybody could do about it. Many talents have been stumbled across like this but I’m sure this is not just limited to the martial arts. I had a talk with Bill recently at the Supershow in Sydney and I asked him if he still ate hamburgers (he's the real hamburgler). He replied with an absolute yes and he still loves training which showed at the seminar, however, he does not like beetroot on his burgers; and I told him that we do not like pickles on our burgers.
Not everybody can do what others can do. Some are super strong, some are super flexible etc so you do what you are capable of doing. This should be no different to any limitations based on physical abilities or injuries ie you do what you are capable of doing. Discoveries may only a matter of changing course; sometimes injuries or limitations will prompt you to change course.
GA
Master Instructor or Master Student
Being a student in BJJ and attending seminars has its advantages. Instructors can lose touch with what it feels like to be a student after a few years of teaching devoting all their time standing in front of the class, and not in the class. Time is needed for Instructors to do the class rather than take the class (I hope that makes sense) so they can see through the eyes of the student. It was only the other day, Richard Sargeant, brought up the conversation that being a BJJ student, would put me in a better position to teach BJJ than other people at my level. What better way to understand students than being a student yourself? As a student I have the chance to analyse what is being taught and decide the best way to teach it (this includes the Jiu Jitsu in our Karate).
Nobody knows it too well, other than Instructors, how mentally exhausting it is to have the responsibility of teaching; you have to think for everybody in the classroom. I have been asked to expand on my schools and classes but I like to set aside time for just being a student. If money is invested in a full time gym then that has to be recouperated it may mean the Instructors's training and progress may be compromised in order to pay the bills. I've heard the saying, 'Full time Instructors become slaves to their schools' but not everyone, who has a full time school, falls victim but it has happened to some.
When a student becomes a Black Belt they should renew their vows as a student, however, the difference being, a Black Belt should be able to help others attain their Black Belt.
Personally, I don't like being referred to as a Master because 'I haven't climbed Mt Everest yet'. It also has a negative tone to it, by people who misrepresent themselves with belts and titles. But on second thoughts, I don't mind 'Master Student'.
GA
BJJ Kata?
This blog will probably more interest, the BJJ students, but this can relate to all martial arts. There are so many techniques in this art and Instructors are always endeavouring to come up with solutions so most of this stuff sticks. In BJJ it can get quite difficult trying to remember the many techniques, especially, when 
they each involve a serious of little steps which can really test the memory. Realistically, it’s difficult for anyone to come up and fluently demonstrate eg all the chokes they have learnt over the past 6 months especially when the techniques may have been taught in an adhoc fashion. Katas/patterns have been practiced in the traditional styles for many years preserving the techniques of each particular art and making them easier to remember. Something similar can be used for BJJ, which I call the flow. So here is my Choke Flow:
Choke 1 – Bow & arrow choke from guard
Choke 2 – Double lapel choke from guard
Choke 3 – Guillotine choke from guard
Scissor sweep (to change into mount position)
Choke 4 – Front choke from mount
Choke 5 – Half nelson lapel choke from side mount
Choke 6 – Repeat same on other side
Choke 7 – Take back and apply rear naked choke
After being shown how to do the techniques in that sequence, it is now simple for anyone to recall and practice the moves which only takes about a minute or so to go through them all. Good way to practice, good way to remember and a good way for the Instructor to ensure their students practice what they need to know.
GA