My child wants to quit, what can I do?
If your child wants to quit, remember the reasons you started him/her in the first place. Karate is like swimming and road safety, it is an education that will give them real life skills. Remember ball games etc, are activities not educational that can help throughout ones life. Forcing kids to go to class is not a good idea, but if they believe they have no choice, they are more likely to comply.

Can I stay and watch classes?
Yes, you can, but we do ask parents not to communicate with their children on the mat unless they are asked to do so by the instructor.

Training once a week (is it worth while?)
Of course training once a week is worth it. You will always benefit albeit at a slower rate. We have had students that have trained for a number of years and never made it to black belt but can still train and reap the benefits. Lessons taught can have an influence on our daily lives even if training only once a week. There is a saying; you become like the people you mix with, so training in a positive environment surrounded by positive friendly people must have an effect on you. Over 40% of young men get into violent confrontations before the reach 20, so any self defence training reduces the odds of getting into, or being involved in violence.

Will I get my Black belt if I only train once a week?
The answer is “probably not” unless you go to a club with much lower standards than us. If you are super diligent practising at home as well as our normal classes it could take ten years or more.
But remember the quote by Arthur Ash, Success is a journey, not a destination. The doing is often more important than the outcome. (Arthur Ash was a three times grand slam winner in tennis.)
A minimal amount of self defence is better than none at all.

Why is my child being sent off the mat?
When an instructor is teaching a class, it is important that all the children hear whats going on. So a child who is continually talking or distracting other children will be given a warning and if they continue to distract may be asked to leave the mat for a period of time and in some cases the rest of the class. A child can learn one of two things: If they are not disciplined for their actions, they will keep on doing the same thing. Or two, If they can see consequences for there unwanted actions, they will stop doing those actions. Parents watching do not always pick up whats happening on the mat, children rarely play up facing the parents. 

Why is my child not grading?
First of all, the requirements in the book must be met. Instructors also take into account the three A’s. They are attendance, Attitude and Attention (in class.) Also small things like not addressing the instructors with their correct titles, Dirty or untidy uniforms. Not showing courtesy and respect, for example, not bowing when entering the training area. Interrupting parents or instructors when they are talking etc.

Why does my child have to drop in grading when the reach another age level?
If you look at a black belt Ninja grading, you will find that the things that they did for their grading is equivalent to a dragon Brown Belt. So the Ninja moving into the Dragons would drop a full belt to Brown belt (3rd Kyu.) The power, knowledge and technique tends to be a lot stronger as one progresses through to the senior age group.

Can I wash my child’s belt?
The tradition here is never wash out the sweat (and blood) from your belt. Everyone starts on white belt and as the years went by it slowly turned black (yuk). Higher graded black belts stick to this but might let it hang on the clothesline while it is raining. Or wearing it while washing your car or going for a swim. If you wash it, don’t tell us 🙂