by [email protected] | Apr 11, 2018 | Articles
What it means to get a Black Belt – Stirling Karate – Karate Karrinyup
Perspective from a parent
A Parent from our dojo wrote the following letter after their teenage son passed their shodan (1st dan black belt).
This really reminded me of the meaning of getting your black belt. Even though I’ve had the privilege of witnessing many karate-ka achieving their black belt through Pinetown JKA Karate. It is easy to forget how incredibly valuable it is to achieve this. If you ever have any doubt if it’s worth getting a black belt, read below.
To Parent that wrote this, thank you for sharing your thoughts with us. It will perhaps motivate someone out there not to give up!
The letter:
After watching my son from the side of the Pinetown JKA dojo for 7 years, I can honestly say that the journey has been one of a thousand steps.
And for my wife and I to be there as parents, beside him, each of those steps has been a life lesson of patience, commitment and the true meaning of spirit.
This journey was inspired, as with many of the kids at the dojo, by the need for my son to learn to defend and protect himself. Because he cannot and probably still will not hurt a fly, unless he is forced to defend himself now…
What has resulted is not a revolution but an evolution of his mental strength, his respect for others and his self-control. The culmination of this has been his recent achievement of Shodan Black Belt, his first Black Belt. And it has only been achieved through the careful mentoring and spirit that is nurtured by Karin Prinsloo and Pinetown JKA, knowing when it was time to take the final step on this journey.
The real winner at the end of this first journey, like one’s first trip overseas, is not just our son’s awakening. It’s been us, as parents, being the beneficiary of a young boy showing us the first rays of being a man, of a character forming and being steeled through hours of dedication, perspiration and effort.
His earning a black belt has literally been like a light being switched on. He is ready and hungry for more, thirsty and eager develop this new knowledge that has been attained.
This is hopefully the beginning of many more journeys to his next black belt. Oss.
www.stirlingkarate.com.au
by [email protected] | Jul 19, 2017 | Articles, Uncategorised
There are certain individuals, adults and children, that everyone adores, respects and gravitate towards.
The kind of people you would do anything for. I see this in my dojo, what makes those individuals different?
Without delving deep into the world of upbringing, parenting and childhood events, I believe the following behaviour contributes a lot to being “those individuals”.
1) Having manners and being courteous.
Showing politeness towards others in your behaviour, consistently. 
For example:
- Using a person’s name or rank at the end of your reply “yes John”, thank you ma’am”, “yes Sensei” or “Thank you Senpai”.
- Standing up when someone speaks to you. Offering to carry bags.
- Opening the door for someone.
- Offer your seat to a lady or someone older.
- Say thank you and please.
- Children getting up and greet guests arriving at your home or dojo.
- Making an effort to great people you know, even if you need to walk a few meters.
The list goes on..
It takes discipline and hard work to consistently show courtesy, but it makes a world of difference and will open doors for you in your life.
2) The second behaviour is loyalty.
With this, I mean acknowledge and remember the people that contributed to your life path.
- The people that helped you along the way.
- The ones that played an important role at some stage of your life.
- Show gratitude towards those individuals; do not just take it for granted. They never needed to help you or assist you in any way. They gave their time and expertise to you which is one of the biggest gifts anyone can give you.
It does not necessarily mean you should stay with the individuals that helped you. It simply means showing that you remember where you came from.
Examples of this would be:
- Give them a call or going to visit every now and then.
- Stay interested in their cause, support them, even if just a like on Facebook. Social media makes it easy to stay in touch.
- If there is an opportunity, let them know you appreciate the role they played in your life
Many of us achieved because of people that gave selflessly; teachers, instructors, mentors, that helped us along our way, never forget them.
3. The third behaviour is giving back.
There are and have been people that contributed to your life. There comes a time when you need to pay this forward and do the same for others.
You need to do this unreservedly and without expecting anything in return. There will be grateful people and others that won’t be. Do it because someone once did it for you.
Give back not because of who they are but who you are..
How?
- Volunteer to assist in teaching others.
- Help at events or causes that once served you.
I firmly believe a person displaying these behaviours, especially when they are young, will find himself surrounded by a world of opportunity and will experience a lot of inner happiness and joy.
www.stirlingkarate.com.au
by [email protected] | May 5, 2017 | Articles, Karate Kids
Thank you to Karate for teaching us Perseverance and Grit!
I recently read an interesting article from Master Bronson Ko from Kansas,
“When should we allow our children to quit”. I decided to write this article based on my own teaching experience.
When is it acceptable for our children to quit? Start with the question: ‘In order to be the best person your child can be, what is the most important life lessons and life skills they need to learn?’
Some life skills include:
- To be happy and confident
- Delayed gratification
- Effort vs reward
- Consequence to behaviour
- Etiquette, respectful and ethical conduct
- Grit, perseverance
- Intellect, concentration skills
- Social skills
- Physical fitness
- Character, integrity
Our children live in a virtual world.
Our children live in a virtual world, some are even virtual addicts, e.g. constant use of computer games leads to instant gratification and no real consequence for decisions, or are there? Too much social media prevents our children from developing social skills and meaningful relationships – relationships not only with humans, but also the non-human world. It is easier to ‘close the app’, ‘leave the group’ or ‘unfriend’ rather than dealing with conflict or resolving a situation. Being young and easily influenced, our children may portray themselves as someone/thing they are not, thus not being true to themselves and others. A young person will not learn to be confident in who they really are if they constantly (have to) pretend. Once grown up, in the real world, your skills set will determine your success, or lack thereof.
Things really changed when I became a parent myself.
During the last 20 years of teaching karate, I have been privileged to get to know thousands of children. I have gotten to know many wonderful parents and parenting styles. Things really changed when I became a parent myself. Amongst many things I have learned how enjoyable it is to see our children happy, I have also learned how hard it is to do things they don’t like. In addition, most of all, I have a burning desire for them to be happy, fulfilled humans, gaining the tools to handle what life throws at them.
At which point do we allow our children to quit and how much should we push them to carry on?
Apart from school, our children take part in many sporting and cultural activities. But why – because we want them to, or they want to, or others when them to? The question then eventually is: at which point do we allow our children to quit and how much should we push them to carry on? The answer, in my opinion, lies in a related question: which activity is best at building my child’s character and teaches life lessons best to enable them to become a happy, fulfilled and successful adult contributing to society? (Refer back to my points above on important life skills.)
It is important to set aside time to enjoy life and have fun, but it is equally important to guide our children away from short-term happiness and show them the way to long-term success and happiness.
Through the years of teaching karate and being involved in sport, I am convinced that there are many activities and sports that tick the boxes when it comes to child development. However, something to be cautious about is to over commit our children. Too many activities will leave our children simply too exhausted to grow. The last thing you want, is for your child putting in the effort with no progress (reward/s), being constantly exhausted will inhibit growth and life lessons to flower.
Tools for maximum development success.
The fortunate thing about karate and martial arts in general is that it provides a variety of tools for maximum development success. From experience, let me name my top 7 examples:
- Delayed gratification: Karate is a complex art. It takes on average 5 to 7 years for a child to get their black belt, but when you get it, it’s an overwhelming experience!
- Builds Confidence: Karate is an ancient martial art teaching to defend yourself physically and mentally. This builds confidence. With our children being victims of e.g. bullying, it is important that they can stand up for themselves, others and society.
- Grit, perseverance and consequence: Karate is a contact sport. If you do not block, you might be hit and that hurts (sometimes a lot)! You need to carry on, control your emotions and think clearly. To develop this you will need to train hard, develop strength, accuracy, reaction time and speed. In turn, this will develop confidence.
- Etiquette, respectful and ethical conduct: Japanese culture has a strong influence on karate until this day (some organizations more than others do). Most well-respected dojos follow a culture of etiquette, respect and strong ethics, the type of environment that is beneficial to a child’s life-long development.
- Social Skills: Much of karate training takes place in a group environment and often with a partner (not always of your choice). This develops social skills, working towards a common goal and encouraging one another. I have also noticed older members keeping one another accountable (e.g. if you miss a lesson you keep the group back).
- Intellect: There are many complex techniques to remember. This includes sequences with spatial awareness. One cannot achieve this without concentration. This ‘muscle’ gets a lot of practise in karate. For more experienced karate-ka strategizing becomes part of sparring, almost like a game of chess, adapting to the situation, deciding quickly how best to defeat your opponent and act. In a sparring match, during grading, a tournament or in practice, quick decision making under pressure and heightened emotions, becomes an important skill.
- Physical and mental well-being: Growing up and as we get older, we realise how important an active life-style is. Keeping fit, flexible and strong will contribute to our overall well-being when young and will be in good stead when growing older. Karate certainly helps calm the mind by getting rid of frustration. As you start practicing karate for a lengthy period you realise how much you still need to learn, I guess this is why you see so many older karate-ka still practising, it keeps your mind curious, alert and in ‘learning’ mode.
Character is built on pushing through the hard and uncomfortable times
Character is one word that summarises most of the above life lessons. Character is built on pushing through the hard and uncomfortable times; sticking with what you started even though, it is not fun. Character is built through doing the right things right – this includes putting others first when it is inconvenient. Character is not built through having fun and things being easy all the time.
I have a number of examples of students that wanted to quit karate but was not allowed to. Seven years later these students love karate and turned into thriving young adults – one day they will thank their parents showing them the way.
by [email protected] | Aug 5, 2016 | Articles
Why we bow in karate and what it means….
Karrinyup Karate – 2 Nerita Way – Stirling Karate.
www.stirlingkarate.com.au
Bowing is probably the feature of Japanese etiquette that is best known outside Japan, especially present in Japanese Martial Arts such as Karate.
Bowing is considered extremely important in Japan, so much so that, although children normally begin learning how to bow from a very young age, companies commonly provide training to their employees in how to execute bows correctly.
Basic bows are performed with the back straight and the hands at the sides (boys and men) or clasped in the lap (girls and women), and with the eyes down. Bows originate at the waist. Generally, the longer and deeper the bow, the stronger the emotion and the respect expressed.
www.karinprinsloo.com
by [email protected] | Jun 15, 2016 | Articles
To teach is to learn.. 
Its true. Ask anyone that teaches karate.
www.stirlingkarate.com.au
Karrinyup Karate – 2 Nerita Way – Stirling Karate.
Like well known karate blogger, Jessie said, “To teach is to learn twice. When you teach something to others you are forced to rethink your understanding of it.”
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Einstein said: “If you can’t explain it to a 5 year old, you don’t understand it well enough”
Karate provides a lot of mental and intellectual stimulation over and above the physical benefits. To have a deeper understanding of karate technique will most certainly add to your enjoyment of the art. Teaching karate will force you to explain why and how techniques were designed to work, especially when a 6 year old puts you on the spot!
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I have seen the benefits of seniors teaching in our dojo over the last 20 years. It is part of our dojo culture to 
teach at least once a 
week when you receive your shodan.
This is what it’s achieving:
- Young adults (and older ones) learning to take responsibility, build self esteem, become leaders and give back.
- Learning twice, re think karate. Remembering and executing karate better and become better karate-ka.
- Establishing a culture of friendship and caring for fellow dojo members which builds camaraderie and spirit.
I would love to know what you learn from teaching karate in the comments section below. What do you learn from teaching karate?
The Blog of Jesse Enkamp – Karate Nerd™ www.karatebyjesse.com
Pinetown JKA Karate Institute www.pinetownjka.co.za
