Below are the answers to the more common questions people ask, and a few that they don’t. Its not an exhaustive list so please feel free to contact me if it doesn’t help with your initial enquiries.
I’ve never done karate before :
Is it expensive ?
At Garswood, you only pay when you train. There are no direct debits or standing orders to set up as I know this puts many people off and if you can’t train for a couple of weeks it starts to make you anxious and feel put off at returning. I will never coerce you into parting with your hard earned money.
Are there add on costs ?
There is an administrative charge for gradings (belts) and at that time your karate licence and insurance, which is through the British Karate Association. I’ll explain all this to you, its all your choice and is not an income driver for me or my club. I don’t do chargeable personal training and none of my students would charge you for extra time or tuition.
There are karate clubs with different ‘funny’ names, what does that mean ?
Karate started in Japan, with its roots in Chinese systems, so many clubs adopt a name based on their heritage. Have a look at our history page and you can trace my karate family tree right back to its origin in Okinawa.
Is yours the best style of karate ?
Its a bit of a corny phrase, but there are only two types of karate Good; and Bad. With 40 years under my belt and a lively and friendly club for 25 years, Id like to think that our karate is in the good group.
I have lots of friends that practice other styles of karate and we often have them as guest teachers.
Is this a style suited to a novice ?
If you want to learn self defence and feel confident about it fairly quickly, then yes. We have woven modern self defence into our traditional karate system and our lessons are a mixture of both.
If you are looking to enter tournaments and win competitions, then other styles may be more suitable to you.
Do I have to fight and enter competitions ?
No not at all. Our style is about personal development and confidence building through a karate system, not about competitions and tournaments. There may be some occasional light sparring in the club, but this is mainly for the senior grades and again, it’s voluntary and pressure free. Whats most important is that there is no bullying or intimidation, only help and support during the training sessions.
Do I need to get a uniform ?
Again no, not at all. As a novice I would discourage you from buying a karate suit or “Gi” until you are happy that it is for you. You will see most people wearing a karate suit but they have started to advance their grades.
Can I just learn self defence ?
Most people, especially ladies, join to learn self defence and build up their confidence. You will start to learn effective self defence in your very first lesson. You will also learn that many of the self defence techniques are found within our traditional karate forms or kata; so when you are ready you can start to learn these as well.
Each lesson devotes a little time to learning the kata and applications, but we don’t keep you hanging around just watching others, you are here to participate and learn.
Do you have ladies only classes ?
No we don’t as on the street you can’t pick who attacks you. We have very good and experienced ladies and gents who train with us and we can assure you that you will not be hurt, embarrassed or intimidated. You will learn to love being able to defend yourself against the guys as you develop.
How often do I have to train ?
As much or as little as you like. Obviously the more you train, the more confident you will become. Everyone has other commitments though and it is best if you work it into a regular routine.
I’m not very fit or strong, does it matter?
Well hopefully we will make you feel better about yourself when you start to train. We have some super fit people here but also some at a more mature age, who are not pushing quite so hard these days. Karate gives back what you put in, so if you are younger and fitter and want to get stuck in you can do. But the beauty is that if you are a little older or have a few aches and pains you can work around it most of the time if we know about your limitations.
Who takes the training ?
I take 95% of all sessions. I get help from my senior grades who also have 40 years training and experience in teaching and we all stick to the same syllabus.
Do you have social events ?
The club is a learning environment for karate students. That said some of my students have been here over 20 years and become good friends, but we tend to keep the social side separate or have a quick celebration at Christmas or after gradings.
Is it Fun ?
I’m afraid that’s mandatory. You can train hard and be serious about karate but at the same time meet great people and have a good laugh. I want you always to go home feeling better than you did when you arrived. And fun helps that.
I’ve done karate in the past :
Is my old style compatible ?
Yes, most likely but it depends on you and your thoughts. The style of karate or martial arts that you practiced. Several students have joined us having learned other martial arts in the past and gone on to be successful furthering their martial arts. We will never say that what you have learnt is wrong as this is all valuable experience that you have gained and can even pass on to our system. You can continue to practice some of those styles in your own time, but in the classes we have to follow the goju ryu syllabus.
Can I keep my grade ?
Your grade was earned from your previous martial arts association. Once you have trained with us a few times you and I will get a feel for where this sits within our system. It’s about how you feel wearing your grade, you may eventually want to take gradings with us.
Do you train weapons ?
Weapons are a traditional aspect of our karate style, However for safety reasons and individual choices we do not run weapons lessons, only short occasional demonstrations. Many senior students have started to study weapons and can help you to develop any interest that you may have. However it is always limited to tuition after the main lesson.
Training for Kids :
Do adults and children train together ?
No. It’s really impractical to have adults and children training together. Children practice a much safer form of karate than adults and I have support from my senior grades who help and supervise the sessions.
Once children reach about 13 or 14 they may, with parental consent and if they are experienced enough, in karate train with the adults.
How soon will they become a black belt ?
We support a traditional karate approach, wherein no-one, adult or child is allowed to become a black belt in under 5 years. The details are in our grading system pages. It sounds a long time but that’s just because you are starting, once the child realises that karate is a path they want to follow then it isn’t such a long time. I will never push children or adults to grade and am saddened by clubs that do this as a means to generate extra income from their students.
My child is timid and not very good at sport, can they do karate ?
This is a story I’ve heard literally hundreds of times from the kids who don’t get picked for the school team or are put off sport for whatever reason. Everyone has the potential to become a confident karate practitioner, we pride ourselves in building children’s confidence and concentration. If they commit to training we commit to that development.
My child has other issues.
Have a look at our safeguarding pages, and get in touch. As long as I and the
volunteers helping me know broadly what the issue is we can accommodate them in most cases.
How old do they have to be ?
The child needs to be able to take instruction and have a little patience and not mess about while the instructor is talking, just like school really. For this reason I don’t take children under 5 years old.
Why are there no kids class photo’s ?
Our safeguarding policy aims to protect children at all times and photo’s are taken only under agreed circumstances and never published on websites.
Still Interested ?
Great so just get in touch using the form on these pages or give me a call and we will look forward to welcoming you to your first session.
