Month: May 2009

“Karate is back”, said an ecstatic Lyoto Machida tonight after his UFC 98 victory over Light Heavy Weight Champion Rashad Evans.

At 3 minutes and 57 seconds into the second round, Evans collapsed like a rag doll with his legs buckled underneath as a result of a punching onslaught by Machida.

It was an exhibition of superior karate tactics, strategy and application. Machida dominated the fight, barely taking a blow from Evans all the while employing textbook karate tactics and combinations.

What makes Machida such a great fighter is his awesome understanding of fighting dynamics, and his ability to apply it against any opponent. His perfect MMA record now stands at 15-0-0.

This makes such a great victory for us who practice and teach karate because Lyoto didn’t just “get lucky”. Rashad is no slouch with a record of 18-1-1. Simply put Rashad Evans is the last in line of the Machida path of destruction. Others include Rich Franklin, Tito Ortiz, Thiago Silva and B.J Penn – all very successful fighters.

And as usual when it comes to talking about karate, Joe Rogan again had a severe case of verbal diarrhea. To paraphrase, he made a rash generalization about karate kicks not being as powerful as muay thai, and also some reference to the “one punch one kill” karate philosophy not applying when fighting a grappler.

Hmmm, don’t know about you but it seems to me that you can’t grapple too successfully when you’ve been knocked out – what do you think, Joe?

This is a good day for karate teachers.

You can now give a stunning example of a traditional karate fighter in the public eye, who now rules a sport where BJJ and muay thai have dominated. As Joe Rogan said after the fight (the one thing I think I can actually agree with him on) is that the UFC has entered a new era.

The funny thing is that those of us who teach karate see exactly what Machida does and we understand his strategies, but so many UFC fans, fighters and coaches are completely bamboozled.

Use this opportunity to promote your school. Reference it in your classes and get people excited and talking about karate again…

Karate is back!

Last week we welcomed 2 news students to the karate club.

BOB

and

Bobby Bully

Man, these guys are great!

If you’ve never beat on a BOB then it’s about time you did. The “BOBs” are free standing human like rubber manikins that you can practice just about all your striking techniques on with full force.

When I brought these two new guys to the club last week my students went nuts. Kids and adults alike.

You may think that punching a heavy bag is the same and there is no need for a “gimicky” human looking punch bag – I used to feel the same way until I put BOB and Bobby Bully to the test. Years ago I’d used an early version of BOB and enjoyed it, but due to the cost never invested in one for the club when a heavy bag is about 1/3 of the price.

But finally thanks to a successful fundraiser we did last month we went ahead and teamed up with the BOBs. And like I said, my students love beating on the BOBs and yours will too.

Reasons to invest in the BOBs:

1. More realistic than a punch bag – contoured, and dense like a human body but flexible at the neck so the head moves when you hit it. You can practice striking to the eyes, ears, throat, solar plexus, groin, etc.
2. Actual size – BOB and Bobby Bully are life size and adjustable in height so you can make them shorter or taller to suit your students height, or set them at their tallest setting for an encounter with a bigger person.
3. Easily incorporated into your class – an easy way to use your BOBs is to use them in an obstacle course and relay races for kids, or virtually any other drills that invovles striking for your adults. And of course you can always pull the BOBs off their stands and lay them flat on their back for a good “ground and pound” session.

The BOBs range from about $250 USD for Bobby Bully, $350 for the regular BOB and about $400 for “BOB with groin”. Of course if you’ve got a wholesale account you can pick them up for less from your supplier.

If you already have a BOB or two, post your comments below and let people know what you think…

Jason

After 4 years of persisting with my troublesome newsletter email software I’ve upgraded to a new system.

WHAT THIS MEANS TO YOU…

It means that if you still want to receive the KarateTeaching Newsletter then I need you to confirm your subscription once more. If you’re a current subscriber, please keep an eye on your inbox for an email with the subject heading, “Please confirm your subscription”.

Then just follow the instructions, click on the link and you’ll be all set!

Without confirming you’ll miss out on all the great teaching tips, information, product reviews and marketing ideas.

Plus if you’re a KarateTips customer you’ll want to confirm your subscription to ensure you receive full customer support for any products you might own.

Alternatively you can just click here to resubscribe by requesting the “5 Dynamite Drills ebook” once more and you’ll be re-added to the newsletter list.

Thanks and stay tuned for the next installment of the KarateTeaching Newsletter.

– Jason

As a teacher or school owner it’s important that you create a culture at your club that makes it a place that people want to go to. And it all starts at the top – with YOU and your black belts.

Ask yourself what have you done for your black belt students lately? In my opinion it’s important that you strive to reach and teach them more than the bare minimum.

(For “Office Space” fans – You don’t want to wear just the minimum amount of flare do you?)

Why?

Up until black belt, training for many people can just be about attaining it, or reaching that level. And often after people earn their black belt, they are left with a feeling of emptiness. A sense of “what’s next”? And since the time between black belt gradings are so much greater some students can lose their way.

One thing I learned from my sensei is that you must go above and beyond what you give to everyone else to make “black belt” really something special. The benefits are you’ll develop a tight knit group, an elite unit to build moral, set a standard, influence other students and help grow your club.

Things you can do to achieve this :

1. Give an extra class once per month EXCLUSIVELY for your black belts.

   Make it on a special day and make it a longer class than usual. In this class run through all your kata, and give deeper technical advice and coaching. Also teach new kata to this class that no other students get to learn until they reach this level. Give them something EXTRA, first class service that NOBODY else gets.

2. Organize special events just for your black belts.

   This could be a dinner, a day out at the movies, go cart racing, sky diving, whatever. Have 1 or 2 of these per year and if possible see of you can pick up the tab. You and your black belt students will form a tight bond and appreciate this.

3. Ask them for their opinions on how to make the club better.
   
   They’ll be honored that you did! And you’ll probably be surprised at what you discover. I guarantee you’ll find out things you didn’t already know, gather some great ideas and fix some nagging problems. Feedback is so critical for success.

Get your top students involved and watch how your school transforms. You’ll raise moral, make some friends, develop student loyalty and reap the financial and personal rewards of your efforts…