How to be the best student in your Karate Dojo

[@JohnGBlackBelt53]

Great advice John, thanks for the advice and video.

[@1979jon]

Im not the best but try my hardest. Im a good people person so get called to help with grading and demonstrations. Good content as always John. Osu!

[@Rakotino]

You dont have to try to be the best in the dojo. You have to do the best to be better than your former self.

[@alanbone5512]

Yes to all you said John , when going away , practicing at home alone , is helpful to use your imagination , see different scenarios , different defence , different applications to techniques. Learn kata with applications as well As just going through movements in dojos , practice even with others in local park ,setting. Unobtrusive to others , always be respectful of your partners they like you have a life to live , even go to work next day. , without injuries caused by neglect or over excessive force , be diligent respectful. Hone your control skill sets , karate , is a way of life , live it , it will always protect you, and others , hone those basic skills. , yes question the applications , learn become much more ,a better human being spirituality we are all brothers and sisters , remember the courtesy , students are only as good as their teachers , strive for the important , improvement in character as well as. Application of technique , great respect to you John , a excellent Sensei teacher . ,

[@kadolphin5131]

Thank you for your advicees! ❤

[@Nacho_Ferrari]

I don’t know if I’m the best student in my dojo, but I for sure do all these four tips.

[@jkgardiner]

@@Nacho_Ferrari being the best student doesn’t necessarily mean the best ability. A student with great ability but poor attitude is not a good student..

[@Nacho_Ferrari]

@@jkgardiner Ah, I see. So that’s where the difference is. You’re right, I see people with higher skill than me who lack one or more of these four tips. As for me, I’m always willing to receive feedback not only from my sensei but all my senpai too, I respect and appreciate each and everyone of those who train with me, I always ask doubts and practice out of the dojo. Our sensei is currently teaching us bassai sho and, because I practice whenever I have a free moment and some space, I have already memorized it and each time I practice it, it gets better and better. Thanks a lot and keep up the good work. Ossu!

[@jkgardiner]

@@Nacho_Ferrari I am also certain your sensei prefers those like yourself who have a great attitude over those that may be more naturally gifted but have a poor attitude and are uncoachable etc. keep on doing what you’re doing 👍🏼

[@davidgomezjimenez2495]

Thanks Thanks Thanks. ❤

[@Because223]

I try to be a good student I’m on the autism spectrum and have ADHD so sometimes my teacher doesn’t know how to address how to teach me I took martial arts when I was younger 32 years ago so being older is difficult and often times other students and some teachers laugh at me and poke fun

[@rivera_]

❤❤

[@daniel-zh9nj6yn6y]

0:45 were those toe kicks ?

[@jkgardiner]

@@daniel-zh9nj6yn6y no, ball of the foot

[@joshgilligan5466]

Thanks for the video John! What's your favorite part of Karate?

[@jkgardiner]

Interesting question, it changes all the time depending on what I’ve been working on really but I’m really enjoying kumite at the moment, what’s yours?

[@joshgilligan5466]

@jkgardiner I do taekwondo, sparring is definitely the most fun but I find patterns the most relaxing

[@Taylor_Sen]

What is the stance at 0:20? It looks like the neutral fighting stance that I was taught in a Shorin Ryu Karate school. But that stance seems to have a shorter gap between the legs than the one in your video.

[@baf303]

👍👊🥋

[@abed8504]

Very helpful ! Been following you on instagram for a while Can you do a video someday about impostor syndrome ? Especially when you're training with very experienced and talented people ? I'm a blue belt and find myself reluctant to spar or train with the others that are far better than me, not necessarily because I'm scared, it's more of a feeling that I'm not worth their time at my current level. Or maybe that they're just going really easy on me to not make me feel bad.. So how do you know if you're overthinking it instead of actually improving ?

[@jkgardiner]

That’s a very good idea for a video.. I’ll see what I can do, thanks 👍🏼

[@shokster]

So basically do the opposite of what I do 😂

[@jkgardiner]

@@shokster I’m sure you do your homework … 🧐

[@shokster]

@@jkgardiner of course...👀 watching your videos count right? 😅😆

[@GucciJackson-sw6pg]

🇹🇿🇹🇿🇹🇿

[@sassuki]

Around 0:28 ... what the hell? :D Was that supposed to be a correction or did I miss something? The knee is totally off, no? lol Btw, homework is practically impossible for 99% of people. We usually don't have time (or space) to train at home

[@jkgardiner]

@@sassuki you did miss something because you weren’t in the dojo at that time to understand the context of what I was telling him. You don’t need much space at all and time.. if you haven’t got 15 spare minutes every now and then you must be very busy. People fit in what they want to fit in, whether that’s watching tv, practicing karate or doing something else. 99% of people is an over exaggeration, not everyone’s lives are the same as yours.

[@andrewfindlay9336]

I find it hard to believe you don't have space to practice say a deeper kiba dachi stance while brushing your teeth on a morning or waiting for the kettle to boil. Or mentally go through the kata your just learning whilst standing in the shower or waiting for the train or bus. Training does not always have to be physical, you can be thinking about your karate, the applications etc in ypur spare time. Karate is a study and requires work outside of the dojo, just like any other subject matter you may study in life.

[@sassuki]

@@jkgardiner afaik, you were competing back in the day, no? That might explain your bias. Competitive people are surrounded by highly motivated individuals, so this might give you the idea that it is "common" to do certain things. In my 35 years of (non competitive) training, I've experienced 2 things: students that don't even come to training when exams are around the corner, and employees that are happy if they even manage to make it to the regular training sessions, because you never know when you have to work overtime.

[@sassuki]

@@andrewfindlay9336 Life does not turn around karaté. Even when I was a student, if I had time, I would go swimming, do other styles or martial arts (taekwondo, aikido, etc.), weight lifting, aerobic, etc.

[@jkgardiner]

@@sassuki I completely understand that because you’ve described a lot of my students, I understand life can get in the way, but this video is for those that want to put more time in and are able to do so. I have students that train every day and also those that don’t make it every week, that’s fine but I’m giving tips on being the best you can be and that requires certain things, as I’m sure you understand.

[@handsomestik]

It’s guys that look like this that makes life just too unfair haha