Congratulations new IHA Black Belts in Finland

Congratulations to the following Black Belts on their recent promotions in Helsinki, Finland during my World Seminar Tour.

Tapio Erholtz - 4th Degree

Juha Nyberg - 3rd Degree

Sasku Tkalcan - 2nd Degree

Albert Nasisbulin - 1st Degree
Tuuka Kekarainen - 1st Degree
Mika Harju - 1st Degree

Regards M G

Congratulations - New IHA Black Belts

Congratulations to the following Black Belts on their recent promotions at the ITS in Lancaster, USA.

Mike Weisensee - 4th Degree (USA)

April Booth - 3rd Degree (USA)

Peter Dilonardo - 2nd Degree (Australia)
Emmanuel Ordillo - 2nd Degree (Australia)
Corey Ninneman - 2nd Degree (USA)
Tony Schoenecker - 2nd Degree (USA)
Janne Toivanen - 2nd Degree (Finland)
Daniel Anis - 2nd Degree (Finland)
Markus Santi - 2nd Degree (Finland)
Pauli Harju - 2nd Degree (Finland)

Regards M G

2009 World Tour & International Training Seminar

Dateline April 2009: The Mission – 2009 World Tour/ITS USA.

Wednesday 8th and its a quick wakeup, Dojang stop and drive to the airport. Yes it’s that time of the year for the World Tour and our this year our 3rd ITS being held in the USA.I am going to Log not only my Flying Time (FT) but my Total Travel Time (TT). This will give you an idea of how much time I enjoy the comforts of flying/driving/buses/trains and the commute or time spent waiting.

TT – Sydney Airport (2 Hours)

Bags checked in, boarding passes done and it is time to clear customs on the way to Flight #1 NZ704 (Airbus A320-100) is in the air and the 3 hour flight across to New Zealand is as normal smooth. Landing in NZ goes well and I head up to the lounge to do a quick e-mail check and grab a coffee. The Air NZ lounge in Auckland is a decent one. I would rate it in the top 5-10 of the ones I have visited, mainly due to the net access, snacks, drinks and space.

FT – 3 Hours

TT – 8 Hours (e.g. Sydney 2, Flying 3, Auckland 3)

Flight #2 NZ8 (Boeing 777-200) heads from Auckland for the long trip across the pacific. I manage to get a little sleep and with a couple of meals and in-flight movies pass the time. Arrival into San Francisco is smooth and onto customs for the inevitable wait. I get through customs grab my bags and head out looking for the Hotel shuttle; it is a night in San Francisco as I was unable to get a good connecting flight through.

FT – 15 Hours

TT – 24 Hours

The next morning its back on the road for a couple more flights towards Minneapolis. Flight #3 UA 136 (Boeing 757-200) takes me across the US from San Francisco to Chicago.

FT – 19 Hours

TT – 30 Hours (It adds up pretty quickly!)

*Side Note* I have mentioned in previous years how the American Airlines seem to be treated more like a bus in the way people board and travel, however this time it is pretty clear that the planes are showing their age and general age. I keep everything crossed that the money not spent on the cosmetics is being spent on the mechanicals.

An hour spent in Chicago puts me onto another plane. Flight #4 UA789 (Boeing 737-300) heads towards Minneapolis and my first Seminar stop for the Tour.

FT – 22 Hours

TT – 33 Hours

Corey & Chris (Mrs Corey) meet me at the airport where we wait for my luggage to arrive. Both suitcases make the trip, even if one is partially open and looking slightly smashed. From the airport we head towards the Mall of America to meet up with Peter (Provisional Black Belt) for Dinner and a catch up.After a steak and chat its back on the road for the drive from Minneapolis to Hutchinson, just over an hour at this time with little traffic on the road.We take a quick swing through Hutchinson and a look at the Dojang before I check in and look for the bed.

TT – 34 Hours

The night goes way too quickly and I am on the mats for the first of 4 seminars today with Corey’s students in Hutchinson. The focus is on covering the junior belt level techniques with an occasional mini special seminar. The 2 adult seminars go well, and as a special topic I cover Knockouts, Mark, Corey and Tony all decide to have a nap. Mark especially enjoyed it as he started to dream and talk in his sleep before we brought him around, he was then a little sad as he was enjoying the dream! After the revision I hold a grading for Corey, congratulations to those students who passed to their next belt.The third seminar for the day was with the kids and they work hard, of course I wrap it up by punting them all, oops I mean by throwing them onto the crash mat...

The final seminar of day is an open self defence seminar where the parents get the chance to see how easy it is to use self defence. Everyone has fun as they show the big bad muggers (Corey’s students) how to get away.

The dawn of day 2 in Hutch brings another 3 Adults seminars and 1 with the kids. We continue working with the syllabus as well as covering Ki power as a special topic. During the day we get stuck into the shields and some of the local colour belts volunteer to hold the targets as Corey, Tony and myself practice 360 turning back kicks, let’s just say that one of the students decides to take a quick sit down after one of them, he almost made it to the door too!

The Hutch seminars are a great success and I look forward to seeing the growth of the Dojang under Corey’s expert guidance.Another early morn and its back on the road from Hutch to Minneapolis to grab 2 more flights towards the ITS!

I have decided that Blogger is not the best tool for the update and will reformat this and put it on the forum.

Regards

M G

“Black Belts are Students Too!”

Have we forgotten about our most important students?

Before we discuss whether Black Belts are students, we need to ensure that we are referring to a student who has committed a number of years of effort into attaining that rank, or similar, depending on the styles equivalent.

The Black Belt is the most recognisable goal attainable in the martial arts. It is what the general public perceive as being the benchmark to attain if you study one of the martial arts. Due to this perception the focus in most schools is in creating students worthy of earning a Black Belt. This is where the problems begin, from the first day a new student steps into the Dojang their focus, whether directly or indirectly, is to achieve the goal of Black Belt. This is reinforced over time with the progression through the belts/levels. It becomes the goal for so many that once they have attained the rank there is nothing else. The total focus on getting to Black Belt can make that seem like the completion of the journey.

It also becomes clear that people consider Black Belts to be instructors; of course they have more experience. However that experience doesn’t necessarily translate into the ability to teach. This only reinforces the mentality that there is nothing beyond Black Belt. For those people who want to continue to progress they often feel they need to go elsewhere. This is commonly when people leave to study other styles, mainly as they seek to continue to learn. Chief Instructors also make the mistake of getting the new Black Belt to help with teaching and it isn’t uncommon to have new Black Belts open a branch Dojang. Being a Black Belt and being an instructor are two separate roles and should be kept that way.

There will be students who want to teach and they will follow that path and there will be students who want to be just that. This is regardless of level or grade, a Black Belt should have just as much right to only train as the newest white belt. Having an instructors program that is not tied directly to rank as a requirement but more as a choice is a major part of being able to keep Black Belt Students.

Becoming a Black Belt is a major step in most styles and it marks the end of the apprenticeship. The achievement should be recognised and celebrated as just that. However, throughout the process of preparing a student for the Black Belt test a small focus should be on covering the idea of post Black Belt progression. It is our responsibility to give Black Belts as much if not more chance to train than a regular student. After all they have shown their commitment and respect by putting in many hours of effort. If you split classes according to rank for your normal students you should also provide a class that caters for the seniors, this may not be purely Black Belts but the highest couple of Kup/Kyu levels. This not only gives the Black Belts an environment to learn but also gives you a great atmosphere to motivate the senior coloured belts.

Another area that is commonly weak and results in unmotivated or quitting Black Belts is the curriculum. So many styles try to cram all the knowledge into the belts before Black that there is nothing to learn afterwards. Coloured belt material should cover all the base movement and motion mechanics required for your style. Then the combinations and exploration of more advanced techniques should be Black Belt material. Your curriculum needs to reflect to what rank you are happy to have students. If you only want Black Belts that may or may not stay, your curriculum ends at Black Belt. If you want to create Masters your curriculum covers material to that level.

Your post Black Belt material has to be not only exciting but also challenging. The new Black Belt has worked hard to get where they are and should only expect to keep working at that level. Make sure the material is based on ideas from your coloured belt requirement but also pushes their knowledge and ability to perform those requirements. Ensure that there is also a clear cut testing procedure for testing beyond the rank of Black Belt. After most schools provide a fairly clear map to get to Black Belt, why not have the same ready for the progression beyond.

The process in my Dojangs ( International Hapkido Alliance ) is simple in that the prospective Black Belt is often asked about their post Black Belt goals; they are pre-framed for the idea that there is much more to learn. They are given choices on whether they want to be an instructor or student and both are supported. They are provided with a clear curriculum and guide to post Black Belt progression that takes them to the level of Master. They are shown the path that can be a lifetime of challenges and learning.

Master Geoff J. Booth

IHA Black Belt Congratulations!

IHA 2nd Degree Black Belt Congratulations

Just a quick note to recognise and congratulate the 2 newest 2nd Degrees in the International Hapkido Alliance. Both Ma’am Tina and Sir Aaron put in an excellent effort throughout their testing and were promoted on Saturday October 25th.

Black Belt testing beyond 1st Degree in the IHA is done over a month; it includes a minimum of 3 days training during the Full-Time week, attendance at a number of events including the Black Belt Challenge (Physical and Self Evaluation), the Black Belt Technical Review (Coloured and Current Belt material), and the Sun Bae (Senior Belt Training Day). This all happens during the testing month; of course the candidate is not allowed to apply unless they have also completed the required time in grade, class hours, Black Belt hours, and their technical signatures.

As you can see there is a step by step process to completing and testing through each of the senior Degrees, this guarantees a high quality as well as a excellent standard.

Congratulations again to both Ma’am Tina and Sir Aaron.

Regards

M G

Day 5 – Survivors

Friday is the last day of the Hell Week and time to wrap up the miscellaneous requirements in the Coloured Belt requirements. First up I cover the striking drills for each belt and get the students to practice the techniques in the air and the power focus on the pads. The next section after the drills includes Lock Flows, Multiple Grabs and a break down on Tan Jun breathing.

The pre lunch seminar is on breathing and meditation and everyone gets a chance to relax while they try out the basic meditation.

Lunch is followed by a surprise for the students with the visit of Master Cale. Master Cale works on ground techniques with a focus on transitions from a sweep or throw, into a control position. Everyone gets the chance to work up a sweat with his ‘slam & jam’.

The final part of the day is the presentation of ‘survivor’ certificates for those who completed 3 days or more and the official bow off to conclude the week. The week was a great success and a welcome return to the Hell Weeks of old. Every technique in the Coloured Belt curriculum was covered, both in detail and in practice.

Congratulations to those students who ‘survived’ the week. I look forward to the next one.

Regards

M G

Day 4 – Self Defence+

It was time to wrap up the Self Defence portion of the coloured belt curriculum. Today the group worked through the requirements on Blue, Brown, Red and Provisional Black Belts. The concepts covered included Arresting Techniques, Chokes, Balance (2), Kick Defence, Ground Defence and Weapon Defence.

The bonus pre lunch seminar was on Takedowns which got everyone working hard on slamming their partners into the mats. Even the more junior students worked on making the more advanced techniques work, even if some of the interpretations were a little too creative.

The afternoon wrapped up with the free time session and a chance for students to continue working on grading preparations.

Regards

M G