U3A Sunshine Coast: U3A is for people who are no longer working full-time, but wish to continue to learn and broaden their horizons. “Learning for the joy of learning”.

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Sensei Martin did a fabulous job presenting an hour long karate training session of kihons (basics) which was delivered in both English and Japanese.  This was followed by a brief discussion of the history of Karate and a demonstration.

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For the first few years we did it tough. Looking back on it, the approach we took was kind of stupid and to be honest I’ve got no idea how we made ends meet, but somehow it always seemed to work out.  We came to the coast with almost nothing, just what we could fit into the back of our little Suzuki Swift.  For the first 2 months we literally camped in the cheapest unit we could afford to rent in Maroochydore, we barely made ends meet. Everything we did was about moving towards our goal of teaching karate full-time.

We didn’t know anything about business or marketing. And we had next to no money. Although we were both very capable of getting good jobs, we chose to work part-time jobs to help support ourselves through the early stages.  And we had to make sure that our work didn’t interfere with the times that we would most likely be teaching classes.

After a few months of settling in, we finally decided it was time to get a class going.  We made up some flyers, printed them out and hand delivered them, all 200 of them.  We were crushed when no one showed up for our first class, but we stayed and trained anyway, with no students.  This went on for a few weeks until somehow we got a small write up in the local newspaper.  Shortly after we got a phone call and we had our first students, two brothers.

Looking back on it now, our marketing skills were laughable.  But somehow, by the end of our first year, we had a grand total of 10 students training with us, it was almost enough to pay the rent for the hall we were hiring to use as a dojo.  By the end of the second year we’d built it up to 40 students and over the coming years our dojos continued to grow.  For these first few years, we were teaching in various community halls all over the Sunshine Coast.  The classes were growing, slowly, but we were still so far from our dream.  The more students we had, the more expenses we had.

We never wanted to run a business, we just wanted to teach karate.  But over time we realised, if we were to truly create a sustainable dojo we had to build our dojo around some good business practices.  We had to manage our cashflow, do regular marketing, create business systems and put up our prices.  For us it’s never been about dollars.  Even now, we’d probably still do it for free if we could, but no one has shown us how to do that yet.

Through those early years, I delivered pizzas for a while a couple of days a week and for a few years I worked through the day delivering bottled water. Sandra and I both worked on a mushroom farm and we had a few other odd jobs in between. We knew these were dead end jobs, but we didn’t want to build a career outside of the dojo. We wanted to do something that would help us pay the bills while the dojo was growing.  Something that we could easily quit when the time was right.

 

For someone who’s never really done martial arts it’s probably a bit hard to understand why it was so important to us to pursue our dream in this way. It’s not because we didn’t have any other prospects. We were both A students at school. We both went to university to pursue degrees in education.We were smart, capable and willing to work hard. But our passion was in karate.

Maybe it was because the dojo had always been a special place for us and we wanted to create that for the people of the Sunshine Coast.  In our younger years the dojo provided a safe haven, it was a place to escape the troubles of life. We both loved to train, and we trained hard. The training helped us to build strong bodies and over time a strong mind and a good emotional base from which to build our lives.  Karate gave us both the opportunity to travel internationally for competitions and training.

We developed so many good friends through karate.  The dojo is more than just a group of people coming together to train, it’s a community built upon the bonds of common experience.  One of the things I’ve always loved about the dojo is that it’s a melting pot.  You get people from all walks of life coming together and putting aside their differences.  Working through challenges, supporting each other, sweating it out and growing together.  Age, gender, religion, social status, sexual orientation.  It doesn’t matter in the dojo.  It’s such a leveller to have the social hierarchy turned completely upside-down, and everyone just accepts that as normal.

Where else would you see a doctor or lawyer hanging off every word that a child has to say, in the hope that they don’t miss the point of an important lesson.  The adult might have so much more life experience, but in the dojo, quite often you’ll have children who by the time they get to 9 or 10 years old they’ve spent half their life or more honing their karate skills in the dojo, so they’re the expert.

The dojo has a hierarchy of it’s own, but everyone has something of value to offer.  It can be hard to leave the baggage at the door when you come to train, but for those who do the learning opportunities can be profound.

When we first started teaching here on the Sunshine Coast, martial arts had such a negative image.  Nearly everyone we spoke to at the time saw martial artists as rough brawlers who were just looking for trouble.  This was so far from our experience and nothing like what we wanted to share.  So it was a real uphill battle for a while to change that perception within the public.

But slowly we’ve been able to do that.  Thanks to a lot of help and support from a lot of people, we achieved our dream of opening our own full-time dojo in September 2003.

One person in particular who was instrumental in helping us to establish a full-time dojo was Jason Vanderhor.  At the time, Jason and his family had been training with us for a few years and he helped us get a lot of the key pieces into place so that we could position ourselves to secure the lease on the premises.  As that time, Jason was also setting up his own business after completing his MBA.  A little while ago, Jason sold that business and is getting back to his passion of helping people in business, just like he helped us.

Here’s what Jason has to say about his new venture, “Business Up” and how he can help you…

Business Up is geared to support your business goals, whether its start up or development. I know how difficult it is run a business and to learn and implement the latest processes or tools to keep that competitive edge and work on efficiencies often gets neglected.  As a recent successful business owner, I understand an objective look can make a huge difference in profits and minimize risk in your business. Having nearly 20 years’ business experience on the coast backed by a local MBA, I have real skills in business development and a passion to help business owners reach their goals.

With over 50% of businesses failing in the first 3 years, I believe there is little support for the backbone of the Australian economy, the small and medium businesses. So, we are offering a free, no obligation look at what we can do for your business.

To learn how Jason can help you, give him a call on 0400 989 063.

Anyway, back to our story…

Since then a lot has changed, we’ve had two kids of our own, our eldest started high school this year.  The dojo continued to grow and we’ve had the pleasure of sharing our passion with 1000’s of people and we’ll continue to do this as long as we’re still breathing.  Thankfully the perception of martial arts seems to be changing too, and we like to think that we’ve played an important part in that process.

Reflecting back on the journey now, I am so grateful that both Sandra and I have been able to find our passion and had the courage to pursue our dream, but the journey is far from over.

As I write this now, we’re currently in the final stages of preparing a team to compete at the Chito-Ryu World Karate Championship in Japan.  In the dojo many of our classes are near capacity.  Our teaching and leadership teams are growing more and more each year, both in numbers and confidence.  We’ve got more black belt students than we’ve ever had with more on the way soon.  But perhaps most importantly to me, we have a lot of good people who are part of the dojo.  Everyday it’s uplifting and inspiring to have the opportunity to share part of my day all of the people that make up our dojo community.  Thank you!

We know that not everyone is going to find the same things in karate that we have.  Our philosophy is simple “karate 4 life” what you make of that is up to you.  Maybe it’s to create a life, to save a life, for a lifetime, for a lifestyle, as a way of life…. the possibilities are endless.

Everyone’s experiences are different, everyone’s motivations are different and everyone’s results are different.  But if you’re curious, if you’re looking for something more out of your life and if you’re willing to try something different, we’d love to have you join our dojo community.  If you live on the Sunshine Coast, why not contact us for a FREE trial lesson at Sunshine Coast Karate.

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Soke Sensei (International Chito-Ryu Head Instructor)

Higuchi Sensei

Naoyuki Chitose Sensei

From Canada

Mitchell German Sensei

From Australia

Charlene Symonds Sensei (Newcastle)

Mark Snow Sensei (Blue Mountains)

Adam Higgins Sensei (Gold Coast)

Michael Noonan Sensei (Sydney)

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• Annual Christmas Party (held at Cotton Tree Park) includes training in the park, in the water, assorted Christmas games, BBQ lunch and a visit from Santa
• Australian Team Members climbing Mt Coolum together and chanting “Aussie, Aussie, Aussie, Oi, Oi, Oi”
• Family Fun at our local Lazerzone where our Leadership/Instructor Team go head to head with students and family members.
• Summer Beach Training at Maroochydore and Mooloolaba Beaches.
• Annual Easter Picnic (held at Cotton Tree Park) includes training, assorted Easter games and a BBQ lunch
• Sunshine Coast Karate Turns Spooky for Halloween
• Full weekend Karate Camp at Currimundi Recreation Centre

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In total we taught four groups of about 60 students per group (240 students altogether).

I gave each group a short introduction about who we were and what we were going to cover in the session, using my best Japanese. For those who weren’t keeping up, I followed with an English version of the same information. I there were are few people who were very grateful that I did that, but quite surprisingly, most of the students seemed to be following what I was saying quite well.

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Nearly every month we have new students getting started because they have been experiencing bullying at school or parents want their child to become more confident so that they do not become a target to bullies.

This year we’ve started a class for home schooling families at the dojo once a week. In chatting to the kids and parents who have come along for a trial or joined so far, I’d estimate that about 50% of the kids started home schooling because of bullying issues at school. These are the kids that have completely fallen out of the system, because the system has failed as a result of the people in authority who have a duty of care and yet fail to take control of the problem before it gets completely out of hand.

By the time people come to us to help with their bullying problems, often they are quite fragile and often have some emotional issues of their own that they need to work through. So not only is it our job to “teach them how to defend themselves” and help them to become more confident, we also have to build up their self esteem and provide a safe haven where they are free to be themselves.

Of course when we talk about bullying, we don’t just mean physical attacks, but also verbal and emotional attacks. This is perhaps the worst kind, because you don’t see the evidence of a bruise or a bloody nose. Quite often with this type of bullying, it is done without witnesses and proof that it occurred can be hard to find.

Because of the prevalence of bullying in the school system in particular, we have always tried to do our best to make sure that the dojo is a place where students feel safe and free from bullying. Unfortunately, it sometimes happens in the dojo too. As you can imagine, we have a very low tolerance for bullying of any kind, it’s something that we take very seriously.

On the rare occasion that it does happen in the dojo, we go all in. As quickly as possible, we get the victim involved, we get the bully involved, we get their parents involved (both parties) and we don’t stop until we find a solution. We make sure all dojo staff know about the issue and we make sure other dojo members are aware and on the lookout for future problems. We also use it as an opportunity to educate all of our members about the consequences of bullying and the flow on emotional effect that bullying can have.

Bullying is not a simple issue because there are so many angles to be considered. At Sunshine Coast Karate, we do have a very important role to play in our community to educate people and to show people that there is a better way.

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Co-founding instructors Martin and Sandra Phillips, a husband & wife team have been training since they were in school and have a combined 54 years experience.  Karate is their ‘way of life’ and they are eager to share karate with families of the Sunshine Coast community.

Not only do they want to share with you a traditional Karate style (Chito-Ryu Karate-Do) encompassing respect, self-discipline, commitment, patience and perseverance, they want to also share with you how they transfer their skills in the dojo into their everyday lives.

Maybe you haven’t ever considered yourself as a martial arts fan, but you would really like to take control of your life once and for all.  If you truly commit yourself to a regular martial arts program in a positive and supportive environment, the sky really is the limit as to how much positive change you can bring forth in your life.

Not only could you be living a more positive, productive and peaceful life, you can also be the person to inspire your family, children, friends and associates to bring about change in their lives.  All change in our lives begin with one very special person, and that is ‘you.’  When you say it is time to change and you deliberately change your thoughts and actions, you will see a change in your results.

There are no secret weapons, tools or magic pills on offer at Sunshine Coast Karate.  Your instructors and training partners won’t be doing the work for you either.  ‘You’ make the commitment, ‘you’ develop your mind, ‘you’ develop your body, ‘you’ control your emotions and ‘you’ deliberately shape your life to become the person you want to be.  ‘You’ are the secret ingredient to making your life magnificent.  The magic to your life is within you and we can help you tap into your inner greatness.

So what do we do at Sunshine Coast Karate?  We help plant the right seeds deep within you.  If you nurture these seeds (invest time into yourself consistently over a period of time) they will produce a greatness from within you.   In time this new energy will take over and change your life from the inside out.

Your instructors will be straight up with you though.  This isn’t a journey for the faint hearted.  You will be tested time and time again.  You will need to change your perspective on adversity and see it as something that you are grateful for and choose to really embrace it.

Most people encounter a bump in the road and they run the other way and give up.  If you are truly going to succeed and take control of your life you are going to have to start to enjoy the bumps in the road and know that a bump in the road means you are getting very close to your next success.  So what do you do?……. you re-commit to your goals, you ask for help if you need to (in a community of 200+ like minded people, there is bound to be someone that has travelled the path before you) and you accelerate through whatever it is that you feel is blocking your way.

Karate as a stand alone discipline is a truly amazing art.  But when you use this art as a vehicle to truly grow yourself…..  Watch out world, here ‘you’ come!  Could you imagine a world of people who have grown themselves from the inside out and who are truly living the life they were meant to be living?  How about your children and people you care most about?

By making a commitment to grow you, you will indirectly help many people take this first step. Each time you break through a challenge, you will indirectly inspire many more people and on and on you go.  The more confidence and courage you develop, the more others around you develop confidence and courage.  Can you see how one person (you), can have such a huge impact on this world just by being the best person you can be one day at a time?

If you can see it in your mind, and if you can feel that it could be a possibility for you, then all that is left for you to do is to act.  Hold your vision strong in your mind of the life you want, close your eyes and feel what it would be like to be that person now and allow karate training to be a vehicle to help you get there.  Sign up for our special Sunshine Coast Karate free trial today, you’ll be glad you did!

Is Sunshine Coast Karate the right school for you and your family and friends?  Below is a short video to give you a bit of a feel of the learning environment provided at Sunshine Coast Karate.  To learn more about our instruction, programs and services please visit our school in Maroochydore and we’ll do our best to serve you and your family.

We look forward to meeting you soon!

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They’ve done all the things the the anit-bullying programs teach them:  They have walked away, they’ve said to the bully “STOP, I don’t like it!” They’ve told the teachers and the principal, but the problem continues.  Even though they have not been the ones causing the problem and they have done everything in their power that they can think of to improve the situation they have been still called in for numerous meetings with teachers and the principal of the school, while the bullies have been chastised but are still free to continue with delivering more of the same.

So, what’s the next step?

Bullying is complex problem and it’s not going to be easily fixed because there are so many parties involved and a solution will only last if ALL parties play out their role.  The bullies need to be held accountable for their actions, the teachers need to act (not just listen), the “victims” need to stop doing the things that make them “victims”, the parents of the victims need to stand by their children, and make sure that everyone else remains accountable for their actions, the parents of the bullies need to look in the mirror and ask the tough question whether or not their own behaviour is being mirrored by their bully child and do something to correct it.

Only when EVERYONE plays there part is there truly a long term solution.  At least until the next bully comes onto the scene.

Towards the end of quite a long and emotional charged phone call with our Karate Mum I made a suggestion.  It was a suggestion that I don’t think she was expecting, but one that was certainly received with gratitude.

When the dust had settled a little after the phone call I thought I would share the scenario on our facebook page and see what other solutions our members and other parents might come up with.  I was astonished by the number of people who came out of the woodwork to offer an opinion.  Probably much like me the situation had stirred up past situations from their own childhood bullying incidents.

I had grown up with martial arts starting my training not long after I started school, but throughout my primary school years I was a victim of bullying.  In my training I had been taught that karate is for self-defence.  At school I was taught that it’s not good to get in fights.  At home my parents told me “you must not start the fight, but if you get caught up in it, you should be the one to finish the fight.”

In the end for me, the solution was a little bit of all of them.

The first line of defence is best summed up by a quote I heard only for the first time about a year or so ago….

“Don’t be where the punches are!”

Think of it this way.  You’re walking down the street to the shops and you know that along the way there is a really scary dog, the size of a small horse, with teeth like razors, that likes to try to eat people who pass by.  Knowing this, you have the choice:  walk past the dog and hope that it’s already full from the small children that passed by earlier, or cross the street before you get anywhere near the dog and avoid the situation altogether.  I know what I’d do!

The second line of defence: Be confident.  Stand tall, look the bully in the eye, don’t back down, and speak and a loud, clear voice.

At Sunshine Coast Karate, from your very first lesson, you will start to develop 3 of the most important self-defence lessons you will ever learn.  These lessons form the very foundation of what it takes to grow your confidence in any situation.

1. The power of good posture.  When you stand up straight you can breathe in deeply, think with more clarity and it just makes you feel good.
2. You learn how to focus.  Starting off by focusing you eyes, then your body and then your mind.  When all 3 elements of focus are aligned and working together you are ready to tackle anything that comes up.
3. You learn how to “Kiai”.  Simply put, a kiai is a point in time when your whole spirit is united with your body usually with a loud and focused yell.  When done properly a kiai allows you to find strength within that you didn’t know was there.

The third line of defence:  Ask for help from those in a position of authority who are able to do something about the problem.  In the case of school yard bullies, this is normally the teacher on duty.  When bullying gets past the first 2 lines of defence it is left up to those who have a have a duty of care to protect and teach those who are being bullied.

And this brings us to the position where we found our Karate Mum.  All of the first 3 lines of defence had failed and she was reaching out for help.  But before I get to the suggestion that I gave, I need to share with you what I have learned about bullies over the years.

1. Bullies are cowards
2. Bullies are insecure
3. Bullies feed off the fear of their victims
4. Bullies love the entertainment value when they get an emotional response from their victims
5. Bullies run in packs
6. Bullies love it when other people buy into their taunting
7. Bullies don’t want to get caught in the act

When you understand the psychology of the bully the solution is often quite simple.  Not easy, but definitely simple.

In the case of our Karate Mum, the suggestion I offered was not unlike the final solution that had served me well about 25 years ago.  A simple 3 step solution.

Step 1:  She needed to talk to the children and explain that they need to defend themselves and fight back next time they are bullied.  At this point the children will try to explain (and they did) that they will get into trouble because everyone has been telling them the exact opposite for so long.  And in response, this is the time to say something like “No, you MUST fight back, it’s not OK for you to be a victim, it’s not OK for you to be bullied, and it’s not OK for your teachers to do nothing about it and let it happen.  If you’re teachers will do nothing about it, then you have to defend yourself.”

Step 2: I as their Karate teacher also arranged a time to catch up with the boys and share exactly the same lesson in the dojo.  They needed to hear from someone in authority, other than their parents that if all else fails they have to defend themselves.  So I went through all the steps: ignore the problem if you can and walk away, tell the bully you don’t like what they are doing, ask for help from the teacher…. Then if that fails (or if things are escalated by the bully), defend yourself and fight back.

Step 3:  I suggested to our Karate Mum to once again speak to the principle and explain that “The bullying of my children that has been going on for the last 8 months has not been resolved by you.  Now I have been left with no choice and I have told my children that they need to fight back and defend themselves.  Because you are not doing your job, I have given them permission to take matters into their own hands.  And the next time they are bullied, and it will happen again because you have shown that you are not willing to do anything, they will FINISH the fight.  Don’t worry, I’ve been very clear, they will not start the fight, but they will finish it!  And they will not get in trouble for doing so because it has only come to this because of YOU!”

Of course this is only a short term fix to the immediate problem.  And it is not the solution I would suggest to all people.  I only know that it is a viable solution because I have worked with these children for some time and I can see that they have grown in confidence and strength of character that they can deal with it in this way.

Bullying is a BIG problem.  And when you look at the problem as a whole, there is no simple solution but a little bit of accountability goes a long way.

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