Does any one have any experiences to share about joining clubs ?

Funny, difficult or other wise ?

If you are into Goju karate and live in Sydney you might want to check out the Macquarie University Karate Club. Although my training finished back in the 80s with Peter Orcksik - I always heard nad saw god things from this very well established club.

http://www.gojukai.com.au/gojukai2.html

Hi Groggy,

Thanks for the post.

So tell me, what were the features that made the club a good one for you.

Go Ju Kai - is an International Style with lineage to Japan. In Sydney under Shihan Paul Starling I guess ? or was it stand alone ?

Univerity dojos tend to be top heavy ie. like a zillioth dan teaching 4 beginners for $ 2.00 a class sort of....also tend to have a very varied and interesting crew of people training from Rocket Scientists - Musicians - extremely eclectic.

What were the drivers for you - other than being at Uni ?

An encouraging sign for me is a school that has a good spread of numbers over all belt levels. I see this as a sign that students are challenged and satisfied throughout the entire system.
Another thing I look for is a Chief Instructor/Master that interacts with his/her students.

Yes a good range of belts helps across the board.

Lots of early belts is a case of follow the leader ...lots of high belts is heaven but you need to be able to handle the rarified atmosphere. That aside clubs with lots of high end belts tend to hang onto beginners a bit and get indulged.

the quality of interaction is important - is it sincere and genuine or feigned humilty and disengenuous ? That's a tricky one .

It is also good to listen carfully to what is spoken ..is it passionate ? or competitive ? or the cost of things...that's always an indicator

eg. thanks for the question here's a detailed answer.

or thanks for the question - you'll have to join the president's suite to find that one , but , great of you to think of that one

or thanks for the questiond - it's not used that much...are you going to the comp on the 12 August ? shall I put you in as confirmed ??