Q1. What is the youngest age that will be accepted by HSK?
Age five.
Students need to have sufficient attention and physical abilities.
We have found that at age five most children are physically and mentally
prepared for our classes.
Q2.
Why should I or my child take karate?
Karate promotes self-discipline, respect for
others, self control, self confidence, focus, and provides excellent exercise for
all levels of expertise, age and gender. HSK
kids are generally happy, focused,
and self motivated individuals.
Q3.
Why should I take Karate from your organization rather than another?
HSK
teaches traditional Shotokan Karate using
modern teaching methods.
What is taught is the classic Shotokan Karate kihon (basics), kata
(forms) and kumite (sparring).
Sekiguchi Sensei has over
55 years of experience as a karate instructor and practitioner.
He was also, by profession, a high school teacher.
The club was founded by him in 1983 and celebrated its 30th anniversary
in 2013.
Furthermore,
HSK is very family oriented with integrated classes of all ages
and gender.
Parents learn together with their children to promote a very
special bonding
of sport and family. This
is further reinforced by our annual family picnic and club party, our always
popular beach training at Ala
Moana
Beach
Park,
and our Christmas Party.
Q4.
How often are our new member registrations?
Twice
a year. Our
beginners classes start
in
February and June. With this
twice annual start, we are able to concentrate on the new students, insuring
that they learn the various techniques correctly.
Q5.
Where are you located?
Manoa - Manoa Japanese Language School
(MJLS)
[Dojo for more information on location]
Q6.
Are the classes divided by age, gender, or rank?
Classes are grouped by ability.
The beginners classes are generally for white and some yellow belts who
need elemental instruction. The
General Class is for Yellow, Blue, Green and Purple Belt Ranks.
The Advanced Class is geared for Brown and Black Belts.
Gender and age are not deciding factors.
Q7. I have
no previous training in any martial art or sport. Can I learn karate?
Yes.
Shotokan Karate is an excellent sport to learn at HSK
without any previous experience. It
often times is better not to have previous knowledge so one does not have a
preconceived idea of Karate and its moves.
Q8.
How often should a person train?
Regular training is extremely
important. Manoa,
our main dojo, offers training three days per week on Tuesday and Thursday
evenings and on Saturday afternoons. We
encourage all of our students to train as often as they can.
Sekiguchi
Sensei
: "anyone
unable or unwilling to train at least twice a week should wait until they are
able to make that commitment."
Q9.
How good a physical workout is Karate?
Most
HSK workouts are as strenuous as you would like them to be.
Since we teach in an incremental manner, the exercise for the
beginner's class is specifically tailored for the beginning student (child or
adult). Most beginners find the
workout very invigorating and generally without too many aches and pains.
The more advanced classes are quite vigorous in training and push the
strength, flexibility, aerobic and technique limits.
Q10.
Is Karate an expensive sport? How much is the equipment?
Aside from the initial
cost of
the uniform, Karate is quite inexpensive. The uniforms
(gi) cost from $20 to $25. We recommend
that our students purchase an inexpensive gi to begin with and move to the more
expensive and better constructed gi's as they advance.
With pads, gloves, etc. one can easily get started for well under $50.
Q11.
How long will it take me to get my Black Belt?
HSK
subscribes to the philosophy that all belt levels must be achieved through hard
work. Time is not the only
measurement of achieving any belt level. Hard
work and perseverance are key elements for advancement.
Through diligence, hard work, and regular training, many of our students achieve the Dan Certificate (Black
Belt) in about five years. Be
reminded that there are no guarantees.
Sekiguchi
Sensei
has said many
times, �The belt does not make the person. It is the person that makes the belt.
�
Q12.
What is
Hawaii Shotokan Karate all about?
HSK's
philosophy is best described in it's Dojo Kun (the precepts of the Club).
Seek
Perfection of Character
Be
Faithful
Endeavor
Respect Others
Refrain
from Violent Behavior
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