Once you begin training in with the Golden Knights Martial Arts Group you will immediately notice the different levels of expertise of the members of your chosen club. The most obvious difference will be that between your own skills and those of the instructor.

After you've been training a while, you'll relax more and notice what is going on, you will see that your instructor trains also, continually seeking self improvement. In fact, progress and development never stops. On-one can train with the idea that there is a fixed place to arrive at where they can then rest on their laurels., you can start to train properly.

Training should be done regularly and patiently, with no rush, and with the awareness that training itself is the target and not the black belt you may aspire to.

Ranks

Different forms of martial arts use different ranking systems but they all have the same twofold purpose. The first is to give you and other members of the club some idea of your stage of development, and the second is to make it easy for the instructor to divide the class into different ranks for different levels of training.

Ranks are awarded after grading examinations and they are denoted by the colour of the belt you wear. In our system there are eight kyu ranks (below black belt), eighth 'kyu' being the lowest and first kyu being the highest.

There are ten 'dan' ranks (black belt) starting at 1st-Degree Black Belt (shodan), the lowest, going to tenth-Degree Black Belt (Judan), the highest.

Understanding 

During your training you will be asked to do things in a particular way by your instructor. If you ask, you will be given an explanation about the why you have been requested to train in this particular way or practise a technique in a specific manner.

These answers may not make sense to you and you may even feel that your progress is being limited by some aspects of your training. Ignore these feelings and preserve; almost certainly through the training you will start to understand the value and reasoning behind what you are doing.

Even if, in your judgement, this turns out to be the case, be sure that in the martial arts we can learn just as much through disappointment as through success.

Physical and Mental Development

if you are unfit and unused to physical exercise, you will probably end your first martial arts classes with an aching body. However, compensation for this discomfort will be a warm sense of satisfaction.

After a surprisingly short time of training the physical demands of the class will become less of a strain and you will be more able to appreciate and enjoy the fine points of the training. This is a time in your training that is most enjoyable. It coincides with you being both physically fit and still full of excitement about this newfound method of self expression.

Soon after this, however, your progress will noticeably start to slow down. This is a lean time in your training and you may become despondent about your progress. Despite these feeling, as long as you continue to train hard you will, unbeknown to yourself, be developing a deeper understanding than you had before.

Unfortunately some students do not recognize this phase for what it is and drop out. Encourage yourself during this patch and ask the instructors and other students to help you reinforce your determination. They will understand since they will have gone or may be going through similar difficult patches themselves (they recur throughout your training). The rewards for perseverance are worth it.

Mind and Body Development

All that is meant by this terminology at this stage is that you become more mentally aware of your body. You should learn its limits, its requirements and its potential. Without this awareness students over extend in some areas, whilst others tend to take things too easily and do not push themselves enough.

It is difficult to get the correct combination at first; it is only by working at becoming ,ore aware of your body that you can do it. By practising and concentrating on particular skills you can develop an awareness which replaces self conscious deliberation and calculation by instinctive natural responses.

 The tennis player naturally performs accurate returns of fast deliveries; the snooker player instinctively 'knows' the angle, spin and strength of most shots, and both only use considered calculation for deciding the tactics of the game. Similarly you should develop a natural instinctive set of body responses.

You will then know that when you execute a particular technique or set of moves no time will be wasted thinking about how to achieve them. Your mind and body will act in unison to produce the fastest and best technique you are capable of.

Examinations

Our martial arts organization has specific requirements needed for each particular rank. This is to ensure uniformity between the various clubs in the Golden Knights Martial Arts Group. In the grading, the student is required to perform particular moves, attacks and defences. Both the difficultly of the moves and the way in which they are executed are judged by the examiners.