Calling Go Kan Ryu

**Fantasy Warrior** · Posted On: 3/20/2006 5:09pm

There are like pages and pages of threads that mention Go Kan Ryu, so much I can't even begin to sort through it all.

if you were ever a student or instructor of Go Kan Ryu, or have had any personal direct contact with them, please post about it here. It would be really helpful if you could say:

1. Country & year(s) in which you trained with them
2. Outline of training fees and contracts etc
3. Description of training, in particular sparring
4. Any bad experiences or things you thought were wrong (lol)

Thanks,
AS

**Cormoran** · Posted On: 3/20/2006 7:15pm

Ahh i spent about a year doing kan-ga-ryu. Right in it's heartland of South Australia.

Training fees were ok. nothing too expensive from what i can remember. But then i left before any of the salesman-fu started coming my way. This was also several years back so prices have likely changed since then.

Sparring was very light and based around the stop and start point system, even so you were required to wear shin guards, them hilarious looking groin boxes that get worn on the outside of the gi and gloves. I remember when i first heard we were gonna be doing sparring at my current dojo i asked my mate if i needed to take them with me, he replied "you CAN, but everyone will probably laugh at you." so this now seems like a bit of a money maker to me.

Training in general, looking back i wouldn't trust GKR to teach me anything bar the bare basics of karate. lots of standing in a biiiiig line with loooots of other students punching and kicking the air, lots of kata and only a touch of sparring.

Best experience was a seminar on knife defense, i got paired with a girl who was only interested in mucking around and stabbing the crap outta me, thus showing me that what we were learning there was utter bullshit.

Strangest experience was going to a GKR tournament in Sydney and finding out that more people came from New Zealand than South Australia, strange since SA is where GKR was started. I reckon my sensei at the time woulda got a big thumbs up for managing to sucker us into that one.

Even at the time i wondered why we were being taught by a brown belt, even as a dumbarse teenager i figured you had to have a black belt before teaching a large class like that on your own. I've since read about even lower belts training classes which isn't good at all. After reading that i felt kinda lucky that the teacher was atleast a brownbelt.

One thing that stuck out to me was that they seem to hand the belts out so long as you pay them, i saw people completely stuffing up their gradings yet still getting their belts, it made me wonder why i was trying so hard to get it right when people like that could pass aswell.

Best thing about it was doing 'self defense' with the female students, ahhh i still miss that.

**Hannibal** · Posted On: 3/20/2006 7:17pm

STAY AWAY FROM GO GAN RYU

They are only interested in money. They are a McDojo. They don't have any full contact fighting and as a result they turn out people with no fighting ability at all.

Choose something else.

**MEGALEF** · Posted On: 3/21/2006 3:31am

Hannibal, you really need to change your avatar.

**Fantasy Warrior** · Posted On: 3/21/2006 10:24am

Thanks Cormoran.

Thanks Hanibal, I hadn't realised that.

**Neildo** · Posted On: 3/21/2006 10:40am

Cormoran.....Kan-Ga-Ryu?

Kangaryu?

KANGAROO??? WTF???

edit: I'd think you were kidding, but your post is too serious. Is my sarcasmometer broken again?

**Akurra** · Posted On: 3/21/2006 12:21pm

I had the same dilemma.

**Fantasy Warrior** · Posted On: 3/21/2006 12:50pm

Originally Posted by Akurra

I had the same dilemma.

? You were in Go Kon Yu? If so, please post about it. :icon_rend

**Cormoran** · Posted On: 3/21/2006 2:30pm

Originally Posted by Neildo

Cormoran.....Kan-Ga-Ryu?

Kangaryu?

KANGAROO??? WTF???

edit: I'd think you were kidding, but your post is too serious. Is my sarcasmometer broken again?

It is ofcourse Go Kan Ryu, but hey, what else should you call a crappy MA 'created' in Australia?