Possibly old news for most Perth students, but I thought i'd post it anyways.....


Region 28 in Perth is going through an RM change. Sensei Grant West has stepped down due to family commitments. The new RM will be taking over the region this week. I've heard along the grape vine he is coming from Melbourne and his name is Michael Armstrong.

Are there any Melbournians who are familiar with this young fellow? Any info at all would be great.... Just a headsup before we actually meet him this tuesday night...

Thanks

I'm from Melbourne and have known and trained with Michael for a number of years. He is the nicest guy you will ever meet! But more importantly he will make an exceptional RM as his karate is fantastic. He will be sorely missed in Melbourne (especially R6). Region 28 will be very lucky to have such a great RM.

And just a word about the headsup line ... you will need to keep your head up as he is a very tall man!!!

Thanks adiv....

i do look forward to meeting him..... as long as he is fair i'll be happy....

it's a shame to see Grant West move on to a lesser role but im sure everyone understands why he has chosen that for himself....

You'll be fine! Fair is his middle name!! No seriously, they have chosen well. He has big shoes to fill!

Grant was fantastic at keeping me inspired and motivated during my time there. He will be sorely missed. Very surprised to hear about this as he was extremely passionate about it. Still - there's more important things and family is definately one of them.

Susan, you said that you were going to meet your new RM on Tuesday night. What are your first impressions?

um.......

well ...... he's tall




dont know just yet.... a bit skeptical..... and missing grant already..... its easy to see why classes lose students when an instructor leaves..... it's just too easy to make comparisons.... and when you've trained with one instructor, one way, for several years it's hard to accept change.... and before you know it you havent even given the new instructor a chance.... and he/she has been dismissed before getting the chance to prove themselves....

let me just say it's still too early....


i'll let you know when i attend a class i wasnt brain dead for.... great way for ME to set first impressions...


he does seem to know his stuff... and he needs to get to know us more before the real HIM comes out.....

he also showed a lot of interest in everyone and their classes etc...



OH...... and something i knew would happen..... with an instructor coming over from the east..... our long stance has already been shortened slightly...
LOL

From what I hear "left for family reasons" is just this version of the standard party line excuses given when someone is effectively sacked. Why is it that a club that demands loyalty from its students shows none in return? How many RM's has Perth been through these last few years? What the hell is going on when someone of this calibre is uncerimoniously booted out. Who watches the watchers?

Susan, as you say, its early days... Its so hard when your RM changes, especially when you really like the one that you've got!!

Give it some time ... then make your mind up.

So who is/has replaced Micheal Armstrong in Melbourne?

Leela, the new R5 RM is Chad Fanous from NSW.

Any relation?

Trained with Sensei Mike Wednesday night. Different sort of class from Sensei Grant. Not quite as physical as we have been used to, but as Susan says still early days.
I like the shorter stances, for to long they have been too long, something we stress to our students, if a stance is too long to be practical it is too long. No good being deep and low if you can't transition to another stance or produce an effective technique.
Oh and yeah he is tall, should be heaps of fun to spar with!!!

Yes

Brothers, I think.

I'd have to agree here. This did seem to be a rather quick change over. I've heard he chooses not to continue with the club at all. But is searching for other means of training. Would someone who left for family reasons look for a new club to train under? If you dont have time to train with GKR how do you find time to train with another club?

He's been booted, and the grapes have turned sour. What other explanation could there be?

I just saw the flyers for the WA tournaments and noticed that Greg Strickland (R19) is not mentioned. What did I miss?? What happened?? Is the leaving of Grant related to it ??

I'm just nosy

Craig Strickland stood down as RM a while back... I have not been told as to the reasons but it was his choice (or so we were told)...


Is anyone aware of the replacement RM's name or has the Region 28 manager (now Michael Armstrong) taken the area back under it's wing?

i believe that Ian Wallace has taken it over, but can't confirm that

I thought Ian Wallace got transferred to New Zealand???

He did a few years back but i was told that he is now back in perth and taking over from craig, was told the two things seperatly by 2 differant people but have no reason to disbelieve that he is back as it was S.Ken who told me that

quick update on this subject...

Yes it was Ian Wallace who took over teaching region 19 (taking over from craig strickland). He is listed as the instructor on the tournament flyer as he is in charge of setting up and running the first tournament this year.

Rumours have been flying about both Craig and Grant but I'm not about to post any of those cos how can I know what is truth and what is B.S. Just know their are many stories to go with them leaving...


As far as Michael Armstrong goes..... I'm pretty happy with him taking over... He shows an interest in all the instructors and how they're going in class as well as teaching their own classes. He explains things in ways that each individual person can understand them. He spends time individually with the instructors to deliver a little more of a personal touch to the class. He is genuinely interested in what you have to say and offers good avice in return aswell as reflecting on what you've just said (I think he's learned how to actually 'listen').

I think Michale Armstrong coming over from Melbourne will be a good thing for Perth. Not just region 28 but for all of Perth... When the rest of Perth sees the improved standard of region 28 at the upcoming tournament they'll only be able to try harder to try beat us next time