Job Discussion Forums

deerock · Joined: 10 May 2007 Posts: 6

Hello everyone,

I am looking into working for Nova in Japan. I am 32 years old, male.

I am very interested in teaching english abroad and have some concerns about my lifestyle while I am overseas.

I am not into going to bars very much. I would like to spend as much time as I can studying either Aikido or Judo.

Is it reasonable for me to expect that I can go to a dojo a few times per week while working for Nova? Has anyone done this? Please tell me some basic information about your experience and if it was worthwhile.

Thank you!

kendoman1 · Joined: 14 Jul 2005 Posts: 69

It will be tough to do this while working at NOVA and others, because you will be working at night.

Most martial arts only practice at night. The kodokan is good for judo, but there is no way to go there while working at Nova.

If your interested in BJJ, Axis bjj in shinjuku is the offical rickson dojo in Tokyo and they have morning classes.

Website is www.axisjj.com

Peak · Joined: 24 Apr 2007 Posts: 15

If you get any days off from Nova. Try finding a place on your days off to train at. Where abouts are you?

jademonkey · Joined: 30 Mar 2007 Posts: 180

Kimura · Joined: 08 Oct 2004 Posts: 22 Location: Toronto, ON

I believe Kendoman is correct. Since you are going to be working from about 1 pm to 9 pm you won't be able to train often. I don't know from personal experience, but I somehow doubt that there will be any Judo training before 1 pm. I could be wrong.

If you are interested in BJJ there is a whole bunch of places. Axis is a good club but pricey. Do a google search for the following clubs and check out their training schedule: Paraestra Tokyo (biggest chain of BJJ clubs), Purebred, and Caol Uno has a network of dojo's throughout Tokyo.

TokyoLiz · Joined: 16 Jan 2003 Posts: 1548 Location: Tokyo, Japan

Aikido comes in quite a few flavours. You'd best check out which system you prefer, figure out where you want to live, and then find out who's around. I don't know if there are different systems of judo, but there are certainly various forms of jujutsu. You may find some leads here. - [url] http://www.martialartsplanet.com/[/url]

Big John Stud · Joined: 07 Oct 2004 Posts: 513

kendoman1 wrote:

It will be tough to do this while working at NOVA and others, because you will be working at night.

Most martial arts only practice at night. The kodokan is good for judo, but there is no way to go there while working at Nova.

If your interested in BJJ, Axis bjj in shinjuku is the offical rickson dojo in Tokyo and they have morning classes.

Website is www.axisjj.com

The above is true! I used to train at the Kodokan. Classes are at night. Working at nova means you will have Sunday off and one weekday so you will only be able to train one day a week if you are assigned to Tokyo or Saitama. The main Akido dojo in Sinjuku however does have morning classes.

GambateBingBangBOOM · Joined: 04 Nov 2003 Posts: 2021 Location: Japan

You will probably have two days off a week. Try to find a place that has classes on those two days, and train two days a week (or find a place that you want to go to, and see if you can switch days off if its open on days you need to work). That's not bad. Many places are only open three days a week anyway.

Apsara · Joined: 20 Sep 2005 Posts: 2142 Location: Tokyo, Japan

Working for Nova did not mean you would have Sunday off when I was there. In fact it is extremely unlikely you will ever have Sunday off unless you are promoted to trainer. Two consecutive week days, i.e. Tues and Weds or Thurs and Fri, was the norm when I was there. Nova is open 7 days a week, so it is not possible for all the teachers to have Sunday off, Big John Stud.

dove · Joined: 01 Oct 2003 Posts: 271 Location: USA/Japan

When I worked at NOVA, we got paid extra for working on Sundays. Do they still do that? They also had so much overtime available--I paid off all my debts working there. Sorry this is off the main topic.

casual · Joined: 13 Oct 2003 Posts: 105

I have yet to see a martial art gym that opens before 5 o'clock .So you might be able to fit a class or two in if you finish work around 5
. If you are interested in boxing I have seen a couple of gyms that are open from 1-9.

Big John Stud · Joined: 07 Oct 2004 Posts: 513

Apsara wrote:

Working for Nova did not mean you would have Sunday off when I was there. In fact it is extremely unlikely you will ever have Sunday off unless you are promoted to trainer. Two consecutive week days, i.e. Tues and Weds or Thurs and Fri, was the norm when I was there. Nova is open 7 days a week, so it is not possible for all the teachers to have Sunday off, Big John Stud.

Excuse me! I never worked for Nova! But the 4 language schools I worked for were closed on Sunday so I made an assumption! I stand corrected!

nonsmoker · Posted: Thu May 24, 2007 12:30 am Post subject:

Big John Stud · Joined: 07 Oct 2004 Posts: 513

nonsmoker wrote:

Yeah, don't you know anything? Rolling Eyes

Troll or moron? Or both! Rolling Eyes

dw1030 · Joined: 21 Apr 2007 Posts: 7 Location: Thailand

[quote="deerock"]

I am not into going to bars very much. I would like to spend as much time as I can studying either Aikido or Judo.

Hi deerock,
I lived in Shingu-shi, Wakayama-ken and studied Aikido under Hikitsushi Sensei (who has since died) and taught at a small eikiwa there called KICC, Kumano Intercultural Center.

It was fantastic! The job was easy. I averaged 7 classes at the dojo a week, which included mornings (6am) and evenings (7pm). If you'd like more info, PM me.