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Another terrible look for the NFL. It has been discovered that NY Giants co-owner Steve Tisch has been listed in the Epstein files, named over 400 times. Roger Goodell has said that he will "look into all the facts," with rumors that Tisch could be forced to sell, though that remains unknown at this time. Tish has admitted he knew Epstein but denies any wrongdoing. Other NFL owners who were named were Jets owner Woody Johnson, Commander's owner Josh Harris. the team's former owner Dan Snyder, and Patriots owner Robert Kraft, as well as a few others. Who else is in them? Jay-Z. Why does that matter to the NFL? Jay Z has a company called "Roc Nation" which is who puts on the Super Bowl halftime show. The NFL has been in business with Jay Z since 2019. The NFL stuck with Jay Z after serious allegations against him came up in 2024, let's see if they stand by his side again after this one. There were also names from other sports leagues, such as the owner of the LA Dodgers, Pittsburgh Penguins, and former MLB star Sammy Sosa. As of this writing there are no criminal charges pending for anyone I mentioned. This is a very long and complicated situation with a ton to unpack, but to have these names come out in the files the week of the Super Bowl is not a good situation for the league. Instead of talking about the game, the news is about owners being in the Epstein files. Wow!

Collectively?? No. Separately?? Possibly. Individually?? Hopefully. The attainability of peace amongst us Shindokanists is a highly complex as well as debatable issue. Shindokan techniques are not meant to earn points or trophies or things of ego but to end confrontation. This was what the latest hierarchy of the SKKA wanted, and that thought was completely alien to the entire student body because that was not what Soke and Dai-Soke/Kaicho taught us. We fought hard against the latest hierarchy changes because their leadership was laced with conflict, war, chaos, violence, turmoil, and unrest; pick any one of these antonyms that suits best. What we were exposed to was tension, disorder, and hostility at their leadership. Shindokan means “The House of the Heart Way”, under the SKKA new leadership, both the Way and the Heart was broken, and the infrastructure of the House that once stood, quickly collapsed. Our Soke lived in a time of Okinawa when karate wasn’t taught openly, not structured for mass learning and not separated into styles. My Soke only had one core student, the rest of us Shindokanists, once he moved to the USA, were students under the then his assigned Kaicho, with the Soke’s every watchful eye, diligently overseeing our every move. Whenever Soke did teach us, it was understood that we were not his students directly. I never really understood Soke’s mind set regarding us. After all, Soke and his student came to the USA to establish first his dojo, then established the SKKA in the USA, accepted USA students, promoted USA students, and accepted money from USA students but treated us USA students from afar. We had to go through Kaicho in order to speak directly to Soke; not many got that close, especially at first. Even the chosen few of us that were eventually accepted by Soke were still not his students at all. Shindokan didn’t spread widely. Soke had no desire to build a large organization, nor did he aspire for a global federation. Soke didn’t adapt to competition or sport, but in refusing to change, he preserved something rare, to separate Shindokan from the modern trappings. Is the Shindokan heart still there?!? Let me give it to you straight face to face…has Shindokan really disappeared, just another dying style?? Ever since the Shindokan civil war, and the permanent collapse and closure of the SKKA for cause, the disbandment reached at its peak, the Shindokan dojo network splintered, more like an implosion that not one dojo survived intact as before, but more like a leper colony going our own martial art way. Since the closing of the SKKA, the last hierarchy of the SKKA have been ostracized, and we’ve cast them off to such a degree that to us Shindokanists, they never existed. I still keep in touch with the student body as well as many Senior Dans but not as often as I would have hoped for. We all have truly gone our own way!! My own memoir has stalled once again because a memoir is not the place to write for revenge. What the last hierarchy did still hurts, and like a festering wound, it might never heal. The fact that there will never be peace as far as the SKKA is concerned haunts me unceasingly and weighs heavily on my heart. What’s done is done, and there’s nothing that can be done to change neither the scope of the situation nor the final outcome. But for the love of me, I just can’t shake this thing of profound sadness and remorsefulness that’s taken a permanent residence in my mind.

Nice to see this topic being resurrected, so to speak. Seisan is one of the core kata in Uechi-Ryu. The kata itself is required testing material for shodan, and its bunkai is required for shodan through godan. As I am starting the test prep cycle for my sandan (testing sometim in May), I find myself performing this bunkai more and more in class, both as a student and as an instructor. And as I teach and practice the bunkai, I continue to learn subtle differences in application between different instructors. In Uechi-Ryu, our forms look somewhat different than most Japanese and Okinawan karate styles. The vast majority of our kata are performed in Sanchin stance. Every so often we'll transition to a modified Zenkutsu-dachi (for example, for a forward elbow strike), a Neko-dachi (usually when starting/ending a crane block), or a shiko-dachi (when performing certain other elbow techniques. Seisan falls right in the middle of our kata progression. We start with Sanchin (learned at white belt), have 3 "bridging kata", learn seisan (required for shodan), have another 2 "bridging kata", and our final kata is Sanseiryu (required for yondan/godan). There are apocryphal tales that Kanbun Uechi was also learning Suparinpei, but he never received a Menkyo (teaching license), so he never taught it. There are some Uechi-Ryu instructors that will teach a Suparinpei kata, but it is not an official part of any Uechi-Ryu curriculum as far as I know. For reference, here is a video of our version of Seisan and its bunkai: Seisan Bunkai

Raiders are going to need more than a HC, even from the ranks of the Seahawks because he won’t have the talent of the Seahawks. Hopefully the Raiders won’t squander their draft picks.

To my knowledge, only Kobayashi Shorin-ryu lacks Seisan. Kobayashi Shorin-ryu is also strictly Shuri-te, in that most don't teach any Tomari-te katas. I know of one that teaches Rohai, and that's about it. So we can forget about Naha-te katas, such as Seisan. Except, Seisan isn't strictly Naha-te. If you pay close attention to how different styles do Seisan, you'll notice that the various branches of Shorin-ryu that do practice it have various things in common that separate it from the versions practiced in Goju-ryu, Shito-ryu, and Uechi-ryu. And, contrary to popular belief among most of my fellow Shotokan students... Hangetsu is based on the Shorin-ryu version of Seisan, not the Goju-ryu version. The slow turns at the end where you lift your knee and bring it down with the slow back fist and take two steps forward is only present in Shorin-ryu. I'm certain that Naha-te was the first in Okinawa to practice Seisan, but it eventually spread to Shuri and/or Tomari for it to develop its own distinct Shorin-ryu flavor before the development of modern karate styles.

And different from Zenpo Shimabukuro, another one of Kyan’s students and the founder of Seibukan! Oh, and to answer the original question, Seisan is very important in Shorin-Ryu Seibukan. lt was the very first kata I was taught. Fairly different than other Shorin versions, even those others who studied under Kyan like the Isshinryu Shimabuku, Chitose, Nagamine, Nakazato, etc…

The US government approved ESPN buying NFL Network and RedZone. The NFL has been trying to sell off NFL Network for years since it was not profitable and they finally were able to. ESPN will now own NFL Network (or whatever the new name might be) and RedZone. It does not appear that it will change anything leading up to the Super Bowl this week, but next season it could shake up some of the on-air talent and game coverage. Maybe it is just in my circles, but I don't hear much talk about the game this year. We are a week away and almost all the football talk I am hearing is about Belichick and the ESNP/NFL deal I just wrote about. Usually there is some kind of a storyline leading up to the game. Maybe it will pick up now that it is game week and not a bye. I don't have a rooting interest in the game, as of now. Could change I guess if something were to happen this week. *shrugs* The Raiders are expected to hire Seahawks OC Klint Kubiak as their HC after the Super Bowl. The Arizona Cardinals have hired Rams OC Mike LaFleur as head coach. There was an NFL record 10 head coach openings, most have been filled.

Martial Arts aside, and as important that MA training is, and you know you’ve got my support across the board, the death of your friend and that situation that surrounds, you can only do whatever you can do, and no more!! Hopefully, the 3 of her youngest will be living together soon.

It's been an interesting few weeks. Some good news, some really rough news (that really started before my last update). The good news: a week ago Thursday I tested for (and passed) my test for gokyu in Matayoshi Kobudo. It's considered one of the harder tests, since you are required to perform all of the hojo undo for bo, sai, and tonkua in sequence, in addition to whatever other additional things our instructor wants to see. Usually he wants to see a kata or two, although the kobudo kata aren't *required* until dan gradings. However, he likes to see where you are, so that when you *do* test on the kata, you look really good at them. The test pretty well gassed me, but I made it through, and I thought I looked really good for everything I did. For my next test, I need to start working bo no hojo undo bunkai... so I get to start whacking my partner (and defending from) a bamboo bo. I've had the chance to do it a few times, and it's a lot of fun. I talked with my CI a couple weeks ago about how I really wanted to start getting feedback for Kanchin (my kata required for sandan), since I am testing in May and want to polish it as best I can before I test. So he has been making a point to do so. On last Tuesday's class, our CI had me working seisan bunkai (a core test requirement, something which I don't get to practice very often), and then he and his younger brother made a point to get the nidans out to practice Kanchin. I got some really good feedback from that - in certain places I was stepping too far, and other places I needed to shift my weight further forward. Definitely good stuff. Thursday night, I attended weapons class, and we went through all the basics with a few kata in there. I'm starting to really get the hang of the second bo kata (choun no kun). It's hard memorizing these kata sometimes, because you don't get to run through them very often. But I'm pretty sure I've memorized most of that one. In my teaching session, I had the pleasure to work with Jack, who is a yellow belt who is about Zach's age. He's a real joy to work with. He's all knees and elbows and uncoordinated as a 13 year old can be, but he listens, tries to do what you ask, and he always thanks me profusely for working with him. Now for the really hard stuff. A few weeks ago, a friend of mine was killed in a motorcycle accident. She had been going through some tough times - dealing with an abusive relationship, lost her job, was about to get evicted from her apartment. She weathered this huge storm of <insert epithet here>, and everytime life knocked her down, she got right back up. She had just found a new job at the beginning of January, and she had just signed the lease for a house that she loved. As she was riding home that same night from work, someone pulled out in front of her, and she slammed into that vehicle. I don't know if she died instantly, but she was gone before they could load her into an ambulance. And... she was the glue that held her whole family together, and I'm now watching the family get torn apart. Her 2 youngest (3 and 10) are going to NC to live with their grandmother, since their dad doesn't feel he can take care of them in his current state. Her sister and 21 year old daughter are trying to strongarm her 17 (almost 18) year old into moving in with either of them (he turns 18 at the end of Feb). And the 2 youngest's dad may be going back into a really dark place that it took him 2 years to get out of the last time. And sadly there's not a whole lot I can do from where I stand. But it breaks my heart to see it happen, because I know how important it was to her to have all 3 of her youngest living together under the same roof.

Sorry to hear that; condolences to his family, friends, and students. He was a force to be reckoned with in Hapkido. RIP!!

Do Ju Nim, Ji Han Jae passed away this week at age 89. He was a pioneer in Hapkido, founder of Sin Moo Hapkido. I knew him in the late 90's, early 00's, when I trained at his stepson's club. He had a big impact in my area and internationally. Perhaps he was most widely known for appearing in Game of Death.

I agree with both of you, and it looks like there is going to be a full investigation. I also agree with what some people have said on TV which is anyone who did not vote for Belichick should publicly explain it. There has also been talk of former Colts executive Bill Pollion who said he did not remember for sure if he voted for Belichick. Come on, that is just nonsense. If he can't remember he should not have a vote. Then later he said (after the blowback) he did vote for Belichick. Which is it? Heads need to roll. Not only is this clearly a monumental failure but it is shallow and short sighted. It makes the whole NFL look bad. It damages the integrity of the HOF. Jimmy Johnson, Ty Law, Tom Brady, Patrick Mahomes, Troy Aikman, JJ Watt, and many others have sounded off about this. Jimmy Johnson especially did not hold back, same with longtime sportswriter Peter King. Players, fans, coaches, broadcasters, and more have called this out for what a terrible mistake it was. I have not seen one person who defended it or agrees with it. Not one. Have you? This is an abomination that has created a national firestorm. Prediction: Belichick gets in next year and gets every single vote.

Yeah. I was a brown belt in Shotokan under a couple of guys who had a massive falling out with JKA Instructor Takashina as his students. I moved to a college town, found a Shotokan club, and just wore my brown belt mostly because it was the only belt that I had. They asked me to test with their club to make it official. It turned out that Takashina was the overall instructor there, too, even though it was 350 miles away from his primary dojo. He asked who had trained me and I told him. I was a little nervous, but he was very professional, and he promoted me to brown belt, anyway. A few years later at my first Army duty station, I took up Okinawan Seibukan karate and wore a white belt to class since I was starting fresh in a new style. The instructor was a live-in student of the Shimabukuro family for five years and even married Chotoku Kyan’s granddaughter. After about two or three months, he tossed me a green belt before class. About four or five months later, he tossed me a brown belt. I’m pretty certain others tested, but I never did.

Maybe, and it’s a stretch, Belichick didn’t receive the required votes as a punishment because he moved down to the college ranks. Yeah, it’s a stretch!!

Love your heavy bag workout, Brian!! You ever add jump spinning back kicks to your heavy bag workouts??

1/26/2026 Heavy Bag Workout: 8 rounds, 1 min/45 sec rest. Alternated orthodox/southpaw. I used this workout to get more warmed up for Aikido. Rounds 1-4, punching only. Rounds 5-8, added in round kicks. I kept the punches to straight punching. Stretch. Aikido: 6:15 - 7:15 pm. Weapons Class, entire time spent on the jo. Warmed up with high-4, low-4, high-8 and low-8. The rest of the time was spent on kumi jo. We reviewed 4 and 5, then learned 3.

I just hemmed up the pants myself after a small learning curve on a new fangled sewing machine after not using one in 40 years. It looks great but I lost the extra inner reinforcement strip that adds snap and pop to kicks. No big deal for me. I just decided to leave the jacket sleeves alone. I’ve always rolled them two or three times, anyhow. Kinda looking forward to practicing a little bit again. It’ll probably be a little embarrassing since I probably look like a short, blonde, clean shaven, less douch-y version of Steven Segal in a gi! Dunno I still have the wind and stamina to make it through a class outdoors in the Philippines heat. I ain’t as good as I once was, but I’m as good once as I ever was!😜😜😜

8X Super Bowl Bill Belichick not receiving the required 40 votes out of 50 to be inducted into the NFL HOF as a first ballot entry does baffle me to the Nth degree. There have been 59 Super Bowls and Belichick has won 8 of them. Belichick knows more about football than anybody else. If Belichick doesn’t deserve to be on a HOF ballot as a Head Coach then no other Head coach should be. Imho!!

Shuriedo and Tokyodo are baggier than Hirota, but I would definitely say that Hirota has a more relaxed fit than Tokaido. And, by extension, I'll also say Shobu - not by personal experience (I've never even seen a Shobu in person), but from what I've been reading online, Shobu has an even slimmer fit than Tokaido.

I will also add a vote for Hirota here too - depending what you mean by big of course. I have a size 7 and i really like it (6'4" about 230lb in US measurements). Didn't need altered at all - just some careful warm washing / drying for fit. Price was reasonable too from Japan to UK

I believe it's to make your gi have a louder snap. If you get your gi custom made, you can actually request thicker and wider hems to make them even louder. You'll notice that judo gis don't have the same hem, as there's no need get a response from the gi. They have a simple one-line hem. I've taken gis to an alterations shops that couldn't duplicate the hem, despite their efforts. It might be because I didn't specifically ask them to, but it looked like they tried. And in one particular instance, it was two Kamikaze gis; and in the other, it was two Hirota lightweight gis. In the case of the Hirota gis, I should have paid for the hemming online but I was too lazy to do my own measurements. In both cases, perfectly good gis were ruined. It was after my experience here that I realized something: if you need anything hemmed on your gis, the only options that make sense are extremely cheap gis (ProForce, Century, etc) where you really couldn't care less about a one-line hem. That, or Japanese gis. Those mid-tier brands like Mugen and Kamikaze are strictly for people who don't need anything hemmed.

Saturday 24th January BJJ Session This session was all about retaining back control. Worked on keeping grips and hand fighting to keep the grips / open up choking opportunities. Worked some claw grip to secure the neck and also worked a little on read naked chokes. My back control is awful so it was a good session and lots to work on! Though my recovering to mount when someone is escaping back control is still not too bad - session did show up though that often i default to moving to mount rather than fighting harder to keep on the back, so it is definitely something to work on

Friday 23rd January Lifting Session Back squat 20kg x 5 40kg x 3 60kg x 2 80kg x 1 99kg x 3 99kg x 3 99kg x 3 99kg x 3 Bench press 20kg x 5 40kg x 3 60kg x 2 70kg x 1 81kg x 3 81kg x 3 81kg x 3 81kg x 3 Romanian Deadlift 72kg x 3 72kg x 3 72kg x 3 72kg x 3 Assisted pull up with 25kg band 7 reps 7 reps Standing military press 32kg x 10 32kg x 10 Was short of time so had to cut the final pull ups and standing press sets short (am doing them as a superset). Got main lifts done though which is the main point

Definitely. Is kinda like the absurd bar the Baseball HoF used to set that no one could be unanimous etc. even when it was blatantly obvious they should be. If Belichick isn't first ballot (much as i loathe him) then no other coach can be going forwards (unless they get 7 HC superbowl wins / 9 total wins maybe). Apparently it is 'punishment' for the cheating scandals but if that is the case then he should have had the punishment levied up front - defer his eligibility for a year or something

cheers!