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Black belt ranks are a strange thing. On the one hand, in Japan/Okinawa, the Shodan rank isn't a big deal, since it just means you have learned the basics in your system, and it isn't uncommon to achieve it in 2-4 years. On the other hand, because of the way karate was introduced to the West, the importance of the Shodan rank was inflated, and the length of time to earn it was extended, so it was more common to have to train very hard, learn more material, and spend 5-8 years training to earn it. On the other-other hand, we have McDojos and belt mills cheapening the accomplishment of earning the Shodan rank to something you just pay for in advance, and we have Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu establishing the belief that a black belt means you have mastered the art and takes 10+ years to earn. That's a lot of very different perspectives on what a black belt rank means, and what it takes to earn. There is no universal standard across all arts, of course, but there also is no universal standard WITHIN any given art. Judo and BJJ usually use competition success as a fairly objective benchmark for their ranks, but outside of that, you're generally going to be seeing very different standards in every school, even among schools that do the same style, or which are part of the same organization. Any rank only has value within the school it is issued, and to a degree within the organization it is issued, but that's about it. Now, all that said, I personally do not like the idea of giving minors black belt ranks. Regardless of how Shodan is perceived in Japan/Okinawa, I am in the US, and the way we look at Shodan tends to be more akin to the way Sandan is seen in Japan/Okinawa. Plus, my late Sensei had the same requirements for his Shodans that the organization we were in had for GODAN, minus the minimum age and time-in-grade requirements, and it generally took an average of 8 strong years of training to earn a Shodan under him. He did issue junior black belt ranks a couple of times, but the youngest person my Sensei ever tested for a proper Shodan rank was 17, and that kid tested right alongside me, having to do the exact same test as a full-grown man in his mid-20s. I would say that it's pretty rare for a 17 year old to be able to do that, but it's possible, and I'm willing to make the exception here and there, but as a general rule, I prefer not to promote anyone under the age of 18 to Shodan. I want my students to have an adult level of understanding, skill, and maturity to go along with the rank.

I am a current practitioner of Motobu-Ryu and Motobu-Udundi in the only existing dojo in North America, so I believe I can shed some light on how we practice Naihanchi as well as some insight into what other styles refer to as Sanchin (in Motobu-Udundi this is called Motode Ichi). The stance of Naihanchi should be more narrow than traditional kiba dachi, perhaps only slightly wider than shoulder width. The feet should be pointed straight ahead, and the knees pushed outwards. The hips should be pushed back slightly. This is the way we have been taught by the Motobu family. Regarding Sanchin, or Motode Ichi, the stance we take is called tachi gwaa. The leading foot is tilted inwards while the rear foot remains straight, to form a triangular shape if a line was drawn along the insides of the feet. Additionally, the heels are slightly lifted - seemingly a characteristic trait of Motobu-Udundi as I have not seen this in other styles. This tachi gwaa stance is more narrow than say, the Sanchin performed in Uechi-Ryu, about shoulder width. I hope this helps. Please feel free to ask any more questions!

I have attended plenty of seminars over the years (mainly BJJ ones) and usually i find the following things important : The level of the instructor delivering the session is important (eg i went to a couple of Rickson Gracie seminars which were superb and i signed up straight away based on who was teaching without even asking what the material to be covered was). He was also extremely personable when he delivered his seminars and genuinely cared that people were learning - i have never forgotten him asking a quite new white belt if he was ok with a technique, getting the usual mumbled "yeah it's fine" response and then calling the guy out and personally drilling it with him for 5min (both performing the technique so the student could feel what it felt like and being uke) until he was comfortable that the student was getting a handle on it. In most cases (after all most people aren't Rickson etc.) then the material to be covered is by far the most important thing to me. I don't attend every seminar that our BJJ school puts on (or my judo class) as while i know that the person teaching is infinitely more skilled than me and i would no doubt learn something, if it is something i don't think would be a good fit for me or something i would be able to use then i don't attend. e.g. i am reasonably large (6'4" and 105kg) so if the seminar is something on ultra flexible inversions and LW style BJJ then i am unlikely to attend, but the second i saw we had Jon Thomas teaching a Collar & Sleeve seminar (which was great!) i signed up instantly. Also what i think i would get from it in relation to the cost factors in - for me i am pretty new to judo so anything any good teacher shows me will be an improvement, i am not probably good enough to benefit from a seminar properly so it doesnt feel like a good use of money (though as i improve i am more likely to look into it over time) If it is someone who will be teaching regular seminars then it could also be good for the potential student body at the hosting school to have an input into what is being taught - that would definitely lead to a lot of buy in i think! Credentials are important too if someone isn't a famous name - eg if there are two black belts offering seminars in De La Riva and i have heard of neither of them but one of them is a black belt under the De La Riva lineage directly then i would opt for them - similarly a seminar on fundamentals of jiu jitsu and someone is under the Roger Gracie tree etc. etc.

It is true, that is a thankless job. You need to have bit of a thick skin to do it, but I found that it was great for me to develop it and also to work on how to communicate effectively. People lose their minds on the 50/50 calls or the ones that are difficult to make without video footage that we could technically use. What irked me the most, is the comments by coaches/players/spectators of "how did you miss that Ref?". Now I have one of two responses: 1. "I didn't see it because I wasn't in your position to see it" 2. "I did see it, but didn't have much of an impact on the game let alone on the play" - If we called absolutely everything that was a foul, then there would be no players! - If it impacts a shooter = foul gotta be called I taught my guys and girls that if they let abuse fly at the start of the match, its going to be hard to stop later on during the match. Give 1 warning, after that Tech them or DQ them.. IF it is an issue with a spectator I would throw them out as a Supervisor. The things that make me laugh the most are some violations; where players nearly always go "I didn't do that!"

@Wastelander At least on the surface, the stance used in Sanchin is nearly identical to Naihanchi except one foot is forward making it look like a staggered Naihanchi stance. The Naihanchi stance referred to here is the one from Shorin ryu. Back straight with pelvis tilted, knees bent feet turned slightly inwards and shoulder width apart. Thighs, knees and lower body tensed. If Itosu is indeed the originator of this, it would be interesting to know what evidence of this there is. On Okinawa there are some schools of Shorin ryu where Naihanchi is practiced and used exactly like Sanchin in Uechi ryu and Goju ryu. The breathing and rythm is different but, it is done with the same or very similar tension. Just like Sanchin, students are tested during the kata by someone striking various areas of the body. Higa Minoru of Kyudokan comes to mind.

I'm off the magnesium and back to melatonin. I've been sleeping great the last week and a half, and better overall for the past three weeks. There is no replacement for good sleep.

I found the essay that sparked my imagination on this one. It’s from a collection of essays by Garry Lever titled Karate Parting the Clouds with Empty Hands. The essay is titled “Kata According to the Elements”. It’s a bit much to explain without writing the entire essay again, but basically he ties together ancient Chinese views on nature, Yin-Yang, and the 5 Elements with the Goju-ryu kata. For example, if we take the duality of the seasons as representing: Winter – Yin Spring – Yin to Yang Summer – Yang Fall – Yang to Yin Then in each season you would focus on the kata that expresses or favors the corresponding concept. Something like Sanseiru, a very Go/Hard/Power/Yang kata, would be the focus in summertime while Seipai, a Ju/Soft/Supple/Yin kata would be more appropriate for the winter. Of course you can also divide an individual day according to Yin Yang as well. Midnight is Yin, Noon is Yang, 6am and 6pm are transitioning between them. So you would practice the corresponding kata at the corresponding times. I don’t think this is true, really, but many of the Okinawan karate masters lived in this sort of pre-modern world and probably wouldn’t be phased by this. And I can’t help but wonder if I’m being subtly influenced by the time and day when I’m deciding what to practice. I do often choose kata based on what feels right in that moment... I’m going to have to set a calendar reminder to practice Seipai at midnight on the night of the Winter Solstice.

Terrible all around.

I don't think there would have been The Rock had there not been Hulk Hogan first. RIP. Condolences to his family.

Now with that "Slapping" Thread being of interest, I thought it might be good for some awareness around this disease and thought it might be a good thing to talk about. As we are in some way at an increased risk of this. I am not saying that everyone in the MA Community will develop this, along with other activities (i.e. NFL for you Americans, and Aussie Rules Football for me here in Australia). As we have many amazing members here who have been in the world for several decades. As I have recently updated my will; I have included that only my Brain to be used for research. Because I have a family history of Dementia. Chronic Truamatic Encephalopathy or CTE for short; which is a Progressive Neurodegenerative Disease. Which can have the following symptoms: Memory Loss Confusion Mood Changes (Anxiety, Depression, Aggression included) Impaired Judgement Impulsivity Behavioural Changes Now these can be confused with Dementia or Alzheimers whilst one is alive, but can be ruled out using the symptoms and family history along with other conditions. Unfortunately it is a common issue in Contact and Combat Sports; as the risk of repeated head trauma and concussions is quite high. In comparison between the UFC (and other MMA type formats) and us "normal" folk there is a stark contrast between the two.

I saw this news as well. Terrible. I get tired of people shifting blame. He's the one that made the decision to play football. The NFL did not force him to play football. It's a tragedy for all the victims involved, the families of the victims, and the shooter and his family.

Yeah, whatever else people think about him as an individual, his impact on popular culture worldwide can't be ignored. He was a genuine global star and i would still say he is possibly the most well known wrestler anywhere (even compared to the Rock etc.)

I’m quite persistent when it comes to my health at my old age. Nevada has been an exercise of frustration when it comes to abating and keeping my medical insurance. Houston was a breeze!!

Thinking back on past experiences, bunkai applications and practice was reserved for shodan and higher. This resulted in people reaching shodan with no idea of the purpose, meaning and use of kata. Much like learning swimming step by step, yet not knowing/understanding that it is meant to be done in water and never actually going in water. Never mind the frustration for students, it does not make for a very interesting or effective way to teach. When and why did this become the norm? This is in sharp contrast to personal experience where Okinawan and Japanese instructors would teach the meaning and application step by step for each part of kata from the very beginning.

Now this is something we all need to be careful of. BUT out of curiousity, how many people here have spoken to someone online for years and finally got to meet them in person? For instance for members here; i've physically met @wayneshin and @RJCKarate. Both Aussie instructors, and lovely humans. And have spoken to several of my fellow moderators (past and present) over Zoom. Always a fun time. Especially when it came to one of our milestone years. If you hit up Melbourne please let me know. Cause I love meeting KF Members in person. @Patrick the travel bug I'm looking at you haha. One day I'd love to see an in-person worldwide KF Seminar being run for KF Members by KF Members. Which would be particularly entertaining.

As @sensei8 mentioned, we got together quite a few years ago now and trained together for a weekend. I got to meet @Patrick at a conference in Kansas City. Both were great experiences.

@sensei8 you understood my (dodgy) question. Where you said that its taught from day 1. We introduced grappling to students earlier; but we have only a handful of instructors who have experience with groundwork. But I have the a lot of experience with sweeps, throws and takedowns. Along with teaching them to different ages.

It is my understanding that kata oyo, and the bunkai process by which you derive them, weren't taught all that much by Funakoshi Gichin, and which were almost entirely left behind by Funakoshi Gichin's son and his contemporaries, so that by the end of WW2 pretty much everyone doing Shotokan wasn't learning oyo or bunkai. After WW2, the Okinawans needed to rebuild, and teaching karate to the soldiers stationed there was one way to get the money for that, but many of those soldiers had friends stationed on mainland Japan learning Shotokan, and so that's the sort of karate they wanted to learn. At least some of the Okinawan instructors during that era stopped teaching kata application because their students simply weren't interested in it. They also tended to issue those soldiers yudansha grades between 1st and 3rd Dan during their tours of duty, with the expectation they would come back to Okinawa to continue their education, and that's probably where the "bunkai is for black belts" thing really came about. Most likely, those soldiers just didn't learn kata application while stationed on Okinawa, and only picked it up later, and so they assumed it was black belt material, or they made their students wait until black belt to learn it so they could market it as some sort of "secret knowledge." Now, personally, I think this is a terrible approach, even as an attempt at retaining students. We all know that most people who train in martial arts who make it past the first year will still end up quitting when they earn their black belt, and that happens regardless of where you stick the "secret knowledge" of your curriculum. All this ends up doing is producing a bunch of people who trained in karate long enough to earn a black belt who have no idea how to actually use the classical material of the art, which makes karate look watered down, outdated, and ineffective. On top of that, it is cheating the individual students out of valuable skills for self-defense! My late Sensei taught application right along side the kata, and I do so, as well. This has left just about every student we've ever had with not only a better understanding of the art, but more appreciation for it, and an awareness that there is more to karate than point fighting tournaments and Kyokushin.

OMG I forgot about Myspace. I loved using that back when it was popular and Facebook wasn't around.

Just found some notes I had for the last Seminar I ran; it was for the Fitness and Healthcare Industries in particular Personal Trainers, Physiotherapists, Exercise and Sports Scientists + Physiologists, Biomechanists. That day I had two assistants helping for a room of 40 people; It was a mix of people from the above professions, along with a few Medical Doctors (Surgery included) who wanted to improve their knowledge. This seminar focused on Martial Arts Movements, how things are taught and why. So basically giving them a crash course in the arts; Karate from me, Judo from one of my assistants, Weapons based from the other (who is also a Kyokushin + TKD Dual Black Belt). So this 1/2 day seminar was very insightful for each of these professionals to assist those who come through their doors. Here is how/what we taught: Appropriate Training Plan Age + Skill Appropriate Testing Age + Skill Appropriate Exercise Testing - Age + Gender Appropriate Risk of Injuries During Training and Tournaments Long Term Risk of Injury Repercussions Concussion Risks (Kumite) Video Review Knockouts - Various sources Breakfalls From various positions Mechanics of falls (Movement Pattern/Sequence, Neural Loading) Stances (Controlled Falling) Natural Progression of standing/movement Sanchin Dachi to Zenkutsu Dachi Negative Acceleration (aka Deceleration) into Shikodachi or a fall Skeletal Loading Bottom up Foot Positioning - Knees (bent/locked) - Hips (ant/post tilt, hip hitch L/R) - Spine - Head Its importance for stability Hip Rotation "Normal" Hip Rotation - "Karate" Method TKD Sine Wave Power Generation Differences between Martial Arts Throws/Takedowns Relationship to the above Physics - How is it used Basics (Reaction Speed/Forms) Heavy focus on Turns, Reaction Speed Kumite Focused Weapons Philipino Weapons Japanese Weapons

I've done thins several times over the years. I met a few people off Myspace back in the day, and some other places. Two of my longest running friendships started by meeting on a discussion board over 20 years ago. However, it has been a very long time since I have done anything like that.

Welcome to the forum! Look forward to seeing more of your posts!

I've had guest instructors visit my dojo, most were in the same system as I am. A few that were just MA friends and wanted to show us their "stuff". I've taught 8-10 seminars myself, mostly proper weapons/kobudo techniques as many systems I've judged have really poor weapons/kobudo technique. After we've gone thru that in the seminar, I pretty much open it up to whatever they want to see.

This is more of a HEMA (Historical European Martial Art) topic, but definitely weapons-related. Last week I went down to Kilroy's Workshop in Colorado Springs and made.. you guessed it, a poleaxe! The class was originally designed with the venetian poleaxe in mind, but I had a couple of "happy accidents", and ended up with something slightly different (but very cool). We started out with a chunk of 4140 steel (a chromium tool steel, used frequently in car engines). We punched and drifted a hole in it (for the handle), and then squeezed out the back end which was supposed to be a hammer head: https://i.imgur.com/Ih0CMci.jpeg https://i.imgur.com/SN4kZSA.jpeg Next, we were supposed to start flattening out the larger head, which was intended to be the axehead. I ended up flattening out the hammer end, so I went with it and turned it into a spike/hook. After that, I used a power hammer to forge out the axe head into rough shape: https://i.imgur.com/HvOvX1g.jpeg Next stop: the grinder. In this case, an angle grinder with a flap disc. I ground off the forge scale (magnetite, a specific type of iron oxide that occurs at high temperatures) and ground in the profile shape: https://i.imgur.com/b8XZBqu.jpeg Next came the heat treatment. Heat it up to a reddish-orange heat, let it cool down. That relaxes some of the stresses induced from forging. Then heat to an orange-red and quench in oil. That looked like this: https://i.imgur.com/2Ozi2qB.jpeg After that, I took a 12" piece of 1 inch square bar, used an angle grinder to split it in half down 5" down, then forged the tip out into a spear point, and forged the split ends into a pair of langets that fit over the axe/spike head: https://i.imgur.com/rhJgHGT.jpeg I then took a 6' long piece of hickory, rounded it, shaped the end to fit the eye of the axe/spike head, and drilled a hole through the spear tip + axe head + pole. Attached with one 1/4" iron rivet and 4 3/16" bronze rivets. Add in some mild steel langets to finish things out: https://i.imgur.com/3lfHhL4.jpeg https://i.imgur.com/xUZyxMX.jpeg https://i.imgur.com/tAKawuD.jpeg https://i.imgur.com/Us2dFfj.jpeg

I enjoy a variety of teachers and styles I am not experienced with. One seminar I attended was when I studied Hapkido and we had a day of training with three other schools, one was a TKD school, another a TSD school, and a Judo school. All four schools had their students at the seminar. It was a fun day of learning and working on stuff with people who we were not used to and techniques from styles we had not seen before. This was a free seminar. I also attended a seminar when I was in TKD that was strictly a point sparring seminar, though I found this less beneficial because we only had one instructor, and it was my TKD instructor, so it wasn't much different than our weekly sparring class other than working with students from other schools. Now if I was new to the instructor and/or teachings I would have been more interested even though it was focused on a singular martial art instead of spreading out among four. When I was in TKD we attended a Hapkido seminar which was new to me, I had never heard of it at the time, but after two hours of studying the wrist locks and what not, I was fascinated and wanted to learn more. I ended up joining a Hapkido school a few months later and cross trained both styles. A two-hour seminar, I did not know what I was doing at all, but I understood the value of what was being taught and wanted more. To answer your question, I think it would be A: learning something new and doing things that are outside of usual training and B: the experience of the instructor and C: how useful it would be for what I want to get out of my training. Of course, cost and location are factors. I am much less likely to attend if it is expensive or requires going out of town. Thanks for asking.

I would look for something new I can learn from a trusted Martial Artist, or a trusted Martial Artist from within my style that might have a different skill set than I do and could open those doors to my students.

When performed this way, the Motobu Naihanchi stance is very sturdy! Being higher, it also lends itself to increased mobility out of the stance. Many exercises and drills we practice are done from some variation of Naihanchi stance, with the direction of the feet changing as required but the core concept in tact - knees slightly bent and knees pushed out. You can see this demonstrated to a certain degree in Motobu Choki's Twelve Kumite.

Congrats!

Very cool!!

Congrats Brian!

For those here who celebrate, have a safe and happy holiday weekend!

Sounds like a typical Saturday night during my drinking years. Kidding aside though, I might have gotten a concussion during my first TKD tournament after a kick to the face left me seeing stars for a few days. Did not get KOed or go out, but enough to where I likely suffered some damage. From what I understand about concussions, and I am no expert or close to it, once you have the first one, you are at higher risk for more of them later on, and one plus one does not equal two, it is more like three or four, the damage sort of compounds the more of them you have. People do not usually see the results of that damage until later in life, meaning that the behaviors you listed do not show up as much when you are young, it shows up big time when you are older. Good on you for donating your body to science, it could help a lot of people who come after you.

Hope everyone had a happy 4th! You are right, @KarateKen, fireworks are danged expensive. Thankfully, my boys' grandpa likes to spend money on them!

I have never really given any consideration to donating any body parts post-mortem for research purposes. I'd be interested to know what current studies of such donations have gleaned thus far. My mother had dementia, and my father is currently battling a form of it as well. I'm not super excited about my chances later in life. Before my parents, though, it didn't seem to be something that ran in the family.

To the Bolded; not many do. Unlike NFL Players; Rugby Players don't wear protective equipment (apart from Mouthguards and some players wearing the thinner helmets*) and we also have a huge rate of Cauliflower Ears. For those NFL Players, I do get concerned for their longevity as for what I've seen there is still "Match-Level" Contact occurring during their Training Sessions. And from what I've heard and seen it occurs at nearly level of the sport (including Grass-Roots). When I was a Rugby (Union) Player for School, our Trainings we had minimal contact to the head. So our Forwards (Numbers 1-8) when we did our Scrum Training, either focused on correct binding techniques or using the Scrum Machine. Even when we did 1 on 1 Partner Drills for it, the risks were a lot lower. But when we were practicing our set manouevres, and there were "rucks" there often weren't opposing players to cause impact. But on Match Day, the Officials and First Aiders were so strict on head contact and any player who potentially has a Concussion. Medically Cleared or Not; they are required to sit out 2 Matches and Trainings.

Congrats, Brian!! I’ve always respected those who seriously train in multiple MA because it takes a lot of dedication to train floor to floor.

In the Shobayashi dojo, the stripes are official rankings. One stripe promotes to 9th kyu, etc. With adults generally making the jump from 10th to 7th in one test.

In my head it almost seems like something more akin to BJJ stripes, which are often more informal, with you having the discretion to award 1 or more as you see fit. Different students will learn at different rates so i could see one student being ready for 2 stripes after the 10hr segment and another ready for 1 etc.. Making it more informal makes it easier for you to apply instructors discretion i think

Here's what you should do, @sensei8. Just start writing. Start with your first subject, Shindokan history. Just write stuff. Try to be chronological, but if you need to go back and insert something, do it. Doing it on a computer might be easier, but some prefer writing on paper. Either is fine, so long as your handwriting is fairly legible. Then, give a copy to someone you trust (like me! ) who can read it over for grammatical errors, ask about clarification in spots, etc, and then can send it back to you for final approval. It's your work, and there's nothing wrong with someone else looking at to give you a different perspective and perhaps ideas on what should be added or subtracted.

I watched both, and rather enjoyed them. Thought Affleck played the character very well. As far as the Martial Arts go, after a while, I don't think I've seen anything new, and have to remember it's all choreography. But, I thought most of the hand-to-hand stuff was very direct and not too flashy or over the top. I wish I knew about Silat to be able to tell, but it's not a style you hear about often.

I wouldn't see any reason to add any more official ranking. By breaking white belt up into the three 10 hour segments, and providing a stripe for each 10 hours they have proficiency in, should be sufficient, and you don't have to add ranks and try to take more of student's money for a "testing" that really isn't. I think option 3 would be worth a try to start with. The nice thing is if you don't think it's working, you can alter it and the students won't be the worse for wear. You'll need to break things down in such a way that segment 2 builds off segment 1, and that will help retention.

The OP’s proposed changes seem doable across the board. Not all black belts can teach, and furthermore, not a black belts can teach kids. Zaire’s idea is a proven solution when kids are concerned. Teaching kids takes a special CI because kids will be kids in every shape, way, and form. Experts say that the age of the person, especially kids, is how many minutes their attention span will last. No matter what, if class is boring, no positive change will occur or be quite difficult to achieve. Listen to your Student Body. If they prefer smaller segments in white belt, then seriously consider their feedback. Hang in there. Rome wasn’t built in one day; thank the Lord for that .

I've been to multiple schools that segment white belts like this, and it seems to be a good plan, especially for children. In my Shobayashi dojo, the kids must earn 2 stripes before testing for yellow. The adults, on the other hand, while technically following the same path, typically don't get stripes. Stripes are an excellent way to set expectations for students, particularly for younger students. Given students smaller mile markers makes them feel like the journey is more achievable, and gives them that dopamine hit of "ranking up" with more frequency. This also helps because it allows the student to feel like they belong faster. They've made it through the introductory part of the martial arts, and are now eager to practice. So, in all, I definitely like option 3 for kids, option 4 for adults.

Thanks for posting. I was curious as to why she was not part of season 6.

Do we have any members here from the Great White North? If so, Happy Canada Day. I've been to Canda many times and it is a great place to visit, so many memories of being in Winnipeg, Toronto, and Montreal. Have a great July 1.

https://deadline.com/2025/06/cobra-kai-creators-hilary-swank-return-final-season-1236445291/ Thought this was interesting, about how the Cobra Kai creators tried to get Hilary Swank for the last season.

These are probably just generic spammy offers that are likely best ignored. But I definitely would encourage you to write. You'll need an editor at some point, but you can start to piece your ideas together and see what you have.

Well-done! I know it can't be easy.

most here seem to have a few years in the game. i myself began this journey, life, back in 1980. trained 5 or 6 days a week 2 hours per day on three of those days of the week. did so for the first 6 years before joining the military. while some buddies and i would train in the PT sawdust pits, trading ideas and techniques, that was the first of my lapses in actual training at a dojo or a particular style... i did resume training after leaving the service for a few years in a different style. then came the second drifting away, after getting married and starting a career that required travel. once we got settled in halfway across the country i found and started training again. but this was only for a year before another move, again across country, took place. this was followed by a lapse of 5 years or so. afterwards i did start teaching for a few years for a local dojo, settled in and dove deeper into the philosophical side of life. looking back its cool to see the changes we go through and how we have matured or the directions taken. these humps, obstacles and lapses come and go, but the life always calls one back..... that last dojo went out due to the owners age/health and the timing of the pandemic.... but even before then i had built my own training area in the back yard, a full outdoor workout area with gym machines, free weights and multiple benches. and a full indoor dojo. just for myself and a few students i will occasionally take on......so, from an activity/sport in 1980 to a lifestyle today, interesting journey, is this just another lapse, so to speak, or is this finding the meaning of sorts. a coming to a new chapter or realization....... what are some of your stories? any lapses or times of drifting away?.....lessons in themselves of who you are?

You bring up some good points, @sensei8. I'll try to address them as briefly and simply as I can. Whenever I see the word "reasonable," I tend to think about it as my line of work dictates. It's basically asking, "what would a reasonable officer do in this situation?" Likewise, for the general public, it's "what would a reasonable person likely do?" Or, "what would be a reasonable response for a person in that situation?" So, what has to be considered is what we also call "the totality of the circumstances." We, as trained Martial Artists, can be held to a different (not necessarily higher) standard than the untrained public. What is the threat? Cornered by three people saying threatening things? Drunk guy yelling at you in your yard? We can go down all kinds of rabbit holes, as each of the two scenarios I've offered here present two very different threat levels. In the first scenario, it might be reasonable to disable one person as soon as possible to decrease the number of threats; in such a case, use of a weapon as a force multiplier could be justified. In the second scenario, it might just be wiser to shut and lock the doors and call the police, and let them deal with the drunk guy. Spartan kicking that guy into the street into oncoming traffic could lead to a manslaughter charge no one wants. So, circumstances are important to consider. I can get on board with this, but again, there are always caveats. Someone poking you in the chest in the state of Kansas is defined as battery. This person is also in your space. I can count on one hand the number of people I want in that space. YOU DON'T HAVE TO WAIT FOR THIS GUY TO TAKE A SWING AT YOU TO DEFEND YOUR SPACE. A pre-emptive strike can very well be justified against someone like this. Now, I'm assuming (and you know what happens when we assume....) that the two individuals are proportional in size. What if the guy is 6'8" and 320 lbs, and little old 5'7" on-a-good-day me is the recipient of said finger pokes? Even though I'm skilled, I can probably justify a higher use of force against Goliath here due to size, strength, and probably age disparity, especially if I can't walk away safely otherwise. Clubbing this guy with a bottle or other hard object could very well be justified. Now, let's change it up, and it's your drunk ex-girlfriend you ran into in the bar when you are out with your new date. 250 lb me against 140 lb her is another disparity issue altogether. In this situation, I probably can't justify knocking her out if she gets into my space. Again, circumstances. I'd say this is pretty spot-on. The key here is CYA - which means "Can You Articulate." Can you explain to the law enforcement officers that show up what made you believe the threat was imminent? Learning how to recognize things like pre-contact cues are great for helping with this. This is not the case in all states, and especially in your own home. Some states refer to it as a "Castle Law." If you sit down at a restaurant that has a bar and some daily drinkers that start getting lippy and yappy, and you ignore them, and that hacks them off and they get more so, and start coming over to your table to harass you, you don't necessarily have to get up and leave. It may be wise to, but it doesn't mean you have to. This doesn't mean you should knock them out, either. But, if they start to get into your space, once again, this is an attack, and should be dealt with. The other thing to consider is if you try to escape, does that compromise your safety even more? If you turn your back on someone too soon, they may attack while you're not looking, which is not a good situation. What if you only choice is to run? I'm not fast, and if they chase, then I'll just end up having to fight tired. I'd rather fight when I'm fresh. This is true. Let's say you successfully defend yourself, secure the thug in a lock or hold of some kind, and wait for authorities to show up and take them into custody. Good deal, probably works out well. Now, what if you secure the thug, and have them pinned, and decide it's time to "show them what happens when they mess with me!" and proceed to ground-and-pound, or break a wrist because you can, or something like that. In the state of Kansas, that person could be looking at aggravated battery charges if those things were done in a punitive manner. Now, with that said, I'm not saying breaking bones leads to you getting arrested. If in the heat of the moment you defend a punch and break their arm, this can still be considered justifiable. Again, CYA - Can You Articulate? Articulating how you felt, what you saw, how scared you were, and all that stuff is just as important as the techniques you use to defend yourself. I don't know if many instructors cover these things with their students. Sure, they show the techniques, and how to break something if they need to, but being able to talk about these things with law enforcement post-event is just as important. Hopefully, this answers more questions than it creates... It's too bad @tallgeese isn't still around, he'd have some great points to offer on this as well.