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"It may seem difficult at first, but all things are difficult at first." --Miyamoto Musashi

When it's time to go it is time to go.

Here’s my 2-cents… “Anyone who has never made a mistake has never tried anything new.”-Einstein “I’ve not failed. I’ve just found 10,000 ways that won’t work.”-Edison

I actually made my own bo a few months ago out of a chunk of purpleheart. I had purchased a 6.5' x 8" x 2" slab of purpleheart a number of years ago. I ran it through my table saw to make a 1 3/8" square, then went to octagonal (by turning the saw to 45 degrees and adjusting the fence. I then knocked down the corners with a hand plane and sanded the entire thing down to 400 grit. Next I used a buffing wheel with several different compounds, and finished it with gun stock oil (birchwood-casey Tru Oil) It's an absolute beast to wield, but it's fantastic exercise. I only use it for regular training classes; I would never test with it. But it looks and feels awesome; just the right amount of grip

I saw a screenshot of a post on Facebook and it got me thinking about Kumite, and how much some people struggle to adapt to how different some people fight especially when they are preparing for their Shodan. In my mind; this is sometimes something that I have noticed some clubs don't really teach or have people consider. For instance, I fight somewhat like a MMA Fighter; biding my time and making opportunities. Along with being a pain in the butt by fighting "Dirty" which a lot of people hate. But by "Dirty" I mean: low kicks, making the person look at my hands and then kick them again. Also annoyingly having a lot of "sticky hands" when I fight.

Awesome movie. I may need to re-watch it!

Perhaps the disappointment might be less important when there are less students. The matter of fact is that it is a normal thing to occur, even just for a fleeting moment. It does no good to dwell on it, especially when students and prospective students are abundant. That could hardly be considered coldness. It’s just how teaching works and, a wise instructor knows from the beginning that most students will probably quit well before the 4-5 years(average) required to even get to shodan(or equivalent). Never mind beyond that.

This was part of my morning training from yesterday, I did add that note section just in case I forgot what shorthand I used also I knew that if I shared I could make it easy to show you guys.

Our dojo has 2 floors - we have mats on the downstairs dojo, and hardwood (bamboo) floors upstairs. I find that it's harder to balance on one leg on the mats; I also find the mats tend to get slippery a lot easier than the bamboo floors. However, I definitely do not like falling on the bamboo floors!

Many of the people I talk to who are not well-versed in the martial arts think that earning one's (first degree) black belt is the goal of the martial arts. I have spoken with a couple of coworkers whose kids did karate or tae kwon do. "Yeah, they earned their black belts". And that was it. Our CI, on the other hand, tells students as they get into the green/brown belt ranks things like, "you don't start learning the really good stuff until you reach black belt". And "a first degree black belt just means you've mastered the basics". His school also reinforces this. At any of the adult classes, the first 1 or 2 rows of students will be black belts (or junior black belts) who are continuing to train. Our school currently has about 8 nidans, 3 sandans, 1 yondan and 3 godans who continue to train regularly as students.

I really enjoy doing our 2-person drills with a partner who really pushes me to do my best. There are a handful of partners I truly enjoy training with -- they are strong enough, fast enough, and skilled enough that I need to be at my best to keep up with them. It's a real joy to train with partners that bring out the best in you.

Another round of testing done. It was another small one, as most of them seem to be anymore. We had one white belt kid that showed for regular class, so we used it as an opportunity to have her up in front going through material and offering advise on fixing things. This testing went from about 6:00 - 7:20 pm (by the time we got done with feedback afterwards). We started with some basics for warmups. We had a low green belt, a high green belt, and a high brown belt test. The high brown belt had to do three forms, all one-steps, sparring and board breaks. The others did their form, one-steps, and sparring. The following are some things that I saw. Hand techniques: I saw some low chambering, and it should be higher, crossing the arms in front of the face/neck area, but also out away from the body slightly, and not in like jamming oneself. I think of that crossing position as a defensive position in and of itself, and teach it that way. I saw some upper body techniques that were disjointed from their stances, and mostly from the low green belt. Good hand/foot timing (strike thrown and lands as the foot touches down) will help with this. I told them that stances help with power, and good hand/foot timing does as well. Getting this down will help with understanding how to generate power in the techniques even when not stepping into them. Along with this, I saw some "happy feet" in the forms, where they'd step into a stance and then fidget their feet around to adjust the stance before moving to the next, never really settling into the stance. I then went on to discuss comfort in stances, and how a practitioner must learn to "feel" when they are in the proper stance, and that the stance is done right (proper weight distribution, proper hip placement in regards to where the stance is centered, etc). I said they have to start developing that kinesthetic awareness of knowing where their body is and what it is doing in space. Some of the students are already starting to feel this, and some are rushing through things too much to feel it. Something else I saw was the pivot foot following the kick, and not pivoting during the kick or slightly before kicking. I told them they lose power and follow-through that way, as well as being not good for the knees. With that said, I did see power coming along in the forms quite well from last testing. They are starting to understand power generation, and hopefully the above comments will help them even more. Orange belt one-step #3....this is a takedown, and a couple of the students just "sat down" from the technique. I explained that the technique is a takedown (it's done with a step behind the attacker's front foot, like a trip, but also can be done as a reap at higher ranks). I told them that the attacker's job is to fall, and it should be a breakfall, with some slap and some noise, not a sit-down quietly. It means the defender is not doing it properly, and the attacker is not making them have to do it properly. I told the high green belt that she was using good footwork and body positioning in her sparring, staying bladed and not presenting big targets. I also heard too many apologies during sparring. A "sorry" here and there. I told them to stop doing that and just keep sparring. It's not uncommon to get someone jammed up, or bounce off their leg when kicking at the same time, and other such incidental contact. If something really untoward takes place, we'll stop the match and have a discussion about it. If you have to break momentarily for some reason, get reset, touch gloves, and go. The students did meet the requirements to pass, and they received their belts on the spot.

You're more than welcome to do so, but here is the draft ruleset so you can have the full outline. Competition Kakedameshi Draft Rules.pdf

I think it's very important to spar with different body types, ranks, and experience levels. It's good to see something you haven't seen before, and it makes you better. Sparring tall opponents has always been a problem for me, so I like to spar taller people when I get the chance. I tend to spar the others in our dojang using what I call "old man tricks." I get in close and punch a lot. When kicks come in, sometimes I'll pin my elbow into my ribs and end up blocking with my elbow. I'll take a shot to deliver a shot of my own. I don't bounce around a lot when I spar anymore, and I'll sit down and kind of "tank up," letting them come to me and then retaliate with some quick bursts. Reaching out and hooking their hand is fun, too. They think about that and try to avoid it, opening up something else.

Me, well, I'm very aggressive while I press my opponent as I attack the legs, which is what is expected in Shindokan. Don't forget, our main goal at any given time is to get behind our opponent. "Dirty" fighting to me is an excuse because one hasn't matured in techniques, yet, which means that one's afraid. To me, there's no "Dirty" anything, Kumite or not, because in the game of surviving, anything is fair game. Adapt or fail, and I've never any desire to fail on or off any floor whatsoever. Refusal to fight dirty, whenever necessary, is a limitation that I can't abide to.‎ My focus both on and off the floor is to succeed at any cost because my survival depends on it. "The successful warrior is the average man, with laser-like focus."~ Bruce Lee

As a non American (so i wasn't exposed to the mythos around certain sports growing up) i have always found some of the rules in the baseball hall of fame to be a little funny. Personally, since pretty much everyone accepts that Rose never bet against himself or his team (And there were no allegations - that i am aware of - that he tried to get opponents to underperform) i don't see why he can't be allowed in now. I have always found the outcry against the 'steroid players' to be a little silly based on some of the players who are in. I have always thought it should be either all proven cheaters out or look at eras etc : there are several players in the hall that openly admitted to corking their bats; taking 'greenies' (how is this not performance enhancing since it let them play better); greasing the balls etc. so i don't see how that is fundamentally different to some players taking steroids (since players on both sides of the ball did so an argument could be made that they may 'net off'). From the little i know about the Black Sox scandal several of the players should be in as they didn't cheat and actually had an excellent series!

oops! I meant 100% SHEESH! I'm old, give me a break here! lol

2/27/2025 TKD Class: Rank Class: 5:45 - 6:30 pm. Prior to class, I warmed up with some ATA forms again, reviewing the camo belt form, and then doing Songham 1-4. For class, we got through most of basics, then I had a nice floor stretch while other students were doing their forms. I led the white belts in stretching while they were back there. After forms, I did white belt one-steps, really focusing on the proper front stance/down block to start. The CI brought the 2nd dan up to lead class again, so it was slower paced, and he took quite a while with basics, hence they got cut short. BJJ: 7:00 - 8:15 pm. Warm-up: Nice, easy roll, about 15% speed, just getting back into the swing of jiujitsu. Game 1: Bottom guy in half-guard, trying to keep it. Top guy try to get connections up top and pike up to pass (win). Switch positions if the top guy passed. 6 min. Game 2: Same, but bottom player could try to get to a knee shield to prevent the pass. Top player still passing (win and switch). 6 min. Game 3: Same setup, but now the bottom player could try to sweep or transition to otherwise take the back. 6 min. After those drills, it was open mat rolling. I rolled two rounds with Kendall, and helped him not freak out about being on his back (still a wrestler), and I also talked him through an armbar and an Americana to finish. Then I rolled with coach. He lets me work, but keeps the pressure on. I got another decent takedown, but he just positions well and makes space and frames. He took my back once, and set me in a choke once. When he moves around, it seems so effortless, and it almost seems like he's moving slow, but I can't do anything about it. I also had him help me with chaining together takedown attempts.

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.

2/26/2025 TKD Class: Forms/One-Steps Class: 5:30 - 6:00 pm. Prior to class, I warmed up with ATA forms again, doing white, orange, and yellow belt. Then in class, we did Chon Ji, Dan Gun, Bo Chung, Choong Moo, Yul Kok, and Jung Goon. My head was not feeling great today, and my balance was very off. I paced myself through the forms. One-steps: low and high orange belt, getting through them all. The student I was with knows them, she just needs to do them with more confidence. We've had an 80 degree temp swing here in good 'ole Kansas, going from -20 windchill lows to 66 highs during the day. It really messes with my head. We had our twin orange belts in today, and they are so very meek. They have demonstrated decent technique up to this point for their rank, but when they do their hyungs, they are hesitant, assuming they are doing the wrong technique. I told them I wanted them to be "confidently wrong." If they think that first technique is a knife hand, then I want them to do a strong, powerful knife hand. If it's the wrong technique, we'll fix it, but I want to see strong technique, even if it is not the correct technique in the form. Hopefully it helps them gain some confidence in their technique. Aikido Class: 7:00 - 7:30 pm. We worked kotegashi and kokyonage, starting with just the entry and getting a feel for the initial movement for entering around the outside of the attack, which was cross-hand wrist grab. After working the entry, we did kotegashi. I did some very slow falling today so as not to upset the apple cart inside my head. After several rounds of kotegashi, we moved to kokyonage, using the same entry. I have a little trouble on this one, reaching over and around the head too far and hooking the chin, as opposed to just getting the jawline and then pressing the head to my shoulder. Again, slow falls. Before the end of class, we switched the attack up a lunge punch, which changes the defense on the entry a little, but it's a good variation, and I can see that type of movement in other stuff I've done in self-defense and forms.

This is all happening right after the wife and I just booked flights for a trip to Europe. I didn't used to have any nerves or fears for airline travel. Now I'm not so sure.

Two of our advanced students (both ikkyus, prepping for their shodan exam) have prior experience. One is a 5th degree in Tae Kwon Do, and the other has prior shotokan experience (I think he was a brown belt of some level). It's always interesting to spar with them. The TKD student tends to go for the high kicks and he likes to leave them out (he has excellent control and poise). Well, being the treacherous old man I am, I tend to step back just out of range of those kicks and then when he leaves them out, immediately re-engage, grabbing that leg and using it to pull me in, where I'll get a few good strikes in. I haven't sparred the shotokan guy in awhile, but it's always fun.

That's so good! Another adage I've heard is, "Anything worth doing is worth doing badly."

The NHL regular season returns today after the exciting conclusion to the Four Nations Face Off where Canada won over the USA in overtime. Connor McDavid put in the game winner as Canada got the 3-2 victory. The game had over 9 million viewers. Safe to say that the Four Nations experiment was a huge success and much more exciting than the All-Star game. On a historical hockey note, it was the day 45 years ago (February 22, 1980) that the USA Olympic team defeated the USSR and advanced to the gold medal game, where they would also win. In my opinion, the most iconic game ever played in American history.

That's a common trap. Don't focus on doing it perfectly. Focus on doing it better than you did it yesterday. Progress over perfection.

I'm not trying to force students to change their minds. But I think we do ourselves and our school a disservice by not prepping students early on for the idea of being a post-1st dan student. If a student tells me they want to quit, I'm not going to beg them not to. But I am willing to ask "why?" and have a discussion to figure out what I could have done differently to perhaps retain the student longer.

That's a rough deal, Bob, losing a caretaker your comfortable and familiar with. Hopefully your next doctor will be someone you come to trust as well.

I was just reading an interview with the creators. Here's a gift link: https://www.nytimes.com/2025/02/13/arts/television/cobra-kai-finale-creators.html?unlocked_article_code=1.x04.962p.KTp6v0GdBNEO&smid=url-share Pertinent part:

Received a disappointing letter today from Comprehensive Cancer Center that Dr. Oscar Goodman Jr, MD, PhD, my Oncologist, will be leaving on May 4, 2025 for unknown reasons. Both his dad and mom were Mayors for Las Vegas, NV. Dr. Goodman saved my life!! My Prostate Cancer is still in complete remission!! These past 3+ years under his care, I’ve come to trust him explicitly. I’ll miss his professionalism and warm bedside manner. I wish him the very best in the future!! My last follow-up with him will be on March 20, 2025. Comprehensive Cancer Center (CCC) will assist me in transitioning to a new Oncologist that’s under the CCC umbrella. Things like this happen from time to time, even though that doesn’t make me feel any better.

I broke my left ring finger on my green belt (rokkyu) test when I snagged my finger on my CI's pants leg while blocking one of his kicks - that took a month or two to heal. I also jammed my right thumb at a black belt training session when I tried redirecting a partner's kick and didn't tuck my thumb in properly. That was sore for a month or two as well. Also, in my very first seminar with Master Thompson, I was doing ashikitae with my CI's younger brother, and kicked him in his forearm. I got a bone bruise that lasted about 2-3 months. Nothing that made me really stop training, but I had to adjust my training to deal with those injuries.

Kata is as basic as it can get when looking for something to drill. Not saying that Kata itself is basic but drilling Kata requires a lot from the individual, and that isn’t basic.

You're doing great! Take it one day at a time. I have a little training diary that I make sure I do something everyday and fill it out.

It's 375 pages, but it's a really smooth read. Lots of stories and histories of the old masters with some notes along the way. It's not set up as just pages of huge blocks of text. It's really broken up and reads well. I think you'd enjoy it.

I agree, @Wastelander. I think it's tougher for some of us here to wrap our heads around the idea of talking to others about "life after black belt," as the most of us here are lifers anyway. As much as I'd like all my students to love the Martial Arts as much as I do, it just isn't the case. I do think by addressing goals much earlier in the students' journeys that we can perhaps up our retention level.

Today is the day! The final five episodes are now available on Netflix. Let the games begin. Well, conclude, I guess.

I have not, though it looks very fun. It actually reminds me a little of my brother, who quit doing karate because our sensei didn't teach sparring with weapons. In my brother's summation, there was no reason to learn it if he didn't get to use it, so he walked away because he couldn't advance without learning bo.

I blame the Eagles for the Chiefs losing.

I would feel such a way. I don't want to create a bunch of bullies that are going out looking for an excuse to see if their skills will hold up. That is something that I think must be addressed in training, teaching not only techniques, but also the responsibility that comes with having to use them. Having good conversations with students about levels of use-of-force and the consequences that come with going overboard can be quite beneficial in that regard.

Congrats to the HOF inductees. Congrats to the Sharpe brothers on being the first pair of siblings in the HOF.

Close range fighting IS Shindokan!! Close range fighting takes a lot of nerve because not many are comfortable with being nose to nose with their opponents/attacker. Watch a MA tournament. What do you see a lot of?? You see a lot of backing up/away from an advancing opponent/attacker. Why?? Their afraid!! Why?? They’ve not matured in their techniques yet. It takes time to feel very comfortable in close range fighting.

I think it is rather common in a lot of types of businesses, people who own the place making fake reviews to prop it up. Corruption is everywhere. I once had a friend who asked me to write a bogus review of a restaurant he worked at because he was furious about the ownership but did not want his name on it because he would get fired and it would hurt his chances getting a job somewhere. I didn't do it and we eventually stopped being friends. I didn't appreciate the suggestion that I should lie about my experience as a customer so he could make his boss look bad. Ridiculous. I've never personally experienced or heard about it in MA. I hope they bust the person impersonated your wife online to serve themselves, that is outrageous.

Mr. Baseball lead a full life in and out of baseball. Sad to see him go. RIP Mr.Uecker.

So recently a couple of friends of mine were recently to Godan (5th Dan) in Shorin-Ryu. But from memory one was a Wado Practitioner and the other was a Shito Practitioner. Now I don't know much about Shorin-Ryu's History along with Wado or Shito. So What I am asking is what are the similarities and differences between Shorin-Ryu and Wado/Shito?

First of all, they’re all Okinawa styles. They all have a strong emphasis on Kata. They all have effective applications of their self-defense methodology and ideology. Shorin-ryu incorporates quick and linear movements executed from a upright posture. Wado-ryu incorporates sleek evasive movements while utilizing throws and joint manipulations from a more lower posture. Shito-ryu is quite eclectic in how they use their approach to combining soft and hard techniques. They favor a more circular approach while being linear at the same time in any given posture for their effectiveness. All three seem to be quite effective with how they utilizing elements from other MA styles.

Both have a strong foundation in Shorinryu (more Chibana than Kyan), but life any style, there are subtle differences that really define the stylistic lenses. As the parent style, perhaps they somewhat have the ability to look at their grand/children and day, 'hey, I'm happy with that'. For example, I tell my students up until 4Kyu we're rally just learning Karate. From 3Kyu it should be obvious of the differences between Shorinryu and other styles, and from 1Dan it should be clear they do Matsubayashiryu not Sho/Kobayashiryu. Just my thoughts!

"Old man tricks" - I like the sound of that -- that's a lot of what I do when I spar. For example, if someone does a roundhouse kick to my midsection, I'll eat it, grab it, and then step in, give them (what would be) a good solid punch to the midsection, grab them by the gi, step in again and take them down to the mat (again, with good control). I also keep an eye on my opponent's feet - when they step in to deliver a jab, I'll do a quick sweep of their front foot -- like a kouchi gari in Judo. The idea is to land this right BEFORE their foot hits the ground, but they've already committed to the step. If done right, it won't necessarily take them down, but it'll off-balance them enough that you can step in and land a few strikes on them. Also, in our sparring legs are a valid target, so I like going after the front thigh with a low roundhouse kick. The usual defense to that is to lift up the leg in a crane block. Do that once or twice, then step in a bit deeper, and when they raise up for the crane block, follow that roundhouse kick through to take out the back of their opposing thigh. Again, it may or may not take them down, but it'll distract/unbalance them long enough to let you land a few strikes. Do I do these in such a way to hurt my partner, absolutely not. I make sure to never strike at a joint, or put my partner in a position to get injured (bad fall, etc), and I don't strike hard enough to injure. But you know what they say, "old age and treachery wins everytime"

I am exactly the same... I am the dirty fighter in our dojo, distraction techniques. "watch out behind you" etc... One of my favourite ones that works really well on my instructor is stepping on his lead foot, it's not a stamp, just stepping on it pinning in momentarily and distracting him from the punch that comes in, it really throws him off and the punch goes through every time. He thinks it's brilliant! Another tactic that I stole from someone is throwing techniques to limbs, not just legs but arms, keep striking their arms, in some cases it will wind them up, and they will become conditioned to it and less likely to defend your real techniques that come through.

I will answer from a slightly different answer with things that i find work for me (multiple options) - firstly work out if it is lifting you hate or certain lifts: eg i never liked bench press and biceps curls much, so in the past i neglected them and focused more on deadlifts etc which was a mistake! (due to my build i am much more suited to pulling than pressing exercises). Now i consciously make an effort to plan in those exercices (and maybe have erred slightly too far in that direction!). - make a plan in advance and stick to it. I don't even mean a session by session plan. My current routine was planned out for 6mths in advance: it has key lifts that need done and then i am allowed to fiddle with the accesories based on feel. - write down / enter into an app the workout before you start it so you aren't just going by feel. - i am very very sceptical of personal trainers. I know a couple of decent ones but , from what i have observed, most are useless. Look into their credentials a lot if you decide to pay them. Tbh for what a lot of them charge i would personally use one of the highly rated online coaches as i at least know they are good in their field. - give yourself a metric to evaluate performance using. This is based on lifting to benefit another sport (eg a martial art!). Lift for a bit and see if your flexibility has improved; kick has gotten harder; throw X has gotten more explosive etc. - take a look at the modality you are following. Eg some may love kettlebells and hate barbells and hence progress better; some might find weighted bodyweight exercises like push ups work better for them; some olympic lifts etc etc. Anyway they are just some thoughts, hopefully of some use to you!

Seisan is one of my favorites for its application possibilities. It holds a deep place in my heart.

I think this is a great way to approach kata training in general, but I always add a caveat to it. I wouldn't necessarily encourage students to change things right away; any kind of changes should only be made if and when necessary (and reluctantly), after an extensive amount of study into the how's and why's of it's original intent. Change for the sake of change benefits nothing. A change made due to the physical limitations of aging, an accident, or even in relation to body style and physical capabilities, can benefit the practitioner, and also provide others with an option to explore should they see the need to based on similar circumstances.Soid posts!! If the change has been deemed effective by those who have made said changes to said Kata, then the question remains. Is said change effective? If the change is proven to be so but the practitioner isn't effective, and this is vital, than the practitioner is at fault, and not the change. One has to make it effective. and this takes a deal of maturity in technique.