JohnASE

Obviously, it varies a lot. There are many things to consider. Expensive isn't always overpriced, and cheap isn't always a better bargain. The cost of real estate can be a big factor. Beverly Hills is way more expensive than Reseda (Daniel-san's neighborhood in the Karate Kid). In most areas, a retail space is much more expensive than a warehouse space which is typically more expensive than a community center. However, a retail space is often more convenient than a warehouse space, and in a community center, you might not have the kind of floor you'd like or mirrors or enough storage for training equipment. Also, some martial arts schools might offer more stuff for your money. Some charge for testing and some don't. Some offer a choice of multiple programs. One school that comes to mind offers Tang Soo Do, Krav Maga, and fitness classes, and you can go to several classes per day if you have the time and the energy. Some have full gyms with weights, locker rooms and showers or a boxing ring or an MMA octagon. I think I have schools with all these features within 15 or 20 minutes of my house. By the way, I've heard of programs around here running from about $40 up to something like $200 per month.

Good luck and congrats on your 1st place in Merced!

Everyone does it differently. Many Japanese style karate groups put green just below or brown, above blue or purple.

About 5 years ago, we knew of a Zentokukai dojo somewhere near Bear, Delaware (right by you!). It's not listed on Zentokukai's current dojo list, so I'm not sure if it's still there. You might try contacting the organization to see what they know. They list 7 dojos in Pennsylvania, some of which look like they might be in your radius (Chester & West Chester). Here's a link to their website. Good luck! http://www.zentokukai.com/

My story isn't particularly interesting. I started training when I was about 9 or 10. I wasn't picked on on anything. I had been in a few scrapes, but I generally gave as good as I got, despite being one of the smallest in my grade. My neighbor was about to start judo classes under a friend of his parents. They invited my little brother and me, so we went. I stuck with it for a few years, then dropped judo to devote more time to school and baseball, but the skills I learned in judo served me well througout my life, especially the ability to fall with out getting hurt (much).

Rest in peace, Fukuda Sensei, the last surviving student of judo founder Jigoro Kano. Kano sent Fukuda to the USA in 1966 to help spread the art. In 2011, she became the only woman awarded judo's highest rank, 10th dan. She passed on Febuary 9, 2013, at the age of 99.

I don't think many have a problem with people who make a good living in martial arts, but many financially successful martial artists have had to make compromises or worse to be successful, and that's what people have a problem with. It's not that people are making money, it's that they're making money by selling an inferior product, possibly while making it look better by wrapping it up in fancy packaging. The consumer is paying for style, not substance, and for most KF members, it's all about substance.

We're a small business, but we have hundreds of active dojo accounts. We don't ask them all what they do, but we chat sometimes. Yes, it's a melting pot, but there are tendencies. Instructors tend to have jobs that allow them the time to teach. Many have jobs that end early, so they're available for kids' classes by 4:00. In support of what others have said, the most common other occupation among our customers might be college professor. Some educators at other levels, too. Construction worker is pretty common. Law enforcement is up there. I think those are the big ones.

I always thought that earning a black belt was more like completing high school than a PhD program. For most students, mastering the basics is enough, and they quit. Some go on to higher education and more advanced study while also learning how to teach. As far as ranking goes, I see nothing wrong with manipulating things if you think it's necessary. I see no advantage to trivializing the black belt or awarding it earlier in a program, but I can see how adding intermediate ranks could help keep some students excited about their training, and breaking up a task into subtasks could make a long-term goal less daunting.

Assuming you're talking about KI International (https://www.kiintl.com), I know a little about them. We sometimes substitute KI brand gi when we're out of our ASE brand. If we're talking about the same KI, I don't think KI stands for Karate International. I think it's the initials of it's founder, Katsumi Inoda. If you're interested in their standard heavy weight canvas karategi, you're looking at a good value. The material is heavy, the stitching is good, and the price is low. The material isn't as smooth as a more expensive gi, like their Mugen line, but it should still be nice and durable. Sorry, I haven't heard how much shrinkage there is. I'd guess 10% maybe, but it's a wild guess. As with any line, there will be a factory defect now and then, but in general, quality control should be pretty good. I don't know anything about their brushed cotton heavy weight gi, but it should be about the same. Brushing damages some of the fibers, making the material more fluffy, but it shouldn't have a significant effect on durability. Also, I have no experience with the Mugen line, but as their premium karategi, I'd expect better quality. I know the material is smoother and maybe more comfortable. I think Mugens are only available in white though. I don't know anything about the quality of their embroidery these days, but they have their own computerized machine. They do English and Japanese. Not sure about other languages. The owners can speak and read Japanese, but I don't know who handles their embroidery. Don't know much about their customer service. We used to hear complaints about the old man, but things might have gotten better after the son took over. They seem to treat us well, but some of our orders are pretty big, and we've known them for a long time. I guess I don't know that much about them, but I hope there's some helpful info here. Maybe someone can fill in a bit.

Tokaido International Direct has the same address? Interesting. As I mentioned before, there were some internal things going on at Tokaido. Who "THE Tokaido" is might not be as clear cut as it was. I sent an email to someone asking for more info and will post here again if I get some good answers. I'll send you a PM with some info I'm not comfortable posting here.

I think that everyone has been affected by the rise of MMA to some extent. Some have embraced it, some have ignored it, and some have rejected it, but it has touched everyone, and just about everyone has an opinion. I'll share mine. To be honest, I don't know that much about MMA. I watched some of the early EFC stuff on TV and have only seen a few MMA fights since. I had a customer compete in the first EFC event. I have another customer who referees MMA fights and is (or was) on one of the reality shows. I have a customer who trained one of the most famous MMA fighters. I don't know much, but I hear some things. Obviously, it's been good for most of the people involved in it. I know people who are making a pretty good living from MMA. Does that mean it's been bad for those in other arts? I think, overall, it has been, but only a little. I don't think MMA has spiked a general interest in martial arts like some things have in the past. The success of Power Rangers, Ninja Turtles, and Kung Fu Theater brought people in the door to whatever martial arts school was in their area. There's some of that with MMA, but I think most people excited by MMA are looking for more specific types of programs. They're not really interested in family martial arts or traditional karate or Olympic TKD. I believe the popularity of non-MMA martial arts have gone down since the birth of MMA, but I'm not so sure how much is directly due to MMA taking people away or the struggling economy or what. My guess is that the number of people MMA takes away from other martial arts isn't negligible, but it's not very significant when compared to the total number of people involved in those arts. I have no empirical evidence for any of this. It's just my impression.

You're in a tough spot! From what I hear, it's hard enough to bring up good instructors through the ranks, but to pull someone away from another school... One option you might consider is your local martial arts supply company, if you have one. Maybe they can recommend someone, or maybe they'll have a board where you can put up a flyer. Maybe you can try for a college or high school student looking for a part time job. Colleges have classifieds where you can place job offers. Not sure about high schools. You might be able to find someone who can teach beginner classes while you look for someone more experienced. Good luck with your search and your new business!

Sorry it took so long. Things were hectic after we got back from Japan. I contacted one of the US distributors who contacted Japan, and this is the info they sent back. They don't give the company name, but I believe the company distributing Tokaido in Tokyo is now called Japan Budo with the website japanbudo.com. Address: 1F Okano Bldg./1-4-11 Hongo, Bunkyo-ku Tokyo 113-0033. Hours: M-F 11:00-20:00, Sat&Sun 10:00-19:00 (depending on events schedule). Nearest train station is Suidobashi. 4 minute walk from east exit of JR line or 1 minute walk from A1 exit of Mita line. I never got the hang of their address system. I believe 1F means first floor, Hongo is the street, and Bunkyo-ku is a district in Tokyo. It's the numbers that confuse me. It's not like here where you can tell from the number where a unit is on a block. You might want to contact them to get directions. I assume there is contact info on the website. One of the workers there gave his name, mobile number and email, but I don't want to post it on an open board. If you can't reach them otherwise, let me know and I'll PM it to you. Have a great trip!

Thanks, BlueWaveKarate, for doing such an extraordinary job of documenting your experience! I'm impressed. After hearing your side of this, my personal opinion is that you deserve some kind of consideration. Sounds to me like Meijin dropped the ball again. For Meijin's sake, I hope you and the original poster are exceptions to their rule of typically good service and quality. As a gi vendor, I'd like to say that we never drop the ball, but we do. It happens. As far as your details go, 4.5 inches off the length of the top sounds excessive, but 10% shrinkage over a year isn't uncommon for most 100% cotton gi, even with proper care. Cotton is preshrunk to varying degrees, and a high quality gi will typically shrink less than a cheaper gi, but if any unwashed cotton gi is a perfect fit, it's probably too small. Has anyone on Karate Forums ever had a 100% cotton gi that "shrink nothing"? I'm stressing this because I don't want you to be unhappy with your next gi. I never know how much I should share on the internet about someone else and other companies, but I believe that your nice person and the original poster's rude person is one and the same, and that she has the authority to make decisions. If she says there is nothing they can do for you, asking for someone else probably won't help. As an experienced nidan, this doesn't apply to BlueWaveKarate as much, but I always recommend that people order through their dojos when they can. Ideally, you trust your dojo, and your dojo has a vendor they trust. The sensei is likely to be familiar with the products, and if something goes wrong, there are relationships involved that encourage people to work things out, at least more so than with a random internet purchase. Just my 2 cents.

In another thread, someone referenced a wiki on Tokaido gi (uniforms), so I checked it out. It mentioned "fake" Tokaido gi in a note. I thought I'd correct what I believe to be false information by posting here, for the record, on Karate Forums. As far as I know, there are no fake Tokaido uniforms. There are Tokaido uniforms that are not made in Japan, but they are not fake. They were made with the full knowledge and consent of the original Tokaido company. When they first came out, some people thought they were unauthorized and falsely called them counterfeit. Others knew they were authorized, but called them fake just because they weren't made in Japan. Our company, ASE Martial Arts Supply, was involved in the development and distribution of what I believe to be the first Tokaido gi made outside of Japan. This must have been over 15 years ago. We didn't design the gi, but we helped with some of the specs and developed the names and logos for them. At the time, we were told that this was done under the supervision of Tokaido in Japan. Shortly after, this was confirmed when Sugiura-san, one of the sons of the founder of Tokaido, visited our location here in California and met with my father. A year or two ago, I spoke with Sugiura-san at the Ozawa Cup in Las Vegas, and he thanked us for our contribution to and support of the Tokaido line. (Assuming I understood his broken English correctly.) If any of you have heard of the Tokaido Kaminari, Kumo, or Tsunami gi, I personally came up with those names. I spent hours pouring over Japanese/English dictionaries coming up with names I thought might work. I settled on a theme of weather or forces of nature. Kaminari means thunder or thunder and lightning, kumo means cloud, and tsunami refers to the big wave that Japan knows all too well. The Kumo and Tsunami are both brushed cotton, and I thought the cloud and the froth of a wave fit the softness of the material. The Kaminari is a harder, more traditional canvas, and I thought the image of thunder and lightning went with it nicely. We created different names to differentiate them from the original Tokaido gi. They were different products designed with different materials and different cuts. They were meant to be lower cost options, primarily for non-Japanese markets. They were designed as alternatives to the original, not imitations. Since then, many other models of Tokaido gi have popped up in various countries around the world. I haven't heard of anyone marketing a Tokaido gi that was not authorized by Tokaido. That doesn't mean they're not out there, but if they are, they must be pretty rare. If anyone has any knowledge of an actual fake Tokaido uniform, I'd welcome the new info. I hope this helps clear things up.

I posted in the other thread, but in short, I'll see what I can find out (in a couple weeks, after I get back from vacation). I popped into the wiki page, and the info might not all be current or correct. For example, as far as I know, there are no "fake" Tokaido gi. I'll start a new thread on that.

Sorry I got sidetracked from this thread. Like I said above, things are going on with Tokaido internally. I suspect much, but nothing I'm sure enough about to mention on an open board. I'll see what I can found out about a physical location in Japan. I'm pretty sure there's one in Tokyo, but I'll check. The company handling distribution now might be using a different name. I'm leaving for Japan on Saturday, but I'm going primarily for pleasure, not business. I'm not meeting with anyone from Tokaido. I'll look into this when I get back.

Sorry it took me so long to reply. I've been away from KF for a while. We were playing musical computers at work, so I was busy reconfiguring systems and shifting data around. Then, I got preoccupied getting ready for our upcoming trip to Japan! Woot! We leave Saturday for two weeks. Anyway, the Tokon America and Europa are both pretty full cuts and tend to run large. I haven't seen a Shureido up close in a long time, and I don't think I've ever handled an Emerald. Shureido tends to fit a little looser than many gi, but I don't remember how they compare to Tokon. I'm pretty sure that Shureido didn't run bigger. If anything, it might be a little smaller. But again, I'm going off really old info. Sorry, I can't be more specific.

FYI, Harkon72's location says Wales. His "Heyashi" gi might not be readily available in the USA. Also, if he means Hayashi, his Hayashi might not be the same as the Hayashi uniforms found here. There are a great number of heavy weights available in the US. People can make recommendations based on what they like, but it might not be the right gi for you. For example, JohnnyB's Adidas K220 (known as Adidas Karate Training Gi in the USA) sounds like it's perfect for him, but it's not a heavy weight and sounds too light for you. The same probably goes for SamsIamz Juka Bronze, although the Juka Silver or Gold might be closer to what you're looking for. As far as Century Ironman vs Japan-made Tokaido, I haven't felt the Ironman, but I've heard that they are stiff and heavy. Some people like that, and some don't. Japan-made Tokaido heavy weights are constructed of a high quality, smooth, tightly woven material. Think of it like sheets with a higher thread count. It should be much more comfortable and easier to move in, although the Ironman is brushed cotton, so it might not be as rough as it otherwise would be. The Tokaido are about 12 oz compared to the Ironman at 14 oz. It's hard to say whether the Tokaido is worth double the Ironman. You're paying a double premium for the prestige of the Tokaido name and the fact that it's made in Japan. Many think it's worth it, but to be honest, most people don't. Obviously, very few beginners and even intermediate level students would spend that kind of money. Most of the people we sell the Japan-made Tokaido to are senseis of Japanese styles. Not knowing you, my general recommendation would be to not buy a Japan-made Tokaido until you've been training in a Japanese style for a while. Still, since you're already an experienced martial artist, I'd recommend you get a good quality heavy weight as opposed to a budget heavy weight. Off the top of my head, maybe something like a Juka (as recommended by SamsIamz) or a China-made Tokaido or Meijin or Tokon. If you have any questions about these options, please feel free to ask. I don't know as much about Juka or Meijin, but we have a lot of experience with the Japan-made Tokaido, China-made Tokaido and Tokon.

It's hard to get a good answer to this question. Color fade is going to vary from brand to brand and model to model. Sometimes, this even happens within a model. We've had customers tell us vinegar works, and we've told other customers about it, but we've never done comparisons. I can't say for sure that it works or to what degree, but I don't remember anyone telling us that they tried it and it didn't work. Oh, and our experiences are only with black karate gi. For your specific gi, you might want to contact your vendor or the manufacturer.

I agree with the rank-for-lifers, but I'd like to add that I've heard of something which I believe was called Shodan-ho. This was described to me as a probationary 1st degree black belt. It was awarded to you upon completion of the test, but you had to meet other criteria before you became a full Shodan. I don't remember what that was. It might have been just continuing your training, or maybe it was teaching some classes. If you didn't meet these criteria, I'm not sure, but I think your rank reverted to 1st Kyu.

Renowned martial artist, Joe Lewis, passed away this morning after a long battle with cancer. Condolences to his family and friends. Joe was a well respected kickboxer and point fighter throughout the 1970's and 1980's. Rest in peace, Joe.

I am not sure what you have available to you in Portugal, but we sell both Adidas and Tokaido WKF approved karate mitts and shin/insteps in the USA. Quality is good for both. No product is perfect, and problems come up from time to time, but both companies stand behind their products. The fit and coverage is a little different for the shin/insteps. Some people prefer Adidas and some prefer Tokaido. Of our customers, it seems to me that people who prefer Adidas often want the brand, while the ones that prefer Tokaido like something about the design. However, Adidas foam is a bit harder, so it might be less comfortable while providing better protection. There doesn't seem to be a big difference in mitt preference among our customers.

Don't know if this has gotten national press yet, but last night, LL Cool J's Studio City house got broken into. The guy rushed J, and J broke the guy's nose and jaw! J then restrained the intruder until police arrived. I don't know if he has martial arts training, but he obviously works out a lot. For those who don't know, LL Cool J is the rapper who now acts in NCIS: Los Angeles.