JohnASE

Styles that have been around for a long time have proven themselves by enduring the test of time. Newly created styles have to prove themselves through other means. Judging the style by the credentials of the creator is faster than actually learning the style. Anyone can create a style. If a style has something that make people want to learn it, it will endure. If it doesn't, it will die out. The new styles of today that endure will become the traditional styles of tomorrow. In the meantime, the new styles of today are just another new style created by a guy who might or might not know what he's doing. As far as Asians verses non-Asians goes, I can see how people might assume that an Asian could have a more extensive background in the martial arts, especially if they're older. I can think of many Japanese senseis that have trained for over 50 years, but I can't think of many Caucasians. Martial arts is big in the USA now, but it wasn't that long ago that karate was some funny thing done by cartoon characters with squinty eyes and Coke-bottle glasses. Yeah, I'm not young.

I have no idea! I've known, or at least met, many martial artists in "The Business", and they're all very different. Some can act. Some can't. Some are good martial artists. Others have gymnastic talent. Some look like leading men. Some look like scruffy villains. Very diverse types. White, asian, black, men, women, kids. All types. Now that I think about it, movies are about illusion, not reality. An action star doesn't really need to have the skill to do a technically correct side kick any more than he really needs to be able to ride a motorcycle down a flight of stairs. It helps if an actor can do his or her own stunts, at least passably, but it's not absolutely necessary. I guess I'm saying that their martial art skills are secondary to screen presence, whether that means acting talent, charisma, or physical appearance. I assume this thread is about people who take lead roles, not stunt and fight people. Their martial art skills are obviously important, although, again, it's more about how good it looks on camera, not whether it's technically correct or effective as self defense.

This might have nothing to do with your situation, but I know a guy that recently had both hips replaced, and he's incredibly happy with the results. He's trained in and taught Tang Soo Do for decades and had been having trouble kicking. For those who don't know, Tang Soo Do does a LOT of kicking. Anyway, his cartilage was gone, and he had been grinding bone on bone. They swapped out his hip joints one at a time. Recovery time after the first surgery was pretty short. He was so happy with the results that he went for the second one right away. I haven't talked to him about the 2nd surgery, but I probably would've heard if there were any problems. He must be fully recovered by now.

I saw an early, pre-release version of The Bourne Legacy last week. It's not really a martial arts movie, but there are always great fight scenes in Bourne movies, so I thought I'd post here anyway. What I saw wasn't the final version. It was a Neilson screening. They surveyed the audience, and they'll use the info to make editing choices. This fourth Bourne movie isn't about Bourne! They mention him and others from the first movies a few times, but there are all new characters. I read something about Matt Damon saying he would only do another movie if the old director came back too, but he didn't. Maybe in the future. The lead is played by Jeremy Renner of The Hurt Locker and Hawkeye from the Avengers. As always, he was great, although I didn't find his character as likable as Jason Bourne. He's... harder... colder. Ed Norton was good, but I don't think this role really took advantage off his acting skills. I thought Rachel Weisz was okay as the female lead. I don't remember anything particularly good nor bad about her performance. There was a lot of great action (one extraordinary close quarters scene comes to mind), some pretty good comedy, and cool scenic shots, but I thought there were too many over-the-top, unbelievable stunts. I hope they cut some of that out of the final version. The flow felt a little choppy, but again, that might be worked out before the release. Overall, I enjoyed The Bourne Legacy, but I didn't love it. If I'd paid to see it, I wouldn't have felt cheated, but I might have looked around to see what other movie I could've plunked my ten bucks down on.

I think some of these are important while others aren't. Much of this seems to be about information-ads, website, brand, phonebook. I'm not sure I see a reason for the organization to buy ads. People in the group know about it; people out of the group probably wouldn't notice ads nor care about them. Advertising for individual dojos can be hit or miss. Sometimes they pay off, but often they don't. This includes phonebook ads. I suppose you don't know until you try, but some lessons are costly. If you're trying to educate other martial artists about your style, I like JusticeZero's suggestion of publishing. Various periodicals and websites accept freelance articles. I doubt books would be of much interest to many outside of your organization. Publishing your own website has obvious advantages. Another way to gain exposure for the style is to hit the tournament circuit. If people see you out there competing, they'll want to learn about you. Winning would be great, but I think participating would be good enough. Volunteering as judges at tournaments is a good way to network, too. "Being stuck in the past" is a tricky topic. Some change is necessary, but what is okay and what isn't? Is it okay to add more kyu ranks to keep students motivated AND start charging for testing, or would that come off as too greedy? Contracts can keep new students enrolled long enough to really give training a chance and can give loyal students a break on rates for a longer commitment, but do you forgive people who stop paying because they lose their jobs or move away, or do you send them to collections? If your style is too rough for small kids, is it okay to create a watered-down kids' program? If your style is only karate and has always been only karate, is it okay to add kobudo? People love weapons and will pay big money for weapons seminars! I've seen people break away from groups, and I've seen groups fall apart, because of differences of opinion over similar issues. I suppose what I'm saying is that most things aren't black-and-white. Each of us has to decide what's best for us. Support your organization and follow their policies, or break away and do what you have to do. If you can, maybe stay with the organization and try to effect change from within. Personally, I'm a fan of the last one, but things don't always work out the way I think they should.

Most of our customers (we're in M.A. supply) don't make a living from martial arts. Most make money, but most have other sources of income. Some are teachers or are in law enforcement or construction. For some, the goal is just to cover expenses so they can spread their art. Others want a little extra money so they can justify all the time they devote to running a school. Lucky ones make enough money to support a family and don't sell their souls to do so. Very few of our customers are wealthy, at least not because of the school. Of course, that could be because we're a small family business. Maybe larger companies have more big customers who make BIG money. If I remember correctly, many of our customers charge around $100 per month, so $120 doesn't sound that high to me. It does seem a little high for your area though. Warehouse space around here might be about $0.80 per square foot, so many schools could be near your $1200 estimate, but many are in storefronts where rent could be double that or more. Supporting a dedicated commercial space can be costly, but in exchange, you often get a decent floor, mirrors, and places to put things like heavy bags and targets. Some have weight rooms or locker rooms or multiple workout areas. Is it worth it? That's a complicated question. What do you get for your $120? What else would you spend it on? Like anything else, this will vary greatly from person to person. Most readers of this forum would agree that there is great value in training in the martial arts. Will it be worth it for everyone? No. From what I hear, most will quit within three months anyway. If you don't have a contract, the downside is a couple hundred dollars and some wasted time, but the potential upside is immeasurable. The other day, I met a guy that looked maybe 30 years old. After hearing that we were in martial arts, he said that he trained for a while about 20 years ago. I'm not sure for how long, but from the way he talked, it sounded like a year or so. Because of it, he felt that he was more confident, more disciplined, and better at setting and achieving goals. This story isn't unique. I'm sure most of you have met people like this. Most of you probably ARE people like this. Is martial arts training worth $120 per month? I'd bet the countless senseis and students who have dedicated decades to teaching and training would think so.

The fact that he's up and around on his own power is already evidence of a great recovery. He credits his strength to his karate training. From that I hear, that's what his seminars are about these days. He has shifted his focus from teaching techniques to telling people about the positive effect training can have on your life, and how it saved his. I've had the privilege of participating in discussions with Demura Sensei on a few occasions, and I've always found him to be a rare combination of impressive and humble.

I've been a loyal Mac guy since back when the choice was Mac or DOS. Don't have much experience with Windows. I'm surprised iOS beat Mac on KF. I'm new to iPhone and love it, but I don't use it for any forum. Maybe I should give it a try!

I have to agree with Jackie Chan, mostly because I enjoy his comedy and stunts, although being of Japanese descent, I'm tempted to say something like Sonny Chiba or Toshiro Mifune.

Thanks for posting! I loved it! Found it on YouTube uploaded by Habunami. Of course, I might be biased. I've met Ota Sensei a few times. He buys things from us every once in a while, and we've put up a booth at a couple of his tournaments. Oh, and my mom's cousin is one of his black belts, although health problems have kept him out of the dojo for a while. I liked the way they broke it up into segments, each of which had pretty interesting info. I think they could've done the retro 50's instructional segment better, but I thought it was very well done overall. I don't have anything to recommend, but I'm looking forward to seeing a documentary on Demura Sensei that is supposed to be released next year, or maybe it was end of this year. I think it's feature length. I don't know if the title has been finalized yet, but I've heard FUMIO DEMURA: THE MOVIE and FUMIO DEMURA: THE REAL MIYAGI.

I knew one school owner who wore his gi when he ran out for fast food between classes. He said it was great marketing. People would see him in his gi and ask questions.

I don't have any experience with the Shureido New Wave line, but I think the NW-3 would be good for kata. Here's why. According to the Shureido USA website, the NW-1 is a medium weight that is ideal for kumite, the NW-2 is "slightly heavier" than the NW-1, and the NW-3 is a "heavyweight". They call the NW-2 "Kata" and the NW-3 "Deluxe". This leads me to believe that the NW-3 is heavier than the NW-2. Generally, people consider a heavier gi better for kata, so the NW-3 is probably better for kata than the NW-2, although I would guess that the NW-2 is probably acceptable or maybe even great for kata.

It depends on the program. A friend's daughter was training at a charter public school in an after school program. The old instructor joined the Navy and left. My friend was told that the classes would be suspended until they found a new instructor and ran a background check.

Good luck with the new dojo, dcwado! I know of some dojos that share space with yoga, but I haven't heard anything good or bad. It seems to work for some people. I also know of many instructors that teach or have taught in health clubs. It seems to me that they typically don't stay that long. I'm not sure why. Sometimes it has to do with membership conflicts. Sometimes the health clubs don't maintain the area adequately. Sometimes more popular classes squeeze them out. I don't know what the most important issues usually are. I'm not saying it never works out. I suppose it a case by case thing, but it seems to me to work out less often than most other venues. If anyone chooses to go this route, I'd be extra careful about making sure everyone is clear on the terms. Do the students need to be gym members? What facilities can they use? Is there a secure place to store equipment? Do the students pay the instructor or the gym? What about testing fees? Uniform and equipment sales? Now that I think about it, lately, I've heard about people having similar issues with YMCA programs.

If I understand your situation correctly, you don't think you can train hard enough to compete at an acceptable level, but your sensei thinks you can. It sounds to me like the main difference of opinion between you is either how much you can accomplish in the next month or what level is acceptable. I say talk it out. Try to convince your sensei that you're right, and give him the chance to convince you that he's right. If neither of you budges, you have to decide whether you want to compete at a subpar level or not. Either way, don't train harder than you can physically take. Everyone is talking about safety and considering your health first, but I don't remember you actually saying your training is causing excessive pain or damage. If it is, maybe you should take it easier or see a doctor. My personal opinion is that if your sensei isn't embarrassed by your competing, you shouldn't be either. He must think that the things you'll gain from competing are worth the effort or discomfort. Regarding Demura Sensei, I see you're Genbu-Kai, so he's the head of your organization. He had a pretty big health scare last year., but I believe he's been out of immediate danger for a long time. I didn't get a chance to speak with him at his tournament last week, but I hear he's doing pretty well. He'll probably dial back on traveling, but I'm sure he won't give it up completely. He might not be able to give seminars like he used to, but I'd bet he'll at least try to make it to Genbu-Kai tournaments. You said "our next tournament", so I assume you're talking about a Genbu-Kai event.

I don't have insomnia, but I love staying up late! Last night, I got home from the gym at about 11:30, had a snack, read a couple chapters of a book, listened to a couple chapters of an audiobook while playing a mindless game on my phone, then streamed a little anime before crashing at just after 3pm. Tonight, maybe I'll do a little late night iTunesU. I just started a free online Stanford computer programming course. I'm only a couple lectures in, but it's pretty good so far.

In my opinion, kata is a tool for teaching karate, and if someone chooses not to include it in his style, it can still BE karate. If you say that karate has to have kata to be karate, what next? Do you then need to determine which kata are acceptable and which are not? Is the kata too short? Does it teach anything of value? Is having one kata enough, or do you need at least 5 or 8?

Tsunami Productions has very good instructional DVDs for Goju by Morio Higaonna. http://www.dragon-tsunami.org/Tsunami/Pages/section1.htm This is not a link to our website, so I'm NOT promoting our company, but I do want to mention that we've been selling them for many years to demonstrate that I know a little about these videos even though I've never viewed them. By the way, they're not listed on our site. By far, the most popular title is GOJU RYU KARATE KATA (not quite halfway down the page). From what I hear, the others are newer, better quality, and cover the material more in depth, but GOJU RYU KARATE KATA is a great overview.

It's funny that I saw this thread today. Just last night I streamed an old episode of Stargate SG-1 with a Groundhog-Day-like time loop. I loved Groundhog Day, by the way. I'd definitely start with the immediate gratification stuff, over-indulging in behavior that is socially unacceptable or medically inadvisable or both! Sorry, no details. I'd probably destroy some property, but I like to think of myself as a good person who would not find entertainment in causing pain, even if it would be undone the next day, but with all eternity to play with, who knows how my mind would twist. Ultimately, I hope I'd do what Bill Murray did in Groundhog Day and try to make it a better day, not just for myself, but for the people I encounter. Sappy, maybe, but I think that even with no long-term consequences, happiness can be better achieved through acquiring self-respect than by giving in to self-indulgence. Yeah, I'm no fun sometimes.

This might be off topic, and I hope it doesn't violate TOS, but I was wondering what you all thought. I have a friend who has been doing karate for many years now. When he first joined, he was concerned about his Christian faith and bowing. It's been a while since we talked about this, but I believe his concern was about bowing being a form of worship. Idolatry? I think he specifically mentioned bowing to photos, shrines or ancestors, or when entering the dojo as being a problem. I don't remember exactly. For some people, I suppose there is a spiritual component to martial arts that could contradict their faiths, but I told my friend that for many, bowing is like saluting. People, generally, have no problem with members of the military saluting each other or people saluting the flag or pledging allegiance to it. I never asked him how he finally worked it out, but he's still in karate seven or eight years later. Have any of you had similar issues with bowing?

As you can see, the answer is no, not ALL competitions are on mats. The most common type I've seen used is the puzzle mat. They're typically one meter square with interlocking, puzzle-type edges. They're available in various thicknesses and colors and often reversible. I could be mistaken, but I thought the WKF used puzzle mats, at least I thought the USANKF used them. Quoted from WKF rules... I've seen reversible red and blue puzzle mats used with one color for the competition area and the for the safety area.

Kinjisan has been around for a long time. I'm not sure how long, but longer than our 20 years. Doug is the owner and has probably been in the business his whole life, as his father owned Kinjisan before him. I'm sure you're right, and Doug knows his stuff! Ronin is Kinjisan's house brand. They have several models, all of which should be good values. We've sold a few of their uniforms over the years, but I've never seen the Shiai. I'm sure it's a great gi.

I don't know which bike forum you posted on, but https://www.bmx-forum.com is pretty active. I've never posted there. Had a problem registering. I don't camp, but I've heard good things about camping at McGrath State Beach in Ventura. I don't know how much it costs. I'm having dinner tonight with a buddy who lives in Ventura. If I remember, I'll ask him what he knows about camping in the area. Your timing is funny. I'm not a BMXer, but I'm planning on buying a BMX bike tomorrow. I'm not going to race or stunt it though. The plan is to put an electric motor on it and using it for commuting.

I'm not sure what you are asking. To me, BMX means bicycle motocross. Since you are asking a martial arts forum, I assume I am missing something. If you are asking about some form of MMA, I might have a suggestion or two. For example, there are a few branches of The Pit in the area. Santa Barbara is a fairly expensive beach community. I don't know if there are any inexpensive parts. I am more familiar with Ventura County but mostly the side furthest from Santa Barbara. There are some neighborhoods that are less expensive than others, but this is Southern California, so most inexpensive areas will not be cheap. It looks like rents for one bedroom apartments start at about $800 per month. If you need more info, feel free to ask.

The above are good suggestions. To elaborate, community centers could include park and recreation facilities or Japanese cultural centers (since you're Wado Ryu). Some of our customers teach in health clubs or on college campuses, and some share space with dance academies. One even taught upstairs from a pet store in a room usually used for dog training!