sensei8

I can see that happening, especially if the TM/SM ownership hadn't expired. Just because a business is defunct, doesn't mean that the TM/SM is. That's why checking first with a lawyer, and doing some homework is crucial. Better to be safe, than sorry!!

Hands closed TIGHTLY at the moment of contact; not before that!! Other than that, loose and relaxed for optimum movement(s); flowing to and through. My hands are always relaxed, therefore always loose, until just right before contact defensively and/or offensively. Fingers that are kept together support one another at those moments necessary. This is very crucial for us because Shindokan, after all, is 85% hands. Our hands are nearly constantly engaged one way or another. One of the things we practice to strengthen our hands is Hojo Undo; a crucial staple for us. But beyond this, PROPER EXECUTION of any technique must be paramount. All of the Hojo Undo becomes meaningless is ones techniques aren't properly executed.

That's a good question. I think instead of trying to reinvent the wheel, I'd take moves that already portray distinct self-defense maneuvers and build my form out of them. Unless I figured something out from my own unfortunate experience of self-defense, and could come up with a way to mimic that movement that would look different than anything I've already seen in a form. To the bold type above... I like how you've worded that, Brian..."already portray distinct" because nearly everything taught in ones style of the MA possesses distinct SD maneuvers through Bunkai and/or the like. Slowly pieces of the puzzle come together on the practitioners palette with one distinct maneuver after another until the masterpiece is revealed. The most basic maneuvers over the most advanced, for me, are the most desired hues. Distinct!!

Were you a trouble maker? LOL!! No, but you sure couldn't tell that by the torture pace he set...day after day after day after day.

I believe that the 2 time Academy Award winner, Hilary Swank, is in demand way to much to be interested in entertaining that with her agent...but...one never really knows.

3 class per week are a staple. However, schedules of either the school and/or the student have a lot to do with it; 1 a week is far better than 1 class a month or once every two weeks. Availability loves to get in the way of schedules.

Even those with a Master's in Education start at a entry level, and no higher until it's appropriate to do so. To assume a position that one doesn't officially possess is an act of disrespect for said position and for those who've truly earned it. Without the White Belt, NO OTHER BELT EXISTS, NOR SHOULD IT!! Wearing the White Belt carries the same respect as a Black Belt because they each have its own value; none less valued than another. Do you treat the White Belt differently than the Black Belt?? If so, then honor has been swept aside for status. Imho!!

Ok so here is a question. Let's say sony owns the copyright in both Canada and us but they don't own the trademark. Does this mean a karate person can open his dojo with the name cobra kai but can't make books and videos that is cobra kai themed? Like you have your own cobra kai school and the service you offer is instruction. As long as you are not selling anything based on the material of the movie then you are fine. Is that an accurate statement? Oh and to the poster that said the cobra kai is bad. I disagree, the cobra kai are not good or bad. Their method is based on the reflection of reality and that is a merciless world. I like the zen and calm miyagi approach but yin and yang have to coexist together. Sense John kreese was honorable enough to allow larusso and miyagi to train without disruption of his students. That has to mean something. I have been in boxing and other combat sports and the people I saw act the way they did would make John kreese look like a sweetheart. Specific example in boxing would be racist insults or bitter local boxers discouraging young boxers with disparaging and false comments to get in to their head. Sorry didn't mean to get a bit off topic but anyway, I liked the cobra kai because they had effective training and they ran it like a military. No nonsense, solid conditioning program and they had great footwork in the tournament. Visit a copyright and/or trademark/servicemark and/or patent lawyer for the correct answer(s) to your question(s) because anything I might post might be way off base.I've experienced many, many things along this line, but I am not a lawyer in this field. Usually you have one or another, not one or more; dependent on what's being protected. The following info comes from our SKKA's outside law firm, Beckworth. Please consult with a lawyer of your choice. Info here is based on USA law's, rules, and regulations. Copyright is a form of protection provided to the authors of “original works of authorship” including literary, dramatic, musical, artistic, and certain other intellectual works, both published and unpublished. The copyright protects the form of expression rather than the subject matter of the writing. Lasts roughly Life plus 70 years in the USA. A trademark is a word, name, symbol or device which is used in trade with goods to indicate the source of the goods and to distinguish them from the goods of others. A servicemark is the same as a trademark except that it identifies and distinguishes the source of a service rather than a product. Unlike patents and copyrights, trademarks do not expire after a set period of time. Trademarks, in the USA, will persist so long as the owner continues to use the trademark. Owner stops using it, then it's no longer valid. A patent for an invention is the grant of a property right to the inventor, issued by the Patent and Trademark Office. The term of a new patent is 20 years, 14 years for Design Patents, from the date on which the application for the patent was filed in the USA.

When I used to train as a teenager, in wado then kung fu, the instructors were very mean. But they were mean because they were instilling discipline while teaching combat. Back then, this was the 1980s, I've heard it was even worse going further back, being a martial arts instructor was a free ticket to be violent. They would step us mid technique, make us hold our position and focus while having a leisurely walk around inspecting. And then they test someone at random. A totally unprovoked punch to the face to see if you block it or evade in time. Or a leg sweep to test how solid your stance is. It sounds horrible, but it sharpish develops your mental readiness and attention to detail. If you blocked or dodges their random attack, they'd look at you for a moment, you'd look straight back at them with no emotion on your face whatsoever, they'd pause, you'd keep staring, then they'd give a subtle nod and move along the lines. I remember one day at kung fu. We had a new guy. He was only on his second or third class. Our grandmaster visited from China. I guess if he'd known this guy was only on his second or third class he might have cut him a bit of slack. Anyway, he'd stopped us mid technique for inspection. There we all were eyes forward, no expression on our faces, machine like. Except the new guy who was looking about and smirking. I saw grandmaster in my peripheral vision slowly heading down the line inspecting us. He got to me, made some subtle adjustments to my posture, and moved on. I remember being surprised that he walked straight past the fidgety guy. Then suddenly, all I heard was HAI. ... BOOM. The grandmaster had delivered a dragon tail sweep and the fidgety new guy had literally gone airborne, and crash landed flat on his back. He never came back to class after that day. I started in the 70's and I can attest to the difference in teaching styles then compared to the softer gentler side of teaching now. I have many stories of walking home with a broken nose, bruises and the occasional broken finger or toe. Even a few ribs. However I did not perceive it as being brutal. All instructors were the same in their methods of teaching. They were all very strict and they all believed in contact. However none of them, at least in my opinion, were out to hurt you. You were hurt in the process of training because you missed the punch and got hit. It wasn't vindictive or an excuse to beat on their students, it was real. I agree that now days these same men that we revered and respected back then would be looking at aggravated assault charges but then it was just common place and to be expected. I don't condone instructors using their students as punching bags, what-so-ever, but I do feel that the lessons then taught students how to fight vs the soft side of training that is seen in the vast majority of schools these days. 90% of schools practice no contact or very, very light contact. This might be great for those that are looking for a good work out but I feel it hinders those looking to actually learn how to defend themselves. I feel it robs them of lessons that can only be learned with contact. Do I feel that training might have stepped over the boundary line from time to time back then? Most assuredly. However there is something to be said for the lessons that contact teaches. 1. you loose your fear of being hit and realize it's not the end of the world. There are those in the MA's that have never been hit (really hit). I have known some of these people and it's interesting to see the first time they taste a solid strike. Lets say that the vast majority of the time they do not react like they thought they would. 2. you learn very fast. You don't want to get hit again so you improve very fast out of necessity. 3. you learn what works and what doesn't work. Lets face it, those that have never experienced the pain that some strikes produce on the body can be sold just about any bridge. A friends kid was taking, what he called Karate, and was showing me what they were learning. He was explaining what happened if you hit someone here or there. I asked him if he had seen the effects first hand and he admitted that they do not actually contact other students or instructors for that matter. 30% of what he thought was effective would possibly cause some minor damage and 70% would just serve to anger the attacker more unless you were fighting a complete wimp. 4. you actually could fight by the time you reached Shodan. Believe it or not there was a time that you had to be able to defend yourself by a given time to be promoted. "I know, I know, it's just another step on the rung and just another belt". I've heard it all before but there was a time when you had to prove your ability to fight and the way you were taught fostered those abilities and produced students that could not only handle themselves but do it well. Of course that was then and this is now. Nothing lasts forever. Nothing good anyway. There are some that would say there is never a reason for contact. I for one believe wholeheartedly in it. I personally do not believe that you can teach a combat art without realism. Brutality, No. Contact and realism, Yes. But then again, that's coming from someone that didn't think teachers back then were just violent people with a license to brutalize their students but actually people that wanted their students to be able to fight. Maybe I'm wrong. Solid post!! Student AREN'T punching bags; they're human beings, and they deserve CI/Instructors/Sempai's that have at least the modicum of decency towards their fellow human beings. Strictness and toughness are the mere staples of a CI/Instructor/Sempai; challenging their students to strive to improve themselves on and off the floor. That strictness and toughness isn't the same thing as whopping on a student at will whenever they want to; just because they're in a position of authority and hold a black belt or a brown/red belt. Accidents are called that because the intent wasn't on purpose. Injuries are the unfortunate, but acceptable, side effects in the MA. Especially when students train in styles that teach Resisting Training; in a give-and-take atmosphere, injuries aren't about 'if', but more like 'when', even under the very watchful eyes of the CI/Instructor/Sempai!! The Kun doesn't allow, well, it shouldn't allow, the bully teaching mentality across the board because that's not what the student's paying for. If the student allows that to happen, then the student's just as guilty as the bully teacher; get out and away from the CI/Instructor/Sempai that are proponents of that diseased bully teaching mentality. No student...absolutely nobody, deserves nothing but the CI/Instructor/Sempai's very professional best all of the time, and the bully teaching mentality ISN'T the best. The bully teaching mentality IS the worse. Train hard...train well!! NOT, be a punching bag because the CI/Instructor/Sempai are insecure in themselves across the board and is/are a big mean bully!!

When I used to train as a teenager, in wado then kung fu, the instructors were very mean. But they were mean because they were instilling discipline while teaching combat. Back then, this was the 1980s, I've heard it was even worse going further back, being a martial arts instructor was a free ticket to be violent. They would step us mid technique, make us hold our position and focus while having a leisurely walk around inspecting. And then they test someone at random. A totally unprovoked punch to the face to see if you block it or evade in time. Or a leg sweep to test how solid your stance is. It sounds horrible, but it sharpish develops your mental readiness and attention to detail. If you blocked or dodges their random attack, they'd look at you for a moment, you'd look straight back at them with no emotion on your face whatsoever, they'd pause, you'd keep staring, then they'd give a subtle nod and move along the lines. I remember one day at kung fu. We had a new guy. He was only on his second or third class. Our grandmaster visited from China. I guess if he'd known this guy was only on his second or third class he might have cut him a bit of slack. Anyway, he'd stopped us mid technique for inspection. There we all were eyes forward, no expression on our faces, machine like. Except the new guy who was looking about and smirking. I saw grandmaster in my peripheral vision slowly heading down the line inspecting us. He got to me, made some subtle adjustments to my posture, and moved on. I remember being surprised that he walked straight past the fidgety guy. Then suddenly, all I heard was HAI. ... BOOM. The grandmaster had delivered a dragon tail sweep and the fidgety new guy had literally gone airborne, and crash landed flat on his back. He never came back to class after that day. I understand being mean as a form of discipline but this guy was throwing insults at me. He wasn't correctly my stance, he wasn't telling me to do 60 push ups on my knuckles. He was just throwing insults and chuckling in a condescending way and I think he made a remark about being able to beat Mike Tyson because he is a black belt while all boxers are " too stupid to grasp the brilliance of karate" Arrrgghhh, he grossed me out. Just throwing insults and boastful claims while not even being mean for sake of teaching. All he made us do is Kata. Not all black belts, and/or Sempai's for that matter of fact, can teach, nor should they ever attempt to. Things beyond technical excellence have to be garnered in order to have even the minimum of an idea as to what teaching students is all about. Having that affable characteristics towards students is as basic as it gets. I don't subscribe to the bully teaching mentality, and I'll terminate with cause immediately, and if it's warranted, I'll expel said Instructor/Sempai. Being rude in any degree towards a student and/or fellow MAist and/or anyone is uncalled for because everyone deserves to be treated like a human being. Just because someone is a human being, that doesn't mean that that someone knows how to be like a human being!! Your Sempai in question would've been called on the carpet to be held accountable for those actions. I would've placed that Sempai on a PIP (Performance Improvement Plan), and that Sempai would've had to successfully passed each monthly phase, which has a 3 month duration. If not successful in any said phase, immediate termination with cause would've occurred. Our students are our internal customers, and without them, there's no business; just an empty building, and an empty building can't support the infrastructure. Want to hurl insults and not build up positively the students MA betterment!? Then that is sorely against the SKKA's Mission Statement; that's unacceptable...no exceptions...no tolerance!! Speak with your CI about this. If you don't receive the answer(s) your asking for, then perhaps it's time for you to search for another school. Good luck, and hang in there!!

OneKickWonder has pretty much summed it up. It's like a song, where the words can't be copyrighted but the music can be. Our own Patrick is, imho, our copyright expert across the board, and has some deep insight in this very area. If the name "Cobra Kai" is protected, of which I doubt, by trademark and/or copyright laws, and/or patents then no one, not a person and/or an entity and/or a company and/or the like could use that name without specific written permission from its said owner. US copyright does NOT cover names, title, short phrases or listings. However, there are protections available for those areas copyright does not cover, such as trademarks and patents. The laws surrounding trademark and copyright and patents are so quite specific that before I'd use "Cobra Kai", I'd seek the advice of a lawyer who specializes in these laws.

Happy Birthday to you, Happy Birthday to you...SING IT WITH ME EVERYONE...Happy Birthday dear JR, Happy Birthday to you...and many more!! Have a good, safe, and fun birthday, JR!!

Congrats with you earning your Sandan; feels great, huh?!? My hardest Testing Cycle was, by far, my Hachidan's. Dai-Soke put me through the paces as though I stole something from him.

Train hard and good luck, KeithBerg!!

Welcome to KF, KeithBerg; glad that you're here!!

Speak with that school's CI before your first day in order to find out that school's proper etiquette/Kun. Many school's don't like, or find it improper, or are offended by it, to use that word for whatever their reason(s) might be. Just because we know some Japanese or Korean or whatever word(s) and/or some phrase(s) through our exposure at the school/dojo, doesn't mean were fluent of any varying degree, or that we're sensitive to that cultures acceptable approach. I used that very word my first time I went to Okinawa with both our Soke and Dai-Soke, who were both born and raised in Okinawa, and I was sorely reprimanded because what I did was very rude and offensive to them, as well as to our guests. In short time, you'll soon discover that you'll not use that word in that school because no one's else using that word. It's the out-of-sight-out of-mind through new programming; aka, when in Rome mentality. But again, speak with the CI asap about that word, and any other concerns you might have. Information about what one is unaware of is a powerful thing.

To the bold, this is a student. I would enforce the wearing of the white belt as well. In total agreement with your instructor. My question is, if you accept these students who insist on wearing belts from other schools/organizations/styles of MA, what kind of students are they actually going to turn out to be? Ones that expect their way every time? That precedent has already been set from day one. Will they cherry pick techniques rather than actually learn the techniques’ context within the art, let alone the entire art (or as much as an entire art can possibly be learned)? Wanting or better yet insisting on wearing a belt from elsewhere says a lot about the prospective student to me. And not very much of it is good, to put it mildly. My CI had a great line in there somewhere. It went along the lines of “how ridiculous would it be for me to expect to wear my 7th dan belt and be treated as a 7th dan on my first day as a judo student? I’d be just like everyone else who stepped onto a judo mat for the first time - a white belt.” I really can’t top that line. Totally agree. Unfortunately there are those that think that because they earned it (in another style/art) they shouldn't have to go through the process again. They think they should be extended some sort of courtesy as if what they accomplished should be accepted and transfer to your art. Many, many moons ago a 8th dan in TKD visited our school and wished to take a class. My Shinshii told him he was welcome to take a class and told him to return on a day and at a time. He entered our Dojo in his Dobok (not sure of spelling) and was wearing his belt. I was teaching the class (Mudansha) and he noticed my grade (Sandan at the time) and realized that the students were beginner and intermediate grades. My Shinshii, as was his way, was sitting in his office watching me and the class. The 8th Dan saw him and walked a bee line into his office and shut the door behind him. Not sure of the content of the discussion but after a minute of discussion Shinshii handed the man a white belt and pointed at the class as he muttered something. The 8th Dan stormed out of his office, threw the Obi across the floor and left. When the class was over and it was just me and Shinshii, he told me that no matter what grade I reach never allow it to go to my head. He said that a true MA'ist always maintains a beginners mind and as such doesn't care what color belt is tied around their waste. The next week he came into the Dojo, as if to make his point, carrying a box. He walked to the front of the class and opened it and started passing out white belts. No one knew what to make of it until Shinshii himself removed his belt and put on the white belt. He then instructed us all to do the same. We all wore white belts for a month. At the end of this period he asked us, "did wearing a different colored belt change your level of skill", "Did you feel differently"? To this he added "you make the belt not the other way around, we are all students of the art no matter what grade you wear. When you reach that place that you have nothing left to learn you can wear any belt you choose and anywhere you like, but until then your still students". Since then I and so many others have utilized this lesson with our students and ourselves when ever grade/rank/belts/titles become whats important rather than our training. I figure if I can remove my grade and dawn a white belt in my own art I should have no issue wearing it in any other art. If you enter a new art under a new teacher in a new Dojo, you are a beginner. Beginners wear a white belt. No one cares what belt or title you hold in another art. I figure if you really love that belt that much and insist of wearing it, then you should do so in your own Dojo. In mine you'll wear a white belt and if you join at the right time you might see me doing the same. I just don't get how wearing a belt (any belt) somehow diminishes you or elevates you. The belt is a representation of you. In your art it represents your a BB. In a new art the white belt represents you as well, as a beginner. In my mind you're not much of a BB if such trivial things are so important to you. Solid post; especially the immediate bold type above!! Rank has become apocryphally world wide because of the stature that it's been given without cause. It's [rank] nothing more than a thing; completely unimportant. The floor judges rank unfairly because the floor doesn't see rank, but only the practitioner on the floor; one chance to make an impression, so make it a good one. If one can't make a good impression, then either get off the floor or avoid the floor.

Guest Instructor, yes!! Student, no; not even in the slightest.

At the very least 1st degree black belt. You're not wanting us to validate you, rank wise, are you?? Because if you are, I apologize, but, I bow out of this thread all together. I've been way to long on the floor to entertain that type of thing.

Solid OP, Noah!! Solid posts, barefoot-kohai and MatsuShinshii as well!!

Sorry, I will not grade this because rank is completely unimportant across the board!! Since YOU asked...What rank do YOU think it is??

By all means, Happy Father's Day to everyone; be safe and have fun!!

Learning the Kata is piece-meal; a little at any given time, not too much so as to not overwhelm the student, particularly the beginners. The Kata IS separate FROM the Kata; neither are taught ever the same. Kata is the paragraphs while the Bunkai is the chapters of said book [The name of said Kata]. With beginners, during group classes, I do throw them into the mix. It is follow the leader, and other students around them, while my Sempai's keep a very close eye on them; all of the time, I'm darting in and out with corrections as necessary. All of the time, Bunkai is being taught. Either along with said Kata, AND/OR Bunkai applications through segments, tiny, never numerous, to avoid overwhelming the students. Too much can spoil the learning. Plus, we teach resisting training from day one!! I've dozens and dozens of ways that I teach Kata/Bunkai, and never the same way because students are not the same. I'm a staunch proponent of the three K's: Kihon, Kata, and Kumite, and that they ALL must be taught, and without any ambiguity whatsoever. If all your dojo does is Kata and no effective Bunkai, then you're being sold tainted goods. Kumite is the horsepower that drives the engine, Kihon and the transmission, Kata. Kata and Bunkai have to be taken apart and put back together over and over and over forever and ever; baby steps to the most finite detail because there's more than one way to skin a cat. ASK QUESTIONS: DOUBT what you're being taught, but at all times, be respectfully of your CI, and refer back to your CI over anyone else. If you're not doing as much Kihon AND Kumite with your Kata, then, your dojo might be setting you up for failure across the board. Time!! Be an intimate friend with time because it will take endless time to learn whatever it is that the MA is teaching. Nothing happens overnight!! Generally speaking, and imho!!

Congrats, shortyafter; well deserved!! Doubt?! Welcome to the MA. Seriously, what I know about you, through your posts here, is that you're doing fine. You respect the process across the board, and your MA journey has just begun. Doubts are erased by the endless Aha moments through Shu Ha Ri that you'll experience for the rest of your life. I got your back; you've got my support!!

Either way, hopefully XtremeTrainer will further explain the "Christopher" thing to us, if possible. My offering of a possibility as to why wasn't received well, and I'm cool with that because I could be so far off base.