sensei8

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

Solid post, JR, one that I plan on to seriously consider!! I would've loved to have known your Grandmother!!

Are we having cake!? To ones heart contents, as one desires!!

I never meant this thread to be about 'me', but about how OTHERS might've coped with the passing of their Sensei and the like, or if they knew of how others coped with the passing of their Sensei and the like. Life goes on!! I accept that!! But the strangeness of walking into the Hombu Dojo is akin to walking in an area that's just been hit with some type of a natural disaster; eerie like silence; so silent that it's deafening!! When I walk in, even to this day, since those tragic events, the room goes silent immediately for one reason or another, and this silence isn't a normal occurrence whatsoever!! Any thoughts??

WOW, I must've totally misunderstood the OP question... My bad! Sorry!

The unfortunate reality is that the IOC will decide what the Karate venue will entail, and not the masses. I can only assume that it'll be Kumite, but I can only hope that Kata/Bunkai would be a vital part of the venue.

Tell him, don't tell him; that's all up to you. Personally, I don't care one way or another if a student of mine wants to go train somewhere else; I don't own any student.

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

The beauty about time and progression is that it vary's, just as individuals vary; we're different across the board. Nothing is general in this concern per my aforementioned sentence. Both, time and progression, move at there own pace with nothing ever guaranteed one way or another.

Any MA style; YOU decide the degree of said force, if any necessary, as well as to the technique, not the style!!

It seems to me that we mimic what we've always done in the past; no new discoveries or recognition of value. As though the Student Body wants to be here on the outside, but on the inside, they're searching for anything that reminds them of a time long ago; they crave it. But I don't know how to raise the dead, or if I'm suppose to. The atmosphere strikes me as though that which they're seeking, and I can't provide it for them. The Student Body wants them back, desperately, well, so do I!! Ever walk into a very familiar place, and instead of feeling at home, you feel more like a stranger, and not part of the family!! That right there, is as close to a description of what's slowly infesting the Hombu Dojo!! Can't shake the feeling.

In the shelf life time of a school of the MA, they'll experience many things, some are expected, while some are unavoidable, yet both can change lives in an instant, whether it be good or bad, that'll depend one varying circumstances and expectations within that individual. That ends my preamble. 2008|Soke passes away of natural causes; he was 91 years old. 2010|Dai-Soke passes away after suffering two separate strokes that year; he was 78 years old. 2016|While returning from a trip to Mexico, tragedy struck when our SKKA's Kancho, Greg Forsythe, as well as SKKA Regents, Thomas Stillwater, Jonathan Plouge, Ben Stevenson, Giichi Tanaka, and Yoshikazu Tanaka were all killed in a head-on vehicle accident in the very early morning of July 11th. When those listed above passed away, so did many collective aspirations!! Not only from the Student Body, but from the very building itself, the dojo!! Their constant presences was felt within the very four walls of the Hombu Dojo, from the most minute element to the most recognizable element, changes were sudden, yet, they were gradual. Nonetheless, at each separate passing, the very atmosphere within the Hombu Dojo was slowly vacuumed out, and very much so, through the vacant expressions found on each face within the Student Body, as well as those who only worked at the SKKA. Remove the life forces, then the seepage becomes stagnant beyond any comprehension; the wonderment's concerning the future of the Student Body can't be, nor should it be, ignored because it can't be denied and/or swept under any rug. The absences tear at the very fiber of ones heart, both directly as well as indirectly, as to the very tone of how one grieves both personally and professionally. I've tried to hold both the SKKA and the Hombu Dojo together to the best of my abilities; I'm no Soke and/or Dai-Soke, which were the driving and living force of either entity. I can't shake the feeling that I've failed those who have passed, as well as those who are still with us. It's as though the Hombu Dojo deeply sighed in audible tones louder and louder with each ones passing away, and I feel that sigh deeply within my heart. On the other side of the coin, I feel that the void feelings within the Hombu Dojo, and it's continuation is due to my failures at bringing life back into the Hombu Dojo, that which was once strong before, isn't the same. I can sense it strongly!! I've tried to hold it all together with bubble gum and band-aids and bale wire, but with each passing, it's like being punched in the stomach; desperately gasping for just one breath, but none comes!!! Many of you here might've experienced the passing of your Sensei or Grandmaster or whomever else, some time ago, or just recently, of some degree. In that... *How did you cope with it or are coping with it??

I wholeheartedly agree!! I've enjoyed your post, and will continue to do so; both your knowledge and experience are greatly respected and appreciated by myself completely.

If we don't post, KF fades away into the lowering sun without any fanfare whatsoever. We know a thing or two about the MA, and in that, we express ourselves on a plethora of MA subjects, in which, we strike up a conversation via a post. Those who know, and don't post accordingly on any given subject, usher in the demise of KF, or any forum on the internet. And of course, those who do know, and do post, are going to run into those who don't know. Again, just how does that work at a forum, that's on the internet, like KF?? Those of us who do know, don't flaunt, but only share with others for the sake of a meaningful conversation.

With this noted, and continuing the devil's advocacy that seems to be defining this thread, then when does a white belt become a Martial Artist? Is it when the student decides to dedicate themselves to learning the system? Does it require a certain amount of training time? Is one not a Martial Artist until they can display proficiency in a style? I know these questions aren't for me, so please forgive me. Imho... A person is a MAist from the moment they step unto the floor for class, aka, that white belt, for example. Proficiency achieved through training isn't a parameter for BEING a MAist, not in the slightest. As in any endeavor pursued, there's a plethora of levels of proficiency, aka, beginners, intermediates, and advanced. That beginner, on their first day, are just as much of a MA as I am, per the manner of which I believe what a MAist is/isn't, after my 53 years on the floor. The question wasn't, What is a proficient MA?? Just, What is a MAist??!! Back to my mechanic thingy, the mechanic that replaces one part after another until the car's fixed, is just as much of what a mechanic is as a mechanic that fixes a car expeditiously through proper diagnostics; mechanic 'A' isn't as proficient as mechanic 'B', however, they're both mechanics.

Oh yeah, me too...and my neck and my back and...

Well, it's about time!! Having turned 60 years old last October, my creaking and tired body needs a positive change, and in that, this change just might be what the doctor ordered. This change here will most assuredly give me a much more understanding of the MA for my generation. Oftentimes, the avenues are becoming much more narrower whenever questions and concerns about the MA occur. I see that this change will certainly boost the memberships astronomically beyond the upper stratosphere calmly.

LLLEARNER has this jewel of a saying inside his signature... How's this work at a website like, for example, KarateForums.com, when the only means of communication here is through conversation, sorta like, the spoken written words?? Kind of like what I'm doing right now!!

As an alternative, the YMCA can be quite pricey, but that depends on the location. Some charge a flat fee, while others charge a fee based on how many members sign up for the classes. Time slots are the challenge because the YMCA holds many different classes of varying interests, and some of those time slots are already grandfathered in; prime slots are usually already taken.

Why don't you have cake...too!! Seems pressure, enough to me!! Don't worry about why I don't have any cake...I didn't ask you to worry about me not having cake...I'm fine with no cake, thank you the same. Offering me some cake or not, is their given right to exercise. With me, I'm here for the knowledge/experience, and not for any cake!!

I just can't imagine what that ronin lifestyle must be like. I've always had a dojo to call home, no matter if that home was the Hombu and/or my own dojo. Had a place to test and a place to teach, one way or another. I don't succumb to pressure from anyone or anything whatsoever. They want me to test...not until I'm good and ready!! They want me to compete...not until I'm good and ready!! Whatever it is that they want me to do...not until I'm good and ready!! Why?? This is MY journey, and it's not their's in any shape, way, and/or form!! What they feel is important, isn't important to me at all!!

Oh, you're going to hate my answer... Consult with your doctor first!! Then go from there!! Having said that... Running builds up stamina, for one thing. Boxers routinely run as part of thier daily workouts, and not because it sounds good, but it builds up the body across the board. Varying one routine...topography, distance, and speed, to name a few, make the workout beneficial to the runner. Doing the same thing over and over expecting different results is the mark of insanity. Stretch before and after the run, of course.

Have fun with it; train hard and train well!! Can't wait to read your report on the T2.

Can you say, that you've just had an AHA moment?! Many of these AHA moments lie in your MA future, and these are known, in the MA vernacular, as Shu Ha Ri.

Happy Birthday to you...Happy Birthday to you...SING IT WITH ME...Happy Birthday dear Liam, Happy Birthday to you.....and many more!! Happy Birthday, Liam!!