sensei8

Kata is vital; after all, it's part of the three K's: Kihon, Kata, and Kumite. Kata as calisthenics is a great calorie burner, if one executes them with seriousness.

Minimum?? That expression is quite alien to me!! Why?? The desired amount of time required and/or necessary in anything in the MA isn't even dependent on time, but on the individual. One Step, Ippon Kumte, is just another drill, and I've been on the floor for 53 years, and I still drill on One Steps when I'm teaching and whenever I'm training on my own or with other Senior Dan MAists. When I finally cast off my mortal coil, I'll stop training/drilling Ippon Kumite; hopefully that time's very far away.

Soke and Dai-Soke were fluent in both Uchinaguchi and Japanese, which is of no surprise because each of them were born and raised in Nangushiku [Nanjo], Okinawa. They mostly mixed them both at any given time depending on their moods; when frustrated at our inept ability to understand a single word, they'd revert to grunting and pointing and physically direct us and soft taps of a Shinai would replace any spoken attempts. Over time, WE learned to understand them both, however, their desire to learn English was a test of futility. They both acted as though they didn't understand or speak English, but over time, we within the innermost circle knew better. Besides, they'd forget, and usable English would escape from their lips, much more often then they'd ever admit. So, not only were we learning Shindokan from them both, but we were also learning two languages. I've heard it said, that when the Shindokan Hombu was first opened, interpreters were used. However, when I joined in 1964, there were none to be found. So, we did the best we could with what we had, and our Sempai's made a world of differences. Still, get them riled up, then Uchinaguchi flowed freely on the floor.

Trapping and controlling; a vital staple within Shindokan's brand of Tuite, and then some.

Congrats, LLLEARNER; well deserved!!

To Mo: That's pretty cool!! To Brian: Yes it is!! You and I are WAY OVER DUE in getting together again!! HINT...HINT...HINT!!

It was my pleasure, Colin!! Thank you for taking the time out of your busy schedule to meet with my wife and I; thanks for the lunch!!

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

Have not...yet, but I will more than likely see it this weekend.

Man, I better be able to without a warm-up, or I'm in a world of hurt!!

There's the saying... "Often Imitated, Never Duplicated" The curious in me will more than likely watch it whenever it comes out to the silver screen.

I suppose that that's up to the courts to decide upon; others are just opinions.

Our Soke said that maturity had to be mastered first, and even then, that wasn't a guarantee. He spoke about there are two kinds of maturities on the floor: Maturity of Karate-do and Maturity of the practitioner/individual, and in that, the maturity of Karate-do is far apart away from the maturity of the practitioner. This becomes quite evident when one still struggles with any given technique.

I still have every single one of Bruce Tegner's books in my library; they were laid out in a systematic manner, and I found them educational. Until now, I've not looked at them in quite a while; had to dust them off, so to speak.

Over my 5 decades in the MA, I've done group and private. The dynamics were about the same, but I suppose that that's to the credit of our Soke and Dai-Soke; exceptional MAists and instructors across the board. The majority was done in a group setting; that was my mom's financial decision, from 7 years old to 13 years old, and I don't regret it whatsoever. The private lessons were when I was a JBB, ages 13-18 years old, and from Godan and up; however, they were private in that as a JBB, there was a solid band of roughly 7-13 of us. By my choice, I opted back into the group setting from ages 18 years old to 27 years old. Then, there's Godan and up, in which I was elected into the SKKA's Board of Regents, whereas there was 12 board members; private lessons were one of the perks of being an elected member of the SKKA. Albeit, those of us who were part of the Hierarchy were very much spoiled by Soke and Dai-Soke. The usual group setting was 25-40, in which, one might think that they'd be lost in a crowd, but they weren't whatsoever. Again, the type of the instructor(s) makes a very big difference.

Congrats, MatsuShinshii!! Boy or a girl?? Hope your grandchild's doing well, as well as Mom and Dad!!

My wife LOVES the Outlander series, both the books and on the TV; one of her most favorite.

Bulltahr was in Texas for business; the very next day he flew to Laredo, Texas!! What he does for a living is very cool!!

I suppose that ones age does catch up with you whether one likes it or not. As the MA goes, per what's a befitting MA style as one ages will vary on ones physicality. Some might go hard with, for example, Kyukoshin or BJJ. Then as one becomes older, for example, Shotokan or Kung-Fu. Then perhaps when one's much more senior in age, might consider, for example, Tai Chi Chuan or Fencing. For example.

Well, I've never heard about Yellow Bamboo, but that's alright because the world of the MA holds a tremendous amount of mystery, however, it does sound quite interesting.

Last weekend, my wife, Linda, and I meet with Bulltahr, Colin, over BBQ lunch in Houston, TX; thank you for the lunch Bulltahr, who was in town for business. We eat and talked and laughed for about 4 hours on a wide range of topics, and yes, we spoke about the MA too. Bulltahr has an enjoyable engaging way about himself across the board, extremely friendly, and I can see the three of us being lifelong friends in and out of the MA. His MA knowledge and experience showed through and through, which is always refreshing. We didn't train, but next time we will. https://www.facebook.com/photo.php?fbid=2933547246901961&set=a.1403944316528936.1073741832.100007401421221&type=3&theater

I honestly do not know what a way to long syllabus looks and/or feels like. I embrace the syllabus as it is, and never have given it a thought, for a second. Even when we discuss the syllabus, with it sitting on the table, I've never once thought and/or said..."Man, our syllabus is long!!" It's important across the board, but at the end of the day, as far as I'm concerned, it's just a thing, and it just isn't that important to loose sleep over it and/or its length. Whenever a student asks about the its length...and asks, Why? And they have asked from time to time... "The summation of 'Why' is to the summation of 'Because'!! Now please go train hard and train well!!"

In this case if a student has a limitation with using their legs. Would the focus be more on joint locking and hand techniques? I ask because soon I will be helping my instructor with teaching but I have to be careful here. Like I don't want to impose some generic skill set and saying it's either done like that or your not qualified. On the other hand you can have a person with one healthy hand and that hand can be capable of destructive power. This will compensate for their handicap. My biggest fear would be is of I give the student false confidence. This would probably haunt me for life. But at the same time a person's sincere effort as well as dedication should be acknowledge since it is a winning trait and one that is becoming rare. Adapt to what the student with a disablity can do, and not what can't be done. The remaining abilities will make-up for what the physical body can't. When someone is blind, for example, the other senses become much more heightened to a very sensitive ability. Teach THE STUDENT, and not the disability!!

Solid post!! May I ask you a question, instructor to instructor... Have you ever had a student(s) ever express their distain over the length of your syllabi?? If so, how did you explain it, its length??

Every student should be allowed the same opportunities as the other students no matter their limitations. If this saying is true, and meant to be of value, then live up to it. If not, then nothings of any significant value... "The Black Belt Mind" We, here at KF, are always saying that the belt doesn’t prove that you have skills or that you are the greater person. It is the mindset that you portray in having that belt, whatever belt it may be. White or black, having the mindset and attitude is the main reason why you deserve the belt. Most important is that those MAist with physical limitations are protected by Law in the USA, the American Disabilities Act of 1990... "The ADA is a civil rights law that prohibits discrimination against individuals with disabilities in all areas of public life, including jobs, schools, transportation, and all public and private places that are open to the general public. The purpose of the law is to make sure that people with disabilities have the same rights and opportunities as everyone else. The ADA gives civil rights protections to individuals with disabilities similar to those provided to individuals on the basis of race, color, sex, national origin, age, and religion. It guarantees equal opportunity for individuals with disabilities in public accommodations, employment, transportation, state and local government services, and telecommunications. The ADA is divided into five titles (or sections) that relate to different areas of public life." Referenced from... https://adata.org/learn-about-ada I've been fortunate enough to have awarded a handful of disabled students to Shodan, and 2 to Nidan and 5 to Sandan. It's not what they lack, it's what they posses that counts because in my eyes they don't lack anything. Just who are we to say that those with disabilities are less worthy than we are who've no disabilities, especially in the MA?!!?! Again, the search should never be about rank, but of effective knowledge and experience. Imho!!