sensei8

Many people have weight issues. We all eventually, if we live long enough will however have health issues. These health issues, hopefully, will convince us to be steering our motivations in the right directions. I've know many athletic fit people, die due to misadventures, perhaps I learned from them on what not to do. Was told today, that my nephew died of a drug overdose, how sad, what a waste for the sake of getting high. As martial artists let's all get high on life and living healthier. We all have our crosses to bear, God willing they become lighter every day, especially for you sensei8, my thoughts are with you. Dai-Soke was embarrassed as to where my weight went. As a CI, I could see his embarrassment whenever he had to introduce me as part of the Upper Hierarchy, no matter the elected position, no matter where we were. I was a representative of Soke and Dai-Soke, as well as the SKKA/Hombu, and the entire SKKA Student Body. A fat disgusting MAist, who's also a double Hachidan, and as a Hanshi. I can see!! And I've seen out others treated me while my weight was out of control. They too, passed judgement on me quickly!! But once I was on the floor with them, their tone changed to a tone of respect. But still, the hurt had already been leveled upon me without cause and without hesitation. I too, was embarrassed to the Nth degree!! I send you my condolences about the passing of your nephew; you'll be in my prayers, Alan!!

Thank you, singularity6; means everything to me for your support!!

If we're speaking about the same Wedge Principle, yeah, Shindokan utilizes it constantly primarily because of our Close Range Methodologies. Cutting angles inwardly and outwardly, posture, body alignment, and structure; using every part of our bodies; receiving the attack. We do not block the attack; we receive it and/or deflect it, in which the attack is redirected. Our defense is in our defense. The wedge principle can be applied with many parts of the body including legs, head, and shoulders, as well as arms and hands. Apply the Wedge effectively is a way to take the opponents energy or momentum, and use it against them, taking force away from the opponent and turning into a lock, strike or throw. A twisting action is also present in the way force is transmitted through the body, as well as the legs to the feet. Thusly, it aides in keeping the connection in place between the upper and lower halves of the body. Without this Wedge, our close range, to mention just one, is hampered through and through; this is Shindokan, whereas, we live and thrive in the world of close range.

"You're a fat man!!" I heard that more than I can ever remember from Dai-Soke for many years. Yes, I was a fat man!! I once weighed 350lbs!! No, this is NOT a typo!! But to hear that from Dai-Soke hurt deeply, and he never once apologized for it. Did that motivate me?? NO!! It did not!! It did the opposite!! What motivated me to lose the weight nowadays was when I was first diagnosed with Afib back in September 2016.

OK...I LOVE the Sparbar...I want 15 of them!! Great tool...great invention!! Thanks, Danielle for the share!!

When your CI (Chief Instructor) says so, and not sooner!! I refer you back to your first question above. You might feel ready, but the call isn't your in the first place!! Feeling ready and being ready are two separate things. If you're referring to the Testing Cycle, then, NO!! Respectfully refuse the offer for personal reasons. But be careful, not many CI's like being told, directly or indirectly, anything that questions them. But it's a risk that must be taken if one's that serious. While there might be a formula to determine this concern, I'd say this...NO!! There's no number of months you should wait before because it's the least of thing to be concerned with; it'll occur when it does, and no time any sooner!! Knowledge and experience is paramount over the belt. The belt isn't that important!! The belt should never define you!! It's not important to be a black belt. What's important is the betterment of the MAist, through and through. This is obtained through time, and in time, knowledge and experience are increased, but once again, only in time. No. Belts are part of Kyokushin. Belts are just that tangible thing that you wrap around your waist, however, the importance of the belt might only be valuable in THAT dojo, and nowhere else!!!! The furthest away from the belt as possible, the sooner the better!! Knowledge and experience through time spent on the floor!! Be patient, and do not seek out for any belt and any promotion whatsoever!!

In my almost 53 years on the floor, I'm quite sure that I under/over trained more than I care to remember, and admit for one reason(s) or another. As singularity6 has said..."moderation is the key". Knowing when one is doing one or the other saves a lot of unnecessary time across the board. Oftentimes, I ignored the signals, in which, I paid for it dearly across the board; an expensive letter, for sure, to learn. Whether it be from exuberance or not, they, from time to time, still occurred. Knowledge and experience helped me to taper myself across the board.

Now, that's how to do a vacation/training all in one!! Sounds like you and yours had a wonderful time!! You lucky dog, you!!

The awesomeness about your post here is that it's one beautiful thing... It's your Oyo, through and through. Can I pick it apart and/or offer corrections to it?? NO!! It would serve no purpose and the farthest thing from being right on my part...in short, I'd be dead wrong. You have to come up with your own answer to your own question... Why is THAT movement executed slowly??

Thanks, Alan!! The D-toxing and fasting are against both my PCP and Cardiologist orders; so I won't go that avenue. I tried juicing, but after one week, I stopped it because it tasted terrible.

Every generation is the "me me generation." Each generation has its idiosyncrasies, and each generation has its positive traits. Just because they're different, doesn't mean they're less than the others. Solid post!!

I'm slowly but surely coming to the realization that I might not reach my weight loss goal of 111lbs by this October 4, 2017. I'm still 40lbs away. My weight loss workouts have slowed down since my Afib [Arterial Fibrillation] has returned about a month ago. Afib causes my heart beat to rise quickly, and oftentimes, it doesn't take much to rise it. My target hbpm is 160pbm, and I've reached 184-185bpm just way to many times for me to ignore it. Anything to far above my target can cause me to have a heart attack. I constantly wear a device to regulate my heart rate while at the gym. Many times, just this week alone, alarms went out because my hbpm was way to high, and I felt fine, and that I wasn't overly pushing myself. Kata can kill me...literally!! No!! I'm not doing the Kata incorrectly!! I also don't do the Kata in a passing fashion. I watch my diet very closely!! I don't binge!! I don't smoke or drink alcohol!! I believe I'm living a very healthy life style...because it's my life, and if I don't, I'll lose my life!! What have I done wrong?? Yesterday, I burned 610 calories on the TreadMill, StairMaster, Rowing, and Bicycling. Today, I burned approximately burned 500 calories with Rowing and Free Weights!! These last 40lbs, with Afib, might not ever happen!!

No!! Nor do I want to be because it's the farthest thing from who I am.

However, MAN is not Zen or Nature or anything else. Man is an imperfect being, and oftentimes, so easily manipulated one way or another. I love your popcorn analysis!!

Depending on whom one asks, the answer might be as wide as the sky, and as deep as the ocean. Doctrines dictate, yet the doctrines shouldn't be the holy grail. Imho... I believe that the movement in the Kata is performed slowly to indicate that the Bunkai should be performed slowly, if we didn't, then for this bunkai, we lose a lot of training partners. I believe that the movement in the Kata is performed slowly to indicate a grappling movement. I don't believe that the movement in the Kata is performed slowly because it looked cool; things within the Kata are done for reasons, and not for the season. On the street, the application should be executed short and sharp, at times, that emphasis in the Kata are performed slowly. Akin to a possible slow movement. That's when the CI's teachings should be closely listened to. Remember, the ways of the CI aren't to be written in stone. After all, Oyo is why it's so important. We are to discover our own paths and truths towards effectiveness of applications.

Another excellent observation, TJ-Jitsu; solid post!! Knowledge and experience can go a long way, but it can also hamper as well. The rules of the games have to be understood for that venue, whether it be the streets or it be competition. The right tool for the right job!! The devil that's in me, doesn't believe in the impassible anything. Why?? The opponent before me is what?? A human being. One that is faulted since birth.

There's great value in your observation(s), TJ-Jitsu; solid post!! Muscling will get the practitioner absolutely nowhere fast. Technique will, and always; knowledge and experience. Muscling through will not help the practitioner pace themselves, and before long, that same practitioner will tire out...run out of gas. Why?? I'd rather be strong in my technique(s), than in my physicality. No, muscles are important to aide in keeping our opponent at bay and the like, but one's strong muscles will tire before I decide to take advantages, and I'll still have plenty of gas in my tank.

There is, without any doubt, imho, the simplicity of Bruce's 5 Ways of Attack, in which I believe any MAist can learn from, and apply. However, these ways are not everyone's ways, nor do they have to be; it's a choice. Thanks, Alan, for sharing the video.

"I do not teach, you know, Karate, because I do not believe in styles anymore. I mean I do not believe that there is such thing as, like, a Chinese way of fighting or a Japanese way of fighting...or whatever way of fighting, because unless a human being has three arms and four legs, there can be no different form of fighting. But, basically, we only have two hands and two feet. So styles tend to, not only separate man because they have their own doctrines and the doctrine became the gospel truth that you cannot change! But, if you do not have styles, if you just say, "here I am as a human being, how can I express myself totally and completely?" ...now that way, you won't create a style because style is a crystallization. That way is a process of continuing growth." ~~ Bruce Lee For quite a long time, I did believe in styles, most assuredly so, without a doubt. That's all I ever knew; blind faith, and nothing more. But as I grew up both as a man, and as a MAist, I, slowly, with time, turned away from the doctrine of styles. First Shindokan...then the remaining styles of the MA that I was exposed to, went the wayside of their own doctrines. In which, I took away from my cross training the things that I considered valuable and effective from each of them, so called, styles of the MA. I can't pretend that those styles outside of Shindokan, do not exist within their own proponents doctrine, and as in Shindokan, I walked away from those forced upon doctrines and only kept that which is useful, and nothing else. "How can you say that, when you yourself, is the current Kaicho of the SKKA/Hombu?? Isn't that an oxymoron??" It's easy to say that because it's the truth. I can be Kaicho because I don't push and/or force the doctrine of Soke and Dai-Soke upon the Student Body. Yes, I speak about it, because it's Shindokan history, and in order to learn, and to grow, one's history has to be taught. I allow the Student Body to make their own decision(s) as to what they do or don't believe. It is not an oxymoron because I treat them separately because they are separate!! The history of Shindokan's doctrine can lead the student to find for themselves the truth within their own MA journey. They can embrace whatever they choose, and I will never say that they are wrong if it's against what I believe. Shindokan doctrine teaches that Shindokan is complete. That is history. That is a false believe. To be complete, it first must be perfect, in which it is not, across the board. Nor will it ever be. I do not teach that doctrine because I know, and believe that Shindokan is not complete; it's incomplete. That's why I've crossed trained outside of Shindokan for quite a long time, and always will. However, guess what?? No style of the MA is complete...perfect...not one!! I do, however, believe that Shindokan is an effective MA!! With the addition of other MA, it's even more effective than ever. But the practitioner, well, that's where the problem arises. No matter how effective the MA is, it's the practitioner that makes it effective. If that student...that individual.. can not make "it", whatever "it" might be, effective, then it'll never be effective; the fault belongs to the practitioner...the individual. Be accountable...have ownership through and through but without excuses. Either it/you is/are, or it/you isn't/aren't; there's no middle ground. Imho!!

To the bold type above... We're not always right in everything or in anything. We try. Oftentimes, we're out there in left field, when we should be in the right field, and until much later, we finally realize that we should've been in center field the whole darn time.

That's the shear beauty of applications for THAT MAist!! Applications are not written in stone, nor are they meant to be. But it's so easy to accept that they actually are, and in that, they won't walk away from what they're taught for the act of convenience. It's easier to blindly follow than the status quo of what's being taught by whomever or whatever, than to seek their own truths in any application.

Labels!! They're, imho, the bane of MA existence, one way or another. While I've studied the MA for 53 years this October, I've never cared to abide by labels, and in that, I believe that the labels in general, when speaking about the MA, are the forest being in the way of the trees. I just want to train, and I've not the time nor the inclination to label what it is that I do MA wise. Is Shindokan a style or a system or a concept or whatever else?? It's a martial art, and for now, that's good enough for me. Besides, if I choose one way or another, it'll just a matter of time before someone disagrees with my thought process that Shindokan is a martial art; and demand me to justify my answer, of which, I've no desire to do that, now or tomorrow. Shindokan...that's the only label I need and/or want!!

The avatar I use here at KF is the Shindokan Shield, or our logo. The following link describes the Shindokan Shield... https://www.karateforums.com/the-shindokan-shield-vt44461.html

It's suppose to be designed as a learning tool for BOTH the Uke and Tori; if it's not, get as far away from it as possible.

My family and I got out of there just in the nick of time, 3 months ago. We lived in Pearland, TX, which has officially received 50" of rain in 4 days!! WOW!! My sister, her kids, and grandchildren live in Channelview, TX, a eastern suburb of Houston, TX; they're all safe!! 9 people have died during this storm!! My prayers go out to their families and friends, as well as anyone who has, or who is about, to endure Harvey!!