sensei8

Well, the 2024 NFL season has just begun, Already, there are 5 undefeated teams making themselves noticed...Steelers, Chiefs, Bills, Vikings, and Seahawks. Meanwhile, my Cowboys are 1-2, which have my attention because this isn't how to start the season. Cowboys travel to MetLife Stadium to the hosting Giants on TNL. My wife's Raiders are 1-2. What a difference a week makes. After having a great win over the Ravens, the Raiders were dominated by the Panthers in quarters 2 and 3, the 0-2 Panthers defeated the Raiders at their home opener by the score of 36-22. Raiders host the Browns this Sunday. GO COWBOYS!!

You're absolutely correct...my bad. Thanks for bringing that to my attention. I was confused.

Excellent post, aurik!! Quite excited for you that your Kobudo training is off to a good start!! There's nothing more vigorous than adding Kobudo to your MA journey!! Keep up the good training!!

First of all, Welcome to KarateForums.com, MartialAGuy; glad that you're here!! The Sai's in your pictures look like Shureido Sai's. They're not Century Martial Arts Supply Store Sai's, which have distinctive Tsukagashirs. The basic rounded look of the Tsukagashirs found in your pictures make me believe that your Sai's are Shureido Sai's. Enjoy them!!

Conditioning in the MA is quite important. It takes a lot of fortitude to be loyal to one's conditioning because of what's all involved during one's conditioning journey. The old adage that speaks, "No pain, no gain!!", that scares a lot of beginners to question the methods. I know I questioned it myself whenever I began learning my conditional training. Like anything else, time is essential to when a practitioner starts to notice the many benefits of Kitae. Okinawa Kitae training has some of the "strangest looking" training tools, but once forgotten how the training tools appear, they're not strange at all...necessary to the Nth degree. How many times have us students looked at one another in awe, fear, and confusion whenever we first saw Sensei show us and demonstrate the tools of kitae; I'm sure we all looked like a calf staring at a strange gate?!?

Your journey, aurik, is very inspirational for all levels of experience because you drive through the situations one at a time and there's no give up in you at all that I can see, which is very admirable. Making weapons can be quite rewarding. I tried to make my own Nunchaku's once, as crud as it was, but I gave up trying to make them myself when during my High School demo, one handle flew away into the audience, thank God nobody was hit, leaving me only with just one handle and the Kusari (Chain). I've never been quite a carpenter at all.

Day 2 of the Golden Knights training camp was yesterday as they are gearing up against the Sharks this Sunday on Shark ice. GO KNIGHTS!!

Raiders returned to the practice field preparing for their home opener against the Ravens. Good news for the raiders was that Crosby was practicing, although it was limited practice, even though his left ankle was tapped up, but he looked good; he's certain to play this Sunday. GO COWBOYS!!

I hate to say this but maybe and I mean a big maybe that this might be a better season for the Raiders. But it's too early to know one way or another.

Well, the Saints took care of business against my Cowboys quite handling at home with a dismal score of 44-19. Cowboys' defense was absent throughout the whole game, or it seemed that way. Hopefully the Cowboys defense shows up at home against the Ravens. The Ravens lost at home to the Raiders in a close game, so the Cowboys against the Ravens won't be a positive win. Go Cowboys!!

Shogun by James Cavell When I first read Shogun many, many years ago, the Japanese characters spoke Japanese. This 2023 publication has the Japanese characters speaking English, which truly, isn't my cup of tea.

Now, that's a very cool feature. Thanks for sharing that, Patrick.

That's a cool feature!!

Congrats, ashworth; well deserved!!

Maybe he should start wear a guardian cap during games.

Very sad in both accounts; both were valuable to their profession.

Matter of fact, we teach the ALL beginners to say KIAI when teaching them the Kiai. We do that because we want them to utter something, and uttering "KIAI" is far better than having them say absolutely nothing. A lot of times uttering "KIAI" lessens the shyness of many beginners. I get a chuckle from whenever a beginner is moving their mouth to the word "KIAI" but nothings coming out, as I'm walking behind them.

I read them all because the information/updates are very important to me. You and your team worked very hard and long hours to get KF where it is right now, and while you may do not have another 23 years in you, my/our gratitude will never be taken lightly, and these are not idle words.

I read them all Change is inevitable, and this KF change is very solid, more than solid. I echo what Brian has said...

So far, so good that I can see. KF looks so AWESOME and COOL!! Thanks Patrick and his team for all of the hard long hours!! One question, are the multiple emoticons of nearly each one a bug??

Cowboys season opener was on the road to face the Browns; Cowboy/s won 33-17. I did expect more of a game out of the Browns because last season they were 2nd in the AFC North, 11-6, and even though the Texans beat the Browns in last year's Wild Card Playoffs, the Browns seemed to have no UMPH whatsoever. GO COWBOYS!!

Self-control, patience, and confidence are what I've garnered from the MA.

Perhaps, even though a CI might train their students in one particular way, kiai's are as different as the practitioner, no matter how the kiai is taught. Short or mid-range or drawn out, they've, their purposes; real life or competition.

I'm very excited for September 5th but I'm also very nervous because of the unknown.

We kiai only during Kata. Yes, we understand the importance of the kiai and all that. We'd kiai away from the kiai as the time was called from whomever felt it necessary from time to time, which usually was whenever a student wanted to express themselves during kumite. Many tournaments' open kata divisions with the long drawn out kiai makes me cringe no matter its reason(s).