sensei8

November 13, 2017... Cardiologist Dr. Darwin Childs... Atrial fibrillation [AFIB] Per my Cardiologist, there will be no... **Cardiac Inversion procedures performed of any type. Why do a procedure over and over when it's more than likely that Afib will return over and over. **Ablation procedures performed of any type. Even though there's an 80% change that Afib will never return, the percentages don't favor this. My heart rate is 86hpbm, which for my age, 60 years old, with Afib, and my medical history is good. Nothing leaps out to my Cardiologist from my wearing the Holter Monitor for 24 hours. Prognosis: I will live with Afib for the rest of my life, however long that might be, through medications, like Eliquis and Metoprolol, and whatever else, and through the management of my Afib by my Cardiologist. My next visit is in May 2018!! Right now, I'm not Asymptomatic...I think...can't remember which type of asymptomatic is the good one!! So, for now, I live with my Afib until I die!! One thing that my Cardiologist highly recommends is that I lessen my stress to nil, if at all possible. He suggests that I walk away from being the Kaicho of the SKKA asap!! Reason...stress level!! In the position of Kaicho, it's a very high stress job, and it can be so. Running the SKKA is a full-time endeavor, one that I completely enjoy. Why?? My mission is the Student Body, above all things!! So, I'm seriously concerning to adhere with my Cardiologists advice to lessen my stress levels.

Shugyo!! SUCK IT UP!! This is Shindokan!! Soke and Dai-Soke preached Shugyo to us on a daily basis, and we experienced in daily, as well. Shugyo is preached to the entire SKKA Student Body. Can't stand the fire, then get out of the kitchen!! We've no tolerance to whining and complaining. That's mainly because Karate-do is a contact endeavor that must be experienced, in which, one MA betterment is improved. We don't abuse or beat or torture our students, but we do put them through the paces, that's to be for sure. We don't apologize for it whatsoever!! Boo boos and band-aides and kisses...we don't offer those!!

For all of the years that I've been on the floor, I've been fortunate enough to have avoided that side of grappling, and yes, Shindokan does a lot of grappling.

I wholeheartedly concur!!

I turned the video off almost immediately due to the pageantry shown in the very beginning of the video; it's not for me.

NO!! It's nothing more than an illusion made to set us up for failure. No one is unstoppable because man is fallible, and in that fallibility, death is waiting patiently for that very day.

Not only is it possible, but for the sake of sanity, it's required through and through. Procrastination is the root of our evil. In the MA, procrastination must be avoided at all costs because our work ethics speaks quite a lot about us across the board. "I'll do it tomorrow...I'll do it tomorrow...I'll do it tomorrow" NO!! Do it, and do it now; before it's too late. Procrastination drives me absolutely crazy; don't want it, or that person near me.

Both!! Knowledge is paramount to a MAist, imho!! Knowledge can't be without wisdom, and wisdom can't be without knowledge; they're quite dependent upon one another. My students are learning from my knowledge THROUGH my wisdom, as well, in which I encourage them to seek their own knowledge through their own wisdom...AS IT'S ACQUIRED. For me, saying Knowledge VS Wisdom, is setting them against one another, and in a way that seems to require one to chose one over another. This to me is counterproductive!! Both are necessary for balance. We each, in our own way, acquire knowledge and wisdom differently. Some get their Aha moments faster than others, and some take much longer for the light bulb to come on. At least their both getting it, and that's important.

This is the first time I've ever listened to Alan Watts; very enjoyable. I believe that I'm constantly heading towards it, and not away from it because, after all, I do what I enjoy, and not what I don't enjoy; teaching the MA and selling MA equipment in a retail environment. Thanks for sharing the video, Alan Armstrong for sharing.

Well, I don't believe in blocks, but I do believe in deflections/receiving. Do the 52 blocks work?? I've no idea because anything, everything will be dependent on the practitioner. Nonetheless, with 52 blocks at ones disposal, something has a chance of something working. https://www.harlemma.com/Programs/52-blocks

I believe that the balance between theory and practice must be sought after with the similar diligence that a big cat in the wild is towards its prey; with much greater patience. Theory doesn't come without practice, and practice doesn't come without theory. Practice without theory destroys the effectiveness of the proposed theory. In return, theory without practice is akin to having a very long conversation with oneself; fruitless. Necessary?? Let me answer with a question of my own...To sustain life, is the breathing of air necessary?? Everything must have an effective starting point in which research can be that proponent of that supposed theory. Is my MA effective enough to protect myself?? To find the answer to that question, I believe that live and resistant practice of theory but be profound enough to reach a valid answer. Why practice?? Why theory?? The summation of "why", is to the summation of "because"!! I believe that the necessary balance exists in my MA journey; I'm complete in my MA totality. Imho!!

As I've said before, this type of methodology/ideology already exists, and has since its conception, within Shindokan; albeit, within our Close Ranges and the like. I, however, believe that I've not mastered anything because I'm constantly learning. Nonetheless, I'm very comfortable with this type of methodology/ideology, in that, it's no longer difficult for me, than tying my shoe laces are.

Neither of them!!!!! If I was forced to pick a winner between these two, I suppose that I'd pick her hands down. He doesn't have the minimum of an idea of what to do across the board; undisciplined as well as unskilled, through and through. She at least had a modicum of effort throughout the encounter. Whereas, he lacked much more than he could afford.

You can't have one, skill and discipline, without the other because they're both interchangeable as well as interdependent on one another. Which one came, or comes, first or simultaneous?? The skill? The discipline? Both mature in time, however long that might be. One must have the skill to acquire the discipline, and therefore, one must have the discipline to acquire the skill. Nurturing either haphazardly begets undisciplined skills!! Imho!!

Aren't the "Aha" moments worth the wait?!?

I wholeheartedly concur, MatsuShinshii!!

Just because one is a human being, it doesn't mean that that person knows how to act like a human being. I've not the time, nor the inclination to worry about what people say or might say because they just don't matter to me, especially their opinion(s). In my life, only my wife, Linda, and our two kids, Nathan and Krystal, opinions matter to me. People come and people go, this is a sad, as well as an enjoyable, part of life. Marital Art life is no different!! When students leave of their own accord, there's nothing I can do about it because it's their business. Whenever a student leaves of my accord, there's nothing that they can do about it. I've not missed every student, however, I've missed more than I've not missed because a bond between student and Sensei, depending on how long the relationship has been, is a real, and often times, personal, yet professional one. Albeit, the one maxim that I do believe in says... "Don't get personally involved with students, no matter what!!" Sometimes, that's much easier said than done!! Dai-Soke had his inner circle, and I was fortunate enough to be a part of it. I've my own inner circle as well, a very small hand full of trusted students, and this is where I've failed the maxim above. Oftentimes, judgement can be askew when that maxim is cast aside like a molded washrag. This maxim makes the dojo a sad and lonely one, and in this, I've laughed and cried whenever a student has to leave, no matter the cause. But, talking about me behind my back and things like that, GO FOR IT!! I could care less because of what John Lydgate said... “You can please some of the people all of the time, you can please all of the people some of the time, but you can’t please all of the people all of the time”. Time is too short...life is too short!! I just want to train and teach!! Anything else...BIG DEAL!!

Day one!! The transition begins at day one, and only ends when the student ceases to be a student, or you, as the CI, decide for one reason or another. Do I know everything?? Of course not!! Do I know everything about Shindokan?? Of course not!! The latter statement above might have one do a double take with a..."Huh??" Yes, my knowledge base of Shindokan is without an equal within the SKKA/Hombu. However, I never did a Vulcan Mind Meld with Soke or Dai-Soke so that I could learn about those things that were still in the recesses of their minds. Dai-Soke was taken from us with still a lot to teach, and this includes those of us who were part of the Higher Hierarchy as well as those who were part of his very inner circle. While a student from day one will not be receiving full knowledge, after all, it's day one, but the full knowledge is within me, and in time, I will hand over my full knowledge to my Student Body piecemeal. Will I ever have a Menkyo Kaiden type of my own?? No, that's not of my interest. I do have a student of mine who's earned a Nanadan this year. Albeit, there will be no naming of a Menkyo Kaiden type from me. Why?? It's just a label, and I feel it's meaningless and/or pointless.

Imh... Boxing is a MA!! It's a MA because that's what I believe it to be!! Flip it, twist it, bend it, or whatever fits ones fancy, boxing is a form of MA, as I perceive it to be. Boxing has the elements in it that makes me believe that boxing is a form of a MA!! After all, boxing teaches skills that can be used for someone to defend themselves. Nonetheless, this debate will live on for an eternity!!

I've been cross training outside of Shindokan for as long as I can remember, and while Shindokan is my core, and it's an effective core, it's not complete!! Neither is any other MA, imho!! My personal arsenal is widely varied because of my extensive cross training in the MA. The situation(s) beget the technique(s) that I'll bring forward with an determined resolve on my attack(s). Whenever I'm teaching at the Hombu, I'm strictly held to the purity of the Shindokan methodologies and ideologies when teaching the curriculum. Albeit, within my dojo, I do teach that Student Body many things that are not Shindokan. I don't learn or teach the MA to be politically correct!!

You know, while the maxim of Funakoshi is a solid believe structure, and I don't take it lightly, I must say this... I'm going to attack you first before you can attack me if I perceive an attack is imminent; STUDY LONG...STUDY WRONG!! I could care less if my actions, thereafter, are wrong or offensive to someone else. Why? My survival is dependent on ME...not someone else...JUST ME!! If I'm wrong, the courts will decide my punishment, if necessary, but I'll be alive to ponder my actions.

In both regards, no.

LOL!! For now, my answers stand as they are; the shorter the better.

This is the precursor to Sine-wave. In Sine-wave you lower the body then raise it, then lower it. Knee spring raises it emidiately then lowers it. Precursor or not, its actions, as demonstrated in the OP's video, violates our beliefs. I, still, do respect how other MA styles approach their methodologies and ideologies, particularly in this subject.

Notes to self: It's of a horror genre!! It's a series; not a movie!! Wife and me, even though I was ready to leave like the wind if need be, just watched The Dark Tower, a movie by Stephen King. I endured it, but the suspense killed me throughout the entire movie. In which I'm sure Stranger Things 1 and 2 are riddled with suspense, and for me, the things that bump in the night are more than I can deal with. MOMMY!!