sensei8

That's great news there, AND, you had fun while doing it!! Hang in there and to it to it!!

My music tends to vary on both my mood and my goals for that day/moment. My music taste is quite eclectic across the board. I've favorites, like, GNR, Aerosmith, Rush, Journey, Beatles, Queen, Cher, KISS, Elvis, Led Zeppelin, CCR, Taiko Drum Soundtracks, and the Eagles. This list, of course, is not a complete list because I'm known to listen to Nirvana, Madonna, Lea Solanga, EW&F, Katy Perry, Les Miserables Soundtrack, Most any Soundtrack, Chicago, Metallica, Ozzy, Adam Lambert, Eminem, Meghan Trainor, Frank Sinatra, and Cindy Lauper. To name just a few, and by a few, I mean, what I've listed thus far barely scratches the surface of my music taste!! I'll put my MP3 on "Artists", then select "Shuffle" and let play whatever plays; I've a very, very large music library on my MP3

Does the Shindokan hombu offer other arts or does any dojo's associated with the hombu offer different arts? Yes AND Yes!! The Hombu doesn't interfere with any dojo's SOP within the SKKA network; they're free to do as they desire!!

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

Weight = 261lbs Total weight loss since Octobe 4, 2016 [326lbs]... 65lbs...that's almost 70lbs...man oh man!! I would've never ever imagined that type of weight loss for a second, yet, here I sit, 65lbs lighter...46lbs from reaching my target weight loss of 215lbs by October 4, 2017!!

All in all, effort is always the reward. You fought...win or lose...then you reap the reward of having the experience!! Congrats!!!!

Dojo supplements, as to the adding of a plethora of other activities, is, and has been, a long time staple of MA schools. What to offer and what not to offer will differ across an ocean of varieties because of said schools interests based on the CI, for the most part, and from the public/student body. Being eclectic across the board in what a MA school offers to its student body, current as well as prospective, builds up and tears down at the same time. This is dependent on either having not enough, just right, or to much of a good thing. Finding that balance depends on the CI; after all, the CI controls/oversees the entire operation of the school. The CI's influences have to be tempered across the board. If not, then anarchy sets in where it's not appreciated or wanted. Does what the school has to offer have to make since to anyone?? Imho, NO!! Balancing that ever important P&L Statement accurately makes and breaks a MA school faster than one can imagine. Change is inevitable, and necessary!! However, change, if poorly executed, is destructive, and preventable!! Fine tuning a MA schools offered curriculum's is that high-wire act done over that bottomless sink hole. On one hand, act fast with those curriculum's that are successful and profitable. Albeit, on the other hand, if one doesn't act quickly against failing curriculum, then the schools profits quickly turn into a out of control deficit. "That doesn't make any since whatsoever, to have a Shotokan school teaching a crochet class!!", says a prospective student! That might be true! However, that's the choice of the CI, and not anyone else's business. The CI/Owner's job is to reach a profitable year at the years' fiscal end!! With that being said, if I was to add inner-tube painting to my offered curriculum's, and I was turning a profit from it, then I'd continue to offer inner-tube painting for the rest of my life!! Sure, a MA school wants to offer classes that would compliment the core style taught at that school, as a first choice for the CI, but OTHER supplement offerings DON'T HAVE TO BE IN SYNC WITH THE CORE STYLE!!!! Why?? PROFITS!! They're to be made, and not lost!! While I'm very traditional in my MA, however, this addresses the inevitable change in that, I'm the furthest thing from being that traditionalist when it comes to earning positive profits!! Imho!!

Great day at the gym today!! Weight: 263lbs Cardio today only: StairMaster 38 minutes 500 Calorie Burn 112 Heart rate 122 floors Treadmill 32 minutes 237 Calorie Burn 96 Heart Rate Rowing Machine 26 minutes 280 Calorie Burn Battle Ropes & Rope Pull-Downs 25 minutes 230 Calorie Burn 13 different exercises X 3 sets [battle Ropes] 3 sets of Left & Right Direction [Rope Pull-Downs] Walking Walked to and from the gym from/to my house: 1.5 miles in each direction; 3 miles Brisk Walk: 15 minute walk to the gym...10 minutes walk to my house 129 Calorie Burn Total Calorie Burn...1,376 All in all...a pretty good day!!

To the bold above. I absolutely understand where you are coming from with displays of achievements but I must point out that, at least for me and my peer's, the pictures of those that came before us is not used as marketing or as decoration but rather as respect for them and their teachings. It's a remembrance of their contributions and a thank you for the art that was handed down to us. A sign of respect. I know you did not mean it this way but I felt compelled to interject this for those that might not yet understand why the founders and those that came before in the lineage line are hanging on the Dojo wall. I did not want young Mudansha to get the impression that they hang there only as a means of promotion, marketing, or as mere decoration to fill space. I wholeheartedly concur!! That personal choice should be respected, even if it's not liked, for whatever the reason(s). I use to hang those pictures of respect until that one day...Christ is the only picture I have on my dojo wall...dead center at the Shomen.

While Patrick's post is solid across the board, and quite important, as well, I still do not want, nor do I need a website because I just don't...it's not that important. My dojo's have averaged a Student Body of just over 300 students WITHOUT ever having a website. The internet is for some, but not for all!! I've done quite well for myself for not ever having a website, twitter, FB, or whatever else is out there. Old school STILL works for me!!

Insurance is so across the spectrum of concerns, they change at the blink of an eye. For that reason, our Hombu is insured in such ways real and/or imagined because one never knows what life is going to throw at you.

No!! I do not subscribe to the born fighter mindset because everyone has to LEARN how to do whatever it is that they do. Impressions are just that...impressions, and impressions fueled by ones assumption can quickly fade for one reason or another.

Welcome to KF, syed1; glad you're here!!

Can you start to smell the peanuts...the cracker jacks...the hotdogs...the grass...the excitement??!! Well, I can!! It's almost time for...BATTER UP!! Time for me to start wearing my Yankee hat, and no other hat. Players are starting to gear up for their spring training, and I'm so HAPPY!! Baseball Football Basketball In that order!! MLB has decided to do some things to shorten, aka, speed the game up, and to me, this is total a uncalled for slap in the face of the OLD BALLGAME!! Leave it alone; it's not broken, imho, so don't try to fix it...LEAVE IT ALONE...PLEASE!! http://www.kctv5.com/story/34576232/mlb-introduces-new-rule-to-speed-up-games-in-2017 GO YANKEES!!

Well, sounds to me that you successfully put your first Testing Cycle behind you; great results for a great Shinshii...YOU!! The first of many to come!! Congrats to your students, to your governing body, and to yourself!!

Thank you for your kind words, Bulltahr and JR 137; means everything to me. Went to my Cardiologist Monday, February 27, 2017, 2pmCDT for a follow-up!! Still at 266lbs, which my Cardiologist was very pleased as well as proud of my efforts to do what must be done for the quality of life. He now knows that he can trust me to do what must be done seriously, and not half way. To hear that he was proud of me, thus far, was everything; let's me no that my efforts aren't in vain, at all. He did an EKG, and I'm STILL in normal sinus rhythm; NO AFIB!! He's rescheduled my Nuclear Stress Test, 3 weeks from now. He says that the reason that he wants to do the NST is because, on the treadmill stress test to be effective, my heart rate has to be around 175-180, and since the Inversion, my heart rate on a treadmill has fallen from 195 to 110. Even on the StairMaster, and I'm at the top 4 levels, my HR is only 115...Cardiac Inversion (CI) was a big success according to my Cardiologist. We're still trying to figure out the financials, and my not know anything exact until the week of the NST. The out-of-pocket price, without insurance, is $1,000. That means, my down payment would be $500. My Blue Cross Blue Shield, at the moment, isn't being forthcoming on what my financial responsibility, as of yet. However, my hospital bill for the CI was well over $10, 000, and after insurance and discounts, I only owe $2,400, of which I'm on a payment plan. I've now more payment plans than there are stars...not really, but you get my meaning. After the NST is completed, my next follow-up will be in 6 months. Cardiologist took away the Medication that regulated the Afib because I don't have Afib, and he also lowered one of my blood pressure medicine from 50mg to 25mg. Signs that I love!! No gym today because my plate was quite full today. Tomorrow, back to the gym...looking to get down to 256 by the end of March...God willing!!

Or a big payday. I might be convinced to step into the ring with Tyson if the pay was big enough. I would probably pee my shorts, and KO on the first punch. But I would get the losers pay. I would not take a dive though. I would go in with the intent of winning, but the knowledge I would lose. Yeah, me too, wholeheartedly. I'd have enough money to fix whatever he broke.

Update: Strained my right thigh muscle at the gym. I tried to lift 650lbs with my legs, I was able to push through 3 sets of 10. But on the last set, I struggled to do the last 5 with just my right leg...not smart!! I can do 540lbs with ease, so I pushed by adding extra plates!! On a different note... Btw, all, I've a follow-up with my Cardiologist this Monday. Hoping to still hear continued good news. Funny or depressing, the follow-up was to have happened after the Nuclear Stress Test, which hasn't happened as of yet, and it should've been completed the week after my Cardiac Inversion. My Cardiologist is one of many doctors at this office; they've two offices. One says one thing and the other says a different thing. One office says I need to pay half up front, $340, before putting me on a payment plan. The other office says $100 down. So, when I see my Cardiologist, I'll let him know the reason why I've not done that test yet. Both offices say that the Cardiologist doesn't involve themselves with financial issues. Really?!? My Cardiologist told me that care before money, and not the opposite. In that, if I can't afford whatever it is, he'd find me a Cardiologist within this conglomerate network so I can get the quality of care that's needed. Things should never be delayed!! Hopefully my Cardiologist will intervene on my behalf.

Thank you. I hope you can get more active with your Afib. Thank you!! My Afib is GONE!! All the glory belongs to Christ!!!!!! Check this out... http://www.karateforums.com/renewing-myself-or-at-least-trying-to-vt50082-50.html 4th post from the top.

You're in my thoughts and prayers!! Fight the good fight!! Follow your doctors instructions to the Nth degree, without fail.

You're in my thoughts and prayers!! Hang in there!! Having a goal to BB is an important goal with what you're experiencing. With that in mind, train hard and train well.

Yes...yes...yes...a thousand yes!! Great news!!

Welcome to KF, anto; glad that you're here!! I'm not a Goju practitioner, per se, and I don't formally teach any Goju Kata's in my dojo, nor does our Hombu. Dabbled because I love Kata from styles outside of our Shindokan circle. Hopefully, some Goju practitioners here at KF can offer some suggestions. Coming from someone, me, that's 59 years of age, I say that your idea is a good one. You're moving, and you're not sedentary. Kata practice helps in fine tuning the Kata's across the board, and if you execute them as they're suppose to be, and with a determined resolve, it's one heck of a cardio burn. Good luck, train hard, and train well!!

There's no definitive answer to this, imho, because, if memory serves me, there's 50,000 versions of American Kenpo. I know, 50K is quite a large number, so much so, that it's quite hard to either fathom and/or believe that there just might be...50,000 versions of American Kenpo. After all, Ed Parker's version of American Kenpo, as founded by James Mitose, is just that, a version of American Kenpo. Note: James Mitose was never Ed Parker's instructor: Professor Chow!! As you've already noticed in your OP, Jeff Speakman, a Ed Parker black belt, has his own version. I've noticed over the years, that the many versions of American Kenpo simply use that founders name as the name of the American Kenpo version that they've founded; not all, but many. Ed Parker is probably most known to Kenpo practitioners as the founder of American Kenpo, as well as also being the "Father of American Kenpo". Most, if not all, Kenpo practitioners accept that he's deserving to the title of Senior Grand Master of American Kenpo. Many of Ed Parker's black belts, both Junior as well as Senior, have founded some type of American Kenpo version, and that some, not all, are not quite fond of each other for some reason or another. This became quite evident and apparent very shortly after Ed Parker passed away. So, 50K versions might be not an exaggeration at all...maybe!!

"You fat pig!!" "You disgust me!!" "There's no way that you can be a black belt, let alone, a high ranking black belt!!" "We're not interested because of your weight; you're not a positive role model!!" "You're out of shape, grossly out of shape, and you call yourself a black belt?!" "You're a liar; you are not a black belt. If you were, you'd not be as fat as you are!!" Words thrown on me as though I no more better than horse dung!! A pain that will scare me until my dying days; no band-aide can cover the forever lasting pain...hurt...more long lasting than one can imagine. These are only just a few that I've heard over the past many, many, many years concerning my weight. A book shouldn't be judged by its cover, but just by its content!! However, this doesn't seem to apply just to books!! There once was a time when I weighted 350lbs...yes...350LBS!! Do you know what it's like to hear doctors label you as "Grossly Obese"?? While these labels might be medically approved, they still leave a wound that's difficult to heal. I've not owned a size 6 gi, in like, forever. As my weight ballooned and skyrocketed out of control to that 350lb range, I had to find a solution fast, because, to my knowledge, there are no gi manufacturers that produce a gi to fit a 350lb girth. I'd buy 2 size 6 gi's and have some talented seamstress build me a gi that I could wear by combining the two gi's. Key in pulling this off, is to hire a master seamstress to do so, but to not leave it where it showed that the gi that I'm wearing wasn't made from 2 gi's. There's a picture here at KF with Brain and me in it, and the gi I wore for that picture was a gi made from 2 gi's. I'm not sure if Brain could tell or not, but not many, if any knew that. Matter of fact, I don't think I've ever told anyone at any of my dojo's and/or at the Hombu of that tailoring secret. But, it's true!! To be shunned by others, due to my weight, especially from the MA world, is, oftentimes, more than I can bear. Many years I've wept over the rejections that I've received from other MAists. Words cut deeply, as do the disapproving looks, and I'm not immune to either. Yes, I'm taking the measurable steps to improve my healthy life style, and I'm proud of what I've accomplished thus far. It took a diagnosis of Afib to get my attention. Had it not been for that wake-up call, I might've died more prematurely than expected. No, I'm not out of the woods yet, but the hope I feel is not in vain or hopeless. Those outside of the Shindokan circle who took a chance with me, despite their less than hopeful expectations about a many things regarding my MA knowledge/experience, walked away with a changed appreciation concerning me once they shared the floor with me. While the anguished pain of those many years may never fade away, I'm doing what I can to improve my healthy life style, and one pound at a time, by trying my hardest to renew myself. Cut me, don't I bleed?! Hurt me, don't I cry?! Being cast aside like an unwanted rag because of my weight history is a hurt that I don't wish upon my worse's enemy. Many sleepless nights have I experienced, and many tears have I wept because of being not accepted by fellow MAists; those who doubted me...those who defiled me...those who scorned me...those who called me a liar...those who passed ill-begotten judgement on me... And why? Because I'm "obese"?! Because I don't fit into their expectations?! Because I'm a few steaks short of cardiac arrest?! These hurts...this pain...is forever!! Even nowadays, I'm laughed at and I'm lampooned because of my weight. Even here at KF, over the years I've read posts where members have spoken about just how disgusting it is to see a "so-called" instructor who's out of shape and the like, and while none of these posts were ever directed towards me, it still deeply hurt me. Again, I'm trying my best to renew myself!! That should be for myself, and not for others!! The floor speaks for me quite wholeheartedly!!