sensei8

Originally, our Hombu had tried to enforce a 25 mile radius out and away from the Hombu. HOWEVER, and in quite a short time after our Soke ruled, one of his Sandan students, who was also a LEO with the Los Angeles Police Department at the time, brought something of interest to our Soke... The furthest distance from East to West are approximately 25 miles! The furthest distance from the North to South are approximately 12 miles! Seeing that the Hombu was, at that time, located in Canoga Park, CA, in the West of the San Fernando Valley, with Burbank, CA in the East of same said Valley, and they being 25 miles apart from each other, and in no small measure that the Valley is only 12 distance from the North to the South... ...that would mean that only 1 dojo would be allowed to exist, unless one located outside of the San Fernando Valley, then that wouldn't violate Soke's so-called imaginary radius. Soke wasn't against, nor did he care one way or another, networked dojo's being out of the Valley. However, Soke wanted more than 1 networked dojo in the Valley. So, what did Soke do? He changed his radius requirements and decided that it would be ok to allow for one networked dojo to be located in each of the cities that made up the Valley, which would be a whopping 22, at that time. Nowadays, the Valley consists of 44 cities in its 260 square miles. In conclusion, a networked dojo of the SKKA can open next door to each other without any Hombu concerns; the more the merry. It's not fair, nor is it right to enforce what another person does, especially in a free and fair market. Ethical things might speak against things like this, but can't be enforced today. Sure, landlords won't rent to two Shindokan dojo's in the same strip-mall, nor that close to another for the fear of having to lose a tenant.

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

By all means; this was a very proud day for you and your family!! A child's enthusiasm can't be denied, and in that, children, your son, are the future of the MA. So, we better guide them properly along their own MA journey!! Thank you for sharing the photo...spoke in volumes!! Thank you for sharing your son as well as the experience on your proud day!!

Minus the weight classes, as I suppose that they exist for many wholesome reasons, nonetheless, many competitors drive that false sense of security that they, through their style of MA, begin to imagine that they, themselves, are far superior to everyone else...ahem...better than everyone else. I'm not saying that any said competitor isn't skilled and experienced in their MA, however, things like the weight classes and the rules and the regulations and anything else, they tend to carry the air of invincibility for all to see. What's forgotten, in their air of superiority, is that not every individual can win at everything, especially on the streets. It's heard around the world..."Best" or "Better" or whatever other label one should desire to attach to themselves and/or the MA they're a student of. I'd just like to see said competitors check their superiority at the door more often than it has been before. I don't know; I'm just thinking out loud. Imho!!

Imho, Leadership programs should teach moral expectations to its students!! The moral fiber of the students should be strengthened daily by all, not just the CI, even though, the CI's mentoring of its student body is their responsibility. This is to include the teaching of sound integrity. Without integrity, sound leadership can't exist; only anarchy. Say what you mean, and mean what you say this, imho, should be at the core of any leadership program!! However, that leadership program shouldn't be a program at all! No! That value should be taught everyday at every class to every student, no matter age or rank or tenure or position...no matter what!!

Had something like you're OP speaks towards, I, as the Kaicho of the SKKA would've investigated it myself to see if what I'm being told bears any truth. If, after my investigation, and this would've included speaking with all concerned parties, I've determined that the facts speak for themselves, I would've expelled him without reservations and/or ambiguity. If, after my investigation proves that what I've been told isn't the truth, then those that have brought this to my attention would've been expelled forthwith and without any reservations and/or ambiguity. The sanctity of integrity must be upheld at all times without any reservations and/or ambiguity. If not, then the integrity of that governing body is drastically flawed, and that governing body can't be trusted at all!! Each instructor, each CI, each student, each employee, each parent/guardian, each person that comes in contact with the SKKA, and the governing body itself, must be held to the highest standard, especially when it comes to integrity!! Violating that sanctity means dealing out an unmerciful resolve!! Sounds unforgiving of me? Sounds unreasonable of me? I wouldn't care what it sounds like because, as Kaicho of the SKKA, I've not the time or inclination to be concerned with opinions, especially when it's about the sanctity of integrity, and more importantly, my primary responsibilities are for our entire Student Body, first and foremost, and for the SKKA!! Tough decisions have to be made from time to time, and a lot of the time, not everyone will agree with what I've decided, no matter whom they are, but if I can't, or I'm not willing to make those tough decisions, then the SKKA will find someone who will, as well as being consistent with those tough decisions. Oftentimes, it can be quite lonely at the top, and for good reasons. I accept that which is required of me!! Whomever violates the sanctity of integrity doesn't care about anyone else, but only themselves!!

Our style, Shindokan Saitou-ryu teaches everything that your OP speaks towards, with Tuite being at the top because, as our Soke taught us, "Shindokan is Tuite and Tuite is Shindokan; can't separate them".

Rules as well as regulations with venues, such as UFC, have their weight classes to appease those commissions and the like per state laws, and the such. The days of early UFC, where there were no weight classes, are gone, and shall never return in my life time. Realistic?! That, the realistic portion, imho, have never been there because of the rules! In the streets, there are no rules. As long as the rules are there, there will be no realistic outcome, only supposed interpretations of any outcome. Imho!!

Good luck, Archangel, with both; sounds like you'll be busy...but you'll do great!!

Some very thoughtful questions, MatsuShinshii, and you deserve some very thoughtful answers from me; I'll try to do just that. . This just isn't going to happen. Why? It's a very bad idea, and while I was against it at the very beginning when they first introduced this idea to me, even though, I was willing to entertain their idea, I've not changed my opposition. Having said that, I've decided that it's time to abolish/amend that specific By-Law because, imho, it's served its purpose, and its time has reached its given maturity, in which that type of change has been long in the making. I've written out a rough draft, and will forward it to our Legal Team for its legal language, and such, as also with, its propriety conclusions and the like, as well. As with anything of this degree of importance, the amendment must be legal binding through and through, without any ambiguity whatsoever. "For the immediate future, and from this time forward, the position of Kaicho will continue to be an elected position. However, the position of Kaicho will not, and shall not be awarded to the Dan Rank of Kudan, as it had been so ordered previously, with the air of immediacy, within the SKKA By-Laws. Therefore, the rank of Kudan, shall, now and for the time being, will not, and shall not be an attainable Dan Rank within the SKKA and/or same said By-Laws in any shape, way, and/or form. Albeit, the position of Kaicho can be held by only Senior Dan Ranks with a minimum of a Kyoshi Shogo, whereas, a Kyoshi Shogo is more preferred." That would've not been possible for either a Godan or a Yondan to be elected into the position of Kaicho because any Kaicho candidate would emerge from the Higher Hierarchy, and from there only. Only the Kancho, as well as the five members of the Regents were, and are, the only qualified persons. And sadly, NO!! Had we allowed ourselves to me blind by a failed idea, those elected to the position of Kaicho, and thereby awarded a Kudan, would have that Kudan for life!! That left my stomach to churn and my brain to fizzle. As you've mentioned, we would've been way top heavy with an abundance of Kudan's. If we had done so, then our integrity would've been questioned by others, and more so, by our Student Body, and that, that alone is the reason that this idea will not see the light of another day. Not under my watch, and not under the Legal Teams watch; legality is, in this, tantamount!! Yes, it would've been a monstrous mistake had we allowed it to reach its fruition. Had it gone through, and we, after the fact, had realized our error, we would've made whatever necessary steps to correct any and all outcomes as a result from it, and in an attempt to lessen any damage across the board. In short, it would've darn nearly killed any, if not all, of the Higher Hierarchy's integrity; once that was lost, any repairs made would've been only surface deep, and not within the hearts and the minds of the Student Body. The original idea was to recycle those within the Higher Hierarchy, if need be, until a permanent Kaicho was elected upon, and named for the terms length. In short, and with great respect, all of this is now mute because those friends, all of them, have passed away, this past July 2016 in a senseless tragedy.

Great topic, MatsuShinshii; thanks for starting it. Integrity is of a paramount concern!! Without integrity, nothing of any value can't, and shouldn't, survive on its own merits. Two things I won't tolerate... Thieves and liars!! Have no use for them!! Don't want those types of individuals around my family and me!! No excuse, no matter how magnanimous it might be, will ever suffice for violating the sanctity of integrity!! Here are a few examples... Our Soke, in the earliest days of our Hombu, had expelled several of his instructors, who ran their own dojo's under the umbrella of the SKKA; the governing body that he founded, for violating his trust, in which, the sanctity of integrity was violated. These liars, for one, were conducting testing cycles without the explicit permission of the Hombu, of which, that permission would've never been granted in the first place, and they were holding their testing cycles on a weekly basis. And for two, and this is the worse violation across many areas, they were printing out copies of Shindokan/SKKA certificates as well as Inkans; ones not worse than the other!! Our Hombu suspended, as well as striped one rank from one of my most senior student. He repeatedly lied to the Hombu for years about a criminal conviction that he had. All instructors, no matter their rank, are asked on their application as well as on their yearly renewals, about any criminal convictions. So, my student, on one of his instructor renewal forms, checked the box that he had a criminal conviction. This came to the attention of our Soke; he wasn't pleased at all. Not about the crime and/or the conviction, but more for not coming forth with the truth at the onslaught of it all. What was his crime? Possession of a nunchaku, which is a misdemeanor in California, was his criminal conviction. While the crime was alarming for Soke, it was that he lied. That lying was, to our Soke, and for any of his instructors, quite unforgivable. If one will lie about anything, even the most smallest of one, than how can trust be earned with things that are much more severe and/or sensitive of nature?!?! The apple doesn't fall far from the tree. I am my Soke and Dai-Soke's student. Therefore, how they held others, especially those most trusted with so much, I do hold all instructors, not just mine, at a higher standard. A standard that's birthed in and from the very meaning of integrity. I've no ambiguity whatsoever concerning integrity in all things!! Without reservations, and without any ambiguity, even more so!! How can I bear the torch of integrity, and expect those directly in my supervision, no matter their status, if my standards concerning integrity and the like aren't much more higher. If I'm to be that positive role model, than I must hold myself to an even higher standard!! They'd possibly face expulsion!! There's no gray areas; only black and white exists in the sanctity of integrity!! A serious resolve is the only punishment, so as to prevent any other violations of this nature, or those which might be more severe!!

If it presents itself, BITE, and bite hard; most will let go, most will not...it might be worth the try, whenever all else has been tried.

What you're speaking about here is what Shindokan is about; very old school mindset, which, to me, doesn't surprise me seeing that our Soke was born and raised and trained in Okinawa. In that, we do condition ourselves through various methods, but primarily it's done with Hojo Undo.

Are those students TEACHING, or are they ASSISTING?? If they're teaching, then they're in full charge of the floor. If they're assisting, then they're not in full charge of the floor. To effectively teach, that individual must be in full charge of the floor because whatever is explained, can be overruled by whomever is in charge of the floor at any given time. Imho, that relationship can be a very sensitive and unstable one.

Welcome, manwofear; glad that you're here!!

I suppose that that's how my Kudan came about. I refused the promotion over and over and over, even though our By-Laws states that whomever is elected to Kaicho, that individual will be promoted to the rank of Kudan. I didn't like that, I still don't like it, and I refused to accept Kudan because of some rule in our By-Laws, repeatedly. Even my Dai-Soke spoke with me about this very same thing, and after we had talked, he understood my reasons, even though he didn't agree with them all, he told everyone to leave me alone. So, perhaps my Kudan was already decided upon way back, and under the guise of a Testing Cycle, one that I demanded, they awarded me my Kudan. Again, in my heart of hearts, I'm Hachidan, and I'm content with that. In Shindokan, all ranks up to, and including Hachidan, are tested for their ranks, in both karate-do and kobudo. Only Kudan and Judan are awarded through the auspices of our By-Laws. And I still believe, so was MY Kudan!! I agree with you and respect your feelings on the subject. I have passed on promotion 4 times in my journey and only accepted a position/title after Shinshii explained to me that I had expectations and had built up what each level should be in my mind. That others around you can see what you can not and sometimes you have to respect the decisions of others especially when they see you for what you are. If your organization felt that you were worthy of such a title, rank and position they probably are right even though you felt differently. I respect that you forced them to legitimize it by having them test you. And to speak more so to the reasons behind your promotion; If you do what I did and take yourself out of the picture and switch positions, looking at yourself as anyone else would, would you feel the same? Would you promote yourself and grant your position? The art teaches us to be humble, selfless and to set lofty goals for ourselves. It is sometimes hard to accept what others see or what is best for the organization as a whole when it does not fit into our own perceptions caused by our training. Based on the few posts I have read of yours I tend to agree with their decision. Solid post!! For no other reason, I suppose that my loyalty to my Sensei, Yoshinobu Takahashi, Dai-Soke, still yearns for HIS approval. Everything that I ever earned was under HIM, and within me, I still yearn for HIS approval, even though he's no longer with us. His approval, is that stamp!! If anything that I've earned doesn't have his stamp, then I feel unworthy to the nth degree. I shouldn't, but I do, at times!! Would I feel the same about my Kudan, had he conducted that Testing Cycle himself?? I suppose not!! But, he didn't, because he couldn't; that void in my heart is as big now as it was when he passed away.

Congrats, LLLEARNER; well deserved!!

Shouldn't a student WANT to teach, instead of being required to teach?? Forcing one to teach, for whatever the reason(s) might or might not be, can seriously curb any interest, if any interest was ever there.

This is me, but I wouldn't have replied in like, at all. I would've addressed him in a total professional manner, and that would've including me apologizing for my spelling error, and assuring the customer that I'd strive to earn his business. Why? If that customer wasn't really going to take their business elsewhere, and they were just venting, as that's a customers right to do so, no matter how harsh that customer is in their complaint, that once that customer reads your email, that customer will be much more inclined to follow through with the threat of taking their business elsewhere. We've only one chance to make that impression, and once that first impression has expired, a bad impression serves the company of no value, and any attempt to reconcile, will be for naught. Yes, you matched wit for wit, but in the long run, the battle of wits has the business losing, while the customer wins. It's all about Customer Service, and when Customer Service isn't provided, the business is drastically affected. Sending a negative email right back to the customer has two things: 1. Time stamp and date 2. Proof of your email [that might be sent to your supervisor, if you've one] A customer might perceive your email as negative because the customers complaint wasn't solved, yet your email might only exasperate the entire situation, a situation that might cause you more harm than good. Two wrongs never make a right!!

I suppose that that's how my Kudan came about. I refused the promotion over and over and over, even though our By-Laws states that whomever is elected to Kaicho, that individual will be promoted to the rank of Kudan. I didn't like that, I still don't like it, and I refused to accept Kudan because of some rule in our By-Laws, repeatedly. Even my Dai-Soke spoke with me about this very same thing, and after we had talked, he understood my reasons, even though he didn't agree with them all, he told everyone to leave me alone. So, perhaps my Kudan was already decided upon way back, and under the guise of a Testing Cycle, one that I demanded, they awarded me my Kudan. Again, in my heart of hearts, I'm Hachidan, and I'm content with that. In Shindokan, all ranks up to, and including Hachidan, are tested for their ranks, in both karate-do and kobudo. Only Kudan and Judan are awarded through the auspices of our By-Laws. And I still believe, so was MY Kudan!!

I'm a bit dismayed by what I watched during the TKD events lately at Rio 2016. One particular item of concern was watching Steven Lopez fall short in his bid of winning another Olympic medal. His last match for a Bronze medal was against Oussama Queslati, of Tunisia, with a final score of 14-5, against a much taller opponent that was about 6' 7", against Lopez's 6' 3" frame. Queslati appeared to me to be all legs, and I mean long legs. Exchange after exchange, round after round, Lopez attacked Queslati over and over, as did Queslati to Lopez. Queslati scored one after another after another, and after the 2nd round, Queslati was ahead by leaps and bounds, and I believe that the score was 10-1 against Lopez, with only one round remaining. Over and over, Queslati and Lopez clashed with one another. Over and over, Queslati used his long legs to score...with the end looming over Lopez's Olympic medal search. I was shocked!! Not that Lopez was bested by Queslati, but how the electronic scoring was not doing its job!! Even the two commentators made a disbelieved notice that even though Lopez was "scoring" one after another on Queslati, the electronic scoring vest wasn't awarding clean points to Lopez; these two commentators were without a reason as to why Lopez's clear points weren't being recorded. This brings me to this concern. Sure, devices are man-made, and anything man-made, no matter how well made, malfunction without any notice at all; things happen. If that's the case!! No, I'm not saying that something underhanded occurred, not even going to entertain that. I'm sure that when Karate makes its debut in the Olympics, those same scoring vests will be utilized. I'm sure, that the IOC went with scoring vests because a human judge is subjected to making judgemental errors. Whereas, an electronic vest isn't subjected to errors...or so we're lead to believe. Lopez's TKD match wasn't the only match I watched, and time and time again, I saw very clean points not being tabulated by the electronic scoring vest. Clear points I saw were not glances, nor were they clashes. I opt for doing the scoring for Karate at the Olympics being that of the old fashioned way of scoring...with human corner judges and a center judge. After all, for as long as I can remember, and that a lot of remembering, Karate Kumite matches aren't continues like TKD matches are. Karate matches stop after each score for judgement. Old fashion or modern scoring? I choose old fashion!!

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

To know for certain if whether your thumbs broken or not, my initial advice is that you visit your doctor asap, then follow the advice from your doctor. In meanwhile, I'd ice it, and I'd immobilize it as best as I can in order to hopefully limit any further aggravation/injury until I got to my doctor. We, whomever, tend to be our own doctor, and I believe that that might be the most frugal thing to, as well as self-diagnosing at the time, but that mindset can cause additional grieve in the long run. Hang in there, and I hope you feel better, sooner than later!!

Welcome to KF, MatsuShinshii; glad you're here!! I'm particularly excited that you're here because while we're of different styles, birthed in Okinawa, we, you and I, are kind of cut out of the same wood. Both of our governing bodies have suffered pretty much the same turbulence's of varying degrees over the years, yet, we've never ever meet face to face. Hi, I'm Bob, glad to meet you!! Glad to also see another Senior Dan rank, with a Shogo, here at KF, but for no particular reason(s); just good to see, is all. I respect all MAist of all ranks, and not just those who've earned a Senior Dan rank.

My condolences to Nakazato Shugoro Sensei's family, friends, and students; he'll be truly missed by all. While I never had a chance to meet him and/or train under him, I knew about him, but only from a distance. I've read about him over the years in many different publications, and I hold the highest respect for him across the board. He can't be replaced, only admired for his life long dedication to Shorin-Ryu, as well as his students; they've lost a legend of not only Shorin-Ryu, but of the MA world in general. Many students of the MA, no matter the style, might've been inspired somehow and someway by Nakazato Shugoro Sensei, not only by the manner of which he trained, taught, and lived both in and out of the MA, especially Shorin-Ryu...I know I was!! I deeply bow to Nakazato Shugoro Sensei, now and forever!!