sensei8

Yeah, that's a HUGE red flag. I understand the need for uniformity in things like gis, and sparring gear and other safety equipment, but Accessories like weapons? I mean, is it cheaper in comparison to Century or something? From what I've heard from the parents, it's way more expensive! Brands cost money, yet, the brands set the price. If TR is more than Century based on the brand, then TR thinks quite a lot about themselves. Imho!!

Ooohhhhhhhh....I didn't know that!! Thanks, Brain!!

Our Testing Cycles are formally held, in that, our promotions are also formally held; once every quarter, as well as the Hombu's Annual Testing Cycle. Our Soke was big on formality, and even bigger on ceremony!! Ceremonially, to him, Soke, this was him personally recognizing each students accomplishments. All of the bells and whistles with all of the pomp and circumstances, and then some!! Testing Cycles were literally, for us students, HELL ON EARTH!! Soke was the devil incarnate when it came to him being that taskmaster...tolerance, he had none. The apple didn't fall from the tree...Dai-Soke was even more intolerant, and an equal taskmaster. Kind of like they were competing to see who can be more intolerant and more the taskmaster than the other, and we're the product of that...I'd have it no other way.

This is awesome! YES...it is awesome!

They all cover the points that matter and should be adhered to if not the "we-con-you"/McDojo types will grow in number!! I have heard of this and even seen it once, well technically I DIDNT SEE IT because I wasn't allowed lol! I never understood it or at least cared for it. Testing being a private event I mean. I feel that part of life is failing at things, and should they fail I understand wanting to make it private BUT sometimes when you fail at things you are going to do it in public, this is what gives us character. Think Kobe Bryant taking the winning shot and missing it... His fail in public drives him harder, it's the moment that brings the best out in is. I'm a fan of laying it all on the table, win or lose! Solid post!!

LOL!! Knowing my parents, I think that they'd be, well, lousy students because, them being my parents, they'd want to still be, well, my parents!! Remember, my mom was once physically sat down by my Sensei when she ran her mouth while she stepped on the floor without permission. I was livid and wanted to crawl under the dojo, and never come out.

I think that you've hit a home run in 12 months...SOLID! How so? Well, in your 12th month you did what? Your numbers didn't grow, which speaks about stability, AND, you didn't shrink at all either, which speaks about, again, stability. Have you yet figured out what would be an acceptable decrease on EACH quarter, that wouldn't affect your bottom line? I ask that, because, as you know, life can get in the way of the dojo/dojang, as it's expected. Baseball/football, school activities, vacations, etc affect the bottom line. With 34 students, for the moment, if it was me, I'd be within tolerances with 5 students at a time, per month, that weren't on the floor. However, and I'm dead against this, contract students must pay whether they're on the floor or not. Those 5 off the floor are about a 15% decrease, and anything above that would affect my bottom line. Nonetheless, those moments when life gets in the way, the other months overshadow those "slow" months, and therefore, responsibilities are still being meet. That's when I'd plan seminars and the like in the hopes of recouping finances during those months when the dojo/dojang are the last place in their plans.

Solid post!!

Sounds to me that their on an upswing of things, and this is a good thing, whether they win or lose, they're keeping it real!! And of course, I look forward to VIDEOS!!

Solid post; spoke in volumes!!

Like MMA? No, but an open format where all(most) styles are welcome to attend. These will include a wide range of styles. I'm not sure where in TX you are, but here are some I know of.... Houston - http://www.jamallnationals.com/#!home/c14q Grapevine, TX - TForce Elite Internationals 8/13/16 San Antonio - http://www.yellowrosenationals.com/ Austin - Lonestar Open normally in October Also check the NBL site - http://www.nblskil.com/pages/tournamentlisting.html And these sites too - http://theaok.org/Tournaments.aspx, http://www.texaskarate.com/tournaments.htm, http://tklonline.com/tournaments.html And finally, if you use Facebook follow 'Buckeye Karate Tournaments, Seminars, & More'. Folks post a lot of tournaments there. Now, that's a solid post!!

Both Bulltahr and JR 137 have offered solid advice in their posts!! I'd only add, and this is what I was told by my Sensei and this is what I tell my students... The testing cycle will take care of itself!! You've done the training...you've bleed the tears and the sweat and all that encompasses in MA training. So, just take a deep breath, relax, and do your best. If you pass, then you pass...if you fail, you fail; worse things can happen to you! If you mess up, and you will, big deal, ALLOW THE TEST TO TAKE CARE OF ITSELF. Whatever you THINK you've messed up, you can't, for that moment, do anything about it. Remember, as in any test, and this includes tests that aren't from the MA world, you can miss so many questions, and STILL pass the test. Passing, for most, is 70%, and in time, that percentage will increase. Relax; it's all good!!

Solid post!!

Enjoy... Being honest with oneself...isn't easy, but necessary!! Thoughts, please.

In the most basic of dumbville language, can someone PLEASE teach me how I can download something either from my phone or from my computer to KF or to YouTube or etc. I barely, no, that's a lie, I don't even know how to download anything onto my computer and with that, I don't know how to download FROM my computer or to my computer. I've a new camcorder, that I still don't know how to use. And when I learn how, how do I download it to aforementioned places. I've asked family, and friends, and others, but, I'm dumber than dumb, and I get confused easily with these things. Great at MA, but the simplest stuff, WAY OVER MY HEAD. Seems that I have to be drawn out directions in crayon...but that too, might be well over my head. My wife's shown me, but, I can't grasp it at all. Patrick and other KF members have tried to help me, but even then, I scratch my head and go..."HUH??". I'm not wired that way. I want to learn. I want show the world Shindokan!! But, my want isn't meeting with my abilities.

That's what I'm talking about; very cool, Brian, very cool!!

Solid post!!

I'm in their corner...all the way. Good luck Kenneth and Kendall!!

I agree with the bold type above; being eye catching, at least. I've trained so long in resistive training that any other method bores me to tears. This is my shortcoming, I suppose!! I was watching some Tiger Rock videos and I was appalled at what I saw. One of their 9th Dans struggled to execute their 9th Dan form: unbalanced kicks, jerky movements, spinning kicks that were knee to waist high...their suppose to be TKD core. All breaks were with a 1-inch board, even for the High Dan ranks...below expectations in my opinion. They defined what drives me crazy. Do a demo....dominating against said attacker...then when that same dominator spars, they're not the same...they're the one being dominated...and these again, are High Dan ranks. Now, they do have a 7th Dan that was pretty good all around, and with that, I can only hope there are more like him!! I've done my share of non-resistive demo's. Yet, nowadays, I won't do them because they, well, bore me to death!! I'll leave those demos with someone else in Shindokan!! When teaching techniques, we'll teach the nomenclature of the entire technique, and then, we'll turn the tables by having the student resist or we'll resist the student. Then their learning curve peaks up. Our students know that their attacker will be quite proactive in their attacks, and at times, a give and take emerges.

Congrats, Bulltahr; well deserved!!

Ever watch any MA demo targeting in the realm of self-defense? Ever be so unimpressed that you just walk out shaking your head in wonderment? Ever then watch same MA demo master engage in Kumite/Sparring, and they're no longer that dominate? Well, so have I; more times than I care to remember. Why? Why the difference from the demo to the Kumite? RESISTIVE VS NON-RESISTIVE TRAINING!! Non-resistive demos bore me to death!! In Kumite: That's resistive! In demo's: That's non-resistive! In Kumite, your opponent isn't just standing there static while the "star" does as he/she pleases 2...3...4...5...wow techniques and you do nothing but submit. In demo's, the "star" is super-human and perform, and I do mean perform, an amazing plethora of techniques, thusly dominating the "victim". How...unrealistic! How...demoralizing! How...ineffective! How...false! Building up self-confidence in one thing, but creating a false security that what they're demonstrating is effective. Effectiveness can only be achieved with resistive training. Non-resistive training only harbors imaginative effectiveness. Yet, to their shock, they're not effective on the street; they're no longer the MA superman that the non-resistive training birthed. That's why I'm so fortunate to have learned resistive training. Whereas, we train 90% resistive to learn how to be effective in our techniques! The other 10% of non-resistive training is to learn the techniques. Our demo's are resistive. You attack me, I execute 1...2...3...techniques, however, you're resisting EVERYTHING I do. Yeah, but how can I train resistively and not injure my partner? You can! In Shindokan, we're taught that to learn Shindokan one must experience Shindokan. Alas, some discomfort will occur. Listen, I don't have to use full force to manipulate you! Grab me, and I apply! Yet, that application isn't breaking your bones, but I've your undivided attention, and yes, for the moment, you're feeling quite uncomfortable. I can do 2-steps on you in a resistive manner, and you'll know that I was there; you'll be uncomfortable, but not maimed. I've control, therefore, I decide the amount of force. In resistive training discomfort MUST be experienced. Spank a child, they're uncomfortable, but they're not maimed or killed! Same thing in how we train resistively! You MUST EXPERIENCE Shindokan, otherwise, false securities creep us and become a standard. When I trained a few years ago with bushido_man96/Brian, I told him that for him to understand Shindokan, he'd have to experience it first hand. He did on both grounds! To learn our brand of Tuite, you have to experience it to understand and believe in its effectiveness. Brian and I did some resistive training those days together over one weekend, and I believe that Brian appreciated our mindset towards resistive training. Non-resistive training has its merits, but it's limited. Resistive training is limitless because not only do you learn more about the technique, but you learn a lot about yourself. How to react when something doesn't go as it's suppose to, is a learning model for all; both the attacker and the defender!! Sure, do the non-resistive demo to show what "it" looks like, but then, right after, do the same demo resistively, and see the big difference unfold before your eyes. Next time you're doing 1...2...3 step sparring, throw a monkey wrench in the whole thing, and see what you see. I pretty much guarantee that you'll open up a new avenue that you hadn't expected. Imho!!

Welcome to KF, cblupo; glad that you're here!! Well, there's the UFC and venues like that. Then there's the old PKA bouts with guys like Joe Lewis, Bill Wallace and the gang. Then there's also Don Wilson and Benny Urquidez and the gang with some great kickboxing matches. Nonetheless, compared to the list in your OP, Karate hasn't had, imho, moments like those!! Sport Karate, lacks quite a lot in the aura in the long run!!

Solid post!!

When you click on the "Learn More" box at the end of that video, you get this... http://tigerrockevents.com/promotion/the-masters-invitational/ With Hotel info, and the like.

Our Hombu will be bringing in the New Year with a special New Years Class, open for all ages and for all ranks from 11pm to 1215am, and that will be followed by a party from 1220am to 145am. Just like its been done for as long as I can remember. Of course, we don't expect many, if any, kids to attend because the lateness of the celebration. NO ALCOHOLIC BREVERAGES WILL BE SERVED OR ALLOWED!! My family and I will celebrate the New Year...by staying home in Houston, TX. Nope, I've not been to the Hombu's New Years Class but for a few times since I left California to care for my mom in Dallas, TX before she passed away many, many years ago.