sensei8

You've found a school(s) that allow you to pass out fliers?? That's a goldmine of potentiality!! Schools usually forbid that for many reasons, usually student safety; you being on school property being at the top of that list. Also, schools doesn't promote commercial enterprises, and they're not in the business of allowing any advertising. Also, school is private property, but across the street isn't, but either way, without permission of the school, police will be called quickly. If you rent the gym after school, the school will allow the passing out of fliers, and the school will even pass them out DURING SCHOOL, plus make announcements on the PA system, and even mention MA training in their newsletters.

Rolling with other students can be challenging across a many avenues; some pleasant, while others aren't so pleasant. While your training partner used the wall as an allied in his plan. I commend his use of the surroundings to his advantage because that's what we're suppose to do; adapt and conquer across the board. Him being over aggressive is ok! Was the instructor near by? If the instructor was observant of your two rolling, but chose to say nothing, then I see no problem. Being put in situations is part of being trained. An instructor will gauge the training in the hopes that the student(s) will work the situation out, while still maintaining that no one's injured. Training needs to be, has to be challenging for students to learn!! What I read in your OP was that while your training partner might've been aggressive and used the wall to his advantage, I see that your were provided a many challenges that you could learn from. Did you learn anything? If so, then it was a productive roll, for both of you. With you not willing to tap, and I commend that as well, any discomfort and/or pain was your choice to endure. In the safety of the school, things are done this way and that way, and your instructor is that safety valve. But in the streets, you're on your own. Did you panic? No!! You worked!! I put my students in panic modes often because they've got to experience that, and they've got to learn how to work through it to the best of their abilities. I'll make life uncomfortable for them so they can learn to work through varying degrees of difficulties. Of course I don't hurt them, but I'll make them uncomfortable, like use the wall, one of my favorite things. In the UFC, for example, the cage wall can be an allied. Learn how to adapt, and this will take time. I'll lightly apply Kyusho jitsu points to them to make them uncomfortable. His tactics, might've felt cheap, and you've seen no one else do this before, your training partner did you a favor: he challenged you! I love it when my training partner will challenge me on the floor because I need to improve my MA betterment, and the best way to do that is to be challenged across the board. To be put, and to feel in uncomfortable situations is LEARNING!! I love to learn!! Your training partner was resistive, and that's good. Un-resistive training at times can serve no value to learning! Go with this and go with that, without any resistance at all, gives that false security, and that's unproductive. The vibe is set by the instructor, and if your instructor allowed the roll to continue, he saw nothing negative at all, but only saw an opportunity for you, and your training partner, to learn through working in and out of the situation(s). I feel you had a good roll! You finally got to a place where you could roll, and that meant to neutralize his allied wall; smart of you to do that because had you not, he would've STILL used that wall to his advantage. Some students believe that they MUST win every single time on the floor! That's fine! DON'T LET THEM WIN; MAKE THEM EARN THE WIN!! If they earn the win, shake their hand with an acknowledging grin of approval!! Do you feel that your instructor DIDN'T do his job in keeping you safe and free from harm?? If so, then the time is now to speak with your instructor about what you're feeling. If not, then train hard and train well!! I believe that you'll learn to be more aggressive, but that'll take time to figure that all out. I see no harm and no foul in your roll, just opportunities to learn.

Mat time? For a testing cycle?? Is the testing cycle conducted In-House?? Is the approved Testing Cycle mandatory?? Governing bodies sure are big in their britches, imho!! Charging whatever they want to, and the poor student is saddled with the high costs, in which the student is left with no further recourse. No fees, then you get no bag of MA goodies!! Governing bodies and the like can hold tangible items hostage, but the acquired knowledge/experience belongs to the student!! Tangible things shouldn't cost an arm and a leg!! Blood CAN be gotten from a turnip, after all.

$400 for a Shodan testing cycle?!?!? Holy Gouge, Batman!! It's JUST a belt, some little paperwork, and some time!! Time and paperwork are not worth $300+!! All of these are only tangible things!! So, $30 each for all kyu testing cycles!?! OK...I must be missing something...let's see...hhhhmmmmm...same belt material, just different colors....same time and same paperwork... A $370 increase from Ikkyu to Shodan...I wasn't aware that the market demanded that type of increase with the same tangible items. I know it's whatever the market can bear, and allow. $400 is quite a lot to bear and allow!! Imho!!

Short, but right to the point! I agree with you here, Brian!!

I've NO belt...man oh man!! I've had that happen before, too. Ever flew anywhere and you went to one place and your belt went somewhere else?!? It sucks!! Once, I flew to Okinawa, but my bags flew to Hawaii. No clothes, no gi, no belt...NOTHING! When I finally got home, my bags were waiting for me...I hope my bags enjoyed Hawaii!! I had to go shopping for some clothes and things like that to survive the trip. Dai-Soke, thank God, had some great MA friends, and was able to get me a gi and belt. And if not for that friend of Dai-Soke, I wouldn't have been allowed to train...NO WAY!! Dai-Soke wouldn't have allowed that because the floor is sacred to him, and not being attired appropriately would've been an insult to him, the hosting dojo, and just down right RUDE!!

Welcome back...post away to your hearts content!!

25K posts, is indeed a milestone!! You deserve quite a lot of sincere appreciation because of your vision, a countless amount of people, both MAists and non-MAists, have a place to enjoy all types of conversations over a plethora of topics, as well as a place to call home. You deserve some type of token of our appreciation; you've earned it through and through, therefore, you deserve it! You're quick to honor members here with some type of token for their achievements earned here at KF, so, why not you!! 25K...that simply boggles my mind!! Keep on posting!?!

We review our schedules every year just after the Annual Testing Cycle, if necessary. But, I can't remember when a significant schedule change occurred. When the Kyuodan Dojo first opened, the schedule changes were often each time the student body would increase. In Tulsa, my student body reached around 375 students, so, schedule changes were made as the student body advanced. There was no since in scheduling intermediates/advanced classes when I first opened the Kyuodan Dojo because I only had beginners, at first. However, as some transferred over from the Hombu, I had to generate intermediate and advanced classes to accommodate the rank increases.

In the dojo/Hombu, us old schools train bare handed. Safety Gear didn't come out until the late 70's, invented by Jhoon Rhee. In time, we adopted Safety Gear, as sold by Century MA Supply, but more for a safety factor at tournaments, and not so much in the dojo/Hombu. But, insurance requirements have changed everything, and in that, no one can engage in Kumite unless their wearing ALL of the required safety gear. Those of us old school have signed waivers to satisfy our insurance requirements. Greg and I have one goal...DESTROY one another, and we wear no safety gear whatsoever during our Kumite sessions, and those watching can only grimace. Century MA Punch and Kick gear is MANDATORY per our insurance. Insurance can be a drag, but a necessary drag.

Happened to me once too, and when I tried to explain that to him, he said... "You here, that good...you park fast anywhere, then get here...faster!!" That's easy to say when you have a RESERVED PARKING SPOT....SIR!!

Providing that the muscle memory is the proper muscle memory, and not the wrong muscle memory. The longer one is in the poor muscle memory, the longer it'll take to break, and re-train.

In time, stances become nothing more than a stance; no thought giving to it whatsoever, as it should be. Stances are set up as they're suppose to in their length, width, height, and posture, and in that, one can feel it's proper movement is as it should be.

Very well said! There certainly are a lot of factors involved, to be sure. Size of school, time spent, one's rank, etc. The expectations on a 1st Dan are not the same as those put on a 5th Dan. However, if one is a 1st Dan and the senior student of a relatively new school are likely to be different than a 1st Dan in an established program where many higher ranked students are present. In an established school, a 1st Dan still might not get any real one-on-one time with their instructor in order to create that bond. Loyalty could be a mere verbal assent, rather than an active pursuit. However, I have a hard time imagining someone at, say, 5th Dan or higher, not asiring to have a close relationship with one's instructor where loyalty is in the forefront of the connection beteen the two. Solid post!! Loyalty comes in varying degrees from student to student. Familiarity opens up many more doors, yet, the student if the one that chooses just how close one wants to become with the Instructor. The closer one wants to be with the Instructor, the tighter the inner circle can become!! This can feed the loyalty one wants to pursue at varying levels of acquaintance. My dad wasn't in the picture much, if at all, as I grew up, and in that, Sensei, by attrition, became that father figure to me, and over time, my loyalty to Sensei embraced many levels. As a kid, I was quite impressionable, to a fault. And when I became an adult, that impressionism grew more as I saw him as the man that I wanted to immolate more and more!!

That's funny, and quite thoughtful!!

Thanks, The Pred, that's what I'm hoping for. I expect that about 80% of the vacated Grade Officers will be exonerated during their appeal hearings. While I terminated all 200 Grade Officers, I needed to send a message across the board, that acts like this, WILL NOT be tolerated. Grade Officers are one of the following posts: *Hierarchy Grade Officer *Senior Grade Officer [Rokudan or Nanadan] *1st Junior Grade Officer [Godan] *2nd Junior Grade Officer [Yondan] *3rd Junior Grade Officer [sandan] *4th Junior Grade Officer [Nidan] *5th Junior Grade Officer [shodan] 4th and 5th Grade Officers are mainly used for Kyu Testing Cycles, however, having two of them, a Shodan and a Nidan or two of either, on a panel for Shodan are acceptable because of their combined experiences, AS LONG as a Senior Grade Officer is on same panel. It's rare, but it happens!! From Senior to 5th Grade Officer; that's the totality of what I've dismissed!! Since you're the only Kudan, does that mean only you can grade someone up to Nanadan and or Hachidan? Nope!! I'm not allowed to test on my own. However, technical I'd only be permitted to Grade someone to Nanadan, if testing on my own. However, we don't permit CI, and the like to test alone, or anyone for that matter; we require 5 on a testing panel/table, 3 as an absolute minimum. This is to ensure the testing cycle integrity!! Remember, when I was tested for Kudan, my testing cycle had a small company of mid-Senior Dan's as well as Senior Dan's, and to put a cherry on the whole thing, 3 of them were Hierarchy Senior Dan's. So, a company CAN test, and promote up even if they're junior to me; and they were indeed junior to myself. For either a Nanadan or a Hachidan, I'll for surely, not only on the panel/table, but I'll be center chair as the Testing Cycle Chairman. Greg, our Kancho, was the Testing Cycle Chairman when I tested for Kudan. Put a bunch of mid-Senior and Senior Dan's together, and that's a lot of knowledge and experience, and that helps to solidify the integrity of the testing cycle. Solid, did you and others buy the name, rights and ownership of the Hombu name and school after your dai soke passed? In short, yes, but no!! But not because Dai-Soke passed away. There's several topics here in KF that speak about how that came about; a dark page in our Hombu's history!! The original Hombu is owned by San Dai-Soke!! The new Hombu is ours....lock, stock, and barrels!! It's a really long story!!

Solid post!! Birthday parties are good! I do them...our Hombu does them...many, if not all, Shindokan dojo's do them. However, the reasons that we do birthday parties isn't to pad the bottom line because I believe that that robs the spirit of the birthday party. Have fun...eat cake...open present...play games...drink Kool-Aid...a wholesome harmless party. We don't charge to use the dojo for a birthday party because...well...we just don't. The reasons we do birthday parties is to get to know each other away from the floor. To show genuine interest in the student body, the parents, their friends, and so on and so forth. Expressing social graces costs absolutely nothing. We celebrate a Testing Cycle, and think nothing about it. Why not the same thing for a student that's just turned 7 years old, and wants to have the birthday party at the dojo/Hombu!! I think it's vital for the students to not think of the dojo/Hombu as a cold and dead place. Albeit, a vibrant and exciting place to want to go to aside from daily MA classes; get those all year, but a birthday, well, that comes once a year. The dojo's there to train in a MA, but the dojo isn't a cardboard cutout of a time long gone.

Solid post!! Prayerfully, I hope that I'm not making myself out as someone that doesn't have the social abilities and the like. I believe that before one can speak, one must know how to listen. One can't begin to help others if they're not able, or willing to listen first, and above all things. Effective listening is a skill, all by itself.

A lot of teaching, regardless of what it is you're teaching, is personality. Some people can effectively communicate what they know and get people to listen and understand it far better than others. It's all in the delivery. On the flip side, some people learn far better from certain personality types than others. Some people are far more patient than others. Some people can't handle it when you're telling someone exactly how something's done, yet the student doesn't "get it" or still can't do it. Some people have one way of thinking, and can't change the way they express the way it's done; others can see the same end result and come up with multiple ways of achieving it. It comes down to personality IMO. You either have it or you don't. There's nothing wrong with you if you don't; and you're not a better person than the rest of us if you can. Everyone's got different strengths and weaknesses. The greatest teachers surely have their weaknesses too. You can't teach a personality or learn a new one. Yes, you can go from being an ineffective teacher to a very one, but it's not easy. Then there's levels - not every elementary school teacher can teach high school or college, and vice-versa. Not every great MAist can teach. Just like not every great soldier will make a great general, every great VP won't make a great CEO, and so on. Solid post!! The old saying... "Too many Chiefs, and not enough Indians!!" This might be more truer than some might want to admit!!

JohnASE, Wado Heretic, and Spartacus Maximus... Solid posts, one and all!!

Solid post!! Mid-Size and Large Size schools risk losing that intimate gatherings because the larger the student body, the more likely that one will get lost in the crowd, not ever having the moment of that intimacy that's more available with smaller schools. This too applies to governing bodies as well. I see this at our own Hombu, and I'm hoping to end that asap...however, Rome wasn't built in a day!! Mid-Size and Large Size schools tend to break off in selective groups, and stay within themselves. Very few were allowed to go to the home of Dai-Soke and/or Soke, unless you were in that inner circle...that is a sad epitaph to Shindokan.

That sounds a lot like kata training! ROFL...Now...John, THAT'S FUNNY!! And you're absolutely correct, no matter the level of rank/knowledge/experience. Practice is SUPPOSE to make perfect, or near perfect.

My door is always open to whomever wants to talk to me or ask me questions; that's what I'm there for...also. A CI is a fire-fighter; constantly putting fires out daily with this situation and that situation. Ask...don't demand! Enquire...don't assume! Accept...don't whine! "How can I help you today?", and this shouldn't be interpreted to be..."Whatever you want; you got it!!"

Solid post!! In addition, I'd not bring it up with any Sempai, and definitely not to the CI; now or ever!! It's quite...well...rude!! You're new, so the time for now is to listen, and listen only!! I wouldn't say don't ever bring it up. There's a respectful and non-knowitall way of doing it. But you've got to know the people you're asking, and they've got to know you. Just like a good joke, all in the delivery. Saying "you're mispronouncing Senpai" isn't good. Saying "I've heard other people say senpai; is that the same thing or something different?" could work, in the right context with the right people. Solid post!! Bring it up, just be sure you do it like JR 137 is suggesting. Anything short of that might get you..."You've been in the MA...how long now?!?!", or something to that effect.

Thanks, The Pred, that's what I'm hoping for. I expect that about 80% of the vacated Grade Officers will be exonerated during their appeal hearings. While I terminated all 200 Grade Officers, I needed to send a message across the board, that acts like this, WILL NOT be tolerated. Grade Officers are one of the following posts: *Hierarchy Grade Officer *Senior Grade Officer [Rokudan or Nanadan] *1st Junior Grade Officer [Godan] *2nd Junior Grade Officer [Yondan] *3rd Junior Grade Officer [sandan] *4th Junior Grade Officer [Nidan] *5th Junior Grade Officer [shodan] 4th and 5th Grade Officers are mainly used for Kyu Testing Cycles, however, having two of them, a Shodan and a Nidan or two of either, on a panel for Shodan are acceptable because of their combined experiences, AS LONG as a Senior Grade Officer is on same panel. It's rare, but it happens!! From Senior to 5th Grade Officer; that's the totality of what I've dismissed!! Since you're the only Kudan, does that mean only you can grade someone up to Nanadan and or Hachidan? Nope!! I'm not allowed to test on my own. However, technical I'd only be permitted to Grade someone to Nanadan, if testing on my own. However, we don't permit CI, and the like to test alone, or anyone for that matter; we require 5 on a testing panel/table, 3 as an absolute minimum. This is to ensure the testing cycle integrity!! Remember, when I was tested for Kudan, my testing cycle had a small company of mid-Senior Dan's as well as Senior Dan's, and to put a cherry on the whole thing, 3 of them were Hierarchy Senior Dan's. So, a company CAN test, and promote up even if they're junior to me; and they were indeed junior to myself. For either a Nanadan or a Hachidan, I'll for surely, not only on the panel/table, but I'll be center chair as the Testing Cycle Chairman. Greg, our Kancho, was the Testing Cycle Chairman when I tested for Kudan. Put a bunch of mid-Senior and Senior Dan's together, and that's a lot of knowledge and experience, and that helps to solidify the integrity of the testing cycle.