sensei8

Great posts, ALL!! Thank you!! Keep them coming!!

In short... 1) Business Knowledge 2) Money Management These are the two areas that I struggled with the most when I first opened up my Kyuodan Dojo back in 1977. Business Knowledge: Well, having a black belt, and I was a Sandan in 1977, doesn't mean that I had the Business Knowledge at all. To manage and operate a dojo requires the nuts and bolts of Business 101. I can teach...but I didn't have the required knowledge to do all that's required to manage and operate a business. Yes, a dojo/school, IS A BUSINESS. If you've overhead, like rent, utilities, supplies, etc., then your dojo/school IS A BUSINESS! How did I overcome that? I went to two schools! School #1: Los Angeles Valley College where I majored in Business Management. The sad thing is that I only went 1 year...dojo scheduling and raising a family ended that. School #2: The school of hard knocks; d.b.a., the school of trials and tribulations. I made my share of dunderhead mistakes, and then I learned from them. Money Management: I'm not referring to knowing how to manage private finances, even though that goes hand in hand. Can't manage personal finances, then one can't manage business finances. No, I'm referring to business...the dojo! Have to have a student body to reach weekly and monthly and quarterly and annual budgets. That is important, unless you're a millionaire. How did I handle this? I had to learn the difference between needs and wants. I need to pay rent! I want to buy a motorcycle! I need to pay utilities! I want to go to Six Flags! The dojo can't take care of itself; it needs an owner/staff to care for it!! I did demos and passed out flyers to get the word out about my dojo. Being in the San Fernando Valley in Southern California in the late 1970's did make it possible because the San Fernando Valley isn't a tiny town, and in that, it's population back then was hundreds of thousands. Word of mouth was, and still is, a vitally important way to increase the student body. I'm a firm believe that is I take care of my family; I'm taken care of too. If I take care of my students; I'm taken care of too. If I take care of my dojo; I'm taken care of too. I had to learn to put EVERYTHING BEFORE ME!! To do these two struggles any justice will take more explaining; it's not a short answer!!

I've used machines of this type, but they're not my cup of tea. I'm more of a rope-and-pulley type of practitioner as well as a stretching bar as well as partner stretching too. Besides, I'm not trying to change the light bulb with my feet...I'm just saying.

Shindokan Saitou-ryu is an Okinawan style that incorporates 85% hands and 15% feet, and in that, all kicks are waist down. Shindokan is Tuite (Joint manipulation) and Tuite is Shindokan; that's the deep core of its methodology and ideology. Also, Kyusho jitsu (Pressure points) and Tegumi (Grappling/wrestling) are a big part of Shindokan. We don't block; we deflect! We don't back up; so Tai Sabaki (Footwork) is important to us because of the many directions that transitions can take. Shindokan is a get-in-your-face type of style, and that simply means to us, we strive to stay in close proximity of our opponent; in short, close range techniques! Shin = Heart Do = Way Kan = House The House of the Heart Way!! Saitou-ryu = The Soke's (Founder) name; Fuyuhiko Saitou. Many styles of the MA use the name Shindokan, therefore, in order to identify our Shindokan, Soke added his sir name to it.

Solid post!! Not every instructor can teach 4-5 year olds; it takes a special instructor to do so successfully. And you're right, it is "playing" because that's how they learn, and how they retain, even if it's a miniscule of information...patience is greatly needed to teach that age group. Everyone knows that when it comes to that age group, I'm nothing more than a big kid. That age group responds to that silly instructor who they can play with. If I may ask... What happened that made you make that statement to your wife??

Australia and the US are about the same size. The US looks a little bigger, actually... http://m.aboutaustralia.com/?url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.aboutaustralia.com%2Faustralia-size-compared-to-usa%2F&utm_referrer=#2728 For grins and giggles... Australia is 2.9 million square miles USA is 3.8 million square miles

No, I don't think so. His or her expectations wouldn't necessarily match up with mine. He could be a former tournament champ, and I could have no interest in competition. But, that doesn't mean I still can't find value in his teaching style. I also think it is important to expose yourself as a student to teachers with varying expectations; it helps us learn who we are and who we want to be. Solid post!!

I do hear what you're saying, Brian. Perhaps, there's a slim chance that Houston, and others within that governing body are just pawns of that governing body...perhaps.

The possibilities excite me to no end!! Resistive drills, imho, are key to understanding movement. When my opponent does this, and I can do that, and so on and so forth. Kind of reminds me of something I saw in a Jackie Chan move, and the apparatus gave him a fit, to say the least.

I hear ya'!! It seems, imho, that WC Dummies, in general are all expensive...UNLESS...one makes their own WC Dummy, like we all have those kind of skills...and I don't!! Unfortunately, "What the market will bear" holds true in this case. I was born with a wooden spoon in my mouth, and not afforded the silver spoon at all.

Solid post!!

Thank you for the link, JR 137; I just purchased the book and look forward to read it from cover to cover with an open mind as well as an open heart!! He was SHOT?!?!?!?!?! and by Kyokushin guys I wonder if Oyama received Nakamura's appeal about the belt system in Kyokushin eagerly or with a sour distain? I suppose that I'll find out when I read the book!

A WC Dummy...on some serious steroids...I like it. Nominally priced at $900; down from $1200. Thanks for sharing it!!

Was going to say this. Some of my best TKD memories are from travelling with others to events, even better if you get to stay overnight in a hotel. Yes, oh God yes. Many times I've slept in my car because I couldn't afford a hotel; that wasn't always in my budget.

I don't believe that Bruce just did anything; movie or not. Seems to me that he always had some type of deep meaning/lesson to pass onto the viewer, MAist or not. I agree that what Bruce was teaching was to see the whole picture, and not just a small picture. I'm simple minded, because 42 years later, I STILL want to know what COULD'VE he added to "It's like a finger pointing away to the moon", and as I've stated, the entire direct and indirect point was fully made. As a student of the MA...what is it like? What is what like? I agree, that his incomplete point, as I've labeled it to be, was the preamble of the entire point. Maybe my OCD, won't let it rest, and wants to know...what is it like and what is what like? It is like a finger pointing away to the moon....and...now...oh, never mind...I forgot what I was going to say because you were just staring at my finger, and not paying attention to anything else but my dumb finger.

Welcome to KF, send2coolboy; glad that you're here!! Mortal Combat...that's a game there...I agree. Old school, but still, one of the best!! Too comic book-ish for me, and too many ridiculous things such as babality, animality, etc. distracted me too much from the game. I'm a Tekken fan. Fair enough!! I'm a Scorpion fan, myself, and am drawn to Mortal Combat. I agree it's too comic bookish, but, that's the old school that I like.

Very interesting post; solid!! In our little neck of the woods, Kaicho is President, and Kancho is Vice-President, yet, in our By-Laws, Kaicho and Kancho are addressed as you've stated in your first paragraph, and the President/Vice-President is in brackets beside actual meanings. No, er, I mean yes, I've not read Nakamura's autobiography, but I'd love to read it. Where could I buy it, and how much?

LOL!!

Very, very interesting article, to say the least. That weapon looks devastating; it's not your normal pocket knife, is it?!

Why Wikipedia? Then I suppose that one question asks...Why not Wikipedia??

For grins and giggles, if for no other reason(s)... Don't you hate it when someone starts to provide a point, yet, they take a left turn away from the point with some other point? Well, I do...drives me batty...real batty! Here we are, 42 years later, and there's still this one unfinished point that's driving me super batty. I mean come on...I seem to be unable to let it go. Let's go back 42 years to this event, and see if I can get through this together; I'm seeking your help because I just can't let it go!! Two men are sitting, talking and drinking tea. They're in a quaint, yet peaceful garden, with the birds chirping away; it's day. Another young man approaches them, one of these men, excuses himself from the table, to join the young man..."It's Lao's time." The meet, then they bow to each other! This is the conversation between them two... "Kick me. Kick me." Lao kicks! "What was that? An exhibition? We need emotional content. Try again." Lao kicks again! "I said emotional content, NOT ANGER! Now try again, with meaning." Lao kicks again; the two, if only for a very brief moment, engage one another! "That's it. How did it feel to you?" "Let me think." "Don't think. Feel. It is like a finger pointing away to the moon" [[Tap on top of the head]] "Don't concentrate on the finger or you'll miss all that heavenly glory. Do you understand?" Lao smiles, and bows, incorrectly, in which he is reprimanded for, as well. Their session's over. Those two, Master and student, were Mr. Lee and Lao, from the blockbuster movie, "Enter The Dragon"! Fine! The lessons over! Lao had his lesson! Nonetheless, there's still one small thing left unaddressed. That's the incomplete and unfinished point by Mr. Lee...that point can be found above in the bold type above. Mr. Lee's original point was stopped when Mr. Lee reprimanded Lao for staring blankly at Mr. Lee's pointing finger. At that moment, Mr. Lee went on about "concentrate", "finger", "miss", and "heavenly glory", and for me, that was like taking an unplanned left turn to wherever going somewhere. "It is like a finger pointing away to the moon." OK!? Just HOW is it like a finger pointing away to the moon? Why is the finger pointing away to the moon? What is WHAT like? Why does it have to be a finger? Mr. Lee was about to make a valid point, otherwise, he'd never have said what he started to say, unless he's prone to babbling and rambling, and I doubt that he is. I feel as though I was left in an unbridled quagmire of confusion!! Just what point was Mr. Lee GOING TO MAKE at that moment, and why did he say what he said, to only be turned away toward another point?? Both points seem to fit with one another, but they also, imho, seem to be separate from one another. "It is like a finger pointing away to the moon" HOW SO?? I suppose I'm truly a carrot-stick type of a person; can be lead so easily! How was Mr. Lee going to complete that pointed point?? What was THAT point? Incomplete that it was, imho, just what was it?? Not the second point, but the first point?? I might've been changed in ways that can only be imagined! Ways that might've improved my MA betterment beyond anyway I could ever dreamed about. This drives me CRAZY!! Both the forest AND the trees are in the way of each other at the same time!! Aaarrgggghhhhh! Your thoughts, please!!

Solid post!! To the bold type above... I was typing that in my post at the same time you posted it!

I feel for you, and in that, I understand and feel your frustration! For the better part of my tournament days, I was living in Southern California, and that means that tournaments, both local and otherwise, were held nearly every week somewhere. Not hard to find!! Yet, I was lucky! As a kyu student when I was a kid, I could ride my bike or the transit bus or my mom would give me a ride. Albeit, someone at the Hombu, where I trained, would be going and I'd hitch a ride with them. As JBB, I was part of what we called, the Weekend Warriors, which was a tightknit group of us that traveled everywhere in California, with an occasional trip to Las Vegas or Phoenix. The key for that, was our parents provided transportation as well as sponsoring our endeavor. As an adult, same thing! I'd either drive myself or fly. Usually traveling with someone from the Hombu. However, and even as a kid and adult, I travelled a lot on my own, and those times, man, it's a lonely boring trip there and back. No one to share the experience with!! As I got older, my tournament days ebbed away as a competitor, but that sadness was quickly replaced with being an Arbitrator at those same tournaments of yesterday. I would usually judge at the gigantic Nationwide tournaments. Still, I'd either go with someone or I'd travel by myself, and it ended being about 60%-40% ratio of going with someone or by myself. How many from your dojo compete on a regular basis, including your Sensei/Instructor? Develop a friendship with them, including with your Sensei/Instructor, and in time, you can join one or more of them to tourneys to experience it together. If you're the only one who competes from your dojo, then you're going to have to search for a network, like through Craigslist and/or putting a flyer up at the local MA supply store, if you've one, that is. Just don't let the fact that you, for now, have to travel alone, deject you from going at all. The experience is invaluable across the board!! Hang in there, train hard, and train well!!

Nice...very nice. It helps that Kancho Nakamura supports it; this is evident by seeing him in that video. From what I know, Kaicho Nakamura is very much involved with it. I think he's got more of unofficially an assistant role in; pretty sure he feels the gentleman that was giving the interview of sorts is far more of an expert in the needs of that population. More of a 'here's the syllabus and how I teach normal sighted people, what adaptations must be made and how can I help?' I've only met him once, but by all accounts and everything I've seen, he's the central figure in everything, no matter how big or small. In a good way, not a control freak way. He has also been grooming his son to take the helm at the appropriate time, and his son is doing a very good job of taking it into the current generation. Kaicho strikes me as a guy who takes full command of what he does well, and has no problem delegating to people who would do better than he can when appropriate. Unfortunately, that's not common enough with some of the egos involved in MA IMO. Solid post!! Oh...btw...Yeah, I'm a big stupid moronic disrespectful ignorant pig idiot for calling Kaicho Nakamura a KANCHO!!

Nice...very nice. It helps that Kancho Nakamura supports it; this is evident by seeing him in that video.