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At first, it was for self-perseverance; protection!! Secondly, as a child, up to 12 years old, it was for rank. Thirdly, it was for the love of Shindokan; at 12 years old, I no longer desired rank!! Fourthly, at 17 years old, my desire to teach Shindokan was my driving force. Fifthly, at 21 years old, I opened my first dojo; my students, then...now...and in the future, is the main reason as to why I continue to perfect that which can never be perfected. Within, my strongest desire to continue these many, many years was to please one man: Yoshinobu Takahashi, my Sensei, Dai-Soke!! I never wanted to please anybody more than him; his slight smile, at times, was an affirmation that I was on the right track across the board. His teachings, not just the martial art part, but EVERYTHING that made me the MAist...the man...the husband...the friend...the brother...the son...the person that I am today. I owe him everything!! Are my reasons good enough? That's not up to me to decide; that's up to my students...my children...my wife...my friends...my relatives...my fellow MAists...and for those I've yet to meet.

Congrats; well done!! A milestone in your MA journey!!

Solid post!!

Nice video, thanks for sharing. Why would some call, Secrets of the systems?? I don't believe in "Secrets" of any MA. Why? Students need to be informed, and in the information, ways to protect oneself shouldn't be kept "Secrets" from the student body. Or are the Secrets to keep ones opponent unaware...uninformed??!!

I appreciate the thoughts spoken about, and unearthed in the many points made in this video; thanks for sharing the video, Brain. Within the walls of any dojo/dojang/gym/etc., one can see how camaraderie begins, and more importantly, how it can remain. That camaraderie is birthed by how one helps, as well as, how one is helped whilst on the floor. Fellow practitioners are drawn to that quite willingly, and on their own through the plethora of events that arise while learning the MA, that's to include those who teach the MA, as well. One can see that type of camaraderie in varying groups. It's the things shared together; the battles that have been both won and loss together. To be thrown into the thickest of the thickest muck, yet to come out clean and renewed as one. For an example, let us look at LEO's, for just a moment. Their camaraderie is birthed in the academy, then reinforced with their Training Officer, and onto when they're patrolling on their own. Their camaraderie will not be challenged, nor will it be taken lightly; not now...not ever. The Three Musketeer motto..."One for all, and all for one" speaks soundly and true with LEO's. When one officer cries out on the radio..."Officer needs help...CODE 3", all available rush to the scene from all directions, and those who aren't available, trust me, they'll be available sooner than later to aide the distressed officer. It's a tightly woven group that's not easy to enter, and not easily forgotten. Trust is earned, and earned trust strengthens the camaraderie even more so. Unwritten, yet written in the hearts of the LEO. Same with sporting teams, same with corporate teams, same with any group that values what they stand for because, as a team, as a group, they are valued with one another, and they've fought the good fight TOGETHER. They know what it takes, and they know what it took to achieve that which isn't easy to achieve: TRUST!! An outsider can't truly understand that type of camaraderie of a LEO, or of a Martial Artist because they've not, as of yet, EXPERIENCED all of what's involved each and everyday. Imho!! I'll leave it at that, for now!!

Great responses, all!! I'd just like to add to these excellent replies, the longer ones been involved in one style, the more difficult it is to make those required changes, and accepting the new methodologies and ideologies of the new style. Not impossible, just difficult in the short and long of it all. Good news for you is that you've not years in Shotokan, just mere months. Therefore, changing from Shotokan to Goju won't be such a big deal; you'll have no preconceived notions about either. Good luck with Goju...train hard!!

Great responses, thus far!! Having the OP behind me, please understand that just because Kyusho Jitsu, imho, isn't an exacting science, it surely doesn't mean that one shouldn't apply them at all. No! It means, that one has to know the who, what, where, when, how, and why per the circumstances of the moment. Kyusho Jitsu is akin to touching ones hand to a flame; either you'll jerk your hand away from the flame, or you'll gauge the heat of the flame. Therefore, experience speaks towards many parameters, in that, effective confidence can dictate quite a lot about the results. The more inexperienced the practitioner, the more unsure, on the other hand, the more experienced the practitioner, the more sure. Over confidence will kill you in a split second!! Like in a game of chess, you had better be thinking 3-4 moves ahead in complete totality!!

Nice video...nice transitions...nice drills!! Thank you for sharing.

Everything has a place, and a place for everything; this too, applies to Kata. Whether the technique(s) are fast or slow, purposeful focus needs to be applied accordingly to each technique/movement. Each technique must end before the next one begins! Transitional blends have to do/be just that.

Shindokan Saitou-ryu: 50+ years TKD: 1 Year [While I was in high school] Shindokan: My mom enrolled me when I was 7 at one of the local dojo's that was closest to our house. TKD: I wanted to learn how to kick above the waist. Welcome to KF; glad that you're here!!

Excellent tutorial, Alex!! Thank you for sharing it!!

I totally enjoyed the interview. I love his humble way; a rarity not often seen. His conversation was laid back yet full of knowledge, and what he said about tapping being a time to learn, and not a time to concentrate on the tap itself. Thank you, Alex for sharing this, and thank Henry for his time!!

Interesting news; thanks for sharing it, Patrick!!

So sad; sorry to hear of the loss for the entire Wado and JKF family. Prayers to his family, friends, and students during this time. How often did he visit the USA??

Most of our celebrations of this type are way over the top, so is it the same when our Hombu does same type celebration. For us, the highlight at the Hombu was when our Soke and Dai-Soke run their demo together. Both have big parties that seem to last the entire week. Special guests will conduct seminars during the week, at no charge! Birthdays during the week will get a special Kanji drawn by Soke. The Hombu has a PR department that specializes in things of this nature, and they can be quite elaborate, to say the least. The more the years, the more the hoopla and all. It's an important thing to celebrate as a family, and not as dojo AND students, but, again, as a family!!

To all fathers here... Happy Fathers Day to you!!

IMHO... While Kyusho Jitsu is important to Shindokan, it's not an exacting art. Why? Untold parameters dictate it's successful application. Pain threshold, proper application to said point, and so on and so forth. Yes, it might seem contradictive of me to state the above, especially when Kyusho Jitsu is a important piece of the Shindokan pie; strange of me to not be fully on board with it. You miss the point, the desired effect will NOT occur. And if you missed the point, why? Your opponent isn't going to just stand there and allow you to poke, prod, and twist at your discretion. Also, you missed the point because you're not experienced, therefore, your knowledge isn't what you think it is. Also, things happen and you just miss the point; better have a solid back up...or run for the hills. Your opponents not going to drop in anguishing pain each and every time because, well, it's just not going to happen in the real world. Why? Pain thresholds vary from minimal to maximum within each different opponent. Also, you didn't properly apply said application for some reason. Opponents are resistive!! SHOCK!! Soon as someone admits that, the sooner one can begin to understand what's all involved in applying said Kyusho Jitsu to the desired target with the desired effect!! Let me tell you a little Shindokan secret when it comes to our brand of Kyusho Jitsu... IT'S ALL DEFENSIVE!! Yes, it's all defensive!! We never initiate it!! IMPOSSIBLE!! What might appear to my opponent as offensive, is actually defensive to what our opponent is doing at the moment. You grab me...guess what...I've still TWO FREE HANDS, while YOU DON'T. The illusion that I'm restricted my your grasp is just that, an illusion, for the moment. However, it's up to me to ensure that the illusion remains, and to act accordingly and immediately. And if I don't, well, then the illusion fades away quickly. Will I rarely apply Kyusho Jitsu, from what I've just ranted on about? NO!! I believe in it, but I'm also not a fool because it's NOT an exacting art for the reasons I've already mentioned. The five 'W' and 'How' DO stand in the way of the inexperienced practitioner of Kyusho Jitsu, and that's ok; these parameters are constant but I limit the constant of "IT" through my knowledge/experience. When grappling, many grapplers doubt what I've just applied UNTIL I've applied it...and it was effective. I will initiate Kyusho Jitsu with a grappler more often than not. In that, I'm seeking a pause in their attack, if only for a split second, just enough to change directions or allow me to transition in or out. Grapplers are sneaky evil doers, and I say this with all respect!! If I want to move an arm, even the slightest, I might manipulate a point, not to effect a knockout or the like, or extreme pain, but just to give the grappler something else to think about, and while they're thinking about that, the arm is question is moved just enough for me to carry out a plan. NO ONE CAN APPLY KYUSHO JITSU AND IT WORK EVERY TIME WITH EVERY OPPONENT!! Please don't confuse Tuite applications with Kyusho Jitsu!! They're two separate things. I can manipulate a joint with much more success than a pressure point because joints can only move so far before they break, and a minimal amount of pressure on a joint is enough to have the desired effect that I'm wanting. In Kyusho Jitsu, the applications are much more wider in its effective parameters for the aforementioned reasons I've mentioned here. Shindokan Kyusho Jitsu is designed to cause discomfort in ones opponent. Avenues open through discomfort!! Whether it's Tuite or Kyusho Jitsu, both have purposes and effectiveness, but it's knowing the five 'W' and 'How' to apply either effectively. Just flail away with your arms and legs instead of trying to apply Tuite or Kyusho Jitsu; that, the flailing and such, would have a more desired effect on your opponent. Kyusho Jitsu has been widely criticized, and rightfully so, because many don't know what they're fully doing!! Your thoughts, please!!

Great tutorial; as always, Alex!! You speak true on every point in your intro, middle, and end of your video. As always, it's not to just move, but to move with an effective purpose, this is the same when it comes to leg attacks. To cinch a leg is one thing, but to cinch a leg for control/submission, is another. Bears back down to the knowledge of not just the "How", but the "Why", as well as the "When" for an effective leg attack. Because the modicum of the head is connected to the neck bone and the neck bone is connected to the shoulder bone, etc., the legs play a vital role in our grappling in Shindokan. The leg can be involved in s so many ways. To thwart, to control, to keep at bay, to transition, to support, and so on and so forth, and of course, to have those reversed back onto you; not fun if ones not paying attention, and this is dependent on knowledge/experience. Learning them or understanding them?? Soke taught us that these are two different things; each important. Not trying to be suave or anything like that, but our ideology will not let us treat them the same. Learning them: 8th Kyu Understanding them: 3rd Kyu 8th Kyu. While we're learning them, we're ALSO learning the wide world of Deploying them. Can't learn them without learning how to deploy them as well, at least that's what Soke was a proponent of. Why 8th Kyu?? Why not?? Remember, Shindokan's biggest thing is our brand of Tuite, and this is in conjunction with our brand of Kyusho Jitsu, and all of this is laced/intertwined with our brand of grappling. Look, we train in the WC Dummy, and not many, if any Karate-do incorporate that apparatus in their daily dojo life. Soke was a true believer that the earlier the student is exposed to something, the sooner the understanding can begin.

If you didn't treat it as a business, their would be no dojo. I don't know why people have such a hard time with people trying to earn a living. There is a ton of greed in every field, but people have the idea that every penny that a business takes in goes right into the pocket of someone who doesn't need it. My father has owned his own auto repair shop for going on 40 years now. Everyone thinks he owes it to them to fix their car for free so they can get to work. A regular customer started making stupid comments one day about labor rates. My father pointed to his tool box and said "That alone cost me about $100k to fill. Do you think $10 an hour is going to cover it?" Another one of his favorites: "How would you feel if your boss tried to work out a deal every week when he hands you your paycheck?" Solid post!!

Solid post!!

When the economic downturn hit a few years ago in the USA, I ended testing fees permanently. Then, as Kaicho, I did the same thing for our Hombu!! Both had overhead, but this is to be expected for any business, and yes, my dojo AND the Hombu IS a business! That's how we/I have treated them for as long as we/I can remember.

As in anything, it's a personal choice. I always wear a undershirt/t-shirt under my gi top because I don't like the feeling of skin to material. As far as my students are concerned, I don't enforce any rule pertaining to the wearing of undershirts; wear one or don't wear one, which goes back to it being a personal choice.

Solid post!!

Something to chew on... I sincerely believe that of all of the ranks, White Belt is the most important rank of them all. Why? Without White Belt, the other ranks can't exist!!

Patrick, Whoa...that's exactly the camcorder I was looking at. I wanted to get a very basic one so that I can learn the ins and outs of working it. I'm sure that I can do that with a name brand, but, I'm newer than newer with this type of things. I've not decided on it yet, so, that's why I wanted some input before I waste any money. Thanks, all for your input!!