sensei8

Solid post!! For the time, I've nothing to add!! Sorry!!

A lot of good ideas here!! To the bold type above... Paul A. Walker did just that! Then, over some time, he kept an intense diary. Then turned those notes into a best-selling book: Lessons With The Master: 279 Shotokan Karate Lessons with Master Hirokazu Kanazawa A quite valuable asset, and not just for Shotokan practitioners, but for all MA. Speak about wanting to be that fly on the wall!!

On paper via the web, yes, it appears to be so. Other than that, you'll not know until you visit the school many times. Watching all types of classes to get a general personal consensus about it. This includes talking with the CI!! Proof will be on the floor, from an observers point of view! Good luck!

I was glad to see the bold type above because what your OP speaks about CAN also be found in ADULTS too. I always get a smile on my face when someone doesn't want to teach kids for whatever the reason(s) might be, and this is because, all of us were once kids too. It takes a special type of a MA instructor to teach kids, more so than adults. I find it very enjoyable in teaching kids. Yes, motivations and work ethics vary in kids, but this is also true of adults.

Congrats; well done and well deserved!!

Well, this might be why our Soke, who was born and raised and trained in Okinawa, said... "Yes, I was born in Okinawa, but I not live there now. Shindokan not belong to Okinawa; it belong to me!!" What's a student body suppose to do? Accept or quit!! Well, most of you here already know what I did.

I think there is a difference between being visible to the newer students and being classmates with them. There is as much to learn from working with the lower kyus as they learn from crossing fists with the dan grades. To me this is the difference between the military and the academic models. The military model emphasises the need for detachment in order to command, the higher grades work with each other and ranks tend to stick together throughout their dojo life. The academic model emphasises the need for experience to be shared as widely as possible so the higher ranks are encouraged to work alongside the lower ranks in order to gain humility and perspective as much as to pass on their insights. With the military model cliques are inevitable, the whole system is set up so that they form naturally. With the academic model their formation can be problematic, and they have to be broken up as much as possible. Training together is great for breaking up cliques as you prove. I agree; that's why the open floor. ALL ranks HELP and TRAIN and EXCHANGE one another without the worries of any rank formalities interfering with learning. Individual groups can deride the open floor. I won't allow BB's to ignore ranks below them, and this means that anyone can approach anyone for help and the like; FORMALITIES aren't allowed in any of my open floors.

Solid post!! I'd say, from looking at both links, this school's core style IS Kyokushin. Their BJJ instructor IS a purple belt with an impressive lineage. The CI's lineage is impressive also; Hanshi Arneil, was Oyama's first student to complete the 100 man Kumite. what does CI mean?Sorry, CI means...Chief Instructor!!

To the bold type above... How so, Noah??

Good stuff! Just reminders to block/defend for next time... ...and don't forget to DUCK!!

I think the punishment is warranted. Brand management also means brand protection; all at the same time. Consumers can be, and are often, judgmental, and this effects the bottom line. If UFC was to ignore the situation, they then would've sent out a negative message that those type of actions are approved by the Brand(s); and consumers don't like that, and that isn't conducive with a profitable P&L Statement.

To the bold type above... I doubt that you'll lose ANY identity with the other students; they know who the Dan ranked students are. They're more informed than one might think!! I believe that every school of the MA has the split. Some more, than others!! In Shindokan, we're divided three way; beginners, intermediates, and advanced; in both karate-do and kobudo. When I first opened my dojo in 1977, I had ONE: Beginners. Then, as the students advanced over the years, I then had TWO: Beginners and intermediates. Then, as the students advanced over the years, again, I then had THREE: Beginners and intermediates and advanced. I've dabbled in trying to incorporate the two model; beginners and advanced. But, I was indirectly undermining the importance of BEING an intermediate student; not one to enjoy. OPEN FLOOR!! That's an invaluable commodity that no school can be without. At first, I only did open floor on Saturday afternoons, but as my student body increased, as well as the demand for more, I have 3 open floors throughout the week. No matter the rank, all are invited to open floor, and all ranks meander together, and I don't allow individual groups to form, because, imho, they can deride the open floor. The open floor is for ALL to exchange and help one another.

Solid post!! I'd say, from looking at both links, this school's core style IS Kyokushin. Their BJJ instructor IS a purple belt with an impressive lineage. The CI's lineage is impressive also; Hanshi Arneil, was Oyama's first student to complete the 100 man Kumite.

Most sincere congratulations to Kendall and Kenneth; I'm so very proud of you two!! All Americans...WOW...AWESOME!! I'm looking forward to watch some Freestyle/Greco videos!! I bow to Kenneth and Kendall; rock on, train hard, have fun, and your next win is one pin away!!

Solid post!!

I know the San Fernando Valley like the back of my hand!!

Congrats!!

I would encourage you to visit your doctor, if you've not done so already. Her/His advice is far greater than anything that I can give. In that, I would say... Take time to heal; don't rush back onto the floor. One of the problems that I witness myself is when a student rushes back onto the floor before they're ready. I understand the floor better than most; it calls for you to return to your rightful place: Training!! The back is not something to take lightly. It, your back, allows you mobility, and in any MA, mobility is key. If your back isn't up to par, you can furthermore your immobility; you either can walk or you can't!! The simplest move becomes the hard one to do because your back is hurting. Getting out of bed. Dressing. Standing. Lying down. Showering. These, and so many other things become impossible if your back is hurting, one way or another. Please, see your doctor, and allow time to heal. The floor will still be there when the time is right, and not before that. You're in my thoughts!! To a degree, I understand what you're going through. This might explain some... http://www.karateforums.com/stepping-down-vt47775.html?highlight=stepped

Nice topic, and nice video; thank you for sharing!! Interpretations!! Oyo!! Yours, imho, is good. Direct and simple! You speak towards your own interpretation, and this is good; Oyo birth creations. On the floor, we're all taught numerous possibilities, and therefore, we're required to execute them as taught by the CI/Governing Body. These possibilities are received by myself as effective means to an assumed situation(s). I'm fine with that!! Imho, without Oyo, Bunkai dies as quickly as it's born; limited to someone else's interpretations!! I respect what was before; laid out the foundations. I also respect what is now; supporting yesterdays. I also respect what is to come; change is inevitable. Interpretations are fine, but, imho, they too can be limited by a wide scope of knowledge and experience per the practitioner. If we follow what was before blindly, then the interpretation isn't ours, but of the Masters alone. By seeking out our own understandings, are we questioning those Masters/Founders? If so, then so be it; MA journeys are meant to be shared but they are for the practitioner alone. And, if not, then we become those robots programmed to not think for ourselves beyond what they've created. The opening segments of Bassai Dai, the one showed in your video, demonstrates an effective application, but in such a way that Oyo is begging to be asked...What else? Is that enough? The crossed legs might, through interpretation again, offer a means to protect ones groin. They might also set up a lead kick. It's not meant to offer an atonement for what we've all be taught through our styles introductions of Bunkai/Oyo, in which Shu Ha Ri allows us to explore beyond that which hasn't been discovered for oneself, even though, it has been presented to us by the Masters, and for that, I'm forever grateful. Thinking out loud, again, sorry!!

Imagine the possibilities of BJJ in Outer Space?!?

Excellent tutorial, Alex; as always. Thanks!! I see quite a lot of Tuite mechanics throughout this entire sequence; excellent!! This is the strength's I see right off the bat. The weakness I saw right off the bat was the "walking" to get your legs in proper position, and with anyone savvy in grappling, will see what you're up to, and if possible, they'll counter the "walking" at any available means in their arsenal. One will win and one will not; this is true of anything! This is what I see/saw!!

Another outstanding tutorial, Alex!! Thank you for sharing it. We use the mounted triangle!! To us, it's another choke, and chokes are our bread and butter, so to speak. If done without ambiguity, there are NO cons, only pros!! It's fast in its application(s), and any attempt to thwart it, can only be meet with other tactics that will allow the mounted triangle to succeed. If there were any cons, it's not in the technique but only in the practitioner; this technique has too many transitional variants that can't be deflected; trying to defend oneself against the mounted triangle is, imho, more short lived than the one applying it. Possibly, I'll express some cons later on, but not now!! We can discuss pros and cons until the cows fly, but, like Bunkai, they're subjective to the practitioner; we might or might not agree on the pro or the con discussed. If I'm understanding your question, I can, after locking in the triangle, I can roll to my right, putting me on my back, and then, I can still execute the triangle choke. If I'm still on top, and my opponent has more fight in trying to end my attempt at the triangle, I can grab my opponents right hand, and thusly, if only for a moment, and all I need is that moment, I manipulate a over wrist hold with my left hand, and as the fight is slowed, I can now put my right foot over my opponents left arm/bicep, and then continue to the end. First thing comes to my mind, is the Rear Naked Stand Up Choke executed from behind my opponent while I'm standing behind him/her. The one arm choke allows me to control one arm behind the back while choking with the free hand.

A GREAT one across the board, Patrick, a GREAT ONE!!

Here are Al Pacino's thoughts on it: http://www.hollywoodreporter.com/news/al-pacino-talks-scarface-remake-783079 Very nice, Patrick, thanks for the links!! I suppose, imho, that what Al Pacino's thought on it are to be taken seriously, after all, the mold, imho, was broken after him!! What's said??...Imitation is flattery...OR...Often imitated but never duplicated!!

Solid post!!