sensei8

Solid post!!

Congrats on your promotion; well done!!

To the bold type above... I agree, yet, I can't help but to appreciate the intent behind the belief.

Dim Mak should touch. check my videos, all dim mak need touch. also Dim Mak came from china. why you believe a fake western Dim Mak fake masters?　 and don't believe the origin place real Dim Mak masters ? I've checked your videos; thank you for sharing. You say that Dim Mak is touch, but what I've seen in your videos isn't a touch; it's a forceful impact, imho. I don't believe in Dim Mak in general; no matter where it's being practiced. Like Kyusho jitsu, Dim Mak is inconsistent BECAUSE THE PRACTITIONERS AREN'T PERFECT; mistakes DO occur, for one reason or another. In short, if Dim Mak is an EFFECTIVE MA, then I've yet to see evidence. I'd have to experience it for myself personally!!

Dillman has lost credibility in the MA overall; it's his own making. For me, he really done his credibility in when he spoke about "No Touch", and in that, how he could move people in line at a Starbuck, hence, he was able to go from the back of the line to the front of the line.

Having trained with most of the Senior Japanese (older) Wado Sensei - I would agree it isn't really used. In fact, I was actually warned against using it prior to training with a visiting Japanese sensei for fear of offending him. I also train with a Koryu group - and the word "Oss!/Osu!" is NEVER used as it is considered vulgar. Funny how some see it as a sign of respect whilst others think it is totally disrespectful K. Solid post!! To the bold type above... I suppose that to avoid any misunderstandings, one should learn about the culture beforehand.

I've seen the opinion that, if you need to stretch before you can do a certain activity, you're not yet flexible enough for that activity. The advice was to improve your flexibility first and the go back to doing that thing. I have a feeling that won't go well in a TKD class though. While that might be true for some and not for others, the older one gets the more one might have to stretch more...I do. I'll be 58 this October, and I need to stretch more now than I use to. Is that just part of aging? I hope so, because if it's not, than I just don't know.

Good post. But it seems like now the question is What constitutes adequate stretching in the first place!? YOU/ THE PRACTITIONER constitute what is and what isn't adequate stretching; no one knows your body better than YOU/THE PRACTITIONER!! But if a you're doing is repeating the same thing over and over without trying something new, how well do you truly know what you're capable of or if something else could be of greater benefit? Again, that's up to you, and you won't know until you try something new, but who's to say that that new thing is for you?!?! Most MAist have an instructor, and the instructor has had a stretching routine for students to do as part of the pre-class warm up. So, use those stretches...they were fine then, so they'll be fine in the future.

I don't like, therefore, I don't buy all of the psyching before a break; just break the darn thing. You won't have time for psyching if attacked; defend yourself immediately. You don't have time to warm up, psyche out, measure if attacked, so why do all of that unnecessary stuff before the break? It's not a 1 and a 2 and a 3...then...break...on the streets; purposeful attacks/defenses. Boards DO hit back when you take FOREVER to break the darn things!!

Cool, thanks, Brian!!

Solid post!!

SOLID POST!!

I never thought about it like that. As far as actually washing my belt, I can't say I do it that often. It has never seemed to have become dirty enough to warrant washing it. In related news, I have a new found appreciation for my ability to use my mother's washing machine. Yeah, I'll wash the gi, and not even think about washing the belt because it's a belt. Nicely tucked in my bag or placed on a hat rack in the corner; out of mind.

For the most part, small joint manipulations. Students learning Tuite, especially while grappling, they forget that, for the most of the time, a foundation must be in the manipulation, or it just won't work; they'll just break free without any problem. But use a foundation for the manipulation, well, that'll be quite unpleasant for my opponent; not easy to escape from once set without experiencing some severe pain. I can utilize the Tuite in a number of ways. I can wait until I'm touched or I can initiate it, but for the most part, I will wait until I'm touched. Can't grapple unless you touch some part of my/their body. Standing or on the ground, the foundation, the support of the manipulation must be there. As a LEO, I'm sure the academy teaches some certain controlling holds. They're simple...direct...and the suspect isn't going anywhere until you allow it. Those are Tuite properties!!

Solid post!! The Hombu sends Senior Ranks to visit each and every Shindokan dojo for a wide variety of reasons, but the primary reason is to make each CI and its instructors accountable for not what they teach, but how they teach it. These type of visits were started by Soke, when he and Dai-Soke, then Kaicho. Greg and I, and other Senior Ranks have continued to follow their examples; it's all about ACCOUNTABILITY all across the board!! They hold 1-2 weeklong seminars, we students called these seminars, Dog seminars because Soke and/or Dai-Soke would constantly dog you until you got it right and you understood. Neither of them tolerated anything less than perfection from any student, especially from any CI and instructors. Do it right or go away until you do it right!! We have a very strong Hombu/SKKA. Since the passing of Soke and then Dai-Soke, some drama has infected the viability as well as the tranquility of the Hombu/SKKA. We've had more than our share of hiccups and potholes since the passing of them both. When they were alive and in charge, we NEVER had hiccups and potholes, of our magnitude, because either of them would simple squash the snuff out the fire while it was a spark, as to not allow the fire to grow. They were fantastic firefighters, in that regards. I try, and I'm still trying to honor them, but, with all of these bumps in the road, I question, past...present...future...my positive impact onto the student body; am I doing them justice, or am I harming them in the short and the long of it all?!?!? The last paragraph is truly what you need to ponder. Everything else is minor, relatively speaking. It shows that you have your organization's best interests at heart. The most difficult times require the strongest leaders. But even the best leaders are only as good as those they're leading. Solid post!! Not all BB, that can teach, and teach very, very well, can run a governing body!! My election as the current Kaicho of the Hombu/SKKA was unanimous. With that being said, I'm reminded of a John Lydgate quote..."You can please some of the people all of the time, you can please all of the people some of the time, but you can't please all of the people all of the time." I've made unpopular decisions, but I made them with the student bodies best interest in mind, and I didn't waffle in my decisions.

I said I am extremely resistant, not that they don't work. I spent several years at university in China (Shanghai & Xi'an) and my colleagues took me to a couple of Dim Mak schools but all I saw was ultra-compliant students falling over, nobody managed to make it work effectively on me. The effects of the strikes were no more than any other strike of that power, aimed at prominent bones or weak cartilage, such as the xiphoid process. I also went to a dentist who used acupuncture, give me novocaine any day! My own take on pressure point techniques is that they make for good demonstrations but are not practical in real life situations for the following reasons: The practitioner needs to be really good to hit the right spot consistently The right spot varies by individual and some people do not react anyway YES!! To the bold type above! And when done Kyusho jitsu is done incorrectly, you better have a plan 'B' NOW!! The Tuite, makes up for the inconsistency of Kyusho jitsu.

Yes, BB is important to me, except nowadays since Sandan, I no longer proactively search for it, and yes, I'm sure that I smile humbly outwardly whenever I earned another Dan degree; the measure stick of how I'm doing as a MAist, I suppose. That BB acceptance can't be denied, it's in us, as human beings!! Some cover it up better than others, but, it's there!!

Solid post!!

A quite corner, those can be hard to find, but they're there. Once you find that quite corner, unwind to some soothing music. Some read a book, but for me, reading a book keeps my mind way to active when I'm trying to relax. Some find relaxation amongst friends; quite conversation. Some relax by watching the matches. Me, I like to relax to some relaxing music.

So true...so true!!

Perhaps!! Perhaps!! You know, Brian, I'm sick and tired of running into potholes; there's got to be an end to all of this drama.

JR137 and Montana...Solid posts, both!!

Maybe, while training, their belt became soiled and all that nasty stuff, therefore, giving their belt the appearances of change...RIGHT BEFORE THEY WASHED THEIR BELT. Then they'd do this whenever necessary. I'm only speculating!! I use to not wash my belt that often after learning the myth was indeed a myth, for two reasons. One, my mom forbid me from using her washing machine. Might've been because of the bleach incident. Two, I was tired of unwrapping my belt from around the agitator; it would wrap itself around everything like a dog would with its leash in the backyard. Then I learned about a new invention...the hose bag. It's the bag that held my moms pantyhose while they were in the washing machine; a necessity IS the means of inventions! After that, my belt didn't wrap around everything. Yes, mom STILL wouldn't allow me to use the washing machine...sheech, she can be so stubborn.

Solid post!! The Hombu sends Senior Ranks to visit each and every Shindokan dojo for a wide variety of reasons, but the primary reason is to make each CI and its instructors accountable for not what they teach, but how they teach it. These type of visits were started by Soke, when he and Dai-Soke, then Kaicho. Greg and I, and other Senior Ranks have continued to follow their examples; it's all about ACCOUNTABILITY all across the board!! They hold 1-2 weeklong seminars, we students called these seminars, Dog seminars because Soke and/or Dai-Soke would constantly dog you until you got it right and you understood. Neither of them tolerated anything less than perfection from any student, especially from any CI and instructors. Do it right or go away until you do it right!! We have a very strong Hombu/SKKA. Since the passing of Soke and then Dai-Soke, some drama has infected the viability as well as the tranquility of the Hombu/SKKA. We've had more than our share of hiccups and potholes since the passing of them both. When they were alive and in charge, we NEVER had hiccups and potholes, of our magnitude, because either of them would simple squash the snuff out the fire while it was a spark, as to not allow the fire to grow. They were fantastic firefighters, in that regards. I try, and I'm still trying to honor them, but, with all of these bumps in the road, I question, past...present...future...my positive impact onto the student body; am I doing them justice, or am I harming them in the short and the long of it all?!?!?

To the bold type above... *129 were tested! *All ranks; both Kyu and Dan! More Kyu's than Dan's. *3 for Godan. 1 for Rokudan...all passed, btw. I was the center chair on each of those testing's!! *No! Sprinkled from all dojo represented. *No! Various graders. Real quick. No one is allowed to sit on a testing panel that their student is in attendance. ONLY approved graders are allowed to sit on a testing panel, and even furthermore, ALL graders are from the Hombu, and each were awarded said credentials from our Soke and/or Dai-Soke after having attended a quite in-depth training course conducted by either Soke and/or Dai-Soke. In that, we've not any new testing cycle graders.