sensei8

I agree because the MA is personal; no need to advertise. Yeah, we look like LARPers when we wear Gis in public. Unless you're going to Comicon as Ryu. Plus Gi's are not cheap. Work out clothing outside the Dojo, maybe an old pair of Gi pants, thats cool, but I wouldn't do a jacket or belt. At least, thats my take. Love it...and lol on the Comicon as Ryu!!

OK...sign me up, please!!

I agree because the MA is personal; no need to advertise.

However...seeing that this is hypothetical... Nothing that has ever been seen!! Karate, BJJ, Boxing, Wrestling, TKD; a mixture of these, but not conclusive. Resistive training!! Minus anything that I feel is ineffective!! There'd be NO sports form!! Bo, Nunchaku, Jo, pool stick, baseball bat, 2X4, and sledgehammer!! No uniform and NO RANKS!! I do not hit, it hits all by itself!!

Well...if there was no MA at all, I'd have no reason to create one in the first place. There has to be a need, and if there's no need, then there's no reason to create. In this parallel Universe, absolute opposites of our current Universe, there's no violence, and if there's no violence, then there's no need to create a need because there's no MA. Then I'm stuck with..."What's a martial arts??" I'm just saying!!

Some solid posts, all. Let us not forget to pay attention to the gluteal muscles [um...our rear end]. Tight gluteal muscles will affect a great deal of many other things if not worked.

To the bold type above... First thing is that, I don't hit/strike a moving target, for the most, especially if it's Kyusho jitsu related because the hit/miss ratio doesn't favor me. Intercepting a moving target that's in my direct line of my target requisitioning doesn't need a static target. Why? I have skills...you know...knowledge, experience, and speed, just to mention a few of my skills. I pause my opponents moving by slowing them down by that which I'm doing. Basically, I get in my opponents way!!

Solid post!! To the bold type above... Time in rank, as I was taught by Soke and Dai-Soke, has very little meaning in a time frame; students aren't judged by how long it's been since last testing cycle before they petition to attend a testing cycle. Quality is what students MUST bring to the tenure's time frame. Time in grade is subjected to the governing body. Even if a Sensei signs off on a student, the Hombu, alas the governing body, has the final approval if time in grade has been quality spent, and was that quality spent quality enriched. Date A to Date B have so little concerns; it's the smallest piece in the deciding puzzle. We don't look at a students Hard Card file and/or the Sensei's report about each student submitted for testing cycles to see when was that student last tested. No we're looking for quality achieved during that minimal time in grade since last petition. The Hombu, from time to time, will send an instructor from the Hombu to observe if quality has been achieved; is that/those student(s) improving, getting better than previous. If a student, for example, is a Nidan petitioning to test for Sandan, and it's only been a year, and not the minimum of two years, then there has to be extended circumstances involved to warrant further considerations. Time in grade/Tenure are important, but it's at the bottom of our check list!!

Do practitioner of the MA have any advantage because they're some type of Medical Doctor?? I wonder that because they study the anatomy quite seriously. In that, a Medical Doctor knows where and how to strike, manipulate, push, poke, hit or etc. to get that desired intent. Well, I would!! I'd use anything I knew in order to survive an attack because...All's fair in love and war!! Let the discussions begin!

I completely agree with you, Noah. What I see, is that more practitioners put much more value on that piece of paper. Both from where and whom the piece of paper came from. It's the listing of these type of certs as part of their resume that just make me drop my head, and shake my head, and deeply sigh. Consumers can be impressed with a long, yet meaningless resume. Makes the consumer feel comfortable in their decision when it comes to spending money. Proof is on the floor; undeniable. Proof on a piece of paper; deniable!!

I agree with how can anyone truly master something that's complex. IMO it's not that they've mastered it completely; they've mastered it relative to most others. Solid post; put quite concisely!!

Tigerclaw, Possibly, the link below might give you what you're looking for... http://sdssmartialartsoffairfield.com/

I know he is running his own studios in ct right now. I use to work with him back in the day when he was with Villari's and united studios. I am on my own because of his bad business practices. He a good at his arts and is a great teacher. Good info, Spackard! Might help fill in some important gaps for tigerclaw. How old is your info, Spackard??

That's a good question, Doomed. I think that the different Kempo factions are more lineage than methodology. I don't see much differences, if any, when I watch and/or cross train with the various Kempo practitioners, and that might be that I'm not a formal student of any Kempo faction, and for that, sometimes to me, the little nuances are missed because...often times, to me, a fork is just a fork; an effective tool. And if I'm wrong, hopefully, vantheman will set me straight.

Oh yeah, those Sumo practitioners are quite strong, and something to reckon with if you're ever in a fight with one. The 6 second fight can be akin to a bull in a China closet; quick finality!!

Solid post!!

Solid post!! To the bold type above... Nothing! Aside from that, if I was a Kravist, I suppose I might want a fresh eye on different applications that would increase my knowledge, thusly my MA betterment. I'd be looking for those AHA moments!!

Solid post!!

Yeah, like I stated earlier, the problem is mine totally. I just need to learn to address people by their proper titles no matter their field. I'm not seeing the forest because of the trees!! On more reason why I've had a hard time with the Master title is that, I'm a firm believer that how can someone master anything when we humans are so fallible; we're not perfect. Again, the problem is mine totally, and I need to worry about things that are much more important than the word "Master"!!

Great responses, thus far! Thanks, all! I suppose it's the layperson that will assume just the opposite of what all of us here already know. It's the layperson, that's victimized to assume something that's not accurate. The seminars I've attended, and they're have been tons of them, and if I received a cert for it, I just filed it in the bottom right drawer of my desk that's at home. Some MAists collect seminar certs for various reasons. The Okinawa Karate-Do Rengokai seminar in Naha, Okinawa states this in there full page ad... "This [seminar] accelerates their progress and deepens their experience, while preventing or eliminating the bad training habits that lead to ineffective karate technique." I agree that that's what your Sensei is suppose to do. I suppose that getting a different ideology from those listed in my OP, is a important element to that practitioner. For the layperson, as well as the inexperienced MA student, could it be that receiving their cert gives them the right to teach it to the unsuspecting public?? I suppose they could. However, todays layperson isn't that easily duped one way or another. Paper can impress!! Can is such a big word. I'm thinking out loud, just for a conversation.

This is the crux of it. People are blending two different words Master the noun and master the adjective. The former meaning someone who is in charge of something and the latter meaning someone who has acquired a high skill level in something. They're not interchangeable. http://dictionary.reference.com/browse/master Danielle, solid post. Because of my Christian beliefs, I automatically take offense to the Master label, and it might be in addition that when someone addresses a MAist as "Master" Smith, and then bow, I get offended by the gesture. Having said that, and thinking over your post, I see where I've erred all these years. And it's been spoken well here regarding the Master title. Master Craftsman, Master Plumber, and so on and so forth. I'm fine in the context, yet, in the MA context the bowing before/after the word Master gets under my skin. I understand the bowing in the MA. I understand the title Master in the MA. Yet, putting them together, well, that was getting under my skin. It was my problem, and now, I'm seeing it in a different context. Who says you can't teach an old dog new tricks?!! Thanks, Danielle, as well as those KF members who've tried to tell me just what Danielle said here.

Welcome to KF; glad that you're here!!

Update...NONE to report. However, my eyes are on my mailbox because I've directed the Legal Team to mail me their final report to my house, and not to my office at the Hombu. Soon as I get the mail and ingest the info, I'll let you all know the findings, minus any findings that are proprietary protected. The wait's killing me!! Sheech!!

I flipped a coin, and this is the forum for this discussion because the topic might fit just about all MAist. For the most part, MAist will visit other schools and the like, some local, while some not, and some might include an International flight, depending where one lives in order to attend another MA seminar. Some seminars are with legends, while others, are with those gems that are the diamonds in the ruff. You sign up, you pay your fees, you train for an untold amount of days/weeks/months...you feel good...NO...you feel GREAT. The experience has generate a new spark within you, and it's increased your MA betterment...you feel like you're dancing in the clouds. You've learnt things that we both new to you and things that needed to be revisited desperately and you've learnt just how to make that which was easy, even much more easier from the seminar you just attended. You discovered, you trained, you made new friends, you visited with old friends, you learnt, you exchanged knowledge, you also exchanged phone numbers and/or address, you absorbed that which was useful, and you discarded that which was useless. Then, you take pictures with a group as well as with the Instructor of the seminar being given; framing beauties to behold! In your hand, and/or in the joining of hands, you hold up the prize that's important, not just for you, but all who attended. Then, at the banquet ceremony you get to rub elbows with MA legends, friends, wifes/husbands/family/etc,...you're, for that moment, and depending on where the seminar was held, and whom hosted it, you're richer for having attended. The flight home...drive home...bus ride home...train ride home...gives you a moment to reflect that which you've just been a part of. You scroll thru the notes you took the entire seminar, and you make mental reminders, and jot them down just as quickly as you can, so as to relive the experience with as much clarity as you can. During this trip back home, you pull out something that you received to gaze at it, and a proud smile slowly appears across your face. You breathe a deep sigh of pride, and then you wonder and ponder... *Just what will this prize provide for me? *Will it open any closed doors for me? *Will it be accepted to be something of value? *Is it worth the paper it's written upon? *Etc. What was that prize? No, it's not a Kyu or Dan ranking certificate, no, not even close. Then what is the prize?? A CERTIFICATE OF COURSE COMPLETION!! Some might scoff at this, some even here at KF might. But to the receiver of a certificate of course completion; it's important to them. Give the certificate of course completion it's due respect because, like a ranking certificate, it took hard work, blood, sweat, and tears to accomplish. For example, those MAist that are in an Okinawan MA might not scoff at a Certificate of Course Completion if it was presented in Okinawa from the Ken Karate Do Rengokai office. That might be a big deal! Who are they? The Okinawa Karate-Do Rengokai, a long established and highly respected organization is recognized and supported by the Okinawan Prefectural Government. It is the dominant and most active Okinawan karate organization, with the largest number of Senior Karate Dan grades: Kudan and Judan!! Btw, the SKKA isn't affiliated with this governing body in any shape, way, and/or form!! The instructor to teach at this seminar are 9th and 10th Dan's. Some of the instructors that teach at this annual event are... Isumu Arakaki, 10th Dan, Hanshi Morio Higaonna, 10th Dan, Hanshi Hiroshi Inada, 10th Dan, Hanshi Zenpo Shimabukuro, 10th Dan, Hanshi Yoshio Kuba, 9th Dan, Hanshi Minoru Higa, 10th Dan, Hanshi Toshio Higa, 9th Dan, Hanshi Not light weight; not one of them. What if the seminar you attended was without instructors of the same caliber rank wise, knowledge wise, and overall wise? Would that make it much less important to MAist that earned a Certificate of Course Completion. What if it was your Sensei, who was only locally known, or who wasn't as well noted as those legends of Okinawa Karate-do? Would that be lesser? Would it be equal? There are some top caliber MAist that are unknown around the world, but their knowledge shouldn't be mocked because you or I don't know them from Adam. I ask the bolded type above, again...but before you answer and discuss, I know that ANY certificate from anywhere is only valuable to those within the same governing body, AND, it's only valuable to those outside who it peaks an interest in, and therefore finds value in it. I'd like to avoid discussing that which we all feel about the paper its written on, but for the sake of the discussion, lets YOU pick the seminar and the instructor(s) and the governing body host and any other valuable parameters that fits to make the certificate of course completion valuable to YOU, then ask the bolded questions above, and then some.

Exactly. A teacher with flawless technique and skills is fun to watch and can inspire me to train harder. But if said teacher couldn't really teach me how to do any of it, "the show" would get boring pretty quickly. I don't pay my instructor to entertain me, I pay him to teach me. My CI isn't the best technical MAist I've ever seen. Not even close. He's good, and I'm sure he was very good in his prime. But he's the best MA teacher I've had. He's got a way about him that's humble, he can break down my flasw, tell me how to correct, and make me want to keep at it. I appreciate that, and I respect that!!