sensei8

I suppose that Soke and Dai-Soke saw something in me, that I didn't see, then or now; I'm nothing special. Besides, I was at the dojo 6 days a week, except during baseball season, then, I'd be at the dojo 3 days a week.

Welcome to KF; glad that you're here!! From what you posted, I'd say...RED OAK...all the way. Boils down to a personal choice!!

WOW...congrats...good luck!!

What's your gut feeling?? The pros seem great! The cons aren't so great! Go with your gut feeling, and don't second guess yourself!! This is my short answer.

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

This concept is seen in the MA...Karate, Judo, Aikido, etc...still, very nice tutorial, thanks for sharing. BTW, have your student, the one in this video, do some makiwara and the like training to condition his body, as a thought. That way when hard meets the soft, he'll absorb it properly. I did get a chuckle, mean of me, but I'm sick that way.

I like the fact that your students spend a month on one section before moving to another. To many things pass by unnoticed when things are rushed, and students can be quite impatient at times.

So, having the student discover the new angles and the like from what you've taught them as a foundation??

Similar to Master Ken??

Solid post!! Please understand, our way is just a way, but it's our way. We do yield, but the circumstances must favor to do so. I have meant to come back to this for several days, but the works has conspired against me doing so. Sensei8, I didn't mean any disrespect in my post. A bit odd a devil's advocate perhaps. All movement, positioning, must be to your advantage. Always. Whether to get off your heals, gain a better angle of attack of more advantageous position of power etc. Small or large, movement has to better us in our moment of need. Do you ever do anything to restrict students ability to retreat or maneuver? We have in the past cut the "ring" to a 4 or even 2 meter square, had the other students circle around like an encroaching crowd, and even tired them together at the belt at arm's length. All to restrict movement and force close range engagements. No disrespect taken; it's all good!! One of Dai-Soke's greatest training aides... Put the student IN THE CORNER!! Can't back up; can only transitional shift left, right, in varying angles of left and/or right, and/or forward.

In laymen's term... What's PHOTO EMBEDDING?? Is it difficult to do??

Being a 3rd Dan before one can open a dojo and become the CI has been around for as long as I can remember. It's an unwritten rule; more of a rule-of-thumb, nonetheless. I waited until I had earned my Sandan before I opened the Kyuodan Dojo in 1977.

I use them, especially in my age, and I'm in Karate. Habit started when I began learning our brand of grappling, in which, years later, I still don them; kind of like a security blanket. For the longest, our Hombu had NO mats at all; bare floor. I know, some of you here will rib me to no end, but that's cool because it's true...habits are hard to die.

Fuyuhiko Saitou was born in 1917. He founded Shindokan Saitou-ryu in 1950; so, Soke was 33 years old. Yes, I believe you're right about the Judan being an automatic happening when one finds your own art. I didn't know that Soke was a Judan until I was in my 3rd year as a JBB. Soke being a Judan...well...I don't fault him for that because it's none of my business, imho. When, where, how, and why of when Soke earned his Judan, isn't spoke about in our Densho Scrolls and the like in any great details. While I've been quite hard on myself in our discussions, I'm not that overly concerned with it because the what, when, where, why, how, and who my ranks/titles came about, imho, is out of my hands. Has been out of my hands ever since I joined in 1964; only Soke and Kaicho/Dai-Soke had the authority to do so. Really, what's one to do?!

No...we're the same age; 57 years old. Seniority is based on rank and when said rank was earned.

Sorry, I didn't watch the whole thing; after all, it's 3 hours long.

No, sorry!! I've not ever meet/trained with them. Not surprised, after all, I'm in the USA and I believe they're in the UK. Can you tell us more, from your viewpoint??

Very nice; thanks for sharing!! This, that you're sharing, is so much in line with what we do in Shindokan; Tuite and Close Range Transitions/Space Management. From the teachings of the video...Do you teach your students to block or to deflect?? We teach to deflect because a block, by us, is seen to interrupt the flow. In deflecting, the transitional shifts aren't disrupted/stopped as they flow upon natural and unnatural lines to the target(s).

Well, ok, who's Master Wong? I tried, but at times, I didn't get it...not your fault, the fault is all mine...at times, I'm quite dense!!

I wholeheartedly support your decision, Patrick, in closing the Photo Album Section, and I look forward to the future when it comes back on line here at KF!!

Nice tutorial; thanks for sharing it!! As an instructor, when working with a student, do you break the WC Dummy into working segments of the WCD; top part of the Dummy...middle part of the Dummy? How often, if at all, does WC utilize transitional shifts while working with the WC Dummy?

Nice tutorial; thanks for sharing!! As an instructor, how do you trigger their AHA moment whenever training with the WC Dummy?? After all, the WC Dummy can't counter anything , in any way, the student might do to it!!

Don't be to hard on yourself, as you stated before you were a JBB for 5 years so that should count for something. Besides yourself has there ever been people who gotten ranks just as fast as you or were you one of the execeptions. Thank you for your supportive words. I don't think I was all that fast in earning ranks up to Hachidan, in retrospect, 25 years for me, instead of the minimum of 28 years. But, I do see what you're saying. Greg, our Kancho, started 6 months later than I did. At times, he'd be senior to me, even when we were kyu ranked; we kind of went back and forth between us when it came to earning ranks from Soke and Kaicho. I earned my Hachidan in 25 years, and Greg earned his in 29 years. He struggled with Nanadan, having failed that Dan rank twice, and earned a 1 year tenure penalty from Soke for gross insubordination at the end of his 2nd fail for Nanadan. The last one to earn a Hachidan from Kaicho/Dai-Soke took him 31 years from the time he earned his Shodan. To the bold type above...No!! I say this without equivocation, NO!! This was NOT the way of Soke and Kaicho/Dai-Soke...awarding ANY rank prematurely, that is!! Nor, was I an exception!! I never sat down and asked either of them..."Why?" To do so would be received by either of them as though I was being questioning them across the board; that would be very disrespectful to do so: Questioning a Testing Cycle decision?!?! No thank you, I'll pass on that!! Over 50 years, I've noticed things relating to what we're discussing about, concerning my fellow practitioners, but never gave it any marked consideration. Why? I'm a student of Kaicho, and compared to either of them while they were alive, I had the authority of a stick in many Hombu Administrative dealings. I'd just shrug my shoulders and think..."Hey, they must've done well enough to have Soke or Dai-Soke/Kaicho pass them...COOL!! I'm proud of him/her/them!!" Again, questioning Testing Cycle decisions of Senior Dan's is the quickest way to find the door hitting you on your backside on your way out...for good!!

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Solid post!!