sensei8

Glad to hear the he's been "nicer" but you've reasons to doubt his sincerity as well just how long he can keep it up...I doubt that he'll maintain for much longer. I pray he shows me that I'm wrong. If he's still making his unnecessary comments about the new CI, then, he's already showing you and others that he's not really trying hard at all; he'll slip up before to long. I pray, again, that he'll prove me wrong!!

"When in Rome, do as the Roman's do!!" To me, this seems fair, as cultural protocol demands. Offending a culture isn't polite and respectful, but it can be dangerous, depending where that culture is. It's always best, imho, to avoid any culture shock, if at all possible. For the times that I was fortunate enough to visit Okinawa, I had an ace in my pocket so that I wouldn't be offensive to the Okinawa culture, and this included the culture of Okinawa Karate...Soke and/or Dai-Soke...my aces in my pocket. Even then, I still messed up, and was called onto the carpet by both!! Not fun, and I was accountable for my actions!! For example... *It would behoove you to research the culture of Okinawa and the culture of Okinawa Karate before you do and/or says something that'll land you in some hot water on either front. *One of the biggest no-no's that I learnt the hard way, was to ask a local Okinawa karateka, that YOU'VE JUST MET, to introduce you to their Sensei. First time I did it, I wasn't allowed to return with Soke/Dai-Soke to Okinawa for 3 years. I embarrassed them both, and it took a personal toll on whom I had asked. *Accept whatever training that's offered; don't demand, nor request, specific training...one's lucky to ever be invited on their floor!! After all, they're the hosts, and guests need to act accordingly. *Guess who's coming to dinner? Great movie, bad idea if you show up at a dojo without prior arrangements having already been made. It's down right rude; hence it's the fastest way to not receive any training. Remember this...formality, at all times!! *Remember I mentioned formality, and in that, if you're lucky enough to be invited to visit a dojo while in Okinawa, make sure that you're respective enough to present some small gift for the CI. Oh yeah, don't forget a gift for the CI's wife. It's important enough to remember!! It's the thought that counts, and in Okinawa, you don't have to buy an expensive gift, that alone would only trouble the CI; the gift is a sign of your appreciation!! *Make any and all arrangements yourself; it's your responsibility!! You need a hotel? Fine! You need a way to get around? Fine! You want to sightsee? Fine? Don't ask the hosting Sensei or the hosting Sensei's students to help you with these because it'll vex them. After all, it's your problem, and not theirs. Just some tidbits, that I learnt the hard way!! Now... Let's put the shoe on the other foot! How do you think this would work if those aforementioned protocols were used in where YOUR school is located with the same fever?? While Soke and Dai-Soke were alive, and while the Hombu was located in Canoga Park, CA...USA, then later in Van Nuys, CA...USA...that formality that they were both born into and raised to follow and obey without any ambiguity whatsoever, they were both Okinawan's, that same formality was alive and well at the Shindokan Hombu!! Any comments and thoughts??

Solid post!!

I do truly think that you'd like Shindokan, and what it offers. For me, it's not surprising when I hear from those who've tasted Shindokan that what they experienced was unexpected...especially in our brand of Tuite!!

An outstanding tutorial; as always, Alex!! Thank you for sharing it!! Nice to meet your coach Mike Budnik. His transitional options were excellent across the board. His points were exceptional: *Do the unexpected!! *Increase the ladder!! This you speak towards quite a lot, and I wholeheartedly concur! Sweep's not complete until dominance is established!! Imho, his two options, from the mindset of the unexpected, were pure poetry indeed!! EXCELLENT!! What do you teach when your student meets dominate resistance in trying to create space, and the space isn't happening??

Solid post!!

There's nothing wrong with wanting to create a style. Imho, there's two mindsets here for wanting to create a style... 1) To share it, thus teach it! 2) For personal reasons! For the newly created style to catch on, the methodology and ideology must excite that student body, and usually it starts with just one student. If you've no students to teach your new founded style, you'll be having a conversation by yourself. Things start out small, then if you're fortunate enough, it'll have a snowball effect. That has everything to do with brand management!! You'll have to become a proponent of what you've created. Some practitioners create styles; personal styles, and take it to their graves. Their personal styles are usually a mixture of things that they've learnt over the many years and then add them to their core style. Oh, it'll be noticed, and it'll be difficult to keep it under wraps because humans are curious creatures. But, mums the word!! I suppose I've created a personal style because I feel I'm quite eclectic in my MA. I've cross trained throughout my entire MA journey; adding this and that to Shindokan from different styles. But my loyalty to Shindokan prevents me from violating the essence of what Soke created; I don't want to bastardize his creation!! That is MY believe and MY choice, not anyone here can change that. Selfish? NO!! Either way, what you've created must be effective across the board!! This must me, somehow and someway tested until it is!! BJJ is effective because Helio Gracie tested it against the world until the wheels feel off...that brand management was bold and effective!! Same thing for, for example, Shotokan...Goju...Wado...TKD...Judo...etc!! Nothing happens overnight!! Will people laugh and ridicule and scoff and snicker when you mention that you've created a MA style? Yep!! They might be affable towards you when you speak about it, but I suppose that that's to be expected! You just don't accept that, and forge on in your belief...actions speak louder than words!! Hang in there, do what helps your MA betterment, and the doubters can just, well, go eat a pizza!! Oh yeah, if what you create is effective...sign me up!!

Sometimes, being ambidextrous isn't always a great thing. Many MAists dominate while using one side only; it's either a personal choice or a medical choice. Neither is a bad way, imho! Sure, the ideology of the MA is to be ambidextrous for many various reasons. Have you sought out your instructor with your concerns? He/she is your first contact in any MA matter. Are you right-handed? Are you left-handed? Sometimes, people favor, out of muscle memory, their dominate side because it's so natural for them to do so; automatic. If there's no medical reason(s), then I say, work through it. Force your left side to be the dominate one during practice, and while on the floor. Convince your brain that your left side works just fine. But, while it's frustrating, I wouldn't allow it to be the focus. Just keep working your left side, keeping to the fact that you're executing said technique on your left side as you've been taught!!

Great tutorial...great topic!! Thanks for sharing it, Alex!! I loved the simplicity of each transition, while, there's a lot going on from 'A' to 'B' to 'C' and so on and so forth. Intercepting intents of the opponents as they reveal themselves can be hard at first, but so is everything else in the beginning. Great to see everyone working, and no one ran you two over, even one group was close!!

That's great to hear!! And you're not jumping up and down and yelling at them or putting them down whenever they make a mistake like many parents do.

Whoa...I hadn't considered that possibility. Thanks, Brian!!

Imho, Master is just a word! It's how it affects you when you hear it, read it, say it, and how you respond to it.

WOW!! It touched my heart deeply!! Thank you for sharing it!! Knowing that your two sons are wrestlers, I know that this touched you deeply as well. Kenneth and Kendall are lucky to have you...and I know that you're extremely proud of them equally on and off the mats!! That, which you shared, might as well have been signed by you!! You're an awesome dad with awesome kids, and you're blessed in having Vicky at your side!!

I've not started my own style, nor do I plan to!! I'm no one special!! You've been given some pretty good advice here, and I wish you much success!!

Formality is more important to some, and not others. I've only one Master, and He lives on high!! Our Hombu is only formal when it comes to the annual testing cycle as well as it's annual award ceremonies.

The bold above is exactly the point. We are lucky in that in this day and age we have easy access to so much material, in print or online, and that nowadays it is easier than ever to get in touch with people from different styles and backgrounds to share information. If you wanted a professional boxer to come do a seminar it's now much easier to find and get in touch with one. Lots of seminars are now open to anyone and widely advertised too so there's always choice. You don't have to just invite someone to your dojo because you know them through a friend of a friend or because they happened to turn up on your door asking. You now get the choice of what it is and who you think will benefit you and your students the most. Time is a commodity and with greater networks and knowledge we get to be more discerning customers. It's not "we don't need you", it's what are you going to teach me? Maybe it's just my experience but it seems like there is a seminar or workshop on nearly every other weekend I could attend. And I have done so and have trained with boxers, other MA, police self defense courses and of course plenty of great TKDer's... But with so many things going on and easily accessed you have to make informed choices about what you want to spend your time doing. That's why there's the question of what it is someone (like Bob) is bringing to the table when offering to conduct a seminar. Maybe it is because I have my work head on (I work in sales) but I see it as you are selling yourself as a product when offering to conduct a seminar for a school and in order to convince people to train under you they should know what your unique selling point is not just the fact that you want to do a seminar. Kusotare said earlier "In order for me to buy you as a service therefore, I would need to see you in action.". And you are selling a service as such. That's not to say you can't learn something from every instructor, you can, and I'm sure we would all learn a lot from Bob, but why is it wrong for the earlier TKD instructor to decline a seminar if he personally did not see a benefit? Solid post, Danielle!! To the underlined bold type above... This TKD instructor and I have known each other off and on the floor for just over 5 years. We've exchanged with one another for almost all of the time that we've known each other; this TKD instructor has been over to my dojo to teach seminars to my students, and I've been over to this instructors dojang to teach seminars to that instructors students. We've exchanged methodologies/ideologies with great benefits for our respective student bodies. Neither of us charged the other; a nice exchange of knowledge across the great divide!! But, for the love of trying to understand, I'm shot down each and every time that I approach this TKD instructor...with no explanation as to why? Not that I deserve one!! I can only suppose that this TKD instructor doesn't want to be approached by my own initiative; "don't call me, I'll call you". However, I've been approached by this TKD instructor to conduct seminars at my dojo, yet, I didn't initiate the contact, nor have I ever refused the offer...ever!

Thank you, all!! I suppose that it's save to say that these past 50 years have been kind to me.

Please understand, everyone, the purpose of me starting this topic was to discuss how those you know, whomever they are, seem unsatisfied with what you've achieved, no matter the profession, and no matter the personal goals might or might not be. I, for many, many untold years, am not driven by rank; rank doesn't impress me, nor does it mean that much to me. Yeah, it did once, but that quickly died in me once I earned my Sandan...the reasons for that are personal, however, I've spoken about it from time to time here, at KF. Shogo titles, well, they're special to me because they can't be earned through a testing cycle, at least not through Shindokan. They're bestowed upon us, and they're not politically driven, and only Soke and/or Dai-Soke can bestow them...and they were very, very stingy in bestowing them...as they should be. Shogo titles and the like seem to be free from the moving goalpost syndrome because the manner of which they are bestowed. BUT...I do see that they're not completely immune from the moving goalpost syndrome!!

Yes, in a nutshell. No offence intended. K. No offence taken!! You made solid points, and I apologize for my misplaced compassions; it was wrong for me to do so...I'm sorry, Kusotare!!

My motivations were not malicious!! My goals were not malicious!! To spread knowledge across the great divide!! Why are seminars done to begin with?? Well, my intents are always good, and not bad, and I can't speak towards their reason(s) intelligently. No disrespect, but why should I pick you to do a seminar? Sure, you demonstrate a reasonable knowledge of Martial Arts on this board, but again, with the greatest respect, to an extent a lot of that information can be found in books, magazines and the web - as long as you know where to look. Practical ability and knowledge is another thing entirely. In order for me to buy you as a service therefore, I would need to see you in action. There are a lot of excellent martial artists out there that do seminars (some of my friends teach globally). But our time (and my dojo time) is precious, so we need to know we are investing our time wisely. K. The OP was a general post to engage a conversation. After all, this is what KF is here for; discussions. I used an example, about a TKD school to speak towards something that I've experienced, and THEY CONTACTED me, and they've contacted me many times, but they're not willing when I approach them. I'm fine with that; it's their choice!! Pick me...don't pick me...it's your choice! I'm fine with that!! I can only present what Shindokan has to offer, then the decision is up to you. If you approach me, then it's my choice to accept or decline; it's my choice. KF is here so that members can discuss in a calm manner! So, I shrug my shoulders when I'm told that my knowledge is basic, and it can be gained by uncouth means; akin to a slap in my face. I've nothing to prove to anyone, except to my students!! I allow the floor to decide!! Think what you might, and that's you're right! Believe, don't believe, but I've been on the floor for over 50 years and it hasn't been as an on-looker/audience!! In that, if you saw me on the floor, you'd see that I possess the ability as well as the knowledge. The final approval would be yours if I approach you!! Respectfully!! I think what Kusotare is getting at (correct me if I'm wrong), is what is it that you, Bob Mitcham, are offering that is different from other people who conduct seminars or that can't be obtained elsewhere? What's your unique selling point? And why should a dojo invite you to conduct a seminar? I don't think it is a question of your knowledge or skill but what is it about you and your teaching that should make the previously mentioned TKD instructor (or anyone else for that matter) allocate time, and presumably money, to you. Is it in their students best interests to give up time to train with you? What would you be adding to the TKD training for example. To both, fair enough! Thank you!!

My motivations were not malicious!! My goals were not malicious!! To spread knowledge across the great divide!! Why are seminars done to begin with?? Well, my intents are always good, and not bad, and I can't speak towards their reason(s) intelligently. No disrespect, but why should I pick you to do a seminar? Sure, you demonstrate a reasonable knowledge of Martial Arts on this board, but again, with the greatest respect, to an extent a lot of that information can be found in books, magazines and the web - as long as you know where to look. Practical ability and knowledge is another thing entirely. In order for me to buy you as a service therefore, I would need to see you in action. There are a lot of excellent martial artists out there that do seminars (some of my friends teach globally). But our time (and my dojo time) is precious, so we need to know we are investing our time wisely. K. The OP was a general post to engage a conversation. After all, this is what KF is here for; discussions. I used an example, about a TKD school to speak towards something that I've experienced, and THEY CONTACTED me, and they've contacted me many times, but they're not willing when I approach them. I'm fine with that; it's their choice!! Pick me...don't pick me...it's your choice! I'm fine with that!! I can only present what Shindokan has to offer, then the decision is up to you. If you approach me, then it's my choice to accept or decline; it's my choice. KF is here so that members can discuss in a calm manner! So, I shrug my shoulders when I'm told that my knowledge is basic, and it can be gained by uncouth means; akin to a slap in my face. I've nothing to prove to anyone, except to my students!! I allow the floor to decide!! Think what you might, and that's you're right! Believe, don't believe, but I've been on the floor for over 50 years and it hasn't been as an on-looker/audience!! In that, if you saw me on the floor, you'd see that I possess the ability as well as the knowledge. The final approval would be yours if I approach you!! Respectfully!!

Measuring up to another's expectations can be quite daunting and impossible. I suppose this is normal, but it can be vexing, and at times, no matter what one does, it's never good enough. For MAists alike, this might hold true, but should it? From the first day on the floor, our mettle is tested over and over until one succeeds, or, God forbid, one fails at the task at hand. Not all of us are born naturally gifted, and for those who aren't, it's hard work. The goalpost stands before you! As you slowly climb up the knowledge ladder one rung at a time, something delays the climb, somehow and someway. "No...not that way...this way!!"...over and over and over. One testing cycle after another!! Today you're, for example, a 10th Kyu, then tomorrow you're a 9th Kyu. Then so on and so forth. Ones mettle is tested once again. The goalpost is moved! So, because you're not a quitter, you strive forward, enduring to the end of the world. Years have melted away...you're no longer a beginner, and you're no longer a intermediate, and now, finally, you're advanced...just over the hill and around the next corner, you'll be a black belt; the new beginner. New beginner? Yes, a new beginner!! Everything that you overcame triumphantly is quickly replace with even more expectations; more challenges!! Kyu ranks were just the warm-ups for what the Dan ranks have in store. The goalpost is moved...again! Years go by...now you're Sandan...WOW; feels great! More years go by...now you're Godan...INTENCE; feels rewarding! Even more years go by...now you're Hachidan...MIRACLE; feels awesome! The goalpost keeps moving, but by whom?! Over ones MA life, fails and succeeds happen often; that's just part of the life of a MAist. Not all achieve the aforementioned time frame, and in that, anything that has been earned on the floor should be celebrated because the MA isn't that easy, and it shouldn't be!! Each and everyone's MA journey is THEIRS, and it should be celebrated. No matter what's been achieved or not, they've earned that acknowledgement from fellow MAist, as well as from their immediate family members. A MAists journey is a celebration of knowledge; one that shouldn't be trifled with!! Whether it's comprised within the Kyu ranks or into the Dan ranks; it's still important to the practitioner. During the aforementioned time frame, as one muddled through the many unforgiving years, the most coveted awards slowly crawl in...first...Renshi...unknown years later...Kyoshi...more untold years later...Hanshi. The felling is overwhelming because no one can earn them through a testing cycle!! The goalpost keeps moving! Accolades from near and afar from over the unforetold years adorns ones bedroom...study...living room...office...dojo/dojang/school of MA...work places. They hang/stand as testaments of what a MAist has achieved. Some, have few, or one, while others could dress an entire wall or two; it's all good...it's the journey, the journey that has come to roost. The goalpost keeps moving! Appointments are noticed. Sempai...Sensei...CI...Shihan...Director...Counsel of Regents...President...Vice-President...Grand Master...Supreme Grand Master...Eternal Grand Master. I believe that most anyone would feel fortunate to have had a tile or two or more throughout their MA journey, all would be surely surprised should it became reality. To serve ones students, as well as the entire student body is an honor, and an extreme privilege to have done so. Highs and lows abound, but in time, the ones that ever matter in this regard would be ones own immediate students, as well as the entire student body of your governing body. The goalpost keeps moving! Again, the goalpost has been moving all of the time! We might wonder just who keeps moving it!! The Sensei...fellow MAists...family members...haters...friends...governing body...so on and so forth! Isn't it enough that whatever one might've achieved, no matter how small or large it might be, it's a celebration. Seems to me that some might not think so, therefore, they keep moving the goalpost. Pushing one to appease whomever is might be wanting to live through your accomplishments. That last above sentence was directed to my fellow Hombu hierarchy members. They weren't satisfied that I was the new Kaicho [President] of the Hombu/SKKA that only possessed a Hachidan. Per our By-Laws, the current Kaicho is to be promoted to Kudan. I barked against it for many years, and I even had the support of Dai-Soke on my reasons, thusly, my decision. But, it's possible that they're more stubborn than I am because they pushed and pushed and pushed and pushed...until I finally gave in, but they had to test me for Kudan, and the test better have warranted our Dai-Soke's stamp of approval...It did! I didn't meet their approval until I was Kudan! My Hachidan was just fine! So, they pushed to move my goalpost!!

Congrats...I knew you'd pass!! And with all of your discomforts, it's over, and I'm sure you know that it was worth it all!!

I've not many, and that's because they aren't inexpensive!!

Outstanding; congrats to you!! Wear it with honor!!