sensei8

To the bold type above... Well, at my dojo/retail store...I speak to them face to face. I've an open-door policy!! I have a very large bulletin board hung up in the lobby with latest news, information, and the like that's dojo related. At the Hombu, well...I do the very same thing, for in-house students and parents. The Hombu sends out monthly newsletters to all affiliated Shindokan dojo's. Quarterly conference calls to those aforementioned dojo's. You know, things like that.

I understand what all of you are saying when you speak about maturity, and often times, the governing bodies By-Laws have no flexibility, nor do they have any ambiguity when it comes to certain concerns. Is this fair? Depends; some will favor while others will not. Without rules, By-Laws, then I suppose that their would be anarchy of an untold proportions.

Congrats...well deserved!!

For the Chief Instructor (CI): How many CI's meet and greet their students and visitors before and/or after each class with a smile and a hand shake?? Is that important to you, the CI?? Do you, the CI, insist OR encourage your assistant instructors to meet and greet, either at the door or on the floor before and/or after classes? For the Assistant Instructor: Does your CI require you to meet and greet? Does your CI conduct training on how this should be conducted? Does your CI discipline or counsel you if the meet and greet isn't provided as required? For the Student: Does the CI meet and greet you? Does any Assistant Instructor meet and greet you? Is this important to you? For the Visitor: Does the CI and/or any Assistant Instructor meet and greet you at anytime while you're visiting? Does this matter to you?

Solid post!! If I may add...Pivot ALL THE WAY THROUGH, and imho, if the supporting foot ISN'T 180 degrees away from the target, power has suffered. And so I can beat this horse to death...POSTURE is crucial. If the target is moving you, and you're not moving the target, then your technique is lacking quite a lot.

Fantastic posts...ALL; thank you for them. While ones MA journey is the long and winding road, it's great to see that others, from time to time, have allowed others on partake of their journey.

I agree with this statement 100%. Your business P&L sheet should do your talking in terms of business decisions. With that being said, I wouldn't be so quick to tell one of your student's the same thing. Let's supposed you have a qualified student that is moving away and wants to open a school under your umbrella (we'll assume he/she follows all the bylaws of your org and qualifies). He has "X" amount in start-up money and needs to hit 70 students in 60 days otherwise he'll have to work a second job. Of course, he would need to do demos and have amazing classes, but a website with good lead capture forms and automailing would greatly assist in the process. Most people do not even have phone books anymore. Sad, but true. Just some food for thought. Solid post!! Delicious food...indeed! I would never tell a student of mine, directly or indirectly, that they should or shouldn't ever have a website; it's a personal/professional choice, one that I'm content with...for myself. If a student of mine were to decide for themselves to have or not to have a website, and that I had influenced them one way or another, I'd remind them that while I appreciate their kind words, their decisions must be free of my influences. What has worked for me, might not work for others.

Btw, which Shotokan governing body are you associated with?

We're either our best friend or our worse enemy....our mouth gets us in trouble that we hadn't planned upon, and our mouth gets us out of trouble, if we're fortunate enough. I'd like to muzzle myself!!

Thank you for your post!! It's quite true..."Absence makes the heart grow fonder!!" I believe this is what you're speaking about, and I agree wholeheartedly. You liked it, but never loved it, and this I can complete respect and understand. But, in time, you fell in love with the MA; you never gave up on it in any shape, way, and/or form.

Welcome to KF; glad that you're here!! Congrats on your recent promotion!!

I will get a website for my dojo if the P&L, Profit/Loss Statement, shows me that I can't do without a website. According to my accountant, my P&L shows me that I'm quite financially solvent without a website.

I hear what you're saying in this regard. Word of mouth, again, has served me quite well. And, no, lol, my new students aren't all under 40; age ranges varies. Yes, Danielle did a good job of explaining that. I understand what you're saying and hopefully you understand that I know a lot of dojo owners who don't have a website, and they're still doing quite well, and they're younger than I am. Also, I depend on the phonebook a lot...let my fingers do the walking often. I respect what you're saying here. Our Hombu lets the experts do their job; we value their experience. We do have our input and the like, as would anyone else that's paying for ones service. Our biggest problem is whenever the company we have hired brings us a draft, we'll sit there, looking it over, then many in the room will nitpick the newest draft to death until I'm ready to jump out of the nearest window. We're getting in our own way, and it's not productive. I've stated this more than I can remember in behind closed doors discussions, some more heated than others..."How dare we slap Dai-Soke in the face. He wanted this [website] completed in a timely manner, and we've not valued his wishes. If we're not going to honor him, then lets table this FOREVER" I wish the next Kaicho the best...good luck, he/she will need it!!

This post was originally published as an article in a dedicated KarateForums.com Articles section, which is no longer online. After the section was closed, this article was most to the most appropriate forum in our community. I can appreciate wholeheartedly that a school is a sacred and important part of one's martial arts journey, life and betterment. Whether your school is in your basement, backyard, garage, park, commercial space or wherever else it might be; it's yours. Be proud of it! How you treat it is up to you! As a hobby, as a way to exchange ideas with other martial artists, a way to relieve pent up stress or whatever else you desire! In that same light, I treat my dojo, as well as the Shindokan Hombu, as a business. I do this because no matter what's on the surface, both inside and outside, it's first, and foremost, a business. Depending on its size, whether small, medium or large, the needs are different, but their goals are akin: profit; the bottom line. A Business By Any Other Name Wikipedia: "A business, also known as an enterprise or a firm, is an organization involved in the trade of goods, services or both to consumers. Businesses are prevalent in capitalist economies, where most of them are privately owned and provide goods and services to customers in exchange for other goods, services or money. Businesses may also be not-for-profit or state-owned. A business owned by multiple individuals may be referred to as a company." Isn't that what a martial arts school is and does? My dojo is involved in the trade of goods and services to consumers. In the very front of my dojo, I have a martial arts supply store, in which I provide "goods" of the martial arts type. In the back, what I deem as the heart of my dojo, I teach Shindokan Saitou-ryu, primarily, in which I provide "services" of the educational type. For these goods and services, I receive money in many various forms - for profit. Mine isn't a corporate charter nor is it a company because I'm the sole proprietor of my dojo, the Kyuodan Dojo, all under one roof to serve my customers. Who are my customers? Quite simply, they're the consumers who are and aren't my students. Those who aren't my students are folded into two: one visits my martial arts supply store for the sole purpose of purchasing goods. The other are those who pay for martial art lessons for either their children, spouse and/or someone else. Nonetheless, there's another type of customer: one who is both a student of the martial arts as well as one who purchases goods as a martial artist. How many hats do I wear? Many! As many as it takes to serve the better good of all interested parties. Under one hat, I'm the person who teaches students the martial arts. Under another hat, I'm the person who sells goods of the martial arts variety to those who are or aren't martial artists. Under yet another hat, I'm the general manager, buyer, human resources, payroll and accounts payable/receivable - just to mention a few. In the end, I wear just one hat: entrepreneur. As an entrepreneur I've built up plenty of "goodwill." Having a solid portfolio of goodwill adds to the value of the business across the board. This goodwill takes many years to accumulate. Goodwill, according to ValuAdder is "that part of business value over and above the value of identifiable business assets." In addition, "business goodwill is a key intangible asset that represents the portion of the business value that cannot be attributed to other business assets." This business goodwill speaks volumes, and it's that volume that gets the attention of current and future creditors. If it's in the future, the selling of said dojo becomes much more attractive because of the established business goodwill that's been earned over those years. When your students, customers and/or the general public think about your dojo - your business - do they cringe or do they smile? Hopefully, they smile, and if they're not smiling, then re-evaluate both the tangible as well as the intangible to bring that smile back. If not, then closing the doors might be a viable option that can no longer be avoided. Commercial Isn't a Bad Thing! My dojo, Kyuodan Dojo, is my primary income. Hombu is my secondary income. I'm accountable to both. Both are provided in a setting that promotes goods and services from inside a commercial building. Both are free-standing. Both pay a landlord. In other words, both are commercial entities. Depending on local city laws and/or ordinances, one can't establish any type of business in a residential zone/district unless waiver acceptances are granted by the city. One would be quite challenged to find such a city willing to grant such waiver because the city tax code changes. Therefore, the city might lose valuable revenues in the long run. It wouldn't be favorable for the city to do so. Want to hang a business shingle within the boundaries of a residential zone/district? Better be sure to visit your city hall of records and the like beforehand. Here is how SmallBusinessLawfirms.com defines "commercial business": "A commercial business is organized by its owners because of the expertise or skills that they feel they are able to offer to the society. In capitalist societies, these businesses invest their time and money and assume the risks involved to earn profits for the company and its owners without the guarantee of success. It is the dream of many people to establish and own their own business for many reasons - independence and the chance to earn large profits being among them. It is essential that when one is considering the possibility of starting a small business that they engage the services of commercial lawyers to check that all legal bases are covered and to increase the possibility of a successful operation." Well, if the building that I pay rent for has been established within a commercial zone/district in which I'm selling goods and services to consumers, then I must be the owner of a commercial dojo. That can't be a bad thing! I have overhead. Nothing is free in a commercial setting. Nothing! The bills keep coming; they're a reoccurring obligation. These monthly, quarterly and annual obligations must be met in a timely matter. If not, I've got to close the doors. In that light, as an entrepreneur, my biggest obligations are those towards my creditors. If I take care of my family, then I'm taken care of. If I take care of my students, then I'm taken care of. If I take care of the dojo and the Hombu, my students have a safe place to train and learn. "What? Your student body isn't your biggest obligation?" On the floor, they are! They are the reason as to why the Kyuodan Dojo exists to begin with; to teach Shindokan Saitou-ryu, as it was taught to me by Soke and Dai-Soke and then some. Without my students, I'm nothing. With them, I'm everything! My students are important to me, but in a profit and loss (P&L) spreadsheet, they're customers. Sound cold? It's not! The businesses that you frequent view you as part of their bottom line. In looking over a P&L statement, a business can take the pulse of their successes as well as their failures. Successes are calculated as profit and failures as losses. Either you have experienced some appreciative profit or you haven't. Commercial martial art schools are being unfairly deemed to be no more worthy than a McDojo! Why? Because my dojo is in a commercial setting! Because I operate my dojo as a business! Because my dojo is for profit! The summation of "why" is the summation of "because"! I don't sell rank! I don't guarantee rank! I don't even guarantee that my students will be invited to each and every testing cycle! I don't guarantee that my students will ever pass a testing cycle! I don't charge my students a testing fee! To be honest, I sincerely believe that I'm the furthest thing from being a McDojo! Customers Are Students and Students Are Customers! Customers are your students, and your students are your customers. To me, this isn't some hazy fine line that gets even more blurred as the years roll by unnoticed. My students pay a monthly tuition to learn Shindokan from my staff and myself. Therefore, my students are my customers. BusinessDictionary.com defines "customer" as "a party that receives or consumes products (goods or services) and has the ability to choose between different products and suppliers." Through that understanding, my students receive goods or services from me through the martial art supplies that they purchase and through the martial art lessons that they learn from the Kyuodan Dojo - my business. I can call my students just students; after all, that's what they are. There is nothing wrong with that; I can appreciate that label. However, I don't differentiate between the two on or off the floor whenever I'm interacting with them. Yet, in the context, I do differentiate between the two on and off the floor whenever I'm exercising my abilities to concisely and consistently monitor and finalize the P&L statement. This includes whenever I'm conducting business with my local bank. If I can't read what the P&L is telling me, then an unforeseen difficulty grows even larger. It's up to me to interpret what must be changed, and these needed changes can be found by interpreting what's discovered in a P&L. The change can be as small as pricing or as large as merchandising. You have to manage the brand because the brand can't manage itself. Whatever the problem is, I must fix it expeditiously because every single student and every customer, martial artist or not, deserves that exceptional service both on and off the floor. My students don't run the school. I do! My retail store customers don't run the supply store. I do! To a very small degree, customers are always right. Give them an inch, they'll try to take a mile! And when it comes to the Shindokan floor, only I run that. A student doesn't pass? Tough! Rank isn't guaranteed. A student is not advancing fast enough? Tough! Nothing on a dojo floor is a guarantee except that I'll give all of my students, as well as my retail customers, more than one-hundred percent of myself both on and off the floor, each and every day. Conclusion Rent, utilities, supplies, equipment and much more - those are just some of the overhead that I can't ignore. If you have no overhead, I suppose you're not a commercial business. That's fine, but I have overhead, and I treat my dojo like a business. Even non-profit organizations are still businesses because they've got to be answerable to someone somehow. I treat my dojo like a business because, to my understanding, it is a business.

Glad to hear that it's been solved in an amicable manner for all concerned!!

You're going to hate my answer... Differing methodologies and ideologies will vary too much to give you a general answer, imho.

Its dependent on both. I disagree. Why? Without the practitioner, there is no style, and vice versa!! Beyond that...I truly believe that anything effective has to be dependent on the practitioners ability to execute said technique(s) properly to achieve desired effect. Beyond that, as well, let's not forget the other reason why a technique isn't as effective...our opponent.

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

Power has to be achieved, and in that, power isn't dependent on the style, but on the practitioner. Imho!!

One of Shindokan's favorite...Soke calls this our Pre-Transitional Guard. A very excellent video, Alex...Solid!! Please, keep them coming!!

how can something slower and lighter hit harder? a rear cross uses most of your body weight, and travels really fast, a donkey kick uses very little body weight and travels at a slower speed, how can the donkey kick do more damage in some cases and about the same in other cases? Because the force of the impact isn't only supplied by you, it is also supplied by the person being struck. Typically back kicks are only landed or effective against someone who is moving towards you. They themselves are supplying lots of mass and velocity. Of course, any strike will be more effective when the opponent is moving into it, but it is pretty much the only way to hurt someone with a back kick, short of using a spin, or a specific and specialized kind of switch. This is easily demonstrated by back kicking a stationary heavy bag, then back kicking it again as it swings in to meet your kick. The kick has significantly more impact when the bag (our hapless opponent) swings into it. I would also like to point out that it is the acceleration of tissue caused by the force that hurts people, and I think you will get a better grip on this if you learn about acceleration and vectors in general. Solid post!!

http://fightsgoneby.webplus.net/page16.html http://fightsgoneby.webplus.net/page14.html http://fightsgoneby.webplus.net/page15.html Those articles will take you far. Just remember what Dobringer said, "For practice is better than art, your exercise does well without the art, but the art is not much good without the exercise." Read and think but put it to the test in sparring. Edit: Remember that orthodox fighters can and will use the same things on you. Solid post!! Try to do something that's not expected; out of the box, so to speak. If successful, watch the look in their eyes. One of southpaw advantages over the orthodox is that not many orthodox fighters have faced a southpaw; it can be quite unsettling the first time. But don't depend on that much because they study against that, but, in the heat, they might forget.

It's not always what target one hits, but it's more of HOW the target was it!! Not all close range techniques are executed fast or with any great mass behind said technique(s) to inflict any degree of damage to said target. No. Because ones in close range to any given chosen target, I must know how to hit said target to achieve the damage necessary. I whole heartedly concur with ps1 when he says..."You increase the Force you produce"...by HOW you do 'it'!!

When did you know that the MA was for you?? Summer of 1965!! Van Nuys, CA!! 2nd Annual San Fernando Valley All-Open Karate Tournament!! I was nothing but a frail 10th Kyu; still afraid of my own shadow. I was 7 years old! Two left feet...all thumbs...always putting my gi top on wrong...couldn't tie my own obi to safe my life...couldn't find the door if I was lead to it. I struggled quite a lot on the floor. I was a mess!! The three K's, for me, were difficult, and even if the three K's was as simple as 1-2-3 to other 10th Kyu's, it might as well have been calculus to me. Dai-Soke encouraged us to attend tournaments, even though he despised Sport Karate, but he allowed it in his students in the hopes that the experience might help us with our self-esteem. He couldn't stop us from wanting to attend Karate tournaments because our curiosity was getting the best of us. So, Dai-Soke felt that if we were going to attend tournaments, then he'd make sure that we were at least not walking into the experience unprepared. I was signed-up, by my mom, on the day of the tournament in every division that she could possibly sign me up for; Kata and Kumite. I was a dismal failure in Kata, Taikyoku Shodan, last place. I was in tears!! I wanted to go home!! Mom wouldn't let me. Then came Kumite..."will this ever end", I remembered thinking that to myself. Surely, I didn't want to fail twice on the same day. In Kumite division for boys, ages 7-9, was a huge division. Round one: I advanced; shock!! Round two: I advanced; shock and dismay!! Round three: I advanced; shock and dismay and hope!! Round four: I advanced; shock and dismay and hope and a trace of a smile on my face!! Round 5: I WON; shock and dismay and hope and a big fat smile on my face!! Trophy wasn't that big, it went up to my chin, but it was mine; I earned it! I retrospect, that trophy looked life the Empire State Building to me. That was all it took for me to fall in love with the MA. Weeks prior to that tournament, I was ready to quit the MA...to quit Shindokan...to bow off the floor for the rest of my life!! I was lousy on the floor and my confidence in myself was at its lowest, and I thought that Karate was for others, and not for me. That tournament win helped me in building up my confidence just enough for me to remain on the floor. Close to 50 years later, I'm still on the floor!! After that tournament, I was still nothing but a frail 10th Kyu; still afraid of my own shadow. I was 7 years old! Two left feet...all thumbs...always putting my gi top on wrong...couldn't tie my own obi to safe my life...couldn't find the door if I was lead to it. But, I was getting better...in time. That tournament was when I knew that the MA was for me!!

Right well I definitely want some commission now