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Your opening had me...in stitches!! Loved it, Patrick!! Your kindness always touches my heart in ways that I can never repay you; except to say, thank you, Patrick! Even saying "thank you", as much as I mean every syllable, it pales in significance! While I miss the floor, I'm still on the KF floor, and this is the extension of the Shindokan circle for me!!

Thank you so much, JohnASE!! My Shugyo is exhausting my Ganbatte, at times!!

Thank you so very much, mazzybear!! I miss the floor with every piece of my heart!!

Thank you so very much, I appreciate it, Nidan Melbourne!!

Thank you so much, andym!!

The good fight is on!! Thank you so much, devil dog!!

Thank you so much, jaypo!!

Thank you so much, Noah!!

Your kind words have not been taking lightly; they mean the world to me!! Thank you, Hawkmoom!!

Ditto!! Happy Birthday, Brian!!

Ditto!! And many more!! Happy Birthday, Heidi!!

This is truly sad news!! My prayers go out to his family and friends!! He's one of the very few reporters on ESPN that I truly looked forward in watching his segments on ESPN; a true master at work!! His interviewing skills, imho, were unmatched on any given topic, including MMA!! Thanks, Patrick, for providing the links, and for letting us know!! He will be missed!!

There you go; the rest is, as they say, up to you!!

Ditto!!

Time heals all MA ailments; time on the floor is time well spent! In time, your balance will be solid! In time, stances will solidify! In time, kata becomes natural! In time!! Learn that time is on your side!! Not one Senior Dan started solid on the floor, they faced quite similar things that you are right now! Question everything, but do it with respect!! Having said that trust must be earned by every rank!! The higher the rank, the harder one must work to earn trust and respect! Trust your Sensei's grading decision through and through! To do otherwise is a from of disrespect, and I don't know many Instructors that appreciate their grading decisions being questioned by any rank, particularly beginners!! Your Sensei passed your on your merits and the like, and as in any test, you can still pass without making a 100% on the testing cycle!! DON'T ASK TO BE DOWN GRADED...and if you do, you'll deeply regret having done so!! As others have stated, we're individuals, and in that, the learning curve is easier for some, and difficult for others You passed! Congrats! Now practice until the wheels fall off, and then some! Nothing in the MA is suppose to be easy, and if it was, everyone would be doing it.

Ditto!!

Any new videos, Brian??

Solid post!! Verbal threats need to be reported to the police, and they shouldn't be taken lightly, imho!!

Thank you, Wado Heretic!!

Thanks, Danielle!! And no, it's not easy at all! When all of this is behind me, I'll spend some time with Greg at the Hombu to shake the rust off and see if the floor will accept me back!

Ditto!!

Great tutorial, as always, Alex!! Thank you for sharing!! I believe all of us who've been on the grappling mats have struggled one way or another with being static; it's the unknown familiarity of it all! Took me some time because I'm not the sharpest knife in the drawer.

Solid post!!

He did. I'm just not sure when he did so. I don't think he got started with BJJ until the 1980s, but may have had his Judo black belt before then. Didn't Lee also do some training with Judo Gene LeBelle? I don't know when Chuck got either of his grappling black belts, but his bios aren't given into stating dates, which is fine with me. And yes, I believe anybody who's anybody have trained with Gene, including Bruce.

This is the year, 2015, that I've had to step down, even though it's a temporary setback!!