sensei8

Very well said, Heidi, very well said!!

First of all...welcome to KF; glad that you're here!! You're going to hate my answer, but... The pros and cons...are going to vary from practitioner to another. I'm not a Shotokan karateka, therefore, you can find many that are here at KF, and I don't doubt that they'll be here shortly to help you. I've shared the floor with a many Shotokan karateka's and I find them affable and effective in the execution of their MA. I tend to address those who train in Shotokan as quick and direct in their manner as well as in their MA. Personally, I enjoy sharing the floor with them! No matter what style of the MA that you look into, you'll see, hear, read, a wide myriad of opinions, and that's to be expected because MAists are compassionate about their style and the styles of others. The way to find out is to visit the local dojo's of those styles that interest you to see things for yourself. Visit more than once, and visit different classes, and of course, ask for a trial lesson to get a tiny taste of what they have to offer. Deeply consider what it is that you're looking for and see if they meet your expectations!! Good luck, and please, let us know what you decide! Thanks!

Sounds great!! Please, keep us updated!!

Congrats on your promotion...well deserved!!

Your M.I. will do just fine with evaluating and charting everyone's progress before, during, and after each and every testing cycle. From what you've posted about your M.I., he sounds like his head is not in the clouds, but where it needs to be.

I agree with yamesu... Speak with your instructor. Nonetheless, what you train in at home is your business, but what you wear in his/her dojo, that's for your instructor to say.

Glad to hear that you and your son were at the even!! Glad to know that you support him in the manner that you do, not all parents show that level of involvement. Sorry to hear that he didn't medal, but the experience will never be forgotten easily. His time to medal will be there, when that time is at hand, and no sooner!! The environment at these type of events, for me, can be quite magical for all who attend, and not just for the competitors alone. Thank you for sharing this with us!!

We all know...our kicks can reach further than our punches in order to attack or defend. So, I can see why Olympic style of sparring is the way it is; more kicks than punches. GM Young Ik Suh was very able to punch and grapple and so on and so forth, a TKD GM to be reckoned with!!

Imho...LEAVE THE HEADGEAR ON!! Concussions and the like are nothing to sneeze at. Even the NFL is looking at improving the helmet to reduce the number of concussions that infect that sport.

I've never meet a business that didn't want to make a profit. Even non-profit want to make a profit. There's nothing wrong with a MA school wanting to make a profit because that's why they opened up their doors...to make profit!! How a school of the MA makes its profit, well, that's another thing. Some are well intended and others are not!!

And when pressure points don't work...one better have a reliable back up, and quick!! Here's my broken record... If a pressure point doesn't work...the most reliable culprit is the practitioner. These pressure points are verified my medical science, and not by the MA in general. Can't manipulate the darn thing, then go back to the floor until you can consistently...it's there...find it!! Still can't, then don't try that point ever again!!

I don't think that I can top Shizentai's story...a classic and unforgettable story...one that's got me laughing tell I want to puke...LOVED IT... What I did was more dumb, than awkward, however, in the aftermath of it, I felt quite awkward for having done something so, well, stupid... http://www.karateforums.com/the-day-i-knocked-myself-out-vt36200.html?highlight=head+roof After 50 years, I've had my share of awkward and aha and stupid and then some moments. Some I vividly remember, and others, well, I'd rather forget them.

Loved them!!

Training in both, full-time, would be difficult for most. I suppose the question might also be... Do I NOT start Kung-fu? Adding things from other styles of the MA can never harm because ones MA betterment needs effectiveness added to it. Good luck with it, and at least, go to a free lesson, if they offer it.

Our testing cycle is every three months, and just because they are every three months, that doesn't mean that anyone will be invited to attend; parameters aren't always satisfied!!

For me, a small red keeps blinking. Secret? Hhhmmm!! Nidan Melbourne makes a point... If within your style this kata is legit, then COOL!! However, if your style says the kata is legit, then it's legit!!

Pain thresholds can prevent immediate activities when ones manipulated. The other thing is, and this can be the biggest culprit, not fully knowing how to apply. Medicine is medicine and I don't think that can be disputed. Everyone reacts differently to any manipulation, however, if applied correctly, the ratio is increased. I've heard..."Lucky; that's how pp work", well, I'd say the person that says that or agrees with that, doesn't truly understand Kyusho Jitsu or how to effective apply the most simplest manipulations, imho.

A very well written article, Heidi; you hit the important aspects of Shu Ha Ri. Not all MA who compassionately are taught Shu Ha Ri really get to the core of it, but, I feel that you hit the nail dead on its head. Not to technically involved but enough so that the concept is understood!!

Don't Forget that BMI is not that good at telling us our fat %. As it is rather Inaccurate. Often athletes will receive a high BMI due to the muscle that they have built up. Even though they look healthy, but according to the BMI they are overweight. With Weight Classes don't be pedantic about going down or up more than 1 division. Your reach does NOT affect your weight at all. For me I am 110 kg and 5'8" and my ideal weight is approx 80 kg but I may not get there completely due to what my genetics decide. Solid post!! I think I was trying to say that the Rock, by his high BMI, is considered Obese, and the Rock, is far from that! Still, I do thank you for your post...solid, indeed!!

I agree that promotion through rank should in general be based on progression through a syllabus, but... The point of a karate syllabus is not to teach you moves or dances. The point of a karate syllabus is to teach you how to fight. To promote someone who can do the moves but cannot fight to an appropriate level is demeaning to the school and the art. To withhold rank from a person who can fight above the level of his rank but whose techniques against air is not right because you are effectively holding them back instead of pushing them forward. Now what should happen is that a point of equilibrium is reached where sloppy technique starts to become a hindrance in his fighting and at that point the students rank should be frozen until he makes progress. At that point making the student focus on and develop his basics should lead to clear improvements in the areas in his fighting that are lacking. When that happens he can progress. This will only work if the teacher understands combat and the relationship between fighting and form. So ultimately rank in my view is about grading against yourself but going towards a well defined and understood objective goal of applying martial arts to violent conflict (or sport combat if that's what you want). After that is achieved (post Dan/senior Dan) it's about politics and thus is relative to others, but that side of things is far outside my interest. One final note on syllabus. If the aim of karate is learning to fight (and it really is), then holding someone back from ranking because they can't do certain things is the same as the teacher saying "I can only teach you one way and if it doesn't fit you I can't teach you." Nidan above mentioned not being able to head kick. We'll to me the solution would be to identify what part head kicks play in fighting and provide an alternative that fits the same niche. The same goes for disability (obviously this has limits). There is more than one way to fight and it is the student who gets hurt if the teacher can't or won't adapt to them rather than the other way around. That's a solid post!! You know, I often wish that I was NEVER a Senior Dan...EVER because it's very lonely, even within the Shindokan circle...especially!! It's hard to explain, in words, what I'm feeling right now, one would have to experience it firsthand for themselves.

Running the risk of sounding hypocritical and losing the respect from fellow KF members... YES!! Why? If the MA can teach the practitioner ONE thing that will be effective in saving him/her, then by all means, that MA is worthwhile. Let's not worry about the business models and the like that might or might not surround said MA, that's worry about if a student can get even just ONE effective thing from that MA...I believe that that MA is worthwhile to give it a chance. We've our own personal and professional feelings about GKR, and they're no secrets, but if just ONE slice of whatever can provide nutrition substance to that person, then whom am I to deny them of that?!

Excellent article, Brian!! It's nice to know about ones MA journey, and that your MA journey, while it has its potholes, it's still continuing. Every paragraph reached into my heart and soul in ways that I admire, and in ways that I need. I've had the extreme pleasure of sharing the floor with you, even though it's only been once. That one time, showed me a MA that was solid across the board and was starving for knowledge that could help improve his MA betterment; you were a sponge and you were quite affable and humble, a trait that can be hard to find...HONESTY beyond all measures!! I was very happy to have meet your wife, Vicky, and your three beautiful children, Kayla, Kendall, and Kenneth; you're very blessed!! I'm the lucky one to have meet and trained with you: An excellent MA through and through!! Your techniques are extraordinarily solid through and through, and I was pleased to see that your techniques were honest in their executions. I wish that we had much more floor time together; we could learn so much from one another!! In our friendship, I'M the fortunate one, and I wish you the best in your continued MA journey, and I thank you for allowing me to walk, if for only that one brief time, side by side on your MA journey. Thank you, Brian, for everything...past, present, and future!! Your friend, now and forever, in and out of the MA!!

Congrats...well deserved!!

Dwayne "Rock" Johnson's BMI, at his WWE prime was 30. However, that was because of the amount of muscle he had, and it wouldn't surprise me if his BMI is more now...he's ripped even more so than he was before!!

SOLID ! DITTO!!