sensei8

Another solid gem of an article from Danielle...across the board. Not all governing bodies and/or styles of the MA are seen equally in the eyes of the beholder. There are some things that the ATA is a proponent of that I don't agree with. That's fine because..."You can please some of the people some of the time, but you can't please all of the people all of the time!" Nonetheless, the ATA's business model is quite impressive. What gets my attention is numbers when I look at a business. One of ATA's most impressive number is the size of its student body...350,000 members...and growing. Can't be doing something wrong and still generate that type of numbers!! ATA is a model of "Who Moved My Cheese" imho, because the ATA is always striving to change, and not by trying to remake the wheel, but to re-invent themselves appropriately.

Refence the bold above, I agree. As a Martial Artist grows and matures, what they are seeking often changes. This article would be great for rehashing at differen points in an MAist's career. I wholeheartedly concur with Alex and Brian...Solid!! Ones journey can be a trammeled one, to say the least, and change, even in the most tenured MAist, is something that must be recognized and respected because what's solid today, might not be so tomorrow.

Wrestlers have a solid ground game. Having said that, majority of the wins on the mat are from the ground, hence, pinning calls from the referee. Is Wrestling MMA or BJJ or other styles of the MA that have solid ground games? No! And I'm glad that Wrestling isn't like anything other than what it is. Imho.

Happy birthday to you, happy birthday to you, happy birthday dear Danielle, happy birthday to you...and many more!!

I wish i still kept many of my old belts. Alas I was young and didn't think of keeping them. But hey what can I do, lesson learnt! I'd have to do some digging to see if I still have all of mine. I did keep the certificates, though. Most of them, I keep in clear page holders in a notebook. The bigger ones I have framed.Yes, now, I've kept ALL of my certificates; they're irreplaceable, imho.

I like that quite a lot!! I've no belt displays of my own. Old belts are to me, just old belts; I usually discard them. Although, I've not received a new belt in so long through promotions, I've forgotten what that feels like.

Thanks for sharing!!

Happy Birthday, Danielle!! A dynamically solid article, Danielle...EXCELLENT!! You are all that and a bag of chips, Danielle. Thank you for the article, and this article should be in print somewhere for ALL to read, and not just here at KF. However, I'm glad that it's here, first!!

Very well deserved!! Congrats!!

For a class or longer? What i've seen some instructors take the belt from the student and not give a belt to them until they have learnt their lesson. They could be say a black belt and they would lose it until there has been a change. Do they get to be in their normal spot in line to bow in and out? No Are they recognized for the rank they are meant to hold? No Do they get to train with people of the same rank they are meant to be? No Once they have learnt their lesson in the eyes of the head instructor they receive their belt back. If they are a kyu ranked student, they will not get tested at any point until they have learnt their lesson. They will not get their belt back until that point in time behavior has changed. Completely irrelevant of whether they are due for grading or a test. IF they are due for Grading they CANNOT attend that grading. Be it for 1 lesson or for 10 lessons, it doesn't matter. If the parents don't like it we do explain to them why we did what we did. I can see that backfiring! How so? Demoralizing, at least, is a way that's not helpful to a struggling student, no matter rank. Imho, attack the problem and NOT the person. Kids often wear their emotions on their sleeves and this can emotionally scar kids. However, if it's done with a loving and compassionate overtone, and explained properly, I can see this way being advantageous to all students, no matter rank and age. If the student(s) doesn't qualify to test, then don't allow them to test. Let the student(s) know exactly what area's they need to improve, and then help them to improve!!

Solid post!! React to ANYTHING!! That's should be the jewel of the MA, any MA, imho!!

In short, I believe that you've hit the nail square right on its head!! Just teach, and don't worry about trying to appear like something that one isn't. I'm not a professor of anything, and therefore, I don't try to appear like I am in both actions as well as in the spoken words. Just teach!! Explain the technique(s) to me in terms that I can understand. Having said that, students, if you don't understand, raise your hand, or whatever protocol is appropriate, and tell the CI/Sensei that you don't. I've told my Dai-Soke more times than I can remember that I needed him to speak to me as though I'm the dumbest person on the planet. Use pictures, if necessary or use GI Joe's or use chalk and paper...use something until my "aha" light comes on. He was a MA genius, and I'm an idiot next to him, but I tried. So, he dummied down at times for me until I caught up and got on the same page as he was. As I've said before...Not all BB's can teach!!

Solid post...excellent!!

Lots of view, yet, no replies, as of yet, 1 year later. Any thoughts?

I agree! Some movements are effective, but there's just as many ineffectiveness as well to sell tickets. However, nothing in the MA is effective unless it works for that person at that given moment. Still, I enjoyed the movie.

The point of tying up would be similar to how LEO's do it today i.e. you would have immobilised your opponent first. You may also have a razor sharp kodachi across his throat... People tend to be more compliant in these circumstances. K. I wholeheartedly concur!!

Great posts, all; I thank you!! There was a time that I'd say that there's nothing on the face of God's green earth that would cause me to walk away from the MA forever. Nothing!! But, saying that means that nothing ever changes, and that things are the same yesterday, today, and forever. The MA is all I've ever known, and it's all that I've ever been good at! The MA has given me everything that I've ever dreamed of, both the good as well as the bad. Without the MA, I'm an empty vessel that's battered and torn!! The MA is just a thing! The MA is a want, and it's not a need! I don't need the MA to sustain life; breath, heartbeat, oxygen...the basics of maintaining life. What I do need is my wife and kids, family, a roof over my head, food in my belly, means to provide, utilities...the basics of maintaining a rich and full life. Please don't misunderstand me, the MA maybe just a thing, but to me, it's one of the most important thing in my life. Can I just walk away from the MA? Something that's been more than just something that I've done. Something that's been more than a friend and closer than a brother. Something that's been a constant in my life. Something that's told me the truth on and off the floor. Something that's fought for me when no one else would. Something that's loved and hated me when others wouldn't. Can I just walk away from the MA? YES!! I can!! As painful as it would be, I could, and without any pause and/or reservation, and without any regrets!! Would the circumstances need to be undeniable? What would have to be occurring in my life, at that moment, or leading up to that moment? Just what would it take for me to walk away from the MA forever? Not much! Why, not much? It perceives that I've not truly loved the MA, nor have had much respect for the MA or for those that do. Possibly! However, while perception is reality, there's something else that has precedence over everything and everyone...and that one thing is that whatever the decision I would make at the very moment, no matter what others might or might not imagine and/or think...that one thing is that it's personal, and in that, it's private. Something personal and private doesn't have to be in concert with everyone else in or out of the MA. However, I sincerely believe that anyone's decision has to be respected, and if for no other reason(s), because it's a personal and private matter. It doesn't have to be appreciated and/or understood because it's none of anyone's business. I could say that it would take an act of God, an intervention of heavenly proportions, for me to make that type of life altering change. I could say that it would take a personal and/or professional tragedy to make that type of life altering change. I could say that it would take a medical disaster in my personal life to push me to make that type of life altering change. Whatever would drive me over the edge into the abyss of making this life altering change in my life would have to me something so undeniable that the decision would be instantaneous and without reversal. Thankfully, I've not reached that zenith in my life, both personal and professional. Yet, when I do, if I do, I pray that I would have the ability to make that decision with dignity and integrity that's unmistaken and understood and respected by all; close to me and afar. It would take a lot and it wouldn't take a lot. Those type of possible circumstances hasn't occurred yet in my personal and professional life yet, thank God, and to Him, I owe everything in and out of the MA. Hopefully, when I do encounter any of the possible circumstances, I pray that I'll meet them with my head held up high, my shoulders squared in confidence, and my heart full of joy. In that, I pray that I'll be able to recognize whichever the circumstance(s) might or might not be with not a heavy and trodden heart, but with a joy unspeakable. Nothing to me is more important than God, family, loved ones, and friends...nothing!! And if I've the room, then the MA will take a backseat and enjoy being last amongst those that mean the world to me first.

I do like Century's new belt display that's akin to a clear cylinder in which ones old belts are placed into with the lowest rank at the bottom. As belts are "retired", they're placed into the cylinder on top of the rank before that. Helps to save space and keeps belts "clean" from dust. Certs can be like Brian suggests over the cylinder; either the most recent or all. Problem for those in Shindokan is that certificates are awarded not until 6th Kyu/Green.

I concur with Brian. In that, I've never really like the line-up protocol because the lower ranks can be overlooked in the back row, and I do understand why the protocol is what it is. I can see the use in both ways. The way we do it, the low ranks in the back get to watch the higher ranks go first in basics, so the lower ranks can then either mimic or reference how the higher ranks do the techniques. But on the way back down the floor, the lower ranks go first, so they have to take what they've seen and apply it accordingly on the way back. So they only get a reference going one way. I do like the idea of lower ranks having a reference going both ways.I do like your points here. Whichever way that fits into their dojo/dojang/etc, that's what's important to them, and that should be respected across the board. I don't want those in the back to think that they're in the back of my mind.

Is there anything that you can think of that would cause you to walk away from the MA forever???

OK...Couldn't wait until this weekend, so, I watched the video link provided by Patrick, thanks Patrick for it. I watched it with an open mind, and found that Ronda is like every other MA; dedicated to their MA betterment. Her skills can't be argued, in my opinion, and whether her opponent is male or female, she'll handle herself with the same determination that she's already exhibited. Her signature armbar is akin to Wallace's left kicking arsenal....you know it's going to happen, however, what can you do?!? Will you be ready when it happens?!? Get caught in her armbar, you better already have an effective counter...or....tap out before your capsule pops. Great video, imho!!

There's a scene from one of the Rocky 3 with Mr. T where Mickey, Rocky's trainer, finally tells Rocky that, while Rocky won all of those fights defending his title, "...against who?", Mickey reveals to Rocky that his opponents were hand picked. Having said that, and all fairness to Ronda Rousey, the women's division isn't as deep as the men. Maybe she can fight in the men's division, after all, MA is MA; not gender based. Whether this is the same for Rousey, I suppose that this will remain an assumption for her critics to determine for themselves, imho.

I, too, believe that Sensei McCarthy was just jesting by watching his body language. Your points are quite liberating because you're absolutely right when you state that it's our responsibility to make our intents and the like as clear as possible so that there's no confusion. However, I've experienced this jest with no intent of it being a jester at all. Say "choke me" and guess what? The student tries to chokes the tar out of you unintentionally because the student was only following instructions. Therefore, say what you mean and mean what you say!!

Great replies, all; thank you, everyone!! Please keep them coming!!

Any comments?