sensei8

I hear you, Patrick, I hear you. I'm suspecting that, even though the Cowboys have only lost their first game, the dawn of the end of the tunnel is far in the distance. I'm predicting that the Cowboys will win one or two more before their win streak ends...history dictates that about the Cowboys. Romo will have a bad outing in the beginning of the season, and then win 5-6 straight before the floor crumples under their feet...one game at a time, and as of late, they will drop the last 3 games of the season. However, I'm optimistic like you, Patrick, when it comes to the Cowboys. I also know that Brain can't be all to thrilled with his Chiefs as of late, but I suppose he's just as optimistic with the Chiefs as we are with the Dolphins and the Cowboys. Could be worse! We all could be fans of the Jaguars or the Raiders, we haven't won a game the entire season so far, or the Jets, Titans, Redskins, Buccaneers, or the Rams who've only won 1 game!! GO COWBOYS!!

Well thank you very much Unfortunately the contract for Karate is alive still and there is one near me, another just charges a lot. The most damaging thing is to the students who won't go near another Dojo because they think it's the norm. I get the odd few who come to me and ask about money first as they nearly got conned into signing an expensive contract. Solid post!! To the bold type above... How do we, as MA instructors change the mind of students in this regard? Also, people who don't worry about money have plenty of money already, and this is why most consumers will ask about price quite readily before they will ask about curriculum and the like. Prices will scare the bee's knee's out of prospective new students faster than anything known to mankind.

Thanks for the links; they will benefit so many, including myself. Thanks, Patrick!!

To the bold type above... That's a good point!! Sometimes, people forget that there's a lot of "homeland" in their very own backyard. Those who live in area's where their MA homeland is, they're fortunate enough to just walk outside of their door.

Welcome to KF; glad that you're here!! In your opinion, how has age not gotten in the way?

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

Congrats....feels good, huh? Been there...done that!

Aaaarrrrrggggghhhhhhh.....still in business!?! Hopefully, his punishment scared him straight, for the sake of his students.

Thanks for the link...I'll check it out.

Karate will not be "too tough" for you. It will just be 'tough enough'. You want it to be tough enough as that's what you'll need to get slowly into shape. I'm about two and half times your age, I've flown a desk for the last twenty years without any exercise and I will be losing 38 kilos (83 pounds) over the next six to twelve months with karate. In the last five weeks going to dojo twice a week and doing a bike run of about ten miles once or twice a week I've already lost six kilos (13 pounds). Drink as much water as you can, cut down a little on the size of meals you eat and don't eat anything after 9pm. I'm brand new to karate and what I can say is that if you like the idea of karate, then you will love karate, so sign up, put positive energy into it and you'll see a transformation in yourself in no time at all. You'll be so happy you did. Go for it! Solid post!!

Good luck...have fun...RELAX...let the tournament take care of itself!! Can't wait to hear your report when it's all said and done!!

Karate: The Art of Empty-Hand Fighting by Hidetaka Nishiyama and Richard Brown And... Lessons with the Master by Paul A. Walker These two stand out, imho, and I'm not even a Shotokan karateka.

He wants you to talk with his GM first, before you join...Hhhhmmmm...yeah, I'd let that one lie there too, and that is a strange request. If I had told any of my students that they had to talk with Dai-Soke first, Takahashi Sensei would've scorned me to no end.

I hear you concerning the local cuisine, and I was lucky enough to acclimate myself to Okinawan food before I went there. I did have a plan if the actual local cuisine wasn't quite like what Soke and Dai-Soke feed us...find a McDonald's.

Welcome to KF; glad that you're here!! I understand and appreciate the importance of having a website, that hasn't escaped me at all. Having said that, there are two sides of any coin, and I'm on the side of the coin that just doesn't need, nor do I want a website for reasons that I've stated in this thread. I'm not hurting for students and if I was, then I might entertain that idea. I recognize the many reasons that all here have stated for having a website, and me not having a website hasn't affected my P&L, and that, for me, is the ultimate way for me to check that my business has a strong pulse or not.

Please, SIGN ME UP!!

While the link below... http://www.ag.ny.gov/press-release/settlement-new-york-states-largest-karate-school-chain-ends-deceptive-practices ...is old news, 2000, I believe that current and future MA schools should pay attention as to what can happen if one's not careful at all times. These practices have no business in your business because students will suffer the most when these type of practices aren't reported to the necessary agencies. Are deceptive practices within the MA still happening today? I believe that they still are. Well, only salmon swim up stream!!

Curiosity will draw me to watch it, as it did for the first one...flying MAists make me laugh at the imagination of it all. Thank you for sharing it!!

There's no reason for any two martial arts to NEED to agree on anything. The US Navy and the US Army both have Captains. In the Navy, it's a very high ranking officer that can command a vessel. In the Army, it's still a low level officer that can only command small units (company and below). Despite their differences, they both seem to operate just fine. It would be nice though, if they did, so that disagreements weren't so disjointed, as they are now in the MA world. Different world and different viewpoints; these separate the world of the MA and the world of the US Military. Imho!!

Ever been to a MA tournament? Well, those that you're speaking about are there in droves. So, YES, I've seen 12 year old and younger black belts with my own eyes, and I've groaned...out loud. They're everywhere...nowadays, one doesn't have to look that hard to find them IN PERSON!! Visit your local MA schools, all of them, and you'll find them for yourself, and again, IN PERSON!! Well, to each their own.

Marketing is very important, especially if you're NOT in a highly visible and high traffic area; where ALL have no choice to see you. This locations are not cheap, but they don't need, imho, a great amount of marketing to attract new students. In these areas, new students darn near fall into your school. If you're somewhere apposed, then, your marketing game better be all that and a bag of chips!!

Well, if it's not against the law where you live, then I say, plaster the area's of your choice without reservation with your leaflets...GO FOR IT!!

Solid post!! I've had the broad pleasure of having trained in as well as visited Okinawa just under 2 dozen of times. Our Soke and Dai-Soke were our guides, as one would expect since they both were born and raised in, what's now known as, Nanjo, Okinawa. We went as a group, and all were encouraged to join, thus, all ranks were invited and not just Yudansha's. I echo everything that you've posted, Spartacus Maximus, wholeheartedly. We went mainly during the summer, but we've also shared a few winters; either weren't pleasant while on the floor. Much of training wasn't always geared around Shindokan, and mainly, we were vacationing there for the week or two that we were there. Culture shock, to say that least, for first time visitors, takes some getting use to no matter how much you prepare for the journey because what's normal in the USA, isn't the same in Okinawa, or anywhere else for that fact, and that's to be expected. Soke's house/dojo, in Okinawa, lacked the normal amenities that we in the USA take advantage of. Blistering summers and bitter winters...outside of expected training conditions and the like, I'm not a fan of sweating and freezing, but give me a break...at least once...sheech!! Food was to die for, and I mean that. I love to eat and I was at home with the local cuisine. Possibly I feel in love with Okinawa food because I've been at either of Soke and Dai-Soke's homes in the USA a trillion of times. It was, and still is, a treasured memory to have visited and trained in the homeland of Shindokan, Nanjo, Okinawa, one that I'll never soon forget. Both Soke and Dai-Soke returned to their beloved Okinawa; it is where their final resting place is.

I suppose that this argument will ever die as long as either side is unable to change their viewpoints on this subject. Impressing change won't be that easy as long as ones ensconced in their beliefs. However, for the betterment of the MA, and for the betterment of all MAist, an acceptable middle ground should be reached beyond an amicable agreement. But, I believe that that's just a dream of this foolish old man. That being said, I just can't see a change, in this matter, because, for example [i'll take the hits on this one], in our annual meeting this past July, as this very subject had been discussed... "We've, the Shindokan Hombu (SKKA), formally decided to remain viscerally opposed against eliminating our JBB program for awarding any Dan grade to any student who's not reached their 18th birthday. Albeit, to continue in unequivocal support that were, and still are, the beliefs and reasons as set forthwith by Soke Fuyuhiko Saitou per our By-Laws and/or supportive internal documentations." Oftentimes, I find myself in a quandrum of indecisiveness over this subject because I DO see the arguments from those who are diametrically opposed to our Hombu, and I also oftentimes grieve in my spirit as though I'm stifling the MA betterment of a MAist, even though that MAist hasn't, as of yet, reached their 18th birthday. A birthdate shouldn't be, in this regards, a form of punishment. I'm torn between loyalty and civility, in this regards.

Don't misunderstand me, but at times, the trees do get in the way of seeing the forest. Speak with your Sensei about your concerns and the like because your Sensei is the final word in Shorin-ryu. After that...Shu Ha Ri!!