sensei8

Again, to me, when I finally become inactive, if I do, then I can say that I use to be a MAist, but I'll always be a BB. When I stop teaching Shindokan, if I do, then I can say that I use to be a teacher of Shindokan, but I'll always be a BB. You know, knowledge and experience can never be taken away from me. In that, my BB can never be taken away from me. You can take away my teaching abilities. You can take away my dojo. You can take the Hombu away from me. You can even take my students away. But you can never take my knowledge and experience away from me, and in this, you can never take my BB away. And for those who are Kyu's, THAT knowledge and experience can never be taken away from you either. It's there within you; dormant, but it's there for whenever the rust is removed. Even in my inactivity, should it ever arise, I will train everyday because it's born within me to do so, and I don't know any other way to act day by day. The old saying that says..."There may be snow on the roof outside, but there's a fire still raging inside"...that shall I be!! My BB is forever, and as I've said before, there's no expiration date on my BB certificates. Only date found on any of my BB certificates, in one MA, is the date of issuance. Therefore, I believe that "YOUR" BB is forever, and in that, you'll never be a use to be BB. Imho.

Solid post!! What I see hard, or what becomes hard, is that some Sensei's don't want to talk about how things are affecting their student body. This is evident in your case by your Sensei becoming pushy, and then you were asked to not comeback. Like yourself, Sensei's that have that open door policy are excellent CI's all around, both on and off the floor. However, in the midst of the MA, there are those Sensei's who think that they're unapproachable; unaccountable to their student's, and they need to be weeded out, if possible. Not an easy thing!!

This is akin to one of Bruce Lee's quotes... "When my opponent contracts, I expand, and when he expands, I contract, and when there's an opportunity, 'I' do not hit, 'it' hits all by itself!!" Letting things become automatic; second nature, without thought. "Not to think, but to feel. It is like a finger pointing away to the moon. Don't concentrate on the finger or you'll miss all that heavenly glory." That's akin to not being able to see the forest because of all the trees. Again, excellent post Justice, excellent!!

Boards DO hit back!! Strike said material incorrectly, well, in this case, the board will "hit back" quite noticibly. Tameshiwara, as it's know in Japanese/Okinawan styles of the MA, tests ones mettle, but first it tests correct techniques without reservation, and THEN it tests ones mettle. Focus! Without it, you'll give, but the material won't! Aim WAY behind said material; therefore, don't hit "it", hit THROUGH it; penetrate!! Conditioning is important! Stiking inanimate objects that feel no pain, will require some time before hand with a makiwara or the like so that pain will be greatly reduced or eliminated. No matter what, those that are proponents of breaking, can't see their MA live without it. However, those who aren't proponents of breaking don't understand why MAists would waste their time in a fruitless thing. To me, it's not a waste of time. Enjoy it, and take your time to condition your striking area's.

The term...When in Rome...doesn't apply to terminologies like Oss, and the like, with all styles of the MA. Some do it, and others don't. Saying Oss doesn't make us more important than others that don't. Is there a fine line?

Welcome to KF!!!!!!!!!

Welcome to KF!!!!!!!!!

Same here Ditto!!

Great posts, thus far!! My first impression was that your kicks were getting through because those whom you were kicking at didn't have an idea of how to properly deflect/block as well as how to properly use footwork. But, that's to be expected from beginner students. Yes, go for full penetration but only with control. Control; on and off the floor!!

Mindsets [methodologies/ideologies]; that's the difference from one to another!! Imho!!

Nice article, thanks for sharing!

Imho... My first concern is that this Sensei said that you "might" be Shodan in a year and a half. I'm of the opinion that that's the unknown of the MA!! No matter how much experience one has, earning rank can't be put on any time table; it's presumptive, and it's not even alright to encourage any student in this manner. Having said that, being humble, for now seems like the best thing to do, as others have suggested. One other thing, you might not want to say..."this is how I was taught previously" because, to be honest, while that's important, it's not important. Why? That Sensei knows that already, and to remind him of that, isn't proper dojo etiquette, imho. Remember what you've been previously trained in, but you're on his floor, and you should strive to learn whatever he has to offer until you decide that what he has to offer is no longer of value to you. Hang in there, learn, and train, and if possible, add what he has to offer by adding it to your own MA betterment!!

"The end is always important!" FW character was purposeful...right to the end. Nice movie; strange at times, yet, specific at others, while the movie moved, for me, quite slow on occasion, it's message was understood. Thanks for the heads-up on it, Patrick.

Well, these ways of training Kata are just that to me, 6 ways; nothing new to me. In that, I don't train in kata by pretending that I'm angry because I believe that it's not conducive with any learning maxim; Mizu no kokoro and Tsuki no kokoro: Mind like the moon and mind like water, for example. Focus isn't being angry, imho.

Oh, please don't hate me for my question, please... How often will one use their taught MA skills? Moreover, how often will one be not wearing shoes if called upon to use said MA skills at the moments notice, so that they can use the toe-kick? Ok...I'll go back to my corner...bag over my head!

As all ready mentioned...it's ok if they compliment one another. How does one know if they do such a thing? By training in them; floor time!! Secondly, if they compliment one another, can said practitioner train in both without creating conflicts within ones one MA betterment. Overwhelming the senses can work against the learning curve in any MAist. Time, time, time, and more time; this is what's needed to create an effectively applied knowledge around the complimentary MA. It's not how many MA one trains in and/or knows, it's about how effective they are once they're applied in varying situations. Imho!!

What body you've done in conditioning your body, with the hammer and such, it's reflective of Takayuki Kubota Sensei who used small sledgehammers and the like to condition himself. I'd not recommend that because while the body can be conditioned through these hurtful methods, I'm sure that a doctor would severely advice against it. I love the old fashioned way to conditioning ones body by good old sparring; flesh against flesh, bone against bone, and mettle against mettle. In time, ones body will be conditioned. Then there's Morio Higaonna Sensei, of the IOGKF, who, over the many, many years, has conditionied his limbs by striking objects repeatedly until said limbs are callused in the status that it's in now. It's a personal choice, I suppose. But, trained wrongly, it's a dangerous choice, imho.

I've nothing to compare to in my own MA journey. However, what I've read and with some of the advice that you've already received from KF members, I do commend you on your MA journey. It's hard to be honest with others, but imho, it's even tougher to be honest with oneself. Do as you're doing; things will become more brighter for you and your MA betterment!!

ps1, From a marketing prospective, I believe that you're hitting the nail right on its head. By adding key words to your marketing models, like on your advertisement tools, you're speaking not to a small selective group of customers/students, but to a more appealing group as well as a much wider geographic possibilities of untapped new-student sources.

Solid post!! I'm also a firm believer that students need to be challenged in ways that will stimulate their learning/training as well as promoting their natural curiosity in a helpful way. Of course, students will quit no matter what we instructors do because training is the students choice and not a requirement; it's a want, and not a need, and the student has to want it.

Both our Soke and Dai-Soke were born/raised in Okinawa [Dai-Soke was Soke's student], and we've never been trained in the toe kick. Possibly, as natural as it might've been in the old days, neither of them ever spoke towards that subject, for one reason or another. Training any part of ones body at first isn't going to be a blast until conditioning starts to settle in, and of course, afterwards, continued conditioning is then a blast. Slow and steady; training maxims!

Great story about you and your son...and you're right...you can't tap out of a hug, especially with a mom...GREAT STORY!! Thank you for it...brought a huge smile to start out my long day.

You'll really enjoy Kanku Dai; I always have!

Congrats...well deserved!!

First of all...Welcome to KF; glad you're here!! I'm in an Okinawan art myself, but not in a Okinawan MA that utilizes the big toe in the fashion that you're describing. I've crossed trained with a lot of Uechi-ryu karateka's, and in that, I've seen them conditioning their big toe, and I just grimace in astonishment because I'm thinking..."That's got to hurt something fierce in the early conditioning stages". Hopefully, some KF member can shine some light on it for you.