sensei8

I echo what Brian said wholeheartedly!!

Thank you all for your continued prayers and support; it means everything to me and my family. UPDATE: ELLIGARD TREATMENT SHOT: August 4, 2022, I received my shot of Elligard. Was supposed to have that shot on August 3, 2022, but the wrong treatment medication was ordered. To avoid that mistake in the future, I have to tell the scheduler to order Eligard. Come to find out, my treatment shot falls under a code for Leuprolide Acetate, therefore, various medications fall under that code, which means Elligard must be specified. I have to start insisting the nurse to NOT give me that shot until my injection area is completely NUMB by the ice, which it wasn't when I received my treatment shot and that darn thing HURT towards the end of the injection. It didn't hurt as much as it could've without any ice, but even that little bit HURT...it hurt for about 10 minutes off and on. Dr. Goodman: Visited Dr. Goodman on August 8, 2022. Here's what was discussed... >Dr. Goodman is extremely pleased with how I'm responding to my treatments so far. GREAT NEWS!! >My PSA (Prostate-specific antigen) which is the protein that cancer can feeds off went from 0.06 to 0.00 GREAT NEWS!! >I will maintain my current treatment shot schedule of getting my Elligard once every 4 months. I was hoping to be placed on Maintenance Treatment Shots, which would mean that I'd only get 1 Treatment shot of Elligard per year. Dr. Goodman says he'd put me on Maintenance Shots if I really wanted to. However, he recommends that for now, we maintain the current treatment shot schedule. NOT SO GREAT NEWS, but understandable!! >Bone Density Scan indicate that I've thin bones. Dr. Goodman can prescribe medication that can increase my done density; however, I've got to finish my dental work next year first. Meanwhile, my D3 was increased from 1,000 IU to 2,0000 IU daily. >Dr. Goodman ordered a CT scan or my Chest/Abdomen/Pelvis without Contrast and another Full Body Bone Density Scan for the end of October. Dr. Goodman believes that what cancer might've been on my Spine's T12 and L4 are inclusive, so to make sure, a scanning I will go. GREAT NEWS!! >Next appointment is on November 8, 2022, for a follow-up. Dr. Becker: Visited Dr. Becker for my 6-week follow-up. Here's what was discussed... >I informed Dr. Becker about what Dr. Goodman told me during my appointment. Dr. Becker liked all that Dr. Goodman told me. >Because of the Scans Dr. Goodman has ordered, Dr. Becker has no reason to order an MRI of my Spine's T12 and L4. Dr. Becker and Dr. Goodman always exchange patient information, which puts me at ease. >Next appointment is November 9, 2022, for a follow-up. All in all, I praise God for His healing touch!!

I just wanted to take this time to welcome Rolystrong to KF; glad that you're here!!

Stay with what you're more familiar with. Remember, effectiveness needs to be at the Nth degree. Live resistive training is key.

Difficult to separate the two because they're often hand in hand. Nothings stopping you. Nonetheless, what credibility would a Governing Body have under a Shodan?? Still, one can do with whatever they want across the board with their own Governing Body. The masses say that one should be a Sandan to start a dojo and teach and having been in the administrative side of a Governing Body, running a Governing Body can be quite difficult. That is the consensus, and the preferred rank is Sandan, as a minimum. However, help of a Sandan can add some credibility to your testing panel. Either way, you can still promote to Sankyu, which is of no shame. After all, by the time your students earn Sankyu, you should be Sandan. Many CI's only run their dojo at night while their main source of income comes from a full-time job during the day. So, why not!?! Things are not a simple as night and day when it comes to constructing a system. Testing a system requires a lot of hand holding with the MA communities. Securing goodwill isn't that cut dry within the MA communities. Seems possible yet quite challenging. Good luck!

Offer and teach them separately; gives your customer base choices. If not that, then I'd teach the style that I'm ranked the highest in, especially if it's the core style. If I offered different classes per question #1 above, I'd enform the student that I offer an eclectic curriculum, so, whichever class the student enrolls into, I teach exactly that style. If I offer only my core, then I'd inform the student exactly what the core is. Point being, I'd be honest in my answer(s); credibility depends on it. Yes!! Prospective students are much more concerned with effectiveness, and in that, they might care if the style was a Baskin Robbins style...or not. Tell the student the truth. Nothing better than the truth. Credibility ends at the first lie. Don't let any Governing Body define you, your dojo, and your students. Teach whatever you want however you want to; it's your dojo...you're the CI. If the Governing Body throws a fit, then let them. Can't serve two masters...pick one and defend your principles. The Governing Body can only do so much to an affiliated dojo, like remove their authority over your testing cycles and the like. Reminds me of what Abraham Lincoln said about pleasing people. Just be honest and yourself; integrity means everything!! Imho.

Congrats, R5ky; well deserved!! I too enjoy your contributions here at KF!!

This can be a tough one to answer after being on the floor for over 5 decades... 1. Seeing the smile on the faces of my students whenever they have a Aha Moment!! 2. Having my Hanshi bestowed upon me!! 3. Getting together for a weekend of training with my friend, Brian, or as you all around here know him, bushido_man96!!

You and I both are glad that I've made it this far. I don't take this accomplishment lightly whatsoever.

We are our own worse critics, therefore, our own worst enemy. Changes occur and how we deal with those untimely changes can make all of the differences. Plateaus affect the outcomes of any goal and working through them can mean everything. Changes need positive efforts.

No opinions, so far. Anyone? I'd be very interested in hearing your thoughts on this subject. I've my own experiences in this subject, of which, isn't etched in granite, nor is it the only way in this subject; I've learned from my own trials and tribulations in and off the floor.

Happy Birthday, aurik; your birthday party sound very fun!! Congrats on the new job!! I always enjoy your updates; quite refreshing and give me a proud smile on my face. With you, I get to walk down my own memory lanes of the training, teaching, and learning when I was a Shodan. Experiencing guest instructors and all. How I have tons of up and downs, mostly ups, but what's one to do?! Train!! Whenever our CI set the tone for the day whenever guest instructors were concerned, that was that, and we had better not embarrass him in any shape, way, and/or form...which we didn't...much. On the rare occasions that Soke and Dai-Soke were oversees, those training sessions under guest instructors of their choice were quite special because while the guest instructor was well versed in Shindokan, they also brought an eclectic flavor to those classes of all ranks, not just for the Dan ranks. Sounds to me that you're learning how to run a class is swimming quite well. Teaching is special, and for me, the most rewarding thing about teaching is seeing the big smiles from student whenever they have one of their AHA moments. For me, nothing is more rewarding than that. You will have those moments as well, I've no doubt because not all black belts can teach, but what I've read about your MA journey is that YOU CAN TEACH!! When I first started to teach as a JBB, I was scared half to death and unsure, but under the very watchful eye of my Dai-Soke, I slowly casted away any thoughts of doubts and fears. I love that fact that you're surrounded by some very capable instructors and black belts. Those varied points of views help to fill in many missing pieces, hence, you've had many of your own AHA moments yourself. The CI sets the tone of everything, and those that the CI has entrusted make sure that that tone is followed to the letter, but those different points of view add those tasty and effective pieces. So will you, whenever that time is right. Shu Ha Ri is the name of the game and changes over and over and over as you establish more of your own knowledge and experience. Maturity of techniques will take quite a long time, but it's an endeavor to pursue endlessly. I look forward to your next update!! Again, I'm very proud of you!! Train hard and train well. Remember, proof is on the floor and the floor can never be fooled!

Solid post!! I've never mixed-up age classes because they need to be separate for the reasons that you've pointed out. Retainment will suffer greatly if the ages of classes are mixed up, and the business needs to be aware of that. Parents won't tolerate an adult training with kids and vice versa. Neither would I.

I'm of the mindset that students ARE customers. What's harder, keeping or finding customers?? I'd not be surprised that the answer to my question would be varied to the Nth degree. That's fine, for whatever one's reason(s) might or might not be. The P&L would expose that because the bottom line dictates. In the business world, keeping a current customer is better than gaining a new customer. However, many businesses spend far more revenue on advertising and charming any potential customers than to keeping their current customers tickled pink. I agree that signing up new customers can be quite exciting and does provide that unswerving P&L equation of how fast a company grows. Yet, in the long run, working to make current customers happy is far more beneficial than spending resources on potential customers. It’s cheaper in the long run and will make you more profits. It should be just that. It's far easier to sell to a current customer than a new one. The current customer has established time and trust of the business, kind of like Goodwill, whereas the new customer is skeptical of the business, at least. It costs quite a ton to acquire a potential customer than to keep an old customer satisfied. There's a solid probability that a potential customer will buy. On that same note, there's a probability that a current customer will purchase another product. In fact, 65% of a company’s business is made up of current customers. Current customers are not only more likely to buy new products from you, but they also spend more on your products than new customers. Maintaining a customer’s business for any period of time may seem like it balances out by replacing them quicker than losing them. Seems goofy, huh?!? It has been found that even a 5% increase in maintaining a customer can raise the entire businesses profitability by 75%. Whereas the cost of finding potential customers, marketing to them, and convincing them to buy your product is far more than the cost of keeping a current customer ecstatic. That doesn't mean selling things that the customer doesn't need...customers are educated, and they will figure out, sooner than later, what the business was up to...which was an underhanded intent of the business and not in the favor of the customer. The cost of losing a customer is quite harsh, while the cost of keeping a customer is outweighed by the benefits. Customer loyalty shouldn't be taken lightly ever because sincere loyalty can bring a heap of undeniable benefits to your business: referrals, good reviews, and they are more likely to purchase whatever your MA school has to offer. Both the positives and the negatives are high because a customer with a bad experience is far more likely to write a bad review, turning off other potential customers. An unhappy customer will bury a business in a mountain of negative word-of-mouth that will travel faster than an avalanche of bad publicity. Wherever a dissatisfied customer can spread negativity, they most assuredly will, whether it be on-line or not; bad customer service will make a business or kill it. Customers have the power to decide for themselves if what you have to offer is best for them. Damage control on any bad reviews is difficult, if not impossible, depending on where the customer posted the review. In closing. it takes a lot less work to keep a customer happy than to find a new one. The effort and resources it takes to secure new customers is extremely difficult: you have to find that customer, set up a marketing strategy, put lots of money and time into that marketing strategy, and then hope that it works on a small percentage of your target audience. What does this mean?? Customer service is paramount. Focus more of your efforts and resources on customer service. If the customer has an issue or complaint, respond to it immediately. This is also crucial if the customer is voicing the grievance on one of your social media accounts, because other customers or potential customers need to see that you are working on it right away. When interacting with your customer online, let your own personality show through. You want to appear as human as you are in real life. Reward your customers with a loyalty program or promotional discounts. Create a separate, specialized email marketing campaign for your current customers. Follow-up with customers after performing a service. If they were unhappy, find out how to solve the problem. If they were happy with your services, ask for a referral. Customer service in America seems to have gone on the wayside in a very bad way; a business has only one chance to impress, so make that impression over your business be a very positive one.

Why not?! Necessity!! My elementary days were quite tumultuous to say the least. 6th grade bullies were rampant and their victims were aplenty. I was a victim, having my lunch money taken forcibly every school day that was served up to me in the boys' bathroom with their daily reminder of who they were and who I was. Every day after school when I got home, the first place I went to was not to my bedroom to feel sorry for myself, but to the refrigerator to feed my face because I was starving. Shortly this got the attention of my mom because an after-school snack was allowed, but a after school meal wasn't. As persistent that moms can be, I told my mom what was happening at school, which led mom to pay a very stern visit with both the Vice-Principal, Principal, and School Counselor. Even after that, the bullying ramped up my punishment mainly because I was instrumental in pointing out who my 6th grade bullies were. The punching bag I became. This infuriated mom even more. So, another visit to the school was in order. Mom was suggested to enroll me in some self-defense classes or something. That's exactly what mom did. In my small corner of the world of Canoga Park back in 1964 found in the San Fernando Valley within Southern California, there weren't many other MA choices. There were very few boxing gyms, and even less TKD dojangs and the like but even then, these schools were not to be found where we lived. But at the corner of Owensmouth and Sherman Way, just a few miles away from our house, was a Karate dojo. That's where mom enrolled me. Even after 3 months of Karate, I was still having my lunch handed to me in the boys' bathroom. 9 months of Karate...the bullies started to leave me alone, not entirely because some bullies just don't care how much Karate you know. Because I deeply fell in love with it across the board. At first, my Sensei became my substitute dad ever since my parents divorced a few years earlier. Sensei was very scarry and intimidating and all of that but under the tough exterior there was a loving and caring male model that I desperately needed in my life. Yes, I continue to choose Karate 5 decades plus later because it's my core!! I can no longer stop breathing as I can stop training in the MA, including Karate. I'm eclectic in my MA, but Karate IS my core. This I'm not ashamed of, nor should I be whether it be past, present, or future. Simply put...NO!! Karate has provided me a plethora of substances both professionally and personally. Karate has put food on our tables in more ways than not. Teaching Karate and owning a MA supply store my entire life has allowed me to care for my family. I too, want to pay it forward. Karate has been good to me and good for me across the board. Karate, as well as the MA, and owning/operating a business are the two professional things that I'm very, very good at. As a CI, my greatest feeling that brings a warm smile to my face is when my students have one of their AHA moments. Nothing brings me more joy than to see a student finally starts to understand...like being witnessed to my students Shu Ha Ri....and they are aware of it.

hey Sensei8, that's interesting because I haven't really run into that while practicing Shotokan or Shorin Ryu. In class, they occasionally used seasoned brown belts as an example for the lower kyus. However, I have never seen them approached for their input as part of promotions as they themselves were still part of the Kyu gradings. Dans and above where always graded by higher ranking BBs (yodans and above) I have seen them assist with kids classes under a black belt but not lead a class solo unless the BB was unable to make it to the dojo on that certain day and would tell them to cover To the bold type above... You might've not seen them approached; however, they more than likely were approached behind closed doors by a phone call and/or the CI visiting their dojo's. After all, the reputation of their CI was always at stake one way or another.

I'd be surprised if said Brown Belts CI wasn't deeply involved in any promotion administered. I've personally known of several close friends that owned and operated their own dojo at Brown Belt, however, their CI was deeply involved in any administered promotions, i.e., their promotions were authorized by their CI. And no, these personal close friends of mine weren't under my umbrella/authority; they're now Sandan's now.

Very cool update!! Congrats!! Nice looking Obi!! You've done very well across the board, and you've every right to be proud of what you've accomplished on and off the floor. I know I'm very proud of you through and through. Train hard and train well!!

I don't know, Brian, if advancing current rivalries will do much good for the brand because a lot of times network brands don't know when enough is enough, which ends up doing more harm than good.

How many more seasons can Cobra Kai last?? Seems that 7 seasons is a norm for popular brands. Has every original character been utilized yet?? Sure, imagination of the studio might bring new exciting things before reaching the far-fetched and laughable. Credibility might already have been waned. What do you all think?

I received this certificate of completion right after I completed my final 28th Radiation Therapy on July 1, 2022. It was quite a pleasant surprise to receive it from my Radiation Oncologist Team. Brought me some tears of relieve as well as much joy. Right after I was handed my certificate, Jaime escorted my wife, Linda, towards where I receive my treatments. All if the Techs gave Linda a very quick, yet through tour. They showed her how the big monster worked...how it rotated around my body...how they align the machine up to the tattoo marks on my body with a green beam...how they secure my feet and hands...how the Techs are constantly making adjustments during treatments...how the Techs can manipulate the beam, whether it be to cut off an area on my body or how they pinpoint the beam...I then showed Linda how I lay down on the table and I tell her that whenever I lay down, I pull up my shirt and pull down my shorts just below my butt, where the Tech spare my dignity by covering up my groin area. Then, Linda and I had our last consultation with Dr. Becker. He tells us that everything exceeded his expectations these past 5 weeks. My follow-up will be in 6 weeks, August 9, 2022. At that time, Dr. Becker will determine if I need a MRI in order to see if any cancer still exists in my T12 and L4. He's not sure if cancer still exists. Praise God!! I tell Dr. Becker that I'm concerned with Secondary Cancer from Radiation Therapy. He assures my wife and I that the very latest studies show that the total percentage of secondary cancer is 2%, and that's 15 Years later after receiving Radiation Therapy. That sounds very good to us. My next Eligard shot is August 3, 2022, and follow-up with Dr. Goodman is August 8, 2022.

Solid post!!

At the risk of repeating myself, if I have to convince any prospective student to train, Karate or not, then imho, that prospective student isn't worthy to ever be on the floor in the first place. I'll not convince any student, prospective or not.

Soon, you're going to have to change the title of this thread to... DarthPenguins Training log of a FIT person! Keep up the great workouts!!

Tie...Swimming and Battle Ropes!! I'll do the Battle Ropes first, then jump in the pool...Both are quite refreshing as well as great workouts.