sensei8

Well, I just don't know what to think anymore about Judan. That rank just leaves a bad taste in my mouth for some reason(s). The MA world is full of Judans, more than we need, imho. I suppose some deserve Judan, but for the most, imho, many don't deserve Judan, especially if they're self-promoted. Again, what's wrong with holding the last Dan rank as it was awarded to this said person by their Sensei? Nothing! But, they want the rank over knowledge; then so be it!! I suppose my own Soke promoted himself to Judan when he founded Shindokan Saitou-ryu. There's nothing in our scrolls and/or the By-Laws that speaks about whom he might've received his Judan from. Dai-Soke was promoted to Dai-Soke from Kaicho by Soke, then "earned" his Judan via what's in our By-Laws. I will NEVER EVER NEVER EVER NEVER accept Judan from ANYBODY and/or ANY GOVERNING BODY!! I didn't want my darn Kudan, I still don't want it, I hate how I got it, I don't like that I was constantly hounded to accept it via our By-Laws, and I don't like that I was put in a position to take a superficial testing cycle to obtain it; I hate it, I hate it, I hate it. I don't care who knows how I feel; everyone within the Shindokan circle knows how I feel. In my heart of hearts, I'm Hachidan. I'm so disgusted with my Kudan, I'm ready to say..."Keep it! I'm done!!". Aaaaarrrgggghhhhhhhhh!!

Congrats...feels great, huh? Well deserved!!

Because you're a MAist!! In time, you'll not even ask this of yourself. You'll be amazed, and a bit angry, with yourself for having to have asked this. It's normal. What you're asking is asked by student of the MA from time to time, mostly when they're beginners. What's your level of experience? What style of the MA? Train hard!!

Solid post; I concur!!

What's your experience level? Is the style of the MA you train in contain kick within its syllabus/curriculum? So far, you've received some solid advice thus far. Try them! Don't rush the kicks, and allow EACH KICK to stop before starting a different kick.

Love it when that happens.

Especially if MMA does make it into the Olympics eventually.That just might happen because the UFC's a major brand, and it's had it's 15 minutes of fame, so to speak. The IOC is watching MMA; I'm sure of that.

We ALL need hang time abilities!!

Yes, I'm glad that it worked out for all concerned. Btw, it's just a belt, [To whomever...please, don't be upset that I said that] if the training is in private, and all students are gone, why even worry about the belt. You know what you are to your Ti instructor, and your Ti instructor knows what rank he is. Even if your students hang around to watch, neither of you have to wear said belt because your students know your rank under the Ti instructor. Letting the students watch is cool, and if they're there to possibly learn via watching you two, then what belt either of you wear is immaterial, imho. It's the knowledge that's important, not the belt.

Death isn't a respecter of person. When it's your time, it's your time. MA training, imho, doesn't take away 10-15 years of ones life. In the graph shown, some of those where into their 80's. To me, that's nothing to sneeze at; I'll take that.

Well, in the video his groin is wide open, but he's teaching. His kicks have been clocked at 60-70 mph. His opponents knew he was going to kick, therefore, it became a matter of if he will kick, but when. And when he did, they couldn't stop/defend against it. Kicking that fast, imho, negates the wide open groin because his opponent weren't worried about that, they were worried about keeping their heads attached.

I sure don't practice this. When both Saitou and Takahashi sensei were alive, I never did what you've described. They never assumed and they never insisted this from any of us. If they had, I would've told them a big..."NO, your grown, pour your own!" I'm loyal to them, but some things are never going to happen because I won't allow it to happen. They wouldn't have ever asked me to do that because they both knew what I'd say and/or do if they did. It wouldn't require a great deal of imagination to figure that out. Still, good topic, thanks for starting it.

Does maturity and experience not enter into your process ? Plus, all of those I have encountered holding excessive grades are lacking in skill and most are SELF AWARDED grades ! To both posts here...Solid posts!!

Very close to what it is in karate. Thanks for the information!!

Can someone say...Sandblaster!! OUCHY!!

Kick tricks, like Bo tricks or Nunchaku tricks. Thank you for sharing it; I too, enjoyed the kicks.

Nope! Judo injury to his right knee took care of that when he was much younger.

Yes, very cool! Thanks for sharing that!! The graph spoke to me that over time, the techniques were evolving.

No! No! No! Why? This isn't 1600 Japan/etc!!

I know it's a lifetime journey, but for me time is always a concern !! Imho, it shouldn't be a concern.

See I can see why his CI might be offended. I'm just postulating, but up until recently CredoTe, you were happy to wear the rank he gave you and one presumes wear it with pride? How must your CI feel if another instructor shows up on the scene, begins giving you private lessons, and you suddenly discard your belt? Perhaps he sees it as you saying that the rank he gave you is worthless or of little value and subsequently his teachings too? Might be a little slap in the face for him to suddenly have his student's valuing another instructor's teachings more than his own so much so that they say that his blackbelts are worth as much as whitebelts. I would honestly talk with your CI and explain why you have chosen to train this way. It might even mean taking your private lessons with your Ti instructor elsewhere and off dojo premises. I still stand behind my latest post in this thread. What you do in YOUR dojo is your business. What you do at the CI's dojo is his business. So I can be clear, just where are you wearing the white belt at? If you've not sat down to explain your actions to your CI, then you need to have done that before you started to wear the white belt. Also, you need to , if you haven't already, explain the reasons why to your students so they don't become confused and the like. I respect your reasons to grasp and learn Te from said instructor; it will enrich your MA journey. Loyalty and respect can be shown to both and to all by doing what's right. It's a thin line, but it's not a cloudy one. Still, follow your heart!!

Good points cheesfrysamurai. If they check all those points then (in my book) they'd certainly earn my respect. Is loyalty the same as respect? To the bold type above... They are no more the same as the day is to the night.

Well, it's a mute question now because of what happened to him at the last UFC event: Broke leg. However, White owns UFC, therefore he can force retirement on whomever he feels deserves it. Silva, isn't being too stubborn because I believe that he just want to be active. Still, Silva can't dictate to the owner of UFC, that boat won't float with White.

It's a life time journey; time should never be concerned.

Imho... Your CI has missed the forest because of the trees. One is not the same as the other! Does your CI own you? Does your Ti instructor own you? Is your CI that insecure as a MA instructor? Is your CI not complete in his MA totality? I can see why you were dumbstruck speechless. Imho, your CI has lost his bearings as a MAist as well as a CI. Sheech and good grief Charlie Brown. What wagnerk speaks about is solid, and worthy to consider. Maybe your CI was just having a really bad day...maybe!