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How many faction splits? Beyond the amount I care to even guess. Good point!! Just drives me wacky crazy!! LOL!!

Again, too much time is spent in the typical class on "learning" the kata. I can teach you to walk through Kanku Dai, considered a very advanced kata in many styles, in an hour or two. Then 10-15 minutes to tweak it to get improvements as long as you are spending time on your own practicing and get massive improvements in a month or so. Alternately, I can get you walking through a short section in 5-10 minutes and then spend the next 2 hours teaching the application with a partner. And then add another section the next time in the same fashion. And in a couple of months you have the full kata and hours and hours of partner drill under your belt and with them solid fighting/self defense techniques. It's the teaching format that is wrong, in my opinion, not the kata. The change in teaching format had a lot to do with this I think, and you hinted at it as well. Once karate was taken into schools (and I mean middle/high and university), in my opinion, you had to change the teaching format. Larger classes demand a different teaching format and style than small groups. When you make that shift you can't spend the time to break kata into small chunks and teach the applications. It's teach line basics and kata predominantly. And you keep the emphasis on the appearance, the look, of what's being done instead of the bones of it and functionality. Lots of time on kata in the class because you can teach and observe it to a larger group than watching lots of pairs work application. A couple of generations of that teaching format and you have a karate culture that is divorced from it's roots as a hands on, practical self defense system. It had then become one that produces students who are judged on how it looks, not how it works, are concerned with preserving the appearance of kata and not it's content. But again bushido_man, I'm the guy I've voted most likely to be kicked out of traditional karate for my beliefs and practices in pursuit of traditional karate. Heck, I shocked our handful of students last night by telling them that if it were up to me we would do 4, maybe 5 kata total. Not just to black belt, but total. Very solid post!! "It's the teaching format that is wrong, in my opinion, not the kata." That statement of yours hits the nail right on the head, imho. And your statement here, supports your first statement, imho..."It had then become one that produces students who are judged on how it looks, not how it works, are concerned with preserving the appearance of kata and not it's content." This is one of the reasons that I've not embraced a rotating curriculum. Not that teaching in a public school and a university is a bad thing, but a rotating curriculum seems to work well in that environment.

For those who enjoy the Kung-Fu genre type movies, a legend of those types has passed away at 106 years old. Here's the link... http://www.nytimes.com/2014/01/07/movies/run-run-shaw-movie-mogul-seen-as-creator-of-kung-fu-genre-dies-at-106.html?ref=martialarts&_r=0 Rest in peace!! My prayers go out to his family, friends, and fans the world over.

Having thought about this, I agree that there are exceptions to self-promote ones rank/title. 1) You've founded a new MA = Rank & Title 2) Founded a new governing body = Title ONLY Those are about the only ones I can thing of. Now, if the second one above occurs, I suppose that one MIGHT be able to create a new set of By-Laws, which could state that the "President" of said new governing body MUST hold the rank of Judan, for example. That could be an exception, maybe. If so, a Godan could be the new President, and under the By-Laws, attain Judan. Also, one could, as the new President of said new governing body, appoint a new Administration, and then that new Administration could then promote Judan to the new President. Imho, this still lacks integrity. But, that's just me!

I believe that the judges got it right...Japan!! Thanks for the video!!

I truth, I'd rather do TKD sparring because of its constant sparring ideology. I have to admit that I don't like karate sparring because of its one and two step-sparring likeness. If I want to do one or two step-sparring, well, I'd do that instead.

Glad to see you again!! Congrats to your Blue Belt!!

I concur!! So, you're saying that the change(s) were made before money seeped its way into the fray?!? I think the changes were made when the instructors began introducing the arts into schools.Schools, like public schools for K-12?!?

Enough knees to the ribs will catch up. That's true of mostly everything MA.

Thanks for the video's...loved them all!! Kendall's got that fighter heart, and I love the way he drives...fearless. I bow to KENDALL!! As his dad, you must be so very proud of him across the board!!

I concur!! So, you're saying that the change(s) were made before money seeped its way into the fray?!?

You lost me here. That's not hard to do, lose me.

I concur!! Notice, when watching an Aikido demo, that the Uke "goes with it", right. I think they're doing that to keep themselves from being broken. It's the..."go with it, or you'll get hurt" thing, and that's what a Aikido demo looks like to me. Makes me wonder if the Aikido master would torque "all the way" to ensure the success of said throw, while the Uke starts to seriously resist? I don't know! Serious resisting might cause the Aikido master to seriously torque.

Exceptions? What would those be? How does self-promotion not lack integrity?

Yes...Yes...Yes...Yes...those were the days, my friend, I wished that they never ended, oh yes those were the days!! Money, changes a lot of things, imho.

Not being an Aikidoist, I'm thinking that the unresisting training of the Uke is cool while ones learning the mechanic and the like of it. Possibly, the "go with it" to avoid any injuries, that I'm sure would occur at full speed/power/etc. As you know, Brian, we teach both unresisting as well as resisting training because it's important to know what to do when things don't work out as they do on the floor. Teach=unresisting Application=resist However, when it's time to test the application, do not do it in such a way that injuries will occur. There's a difference from experiencing the application than from seriously injuring the student. Of the latter, there's no excuse for that from anybody, especially an instructor of the MA.

Possibly...maybe...the correlation is based more on ones experience level. Sure, the Sensei teaches said kata to the student, but in doing that, he/she insures that the student is capable of it. Surely, for example, a white belt isn't ready for a Green/Brown/Black belt kata for the lack of experience. Unsu demands much more than a Shodan can muster, in that, Unsu is usually reserved for the Yondan, 4th Dan, level of experience. Rank does correlate to the Kata, and visa versa, but, not for the pure sake of a testing cycle.

This post makes me giggle... I can't believe that people are that fixated on the stripes on a belt, where someone wont respect someone for it, or tell them to "get out of my life". It's not the identifiers on said belts, it's the self-promotion that's the problem. That's what I don't respect; it's the self-aggrandizement of it all. And yes, I don't want to be around those types, which is my right. Imho!! sorry, but this sounds like a child who gets mad at his parents and says i hate you, get out of my life. few things in life are as serious to tell someone "get out of my life" and if someone promoting themselves or putting more stripes on their belt gets you THAT fired up, i would like to see how mad you get at things that really matter in life. Rank/Title Self-Promoting really matters to me because, imho, it's wrong. It's wrong because, imho, it lacks integrity!!

I believe that it could be beneficial to you.

Self-promoting ones title within an established structure is wrong too, imho. Our titles within our hierarchy are based on what's supported through our By-Laws, and in that, they're also supported through the way our Legal Team has written/worded them. Many of our titles, but not all of them, are tied into our Ranking Structure. For example, to be appointed to the Regents, one MUST be a Hachidan. But, that's a minimum prerequisite for that appointment. I can't self-promote myself to be a KF Sensei! KF has an established structure, and to keep its integrity, minimum prerequisites exist. We strive to keep our integrity too. Is this what you're speaking about? Am I on the same page?

How so?? Well why do you need to be a nidan? Or a sandan? Or a kudan? Why not just a Blackbelt? It is a tool to distinguish you from him or from her. That you are Bill's senior but Bob's junior. Early on rank is an identifier so your instructor and others can gauge your progress on a curriculum but when you are training for training's sake why do you need to be promoted further. IMHO it's to maintain that hierarchy so that both the rank holder and their peers know where within that hierarchy they fall. I don't need to be anything except a student of the MA. Those type of things are there, and were there before I came onto the MA picture. I am what I am, but it's not because of something that I did beyond my training. No one falls into the hierarchy, they're selected via an established voting proxy. Not everyone is of the hierarchy!! We use the word "hierarchy" within Shindokan circles to only note whom lies within the Administrative Chain of Command, and not within the ranks, as you're viewing it. It's an unfamiliar term for me to see rank as you're explaining it. Before I was elected into the old Board of Regents, I was NOT part of the hierarchy, nor was I privy to anything Administrative and the like. When I speak here at KF and I use the word "hierarchy", I've always been referring to those members, those chosen few, that are part of the Administration and the like. Ok...I've babbled enough...sorry! It's seems as though you use the word "hierarchy" within Shindokan to refer to something specific? In the strictest sense of the word, everyone who wears belts is part of a hierarchy whether they want to be or not. Taking this definition: (n) a system in which members of an organization or society are ranked according to relative status or authority Belt ranking seems to fit into this pretty well. Once getting the next belt stops opening up a new part of the curriculum for you, why do you ever need to be promoted again? To the bold type above... I refer to something specific, because it is specific within the Hombu! Not my rule, but the established rule as set by our Soke!! Our hierarchy is the recognized authority within our Hombu and the SKKA. Our ranks are NOT part of OUR hierarchy, and not all, but very few, are nominated/elected to be appointed to that status from our specific ranks. It's OUR way!! Not the way of others!! I see what Danielle is saying, and it does fit into our discussion here. By and large, many of the organizations we are a part of have a hierarchy that is determined for the most part by the rank of those in the organization. The head of an organziation is usually the highest rank of that organization (usually). And we have also determined through the course of our discussion that most people who do promote themselves are likely doing so in order to move up in some hierarchy, whether it be their own or somebody elses. I too see what Danielle, you, and everyone else is saying...to a point. It's hard for me/us to view hierarchy the way you all are speaking about it because of Soke/Dai-Soke. To us, rank is referred through the Ranking Structure and our hierarchy is referred through our Chain of Command. For us, both are separate! Is my only point, if I even have one. I'm trying to understand what you all are talking about, I really am. I just know what I was taught. If it's wrong, then, I'm sorry!!

I'm glad that I'm not a banana tree!!

Please let us know how it went!

This post makes me giggle... I can't believe that people are that fixated on the stripes on a belt, where someone wont respect someone for it, or tell them to "get out of my life". It's not the identifiers on said belts, it's the self-promotion that's the problem. That's what I don't respect; it's the self-aggrandizement of it all. And yes, I don't want to be around those types, which is my right. Imho!! sorry, but this sounds like a child who gets mad at his parents and says i hate you, get out of my life. few things in life are as serious to tell someone "get out of my life" and if someone promoting themselves or putting more stripes on their belt gets you THAT fired up, i would like to see how mad you get at things that really matter in life. Fair enough...and ouch!! You're analysis is not how I perceive the justification of self-promotion. How do you feel about those who self-promote themselves??

Congrats!!