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Within the Shindokan Kobudo syllabus, the Sai is one of our many weapons. It's a fun one, but it can pay havoc on a beginners wrists. Master the weapon and don't let the weapon master you. Have fun with it...just respect it first!!

Train hard and train well. You'll do fine, I'm sure!! Let the testing cycle take care of itself, and if you make a mistake, don't let it ruin the rest of the testing cycle. Good luck and rock and roll!!

Good luck Brian!! I'm sure that you;ll do just fine. Train hard and train well, and remember this, let the test take care of itself!! Rock and roll!!

My sentiments exactly. Honorary belts / degrees don't equate to proficiency in the subject. I will say however that from personal experience competing in Russia, it does seem that Putin and his government are very supportive of the martial arts. Agreed. With the WTF being tied up in politics like it is, like it has to be, in order to remain an Olympic sport, things like this won't likely go unoticed by the IOC. And, the idea behind Martial Arts is that it can cross cultural and political barriers, etc etc. He also does hold rank in Judo, so the guy is a Martial Artist at least. Congrats to him on this honorary title. I wholeheartedly concur!!

I don’t think that by training with a Japanese instructor I will narrowing down my field at all. I think that I will expand it! What brilliant opportunities are you talking about? The chance to train with instructors who may be able to offer you more than their Japanese counterparts. Don't automatically assume that being Japanese makes them the best instructors. Also consider the following: Is the style the Japnese instructor that you find the best for you? Just because the instructor fits your desires the art may not. Will the Japnese instructor be able to dedicate as much of his time to you (bearing in mind they can be in high demand seminar wise)? Are you happy trading off with things like frequency of training and travelling distances/times. These can often cause problems that can derail your training in the long term. K. Very solid post!!

While I'm still a Hachidan in my heart, and might always feel that way, I'm now, as of July 2013, a Kudan in Shindokan Saitou-ryu Karate-do. Still a Hachidan in Shindokan Saitou-ryu Kobudo.

My money's on Roy Jones Jr across the board. It'll be a great fight...hopefully it won't be one sided as I'm thinking it might be. If nothing else, it'll be quite interesting and maybe entertaining. But, I'll not watch it live!! PPV prices, imho, are way to high for my tastes. I've not watched a PPV fight of any genre ever since I paid $50 for a Tyson fight that lasted only ONE ROUND!! OUCHY!! Good luck to them both!! Thanks for sharing that with us Brian!!

I've always had a great amount of respect for Mr. LeBell and what he's given and added to the MA, and not just MMA. He's a lot to pass on to everyone who's will to drop their pride and willing to learn. Congrats on your 50 years in the MA!!

I agree. There are those who learn better visually, and those who learn better by being read to and then answering questions, and I'm sure there are a lot of layers in between. I think part of being an instructor is being able to learn to read yours students, and figuring out how they best learn, and adapting your curriculum to them so that they can learn. That said, with so many styles of learning, its important to be exposed to so many styles of teaching, which can be difficult. If you take the flip side of the coin here, that people can learn in different ways, and have trouble adjusting to different modalities of learning, then teachers that teach a certain way may have trouble adjusting their teaching style to accomodate certain students. This isn't a bad thing, and it shouldn't be viewed as a "its better or worse" thing. Its different. And the exposure to different ideas and ways of doing things is how we learn what our preferences are and how we choose to approach things. Great share, Alex. Thank you. Both posts here at very solid posts across the board!!

Good points here. Effectiveness and the ability to execute become better as we apply them through our experiences. Therefore, the more experience we have, the more effective our execution can become. Solid post!!

We, the MAist, impune the limits intently and/or unintently, upon the said MA. We do it from the beginning of our MA journey, and as time goes on, some lose the fact that change, and what's better and what's suppose to be better isn't for ones betterment. While we follow our Sensei's and the like, we must, imho, be captains of our ships as it moves through the said waters of their MA. Following isn't the same thing as learning from and acquiring along the way. While I've competed in the past for many years, my karate-do ISN'T for competition, and in that, I kept my karate-do as pure as I could while competing, and I did this not for others or my Dai-Soke, but for myself, whenever it was appropriate to do so!! Imho!!

Even those of high Dan ranks often have Aha moments as well because no one knows everything. In that, a high Dan rank must be willing to accept the honesty in that, and as well, all levels of knowledge have something to offer to all...including those of high Dan ranks, no matter the style of the MA. Imho!!

The saying is... "Life is a cruel teacher! She loves to give you the test first, and the lesson later!" How many MA instructors do you know that do JUST THAT?? I believe that Daymond John has hit the mark squarely, and it applies to the MA world. Some instructors don't want to do the lesson before the test. They want to place themselves on a pedestal, one that's been manufactured by themselves. These type of instructors will not go away, no matter what we try to make thier existence empty. Who suffers? The poor student to naive and/or the unexpectingly student! Either one will suffer in the long run. Students want to learn, and in that, they deserve to learn the lesson properly and effectively first, then the test later!! It's our obligation to mold them in the right path that they will increase their MA betterment. Learn the lesson first, then, when the time's right, then test said student properly. But please, don't build false securities becuase our students will pay the ultimate price if not checked. Please, your thoughts!!

Solid post!!

Dabbling in either won't be a waste of time. Try them to see that they might add to your MA betterment. Good luck and keep us up dated on your MA journey.

If this has any bearing to our conversation, please let someone of noted qualifications speak on this subject. "It is safe to say that karate begins and ends with kata. In kata, when one begins from the right, the same movement will be repeated to the left; upon moving forward, the same distance is traveled in return. If the right hand is used, then the left hand will be used in the same way; when the right leg kicks, then the left leg also will kick in the same way. In this way, the entire body is made use of without favoring any one part over another, enabling all the parts of the body to move in harmony and unity without speacial effort, and because each individual movement has meaning against an imagined opponent, it makes things all the more interesting." ~Gichin Funakoshi, "The Essence of Karate", page 101. And in that, "While karate is not something that can be easily conveyed and is difficult to explain without an actual demonstration, a characteristic that distinguishes it as karate is that it cannot be commercialized or adapted for competition. Herein lies the essence of Karate-do, as it cannor be realized with protective equipment or through competitive matches" ~Gichin Funakoshi, "The Essence of Karate", page 102. Are these mindsets only valid in his days? No, imho, it is still valid today.

Solid post and I thank you for its clarifications on the two.

Sorry, but I've not had any experience with said organization.

Is the MA [Martial Arts] limited? Is 'Man' limited? Could it be both!?! If the MA is limited, then that is because 'man' is limited by nature. Whereas, I believe, as well, that what composes the core of any given MA is qualified, and in that, the MA, as a system, is designed to be effective. Albeit, the MA has the inherent ability to be complete in its totality by its said creators! If the MA is indeed limited, it's possible that it's our, the MAists, fault due to our misinterpretations, imho. Please, your thoughts!!

Congrats to all; those who've been nominated as well as to those who've been awarded in KF 2013 Awards. I would like to thank everyone who nominated me for these honors. To be nominated by ones peers is breathtaking, in that, to then be awarded is quite overwhelming. It's one thing to be awarded once, but to have been awarded four times for one year, 2013, that's beyond WOW. I mean, WOW and THANK YOU is all that I can say. We had a solid group of nominations and anyone could've won the awards for the categories that I was selected for. To be in ties speaks about that. Thank you all!! Congrats to all!!

YES!! By all means...YES!!

Congrats and well deserved!!

Thank you all! We'll be looking into what each of you have advised in the next few weeks. Hopefully we can agree on something...hopefully!! Again, what's too much to pay for what you've suggested??

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

Nope! That Jr. 2nd and 3rd Dan should allow one to test for Shodan, as an adult.