sensei8

You should be proud of yourself...Solid post!! Keep up your dedication and speak with your doctor for further advice.

Teachers generally charge what the market will bear. Hopefully that's enough to feed their family, pay the rent and keep the lights on in the studio. When you're paying $3 per square foot for a 1500 square foot facility, that's $4500 a month just for the space. That's before equipment, electricity, AC and oh, yeah, putting food on the table. Contracts are also not an evil thing. They allow an instructor to set a budget, and plan for their projected gross income level, rather than wondering month to month if students are going to show up again. Yeah, kids change their minds, but then it's up to the teacher and parents to engage them again. Now, I tend to agree that anything more than a year contract is a bit excessive, although I can see two year contracts. Anything more than that I might be leery of. And what do you expect for your "$60 to 75" a month? How many classes? Two a week? That's 8 classes, so lets say they are charging the exorbitant amount of $80 a month. That's $10 an hour, do you really think that's a realistic pay rate? Consider the amount of time you have in training for your job, would you work for $10 an hour? John Solid post and right on the money for Business 101, and in that, the MA IS a business and must be treated as such...or...there's no way to pay for the NEEDS of said commercial MA school. This, imho, isn't a bad thing unless ignored completely.

This, as well as many other posts here, is what's happening because of the tempo and the like of today's karate tournaments. Hit once, wait for point...over and over...this drives me crazy. I'm of the opinion that this type of tempo will translate to the streets, and having said that, the attacker(s) will continue beating the tar out of that MAist. Imho!!

It's not as important that your Naihanchi kata is all-that-and-a-bag-of-chips!! NO!! What's more important, imho, is that one is studying it across the board and that they are beginning to understand it more and more each and everyday. In that, that's where the Bunkai/Oyo is paramount!! Btw, your Naihanchi kata should look AWESOME, however, that'll come with time as your understanding deepens more and more through Bunkai/Oyo. Rock and roll...you're doing fine!!

Welcome to KF!! And it's ok to have unofficially trained in some styles of the MA, I mean, most MAists have done this their entire MA life one way or another.

No!! Still need feedback and the like from a qualified instructor.

That's why it's known that a black belt in one school isn't a black belt in another...not even close...miles away!!

Whenever I visit our Hombu, which is quite often, I love to run along the beach at Santa Monica Beach in Santa Monica, CA. The sand offers quite a resistance because of the deep sand, however, the sand closer to the water/ocean isn't that deep. Keep training and keep running!!

Solid post...I concur!!

Great posts thus far, thank you all!! How do you train for that difinitive; absolute block/deflection?? We, Shindokanists, do many things to address said topic, and one of the things that I do is block/deflect against a 2X4...and break it!!

As someone who converted to Shorin-Ryu (Kobayashi) from a style heavily influenced by Japanese karate, and someone who currently trains with a Shotokan yudansha converting to Shorin-Ryu, I might be able to provide a little insight. The stances are not as low, and most of the places your kata have kokutsu-dachi, Shorin-Ryu uses neko-ashi-dachi, so that is a bit of a difficult transition to make. After stances, I would say power generation is the next biggest problem. Japanese styles tend to be very hard styles that put a lot of power into everything, but Shorin-Ryu is softer and has more emphasis on fluidity. Solid post!!

I don't know, but I've visited quite a lot of Shotokan dojo's over the many, many years, and I got to tell you, I've seen quite a lot of full contact Kumite amoungst thier Dan ranks.

Ooohhhh....I like it!!

Solid post!

By what I'm reading here... No one's picked their own instructor....hhhhmmmmmm!?!?!?!?!?!

Love it!!

In what way?? If memory serves me, the notes of Lee were formulated into the Tao of JKD, and if that's true, while Lee didn't actually pen said book, the notes and all were Lee, thus, Lee "wrote" the book.

I've very quick hands, in that, Shindokan is 85% hands with 15% feet. The closer to my opponent/attacker, the more I'm at home; short range technique dominant mixed in with Tuite.

A karateka is taught Ikken Hisatsu [To Kill With One Blow] from day one; knowing that in todays MA world, our techniques are suppose to be executed properly, thus, as powerful as on can muster to and through any said point/target to stop our attacker(s). We train and we drill and we do this and that an untold amout of times, and then some. Not because we're told to, but because motions are for the oceans, but reasons are for the seasons!! To move for naught is empty and useless! The only way to dispatch your attacker(s) is to exhume purpose with each and every technique and the like! Are your blocks/deflections, in this case, definitive; absolute? If they aren't... Then why pause or stop after you've blocked/deflected? Don't you realize that your attacker(s) wil be delivering one attack after another until you're defeated? Your attacker(s) isn't helping you to practice 1-Step Kumite; you're defeat is paramount to your attacker(s)!! Be ready for each and every possible attack; awaken yourself and be alert at all times. One block/deflection will beget another attack from your attacker(s). OK...Great...you've blocked/deflected...now what?? Don't just stand there! Either attack/counter attack or block/deflect the incoming attack(s). If your block/deflection is definitive; absolute, then this topic isn't for you. On the other hand, if your whatever isn't definitive; absolute, then train "it" until it is, and then some!! Your block/deflection should stop your attacker(s), and it should only take one...just one!! But when it doesn't, you act all shocked. Why? Don't ever assume your block/deflection are definitive; absolute...unless you know for sure! Know that there's stopping power in what you're executing. And if one block/deflection doesn't stop your attacker(s), make sure that the next one does!! Save 1-Step Kumite for the dojo!!

I think some kids just get to the point that they are either burning out a bit, or have done something so long they fall into a rut. They need a jolt, something to wake them up again. And some kids do just "go through the motions." Yeah, for some of our kids that get burned out, we advise their parents to take a little break and come back in a few weeks, month, etc. That tends to work for those kids. For the kids that need a jolt, the difficulty is finding what works to "jolt them". I'm not sure I've found a good solution to that... That's why baseball, basketball, football, soccer and the like are great breaks to ward off burnout.

24/7...365...always!!

So quite a few of you have said "heart". But what does that even mean and why does that make you a martial artist? Heart is not going through the motions! Heart makes the intangibles tangible! Heart defines purpose! Heart makes the powerless powerful! Heart gives techniques absolution! Heart erases the blood, sweat, and tears! Heart welcomes the floor! Heart...Heart...Heart...Heart..................

Triple dipple YES!! That's a good question. I think it takes time. When you get started, you are "taking Martial Arts." Once you've been at it, then you become a Martial Artist. That old Bruce Lee quote fits: "Before I learned the art, a punch was just a punch and a kick, just a kick. After I learned the art, a punch was no longer a punch, a kick, no longer a kick. Now that I understand the art, a punch is just a punch and a kick is just a kick."

Wait.... Isn't that kind of what KF is..? 'cept with the positive notion of keeping it going? Yyyeeeesssssssssssss!!

Congrats and well done!! Btw, I miss you here at KF!!