sensei8

Solid post!!

Motions are ok, but quitting isn't. However, if one does quit, that's ok too. It's what one decides, and that's cool too!!

They'll have to want to do the MA. At 7 years old, I wanted to do the MA, and I knew that I wanted to do the MA for the rest of my life; and I have done the MA my entire life!! No one can make someone want to do the MA, they have to have that already in them.

Yes...congrats!! You're amongst the elite and deservingly so!!

Even the most seasoned performer is nervous before they step onto the floor of their chosen profession, whether it be a MAist or a CEO or a Musician or a Dancer or a Public Speaker or whatever. Butterflies are a good thing and not the end, and in that, do whatever it is that calms you down, whether it's music or yoga or praying or whatever it might be...just do it and allow the performance take care of itself. Nerves are a good thing because they let you know that you're still alive. Harness them, accept them, and then to the best of your ability...calm them.

I'd say that the three sentences would be done in order. The first day on the floor to learn their chosed MA, you're a MAist, then, as time passes and one begins to understand their chosen MA, you're a MAist, then, as knowledge is absorbed from their chosen MA, you're a MAist. Can't have one without the other; it's repeatitive and continuous!!

Nice! BTW, do you still have the actual obi you earned in 1996? If so, and that's the one you still wear, I'd be surprised if it's any other color than a beautiful, well-worn gray... Yes. I still have my original Hanshi obi, and it's worn, but not that bad, not like the belt I regularly wear day in and day out. Awesome... Someday I'll have enough experience in my journey to have a gray-white black belt. Once I do get there, I'm still unsure whether I'll keep just a worn gray-white black belt, or if I will have another to use for more formal occasions. I have a few years to figure it out There's nothing to really figure out because whichever obi you decide to wear, it'll be yours alone to decide!!

I'm so very glad that there's no intervention clinic to address my addiction to the MA!! If there was, I'd never attend!

I believe he would be. The scenario you describe is similar to the really old masters, whom due to age and / or other natural debilitation, cannot physically train much anymore. The sheer volume of knowledge and experience they could impart to students would be invaluable. I agree, as well. I think that there are a lot of shades of grey in this question, and depending on the circumstances, one could decide either way. If someone just ups and quits the MAs, then what? Not a black belt, because they choose to stop training? I can see how some would say no, not a black belt anymore. But then again, I could argue how could it be taken away? The belt can be physically taken from us, true. But how many of us then make the argument that the belt isn't what's important, but the knowledge and experience is? It really is a tough question to answer. The HEART of the legitimate black belt is FOREVER, and in that, the black belt is forever, no matter the circumstances involved. It's what that governing body says. That governing body can give and take away rank whenever they decide, and in that, not all governing bodies are the same when it comes to the core of this topic/discussion. If your governing body doesn't reduce rank, then cool, but at the same time, if our governing body does reduce rank, then that should be cool as well. My Hombu does, and will reduce rank, Kyu/Dan, if it's warranted to do so!! To even to the extent of reducing rank IS reflected also on paper as well by submitting paperwork into that said students master hard file. Again...experience/knowledge and the like can never be reduced and/or taken away from said practitioner!! I'll respect a 10th Kyu equally as I would with a 10th Dan, none is better and/or greater than the other, imho.

But what if you hadn't trained in 15 odd years? Let's put it this way: you begin your MA training under an instructor, who let's say is a 5th degree black belt. He has to move, retire, and falls out of training, due to whatever life throws at us. Would you not respect him as your instructor throughout the rest of your life? Would you tell him that you now out rank him, and no longer respect the knowledge and experiences he passed on to you as his student? Or, do would you still look at him as that 5th degree black belt that took you under his tutelage all those years ago? Does the belt/rank automatically beget respect? Whether he was a 5th kyu or a 5th dan if he has knowledge and experience that I would deem valuable then that garners some level of respect. But is he a blackbelt if he hasn't trained in any way shape or form for 15 years? I'd say no he isn't. He was but now isn't an active one. An inactive or dormant blackbelt. Just as physical skill requires constant practice and exercise, so does knowledge. I'd wager he'd forget a good chunk of that knowledge after 15 years of inactivity. To the bold type above...NO!! I agree with you, Bob. No, it does not automatically beget respect. I should have noted in my example that there was a mutual respect present already between the two individuals I was speaking of. Now, lets add to the scenario. What if something happened and he couldn't train any more? Some debilitating disease that broke down his body, causing a slow demise, during which time he couldn't train. Still a black belt? YES!!

Imho, that's akin to not ever sparring; active actions are warranted to learn how to react and the like.

Absolutely! Great post! We have that conversation / soapbox session with our students quite often, sometimes til we're blue in the face, that we cannot teach them drive / determination / desire... that, if they want to develop skill in MA, it's our job as instructors to show them the tools, it's their job as students to meet us halfway with the desire to train / learn how to use those tools properly. Yes...yes!!

Nice! BTW, do you still have the actual obi you earned in 1996? If so, and that's the one you still wear, I'd be surprised if it's any other color than a beautiful, well-worn gray... Yes. I still have my original Hanshi obi, and it's worn, but not that bad, not like the belt I regularly wear day in and day out.

Per your formula, I believe that we follow under both of your options. Why? Training means two things, imho. Can they perform at a certain level and can they perform at the prescribed standards Training at home VS training at the Hombu or a Shindokan dojo. I can still quit formal training, and then, train on my own and still, after evaluations, maintain current Dan rank. But first, they must be submitted to an evaluation, which involves a myrid of departments either at said Shindokan dojo and/or at the Hombu. Had the Shindokanist in question possessed a Godan or higher at the time they quit formal training, they must be evaluated at the Hombu. A Shindokanist CAN'T just walk into any Shindokan dojo or the Hombu after being gone for some time and expect them to not be evaluated before allowing them back onto the floor. We've strict guidelines that speak about this situation, and while they may not apply to other styles of the MA, they certainly apply to us.

Tell, for example, Morio Higgaonna, head of the IOGKF, that his size is a concern. I can list many noted MAists that are of a small stature in which size isn't a concern for them at all.

I too am glad that it's back. The Olympics wouldn't be the same!! High five to the IOC!! Even though I'm a karateka, I'm also glad that karate hasn't been selected as a part of the Olympics because I've seen what the IOC has delegated the MA to become.

How I've beaten depression in the past, and how I'll beat it in the future...Faithful prayer!!

Welcome to KF!! So very sorry to hear about your injury. Just remember, time heals all wounds, and please abide by your doctors instructions during this time and please don't rush it. Having said that, I'd like to direct you to this link because it might help you find what you're looking for... http://www.karateforums.com/martial-arts-research-library-vt8082.html Hang in there! I look forward to your future posts here at KF!!

Irreducible content!! Can we, the instructors of the MA, teach someone to have the desire to want to do the MA? No, because it's within them. I can only create an environment that brings it out of them. I set the right tone and I set the right goals! When the practitioner of the MA gets on the floor, think of why you're doing it. The MA; the training and all it pertains is something that the MAist should want to do, and in that, the MA isn't a form of punishment. I don't yield easily to adversity, I persevere. The MA has birthed that in me.

I'm a very firm believer that size shouldn't be of a concern for various reasons. Reason 1: Either you can or you can't defend yourself. Reason 2: Those of smaller statures are no less than those of taller/larger statures. Reason 3: Knowledge/skill/etc are paramount over size. Additionally, don't be intimidated by size, if so, then you've already lost!! How so, Mizu No Kokoro and Tsuki No Kokoro!! Your mind must be empty of all doubts and/or confusions in order to execute said technique(s) effectively. And it's been said before, David slew that giant, and David was of a much smaller stature. Heart will trump size and the like!! IMHO!!

Thanks!! Yes, everything worked out quite sooner than I had expected. Now, I'll wear whichever obi I choose, but, I'll more than likely wear the obi that depicts my Hanshi. That way, all concerned will quit throwing stones at me for whatever the reason(s) might or might not be. I earned my Hanshi on June/July of 1996, so I felt it appropriate for those concerned. And yes...train on!!

Congrats and very well deserved!!

It's your grandmothers decision, and while it would've been cool and all, it's her choice!!

Solid post!!

Treat that combination in two parts because they are two separate kicks; don't rush them. Allow the first kick to end before starting the second kick. Speed will come later because speed isn't important, however, proper execution is!! Hang in there and train hard!!