sensei8

Thank you Patrick, as well as to those who've wished me luck. Thank you all!!

Our By-Laws require the current Kaicho [President] to be awarded the rank of Kudan. I'm the current Kaicho, and in our history, only my Dai-Soke and I have held the Kaicho title; my Dai-Soke held it for close to, if not over 40 years.

Well, in our By-Laws, Kudan and Judan are only awarded to the current Kaicho and current Soke type; we've eliminated the Soke type, but the Kaicho type rank is still in the By-Laws, and we haven't made any amendments as of yet because we're not in full agreement as to it's wording and the like. Until, my upcoming test for Kudan, all ranks up to Hachidan are only awarded upon passing any and all required testing criteria.

I never wanted to reach "the top", rank speaking, and this is because while my Dai-Soke was alive, he was Kaicho and was Kudan. I didn't want to ever reach a rank that he had, as crazy as it sounds, it was an act of respect for him!! Still, when he became Dai-Soke and was awarded Judan, and then I became Kaicho, I still didn't and still don't want the rank because of a promise I made to myself those many years ago.

Are you wanting a governing body that's more universal? By universal, that said governing body wouldn't be for one style, Shotokan, for example, but will cover ALL styles of Karate. Trading one governing body for another only, at times, and imho, only allow a practitioner to replace one set of pro and cons for another because every governing body has them, pros and cons/rules and regulations. The grass isn't always better on the other side of the fence.

For those who train and/or teach BJJ, what other styles of the MA round out your MA training? I ask this because not one, imho, MA can cover and/or handle each and every situation that one might encounter on the street. In advance...I thank you for your posts!!

I may not train each and every day because of my teaching duties and the like, however, I do believe that while I'm teaching, I'm also training to some degree. My betterment isn't ignored. Teachers have AHA moments even while they're teaching.

My Dai-Soke would've done whatever was required of him because he would've been there for one thing and one thing only...train!!

I've been selected, against my repeated wishes, to test for my Kudan. It's something that I've never wanted and it's something that I've some deep mixed emotions about. I earned my Hachidan on July 1995. Is it overdue? Have I meet the tenure requirements? Ranks only a word, a word I'd rather to never utter so that it wouldn't ever be misunderstood, especially by myself. I'll test this July 8-10, 2013 before a testing panel at the conclusion of our annual testing cycle at our Hombu. Let the chips fall where they may!!

You know Brian, I've always felt that a MAist must be proactive across the board because your journey and my journey and every other MAists journey is special and it's theirs, and the MAist must protect their journey. I'm not in the position as Kaicho because of rank/title, no, I'm Kaicho because I protect the betterment of each and every student; mine and the entire student body. When I protect them, I'm protected as well.

I suppose that what a lot of MAists don't like is when some organization(s), like the IOC, take the purity of the MA, turn it inside and outside to fit it into their brand(s). But if the IOC wants to take Karate and turn it into something I don't like, well, then I don't have to watch it, and in that, the IOC governs the Olympics whether I like it or not. But, for the most, I'll watch any MA in the Olympics, not to see how I can complain, but for the beauty that IS the MA and to learn and to have those "WOW" and "AWESOME" and "Oh, that is/not good"! I don't own the MA, I'm just a student of the MA.

Congrats and well deserved!!

I've stretched before any class all of my life, and I've not faced anything negative in the way that our Dai-Soke taught us. I stretch my students and myself before every class just the way I was shown; I've been stretching in this manner for 49 years with no ill effects. We/I also do a cool down stretch at the end of each class. Again, I view an exercise as a stretch and vise versa. Sometimes my brain works goofy!! Still, I hear what you're saying Justice, and I respect what you're saying!!

Welcome to KarateForums!! Find the organization that you want to compete with. Then, join said organization, if that's required. Then, understand ALL of the rules/regulations in which you'll be entering. Then, start entering tournaments that are in line with it's National equivalent. Then, start placing high, and of course win some as well. Then, start following, from the start, your score, the higher the score, the better because if you're not placing with respectful score, you'll not get the invite to the Nationals of that association. Win the key Championships get you into the Nationals automatically. Placing in the top 3 in the key Championships consistently gets you an invite to the Nationals of the association. Good luck and keep us informed!!

Anything with the arm and/or anything involving the leg/foot. But, I'm truly in love with any joint manipulation because, for me, they don't require a lot of set up and the like.

Congrats to Mr. Benson Henderson!!

Stretches before exercises? To my mind, that's the same thing; a stretch is an exercise and vise versa. I think that the men don't want to seem unmanly by complaining, and that's why they don't say anything, and they need to because I'm there to help them in any way that I can. Keeping it to themselves isn't a smart thing; I don't know it's broken if they don't tell me. Btw, I don't view my female students as unwomanly because they INFORM me of a problem, no, they're being proactive in their training.

Great posts all...Thank you for them. My first time, I almost wet my pants; I was terrified because I was afraid of the unknown. Time heals all fears, well, sparring fears that is.

I don't think that the IOC controls what's shown on the TV. I believe that the network decides what they'll televise, but I'm also sure that the IOC might have some saying because the Olympics i s a big ticket thing for both.

Ditto!! The sport shouldn't suffer, and the competitors shouldn't either.

You're probably right across the board. Our stretches are no more severe than most any other karate dojo's; staple stretches. I've never had a student complain after stretching, just complaining while our adult female students are doing a high side kick with a snap but not when doing a thrust. Now, the term "hip pointer" has come from my first adult female students, and I've dumbly continued calling 'it' that. What it should be called is beyond me but it's consistent.

Not happened yet. I think we have a bit of time before this happens, but you never know what can happen. Hard to say. There are several high ranking individuals, but there is also some family members that might try to have a say, although they aren't ranked as high as some of the other current instructors. There is a chance it could splinter quite a bit. There is a group of instructors in it that have some high standards, and do a lot of chatting back and forth and corroborating. They are also the higher ranks in the organization. I will likely continue under my current instructor, because I know he has good standards and teaches well, regardless of what would happen within the organization. I respect the GM of our org, but I only see him twice a year maybe, but see my current instructor everyday. Solid post and I thank you for it!! I suppose that the student body of your governing body is keenly aware of, and keeping an eye on it, the hiearchy's are chatting back and forth. I'd keep an eye on it so that I don't become blindsided one way or another. Still, you seem well grounded, and unworried about the activities of your governing body, and that's a good place to be. I was, once, but events have made me quite suspious and I'm always on the look for any red flag. Thanks for your post!!

This is a very interesting topic! I actually just posted about this on another forum, because my style is going through something like this at the moment. 1) If your style has recently lost its founder, what's the immediate plans for its continuation? --My style was founded by Chibana Chosin, who died in 1969, and there was a lot of splintering that occurred at that time. The organization I am currently a part of was made to be a continuation of Chibana's style, although it is sometimes referred to as a separate style, much to the disdain of the head of the organization. In that regard, the head of our "style" has been Nakazato Shugoro for a very, very long time (since 1971, I think?). He officially retired a few weeks ago, at the age of 93, and handed over the organization to his son, Nakazato Minoru. 2) In your honest opinion, will your style be fine when your founder passes away? --I believe it will be, and I suspect that Nakazato Shugoro's reasoning for handing it over to his son while he is still alive is because he wanted everyone to get used to the idea before he passes away. Too many styles have had founders or heads die without cementing the next leader in place. That's a major factor in splintering, I think. 3) Will your style, in your honest opinion, splinter slightly or splinter a lot? --So far, no one has broken away because of the leadership change, but I suspect there will be some splintering when Nakazato Shugoro does pass away. Nakazato Minoru looks like he is going to be moving the system in a good direction, but I could see some people who have been training longer than him, or who feel he isn't being true to his father's vision, breaking off on their own. Minoru Sensei is a little young for a Judan and head of a system, and seems to be more interested in sharing kata applications and drills than his father was, so those things might set some people off. 4) Will you want to continue in your style if the splintering isn't kept to its minimal OR will you seek training in another style that's more grounded across the board? --The organization of our style doesn't really concern me. I didn't start training with my sensei because he was part of a major branch of Shorin-Ryu headquartered in Okinawa with a "pure lineage" or any other such thing. I started training with him because he seemed very knowledgeable, and his mindset regarding karate was very much like my own. As long as I can keep learning from my instructor, I will be part of the style, at least in some fashion. Solid post and I thank you for it!! You've made some solid points. Especially concerning the way your governing body has made the future for its student body solid. The way your governing body makes the hiearchy transitions, and as early as they have, is how, imho, a governing body should providing the founder hasn't passed away in an untimely manner. Our Dai-Soke's untimely death took us all by surprise to say the least. We scrambled quickly, but not before our San Dai-Soke pulled the rug from right under us. Again, I thank you for your post!!

Are any members of your student body members of this forum? K. I don't know!! I've shared the site with many, but I've no idea if they're members here or not.

I hear what you're saying Justice. But why do all of my adult female students say, from time to time, that side kicking high hurts them in thier hips, even after a well stretching session? Many of my adult female students have no prior injuries to their hips!!