sensei8

Was that that much of a problem in the area your dojo is in? I thought that this was something from yesteryear's, and in that, it's rare, if at all.

Before one can earn a Yudansha, one must first earn a plethora's of Mudansha, ones without dan, and for that... What did you do to celebrate? My family and I enjoyed many different activities. We'd either go to the beach or to a movie or out to eat or bowling or miniture golfing or hiking or whatever else we loved. One time, for my 3rd kyu, my dad took us all out to Colorado River for a week to water ski and camp, that wasn't really new to us because we went every summer when I was growing up, but...that's when my dad taught me to slalom ski and that was a blast. Ok...it's your turn....

For those who are holders of a Yudansha, Black Belt, upon receiving yours; What did you do to celebrate? As a JBB, my mom and dad took me out to eat pizza and to a movie and I got a new bike. My dad also built me a very cool looking belt display. As a Yudansha: I celebrated by taking a trip on a 2 week vacation in Hawaii. Ok....it's your turn...

Things are going fine across the board!!

Welcome to KF!!!!!!!

Congrats!!

Tenure is important, but only to a point and it's only a part of the testing/ranking formula. I tested once from nidan to sandan with only a tenure of 1 year. Key was that I was a junior black belt for 6 years. I tested for shodan when I turned 18 years old. Then I tenured for just over 1 year before I tested for nidan. Then I was invited to my sandan testing cycle with only 1 year of tenure as a nidan by my sensei, who was the Kaicho of our Hombu and haichidan/hanshi; my testing cycle for my sandan was approved by our Soke. I was informed by my Kaicho that I was more than ready for sandan, and I felt ready for my sandan. After all, I was a JBB for 6 years, and my Kaicho didn't want me to just sit idle as a JBB, so, slowly but surely, I'd learn and learn and learn and learn and so on and so forth. Was I ready....oh yeah!! After my sandan, I not only was meeting my following tenure's from Yondan and up, but I was living in some of my tenure's, which didn't bother me, I'd test when I received an invitation to test. Some I passed and some I didn't. Sometimes I'd petition for a testing cycle and I was denied with no explanations as to why because our Hombu never explained themselves, and I was fine with that as well.

A very nice and solid performance of Gojushiho Sho. If you only received 4th place, I'd like to see the kata's of those who placed 3rd-1st....sheech. I'll look it over again this weekend and I'll provide you some feedback then, if that will be ok with you. Again...a very excellent job.

Alex, thanks for sharing the video...that video was FUNNY, but oh so true. I've meet BOTH of these types many, many times...all I can say...."Good grief Charlie Brown." ROFL

man Geo, that's so ignorant on his part that it drives me nuts. a friend of mine faced a similar situation when we went to a BJJ studio and was informed all his years in TKD was worthless. This guy had ridiculous power and thighs like tree trunks. Anyway he came to train with us, which is how we met, and his Judo game became ridiculous really fast. Having that background in TKD, plus the ability to keep himself off the mat, he was an absolute beast. the guy would do all sorts of feinted kicks and windmill looking kicks that came in so damn fast it was more than a little intimidating getting in close enough without blindly rushing. then once you were inside his Judo game was all sorts of tight. i can't think of any MA that can't be taught to be extremely effective. The fact that his TKD dojo made heavy use of spar and kumite, and they regularly competed made his ability to fight leaps and bounds better than anyone we'd ever seen join our dojo as a white belt. I just don't get where folks get off talking like that. Its funny how it is expected that respect runs rampant in the Martial Arts, and then we hear about stories like these... Daisho, I'm sorry to hear you free class ended up being in the tank. But on the other hand, it has to be gratifying to know what the quality of the training you have received in the past is like. I don't get it either Brian...it perplexes me to no end. I avoid all of that stuff because imho, it doesn't belong in the MA. That's why, for me...Proof is on the floor!!

Even though I'm not a Judoka, I find this an excellent way to utilize a gi color when white/black/combo's are the only gi colors allowed.

Imho, only you can truly answer your own question!! It's your journey, and it's yours alone. Many take tests for different reasons, but, one has to be able to look at themselves in a mirror, and in that, one must be very honest with themselves; furthermore, one must like what they see when they look into that mirror. Finally, if rank is important to someone, imho, this is the worse reason to take any MA test let alone for being in the MA.

Congrats!! There's nothing like one's first tournament!!

Free trail lessons are a very valuable tool for any MA school. While the free trial lesson is to show the prospective new student what they can expect from THIS MA school. However, a lot of MA schools forget that while they're also evaluating the capabilities of the prospective new student; THEY TOO are on display, and in that, the MA school only has one chance to make that positive impression. Once that moment passes, there's usually no second chance at gaining that particular new student. Imho, the MA school that you went to was only interested in one thing: showing you and his students just how bad YOUR Judo is/was and that your Yudansha was a joke. That is not what any free trial lesson is for, imho. It's about respect across the board!! This instructor wasn't interested in signing you up because he was more interested on tearing you/Judo down. He tore you down to his current students in the attempt to build up Sambo. Imho, a free trial lesson isn't about proving which MA is the best because "BEST" is an illusion across the board. The free trail lesson is allow the prospective new student a chance to see if "that" style of the MA is the best fit for THEM.

Without knowing about the details, which I don't think matters. Apologize to her; someone's got to make the first move, so it might as well be you.

I watched it and I totally enjoyed it, and I'm not ashamed to admit it.

Congrats!!

Happy birthday...and many more!!

Shindokan's hook punch, Uraken Mawashi Uchi, is used by us quite a lot. Especially when engaging in close/in fighting because we live in that very up close and personal area. We don't go backwards, instead, we go to inside/outside of our opponent as we're going forward. I've never heard of the "beer mug" expression before, but I like it and it's how we perform our hook punch, whether it's Jodan, chudan, or gedan. For us, it's a very natural punch, and in that, we use it quite a lot during kumite.

I don't subscribe to that because both the warrior AND the soldier knows why they're fighting: Both fight, no matter what, for their self-preservation...it's either them or it's the enemy.

Yepper...in the form of a demonstration; all attackers are compliant. A skilled Uke can make anyone look awesome.

Karate ni sente nashi is a fine maxim. I support it and I believe in it and I teach it and I practice it. However, I've no problem with throwing the first punch...kick...strike...kitchen sink....bathtub. "He who hesitates, meditates horizontally"~Ed Parker I will not hesitate in throwing the first punch if I believe it's necessarily warranted to do so!! After that, I'll deal with right or wrong: criminally or not, in a court of law.

Multiple attackers...to train in or not?! Why not, as long as its done as realistic as possible. Be as prepared as one can be. Remember, fighting multiple attackers in real life is not the same as a Kung Fu movie or a MA demo...one attacker at a time.

I wouldn't worry about why student do and why others don't. The MA isn't for everyone for one reason or another. If some decide after trying the MA, and then they decide that they'd rather lift weights or whatever instead of the MA, so be it. Students come and students go for one reason or another, and in that, just let it be what it is and don't dwell on it. If you're doubting your teaching abilities and your teaching abilities ARE the reason why students are leaving or whatever, as harsh as this might sound, not a MAists can teach. If you can teach, then look at each and every element of your curriculum/syllabus to see if it's lacking or not. If after you've eliminated every element reason across the board as to why students aren't staying and/or joining, then it's time to be honest with self, and sometimes it's hard to be honest with ourselves. Just take the students, current and future, with a grain of salt; students will do the MA or they don't do the MA for whatever that reason might be. Good luck, and train hard!!

Maybe, it's that their scared because they are not sure of themselves as a effective MAist. And this can be for so many reasons: product of a McDojo, don't seriously train to improve, don't train at all, etc. Thinking is not the same as knowing. They think that they can begets that they know that they can't because of their low self-esteem. If they don't believe in their abilities; they've lost already. The proof is on the floor...on the streets!