sensei8

As far as the heel being up when one is punching...I'm of the camp that the heel can be up or down depending on what the practitioner is doing at that moment. Shindokan is 85% hand techniques, and we get very close and personal with our attackers. Whether we're employing one hand technique or another, we're also trying to employ our Tuite, which is a core staple to Shindokan. For me to get close and personal with my attackers, I've got to create unimaginable angles of attack/defense, and in doing this, I've got to transition from one fixed position to another, and this means that my heel will be up and my heel will be down, and in that, the up/down of my heel will be continuous. Hence, I'm in constant motion. The key for any and all achieved power in the above description is hip rotation, therefore, it matters not to me whether my heel is up or down while executing any and all hand techniques, what matters to me is that my hip rotation accompany's my every hand technique without any reservation and/or deviation.

I was thinking of the heel question only in terms of punching, not kicking. I thought the kick warning about noticeably raising the heel, say by the supporting leg to have the kicking leg strike higher, is that you can knock yourself over. DOH! Sorry Joe, my bad. I'll go back to my corner! Sorry!

I hear you. Maybe one day, not before to long, the yellow belt, or something close to it, will be the new black belt. Well i just dont like to complain a lot about stuff but its nice to see that people on this forum are understanding about traditional MA What's there to understand?

You're absolutely correct when you say that it's all semanitcs and matters little in the grand scope of actual confrontation, and I'll still add...or anything done my 'man'! Again, Imho, trying to master anything is just as impossible as it is to be perfect because 'man' is imperfect; only One is master and that only One is perfect!!

I hear you. Maybe one day, not before to long, the yellow belt, or something close to it, will be the new black belt.

Absolutely, but it's at a infinitesimal degree. Right before the kicking foot returns from its target, the heel MUST be down; heel's not up.

Master is akin to perfection; either way, they're both illusions at best!

If you spend those 10 000 hours doing the kick correctly. Sloppy or bad form for 10 000 hours would just ingrain bad habits which would take more time to correct. You said it before I did...and you're absolutely correct!

Because they failed the test! Nothing more and nothing less! I concur! But...age, within Shindokan's Articles and By-Laws aren't arbitrary, no, age has a meaningful content, and the limitations are known within our Articles/By-Laws, and in that, the age thing doesn't play any sterotype, no, the age requirements are fact! Absolutely, as long as we're talking about the Yudansha and NOT rank. Absolutely!

Its quite funny to me, how many of us as MAists will speak of how the belt doesn't matter. But in this case, it does.... ....so, it leaves me to wonder how many of us have gone back on what we said when we claim "the belt doesn't matter...."????? No, the belt still doesn't matter, not to me; knowledge is paramount. I'm of the crowd that says no child under 18 years old can have a full-fledged Yudansha because my Soke said so...period! I'm of the crowd that says a child that's 13 years old through 17 years old can only have a Junior Black Belt, but no rank advancements until one becomes 18 years of age and older because my Soke said so...period! Because my Soke wrote our Articles and By-Laws, then for us of Shindokan, this is our gospel truth, and these particular Articles/By-Laws have never been challenged, thus they've not been changed to date. Therefore, I'm still not going to worry about the darn thing because it is what it is, and for us in the Shindokan, it's a done thing. It's out of my hands!

BINGO!!!!! Summer days in the dojo are all about CREATION. Excellent ideas THAT WORK! Nothing ventured; nothing gained. I'll also show a little drop during little league and any major high school sports seasons. The more major the sport to THAT school, the more the drop. Again, for me, this type of drop isn't so bad, but, it's nothing I ignore. When it came to baseball in little league/high school, I'd be found playing baseball, and not at the dojo as much.

Do you mix it or just spread it in layers? and how on earth did you get that combo? When I make a sandwich peanut butter and mayo aren't the first things I think to mix! ROFL! First I put 2 heaping teaspoonful of pb; spread it out. Then I put 1 level teaspoonful of mayo on top of the pb; spread it out. Then ENJOY IT! My brother came up with this one day when we were teens, and we ran out of jelly and bologna...so...a little experimenting later and PRESTO...one lovely can't resist sandwhich....YAHOO! Oh yeah...toasted or not, it doesn't matter....it's all in the mood. = me drolling twice

Just make sure you dunk the fries in the Frosty. If you just throw them all in they get all mushy. You still get that salty/sweet combo, just mushier. Note to self: One fry at a time! Got it! Thanks...YUMMERS! = Me drolling

"Will this work so that I can use it instinctively in vital combat against an opponent who is determined to prevent me from doing so, and who is striving to eliminate me by fair means or foul". ~ Rex Applegate Have you, as a martial artist, applied the Applegate test on everything that you've ever learned in the martial arts? AND... Were you being perfectly honest with yourself while you applied the Applegate test? Forget about systems, styles, methods and ideas for a moment because those things tend to slave us into a unwanted mindset, no, a dangerous mindset. For me to blindly follow the who, what, where, when, how, and why of Shindokan is not only risky for me, but, it's pretty foolish of me to do so. Not everything in the Shindokan bible is effective FOR ME, therefore, I won't practice it. Yes, I'll teach it, and then I'll expect my students to discover for themselves if it's effective for them or not. Our Soke put it, whatever 'it' is, into Shindokan for some reason, and it's possible that everything worked effectively for him. But, I'm not him, I'm just little old me! I'm just being honest with myself!

That's the key, imho, to passing out flyers...tracking how people have heard about you. Invaluable tools...the flyers and the tracking. Yes, I've always found that to be true about the summer months. What I've concluded is that VACATIONS happen and the martial arts doesn't. I can't say that I blame them; everyone needs a vacation. The good thing about vacations and the summer months is this...they both will end! One of the things that I do in the summer months is that I adjust my P&L to allow me to maximize my revenue during the summer. For example, there are three main things that I do to make this happen, especially during the summer months. The first thing I do is to strengthen my P&L by reducing expenses, turning around or eliminating unprofitable segments and stopping losses. The second thing I do is that I stabilize the balance sheet by managing cash, preserving liquidity, reassuring creditors and lenders...in other words, buying staying power for recovery. And the third thing that I do is to optimize opportunities for the dojo to express its abilities in the marketplace and move ahead profitably. I employ a zero-based budget approach so that I can determine a break-even level of operating expenses. Justification of every expense item, no matter what they might be, is required. After all, the P&L is a snap-shot picture of how viable my dojo is or isn't. I certainly don't want to have a blurred picture. No, I want a crystal clear picture. Those summer months seem to last forever, and they don't, but, by properly adjusting the P&L during the summer months will stop us from being burnt.

Imho, that's fine just as long as the floor is seperate from the relationship! My wife and my daughter train under me, but, when I'm on the floor, I'm not honey or dad, no, I'm the instructor and they're the students. It's just that simple. Can a instructor seperate himself/herself from the relationship long enough to teach effective martial arts effectively? I can and I do!

Not me. If I can't pronounce it and/or if I don't know the english translation of what it is...I just won't eat it. I learnt that the hard way, so, I'm stubborn that way. I may not know what I'm missing and it's probably quite tasty, but, I'll just miss out on a good meal. To each their own!

Excellent posts thus far, I thank you all! I don't believe in systems anymore. Nor in methods or ideas; what's there to teach? If someone said this to you...how would you respond to this?

I guess the funny thing about this whole discussion for me is that although we have varied opinions on the subject, I guess it boils down to one thing...possibly we shouldn't even worry about the darn thing. Why? Unless we're the founder of said style, then our opinions aren't worth a bag of beans. Even if we're a practitioner of said style, our opinions to the headquarters won't merit much concern to consider a change. I don't know, it's one way or another. Give or don't give black belts to children, it's not my decision to make. After awhile, all of my posturing for or againt the practice becomes a lot of blah, blah, blah. No matter how much I like or don't like the practice, it's still being done. Why? Because they didn't ask me for my opinion, they just do it, and they don't care what I think. I'm cool with that; after all, I've got no choice AND no say in the matter.

LOL; possibly you had to much mayo and it over powered the flavor balance, it takes experimenting, but, I love the darn thing. I've not ever tried french fries in chocolate ice cream, next time I'm in Wendy's I will; that's certainly an interesting combo.

Ohhh, that sounds very yummy, and I'll take two please! [Here I come to save the day] The mayo and the peanut butter sandwhich has to have a perfect balance, or, one flavor becomes stronger than the other. Tablespoon ratio is....2 pb:1 mayo.

It's illegal to place a flyer on and/or in a mailbox! Yet, if there's a type of box where newspapers and the like can be placed; that's legal. It also, depending on local ordinances, can be interpreted, by law, that it is illegal to place flyers on car windshields. Because cars are considered private property, the flyer can be considered littering. It's legal to pass out flyers at a Public School, but, only on the sidewalk. Most, if not all schools, wouldn't give you permission because your school is for profit, even at that, non-profits don't get much better access. Besides, schools should be left alone, imho. Here are some of the places that I've placed flyers: *Local Newspaper(s) *Pizza Box-Tops. I arranged it with a local pizzeria to attach my flyers to the outside top of their pizza boxes on a Friday & Saturday. *Residental (House/Apartment) door knob; secured by a rubber band. *Health Clubs and the like that aren't in dirrect competition with you. *Grocery stores & Laundromats that have a community bulletin board, but, don't cover up any other notices and the like. *Police stations and the like *Public libraries *Cafes *Book stores *Local sporting events. *Bus Stops, just don't block and/or create a hazard. Best place to place a flyer is on the back side of the stop. *Train Stations (AmTrak) *Colleges *Sport Supply Stores *Bowling Lane *Local Sporting Events *Wal-Mart with the permission of the general manager and/or the district manager. This is rare, but, it happens. I just stood outside of the doors and offered my flyers to those coming in and those going out. I never became a pest; when a customer didn't want the flyer, I thanked them anyway. I always asked permission of the business/Corporation and/or checked with my local ordinances/laws before I started to pass my flyers out. Also, wherever I was asked to leave, I did just that, and I apologised for my intrusion. Sometimes it's not what you say, but it's how you say it!

If you're not a baseball fan, then this might not be interesting to you, but, if you are a baseball fan, check this out... http://sports.yahoo.com/mlb/blog/big_league_stew/post/The-Great-Gazoo-helmets-were-everywhere-at-the-A?urn=mlb,255836 I think this is a good idea considering what a 90 mph fastball will do to you when you get hit in the temple/ear area of your head. I've never understood why the majors shunned the baseball helmets of little league in the first place, but, nonetheless they [MLB] did. I hope this new Gazoo helmet becomes a rule for the safety of the players.

My methods might not be as sophisticated as some posted here, but nonetheless... Word of mouth AND Blanket an area with flyers. With this one, one has to be careful to not break the law. Yeah, they're both time consuming, but, they've worked well for me.

Food!? Did someone say...FOOD!?! I love #1 and #4 and #5....YUMMY! I love a mayo and peanut butter sandwhich....[Drooling] I love mustard on my popcorn...[slobbering] I love dipping pickles in peanut butter...[i need a bib] I love a sliced avocado in half, toss the pit of course, and then drown the avocado with cottage cheese and smoked oysters...[Mommy] Possibly I've been pregnant a long time.