sensei8

Typically...yes there is/are, but which ones, that greatly depends on the teaching/grading syllabus. Again, ask your sensei or your sempai! If you don't know, or you're unsure, my suggestion to you would be...don't test! Chitsu and Jeffery, and even Robbo, have given you solid advice! Good luck!

No, I don't!

Interesting...interesting posts. Cool!

Who's to say that the asked question is dumb or ridiculus? The question wasn't either to the student, that why the student asked. The sensei can disern one way or another, but, imho, that sensei better be correct. If I discern that the student was not serious in the question, then I'd tell the student to see me after class. Then, I'd place this student back on track as well as inform that student that when he/she is not serious, then they end up waisting time, when that can be better served during class. A student wants to joke around, then joke around before and after class, but never during class.

Please don't misunderstand me and/or my meanings/intent, please! This is my opinion and my opinion alone. I'm very proud of my many accomplishments within the martial arts, both as a student and as a sensei. Do I feel noble and the like because of my black belt, no I do not! Why? I keep my black belt in its proper context and don't think that my black belt makes me better than anyone. I guess, I don't know, but, I think that just about anyone can label anyone a noble individual based on the labelers point(s) of view. At the same time, anyone can say that an individual doesn't have theright-stuff that's required to being noble. Either way, I'd take either with just a grain of salt. Why? If I'm noble, that's not because of my black belt. No. More importantly, it's because of my God. It's because of my parents! It's because of my Dai-Soke! It's because of my wife and my kids! A lot of this and a little of that made me who I am today, and I thank them, and I always will. I know what's right and what's wrong and I adhere to those. I don't feel noble, and that's ok, however, I do feel proud, and more importantly, I feel good! If the black belt is one of the main requirements for a martial artist to be of a noble stature, then, imho, only my Dai-Soke can say this of me, and only my Dai-Soke, imho, can give this stature to me. Sure, I can feel noble and I can say that I'm noble, and I can say that my black belt makes me noble, but I won't because I don't believe that I am because of my black belt, and I surely know that my black belt has/had nothing to do with me being noble. It's just a piece of cloth. I don't wear my black belt around my waist, but I wear my black belt around my heart. Countless times, especially as of late, my Hombu has tried to award me a Kudan, but, each and everytime that they've tried, I've politely refused them. Why? Because ONLY my Dai-Soke, and him alone, who's also my sensei, can award anything to me, and only my Dai-Soke's opinion of me, as it relates to my martial arts, is the only opinion that I value. Respectfully, I'm thankful for the guesture, but, no thanks!

My instructor is Okinawan, he was born and raised there, as was my Soke. But, I didn't seek them out because they were Okinawan. No. I chose them because I wanted to learn karate and I wanted to know how to defend myself. How and why and when my Dai-Soke came to be in Canoga Park, California is unimportant...I found him, my mom could afford the price, and I fell in love with my Dai-Soke. At 7 years old, I doubt that I was of that type of a mind frame to decide what my sensei should be: American, Chinese, Japanese, Okinawan, Purple, Blue, Orange, Left Handed, Right Handed, Speaks any english, speaks no english, educated, uneducated, an orange, an apple, a sports car, a little red wagon, or whatever. I just wanted to learn karate, and for me, it was just that plain and simple. Now that I've been with my Dai-Soke forever, I still don't care if he was all of the above or not, because I love him and I STILL want to learn karate, and all that is the martial arts.

So far so good! Thanks for the posts! Remember....MARTIAL ARTS RELATED bucket lists!

A black belt ISN'T in a superior class! A black belt is someone who can do something that a non-martial artist can't....for that moment....things and people change, some for the best and some for the worse. And you know what, a non-martial artist can do somethings that a martial artist can't. So much for being in a superior class! Sibylla hit the nail right on the head. For real, it's just a belt and if someone is treating their black belt like it's something that it's not, and that black belt makes them think that they're something that they're not; then that person is only in the martial arts for the belt. What was said about nobility in the Fighting Chicken article that Sibylla linked us to was...right on! I train, I practice and I do it because I love it and I love it more each new day, but, I'm a martial artist first, and what rank I am is so unimportant because I'm not in the martial arts for the belt and/or titles and/or platitudes and/or whatever else. Sure, there was a time when I was in the martial arts for the belts. But, that was when I was 9 or 10 years old. When I was a child, I did childish things! IndoSilat says... Absolutely and solid!

Welcome to KF!!!!!!

Well...my family and I went to see Iron Man 2, and I thought that it was much better than Iron Man 1. Btw, when you do go and watch it, don't leave when the credits are rolling. Why? After the credits is a teaser about another Marvel Super Hero. Also, Stan Lee was in Iron Man 2, but, it was super short. Anyway, enjoy it!

What's your bucket list? Martial arts related please. What is it that you want to do before you die? And/or.... What place would you love to visit before you die?

Whether one respects someones rank or not, that's up to each martial artists to decide. But, to disrespect ones individual accomplishments in the martial arts, no matter how small or large they might be, that to me, isn't cool. To respect them; isn't that to respect their accomplishments? I'll respect that person until they give me reasons to not. I'd rather meet and train with fellow martial artists, and whenever I do; I'm training with them, not their rank. I'm totally indifferent about what rank/title someone might or might not have. Why? I just want to train with solid martial artists across the board. I've my rank and you've got your rank, but to be honest, our ranks are ok in there proper context, but again, I just want to train with solid martial artists!

Obviously my research about Tatsuo Susuki was incorrect. I stand corrected by Chitsu, and I thank him. I've egg on my face now...sorry.

Here's the article... http://sports.yahoo.com/mma/blog/cagewriter/post/Kimbo-s-run-in-the-UFC-is-over-White-cuts-him?urn=mma,239667

My mistake. I was thinking that Higashikuni WAS once a prince, but, in the same paragraph, Higashikuni was refered to as Emperor. So, I gave him the higher of the two titles. I'm like you in that I wouldn't be impressed because it's like when President Obama got his honorary black belt in TKD from the Korean government. It meant nothing to me because to me, it's just stuff. Still, in preparing a topic I sometime ask the question, directly or indirectly, to hopefully generate a more meaningful conversation. Again, we're on the same page in this. Bingo! Very solid and I concur! Respect FOR/OF the rank must be earned; therefore, the respect for the rank, no matter the level, isn't automatically given. Just because one is wearing rank doesn't mean their rank MUST be respected immediately. Until the respect is earned for that said rank, it's [rank] nothing more than just stuff.

In that, I agree with you wholeheartedly!

Many here at KF as well as from many outside of KF are proponents that rank and the like outside of owns own style is meaningless, and in that, rank outside of owns own style has no value. I'm one of the proponents! Therefore, no matter whom the noted and noteworthy martial artist might be outside of their immediate style; that's still meaningless. One might say that Kanazawa Sensei's Judan holds value only inside the SKIF. Kanazawa Sensei is known worldwide as a extremely solid karateka. But, do we hold any value to his rank outside of the SKIF/Shotokan? Rank is important only within its context, but, many still don't value rank and they never will, no matter whom it might be. In 1975, Tatsuo Susuki received his eighth Dan, the highest grade ever given by the Federation of All-Japan Karate-Do organizations. That still might not be respected or recognized by those outside of Wado-ryu circles. Why? Also, in 1975, Tatsuo Susuki received the highest Japanese martial arts title of 'Hanshi' awarded to him by the Emperor Higashikuni. Again, that might not be respected or recognized by those outside of Wado-ryu circles. Why? Surely a title, or a rank nonetheless, that is awarded by the Emperor would be respected AND recognized by many, if not all. By the Emperor! Wow! Can't get any higher than that! Suzuki Sensei is the only living person with this title in Wado-Ryu. The only other Wado Hanshi was the late Otsuka Sensei, the founder of Wado-ryu. Still this might not be respected or recognized by those outside of the Wado-ryu circles. Your thoughts?

Going this afternoon with the wife and kids!

Congrats! Way to train!

Hello! I've highlighted in bold print above because I believe that's key to your question(s)..."the same style." Therefore, I'll speak to this. I train all the time with my fellow Shindokan karateka's. I visit other Shindokan dojo's from time to time throughout the year, as it's one of my responsibilities as Kaicho/Chief Instructor of the Hombu, providing those dojo the consistent presence of the Hombu, which supports each Shindokan dojo. I'll go to their dojo and in return, they'll come to the Hombu. Sometimes I visit Shindokan dojo on either in an official capacity as well as an unofficial capacity. Official capacity, for example, would be whenever that dojo has requested a Hombu representative to sit in on a testing cycle. An unofficial capacity would be me calling a local Shindokan dojo while I'm in their town for one reason or another, and asking if I could come by to train. When I had my own dojo, I trained with my Dai-Soke as often as I could, and that would be normally about once a month. Ever since I was appointed to the Hombu, I trained with my Dai-Soke everyday at the Hombu. That was until he suffered a stroke last August. Our time together since then is now more of a verbal workout. While his stroke has made it difficult for him to train physically, his mind is still extremely sharp and his knowledge seems to know no boundaries. Nowadays, I seek to train with the more senior ranks within Shindokan for a plethoria of reasons, no one reason is more important than any other reason. I suppose, I'm seeking to train in a manner that is reminiscence of training with my Dai-Soke.

Imho, stereotyping and the like has no business in any martial arts. I've known many karateka's that are superior in Karate-do, and they weren't Japanese/Okinawan. The sad thing is that "racial snobbery" still exists today, and I suppose that it'll ["racial snobbery"] never end.

You know that you're a martial artist when you get irritated while talking to your relatives because they have no discipline. OR You know that you're a martial artist when you find yourself practicing bo staff techniques in miniature with your pencil during dull meetings. And to BDPulver...that was very funny...ROFLMHO!

As far as Shindokan is concerned... Zenkutsu-dachi [front stance] = 60/40 Kokutsu-dachi [back stance] = 75/25 Kiba-dachi [Horse stance] = 50/50 Nekoashi-dachi [Cat stance] = 90/10

I couldn't have said it any better than Toptomcat, and in that, I agree wholeheartedly with Toptomcat. Train hard until the wheels fall off...then continue to train hard...never let up and never give up!

Excellent topic! No. Imho, the only difference is that one is and one isn't, and for me, it's just that simple. A true martial artist doesn't seek out or expects to be or desires a greater moral stature. If it does exist, it's only in the minds of the non-martial artist. By its definition...yes it is. But, for a martial artist to tell someone that you have a black belt isn't noble at all. To do so would only lower ones supposed nobility to one who's lower than a peasant. Wouldn't most non-martial artists just say..."Yeah...whatever!"...whenever a martial artist would say..."I have a black belt!". A true martial artist wouldn't bring any unwanted attention to themselves. Keeping oneself humble is nobility.