sensei8

mmm, the words mission impossible come to mind. I have had cats since i was 8 and winston churchill wasnt kidding when he said cats look down on you. LOL!!!!!! Exactly!!!!!!

*claps for Bob-sensei* Good on you for wanting to preserve Shindokan and everything that goes with it, instead of comprimising its intgrity and the brilliance of the MA. Your Da Soki should be very proud of you. Thank you Blade96, and my Dai-Soke is proud of all of his students! Just as I'm sure your instructor is proud of you!

Yeah, I see what you're saying, and I believe that we're on the same page. I've no known significance for the twist other than it's for proper alignment, support, and/or comfort. Maybe it's a psychological thing for those who do that. For me, the twist doesn't really do anything special for me.

Well, that all sounds very good. My guess is you don't run a dojo for profit. If you aren't trying to make a living at running a dojo, then you can call the shots. If you are, the customers call the shots--or at least they do to a very large degree. On the contrary. I've been teaching just over 45 years, and every dojo that I've ever owned, and that's a total of 2, I taught full time, and the dojo was my only source of income, and I've always made profit per Quarter and Annual. It's been tougher as of late to meet the Q and A because of the economic downturn, but, it happens. I've always called the shots and my customers have never called the shots...because it's my dojo! I'm the Sensei, and I know my role. My students/parents, aka the customers, know their role, and if they forget their role, I remind them. I don't need a partner, and that's why I'm the sole proprietor, and this means that I'm there to teach and their there to learn. The day that I allow my students/parents, aka the customers, to run my dojo. That's the day that I'll padlock the front door and find something else to do. I've asked students/parents to leave in the past and I'll continue to do so, because they assumed a role that wasn't theirs to assume from the beginning. There are no ambiquities whatsoever whenever a student joins my dojo, and I make it perfectly clear to the parents and the like as well...right from the start. The same goes for at the Shindokan Hombu where I'm the Chief Instructor and I've the support from the Hombu and our Dai-Soke. How can I in current times? It's easy! It's called consistency across the board in all things. I listen to complaints, then I make the decision. Yet, when it comes to ranking and the like, I don't listen to anybody but myself...period! I've never ever believed in the "Customer Is Always Right!" That's a fine catch phrase for some, but for me, I don't buy into that business philosophy; past, present, or in the future.

A picture is worth a thousand words...and I'm still laughing at what I watched. I saw more counters against this shred thing than carter has liver pills. See for yourself.... http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wTjO5ZC6Uog AND....

Relaxed doesn't mean asleep. Danielle and Brian are solid in that one can have gaps in their fingers and still have a tight hand. Now, gaps to me don't mean having ones fingers as wide open as possible, but, slight gaps aren't no big deal. Methodologies and how they differ is the beauty of the martial arts. Don't you just love it?!

You know you're a martial artist when you break-up the bagged ice with your head at the family picnic. AND... You know you're a martial artist you spend three years *trying* to teach your cats to bow when you walk into the room.

As per my post, "said elbow strike" speaks about any and all known elbow strikes, i.e., those mentioned above and thensome!

Martial artist ALREADY turn the other cheek! How? Karate-do wa rei ni hajimari rei ni owaru koto a wasaru na Translated...Karate-do begins and ends with rei [bow] What, imho, this scripture ISN'T saying. This passage is not about a life threatening attack; it is about being insulted. A martial artist uses his/her skills as a last resort. An insult isn't even close to the last resort. Each martial artist will have own different doctrines and beliefs, and in that, we may or might not agree, thus we'll just remain at an impasse. For me, I'll continue to turn the cheek until the circumstances dictate differently. "For God did not give us a spirit of timidity, but a spirit of power, of love and of self-discipline”(2 Tim 1:7). The same is true of the martial arts. As practitioners became increasingly capable of destruction, some form of control becomes necessary.

None that I'm aware of, except to properly align the hand with said elbow strike, and in that, it provides a stable foundation/support to the said elbow strike.

You know your a martial artist when you leave the bathroom at work, and BOW!!

Yes...and how!

I'd rather deny the promotion and/or have the student quit, then promote them when they've [the student] not passed the test. Parents and the like can get upset all they want because I RUN THE DOJO...PERIOD! We've no testing fees at our Hombu, and if we did, money won't buy a belt, no matter how much they've paid or how much of a temper-tantrum they [parents/students] want to throw. I'll close the doors to my dojo before I compromise my integrity, my art, and myself. Quit...I really don't care one way or another, I'll even hold the door open for them.

Me done too.

Any Louis L'Amour book!

True! True! True! Yet, isn't it their ego, the naysayers, that's the thing that they are having difficulty in letting go themselves? After all, the martial artist that's considering to retire has already let go, and in that, their ego has never been an issue.

At the dojo level; testing cycles are done every 3 months by invitation only. The individual sensei's are closely evaluating their students every single day on their Kihon, Kata, and Kumite. Then when it gets very close to a testing cycle, that sensei will send out invitations to those students who the sensei believes is ready to test, via U.S. Mail, and only those will be allowed to test. All individual dojo's are required to then send all testing results to the Hombu to be officially recorded two ways. One way the results are recorded is on the Hombu's computers 'Hard Drive' and the other way the results are recorded is on the students 'Hard Card' that's located in Hombu's file cabinets. At the Hombu level; testing cycles are done every year in June by invitation only. But these yearly testing cycles are mainly for Godan and above candidates, even though, all ranks, both kyu and dan alike can test at the Hombu. Those Godan and above candidates MUST submit an Application For Testing to the Hombu whenever that candidate has meet the required tenure of that said Dan rank as a minimum prerequisite. Not every application is approved, for one reason or another, by the Hombu. No matter whether the testing cycle is done at the individual dojo or at the Hombu, ALL MUST BE INVITED TO TEST, no matter the kyu/dan rank! No Godan and above are ever tested at their individual dojo's. This is prohibited!

I've no preference either way because no matter what's done in the UFC or anywhere else; critics will still be critical of karate, whether its pro or con. Sometimes it's best to let sleeping dogs lie.

Yes AND no, because no matter what's done, some will respect Shotokan and some won't respect Shotokan....again....no matter what's done! Yes AND no, because no matter what...some will respect Shotokan and some won't respect Shotokan....again....no matter what's done! It's the old saying that says...""You can please all the people some of the time, and some of the people all the time, but you cannot please all the people all the time."

Congrats!

Fight Fight! That's it? Fight! Ok...fair enough...but...fight how? How will fighting satisfy ALL/everyone?

Possibly some martial artists might preceive retiring as a slap in the face of those who came berfore or that that individual just isn't all that and a bag of chips. Martial artists, like, Ueshiba and Nishiyama continued a teaching schedule up to their passing. Many martial artists might see those examples of what a true martial artists is, and in that, anything short of 'that' is a failure. Some martial artists might view retiring as quiting, no matter what positive things were accomplished in the martial arts.

When would it be acceptable, as viewed by the general martial arts masses, if one was to retire from: >Teaching the martial arts [Full-time or Part-time]? >Administrative Positions?

Well...the Lakers are ahead against the Thunder.... 2 - 0. Now, it's time for the Lakers to go to OKC and redeem themselves from the crushing that the Thunder gave them the last time they meet in OKC. Bynum and Gasol have dominated the Thunder inside of the paint and Kobe....well...Kobe does what Kobe does. GO LAKERS!

That's a good question. Allow me to try to adequately answer it. The martial arts can be thought of as an organic, living thing; it must grow, adapt, and change in order to thrive. Take a taste, and hopefully you'll see that the martial arts in all of its variety is good.