sensei8

CONGRATS!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Have fun!!!!!!!!!!!! RELAX!!!!!!!!!!

How the Shogo's are worn on the obi vary from style to style! 1 gold stripe = Renshi 2 gold stripes = Kyoshi 3 gold stripes = Hanshi These teaching title stripes are usually worn on both ends and by themselves; alone with no kanji and/or no rank indentifiers.

You're welcome!

Wilted Rose, What can I possibly say to you that would ease the pain that you're feeling? Except to say this...you've apologised to your fiance' and this begins the healing process, and in time, shorter time than you might think, all will be forgiven because time heals all wounds. Is your fiance' ok? After all, a palm heel strike is an effective technique! You're fiance' did get into your face, into your space, into your zone AND he did it with anger. Does this justify your reaction? Does this justify your use of Karate? Does this justify the means? Some would say "yes!" and some would say "no!", either way, you did what you felt was necessary in that situation. You felt threatened!!!! Bruce Lee once said..."I do not hit, it hits all by itself!" These pointed words mean alot, especially to a martial artist. We're trained in such a way that our reactions are more automatic than premeditated. We drill and we drill and we drill and we drill and we continue to drill for situations just as yours. Why do we drill until the wheels fall off? So we react properly to the threat without any hesitation and Ed Parker said it well...."He who hesitates, meditates horizontally!" Hesitation kills! Maybe your fiance' will now think twice before he comes to you in anger and he violates your space. After all, he should've remembered that his fiance', you, are a Shodan in Wado Ryu Karate. I bet he'll remember from now on! If you're response to the threat was premeditated, than, well, you weren't in control of your actions nor were you in control of your emotions. Bruce Lee spoke these words as well..."Emotional content; not anger!" These words speak in volumes as well. We Karateka's are taught to never use our knowledge of Karate in violence, but, only in self-defense, as a last resort. Well, your fiance' created the violence and you created the self-defense. In my eyes, you did nothing wrong and I just want you to know that! You say you're not a violent person and that you hate confrontations. Well, you weren't violent and you didn't cause the confrontation; your fiance' did. Please don't be disappointed with yourself because you did what you were trained to do and you did it without any hesitation. Therefore, don't be annoyed with yourself because you used your Karate, that's what it's there for and besides, you didn't attack anyone, you defended yourself! Go to class as you always have and don't be ashamed of doing what you were trained to do...WADO RYU KARATE! Talk to your instructor about it if you think that it'll help you with what it is that you're feeling, but , don't boast about it because that isn't cool! BTW, you're not a wilted rose, no, you're a vibrant and beautiful rose! Hang in there!

The martial arts is about adapting to our ever changing situation(s). When something is attempted against an attacker and that one thing tried doesn't work, well, go to something else. If someone physically stronger than you remember this one thing. Joints/bones GIVE; they break or crack! Leverage and the like will beat over strength. Strength works but one properly applied technique(s) weakens the strength dramatically. In the martial arts as in many other things in life, David will always beat Goliath, not with strength, but, a well applied technique(s)!

At least put your obi into a bag or something so that it's out of sight. No matter, your Gi by itself will draw enough attention to it, therefore, the less you draw attention to yourself the better! What if you don't have a bag or something to carry it in? I don't know, improvise. After all, a martial artist must improvise and adapt.

Possibly they LIKED it! Their style of sparring fit into their needs! The Kumite they practiced was effective! These are just some of the possible reasons as to why certain styles of Karate "get attached to one particular style of sparring."

JKA...Japan Karate Association http://www.jka.or.jp/english/e_index.html

AND... Yet, the question was... My answer is still...

Yep..however, the Lousiville slugger is shorter and requires less space.... True, quite true!

Give me a '59 Chevy anytime! Lord I'm old...sheech.

ROFL...you're killing me...ROFL

Shhhhhhhhhhhh! Don't tell my wife about it......PLEASE!!! :::WHISPERING::: It sounds pretty cool...but...that'll be our secret!!!

I'm still laughing at these. ROFLMBBO!

While I'm very well versed in the Bo, I find nothing wrong with swinging the Bo like a louisville slugger. Batter-up!

But when the chance presents itself...I'll be ready!

Why not? Anybody can beat anybody anytime and anyday. No one is unbeatable.

Thank you!!!!

Heheheheheheheheehheeeee....ahem...I mean...thanks!

With everything, including martial arts tests, Yin/Yang is real. Pass/Fail, Win/Lose; we can't have one without the other to balance it all out. If one hasn't ever failed a martial arts test, then I submit that this person hasn't been truly tested as of yet! I can't count on both of my hands and feet as to just how many times I failed a test. Why did I fail? My Soke/Dai-Soke are extremely tough on tests. Nothing was ever guaranteed to us students and when we did pass, well, it was an accomplishment! Nothing is perfect, but with Soke/Dai-Soke, you'd better be as close to perfect as possible or you'd fail! In their very bad broken english, they both could say the word "Fail" very well!

Can a martial art have BOTH? My Soke explained this to us once....or twice...or a zillion...or.... "There's a reason as to why our style is named Shindokan Karate-Do! The jutsu is alive in the 'Karate' and at the same time, the 'Do' is alive as it re-centers us continuously."

BINGO!!!!!!!!!!! Complacency is the evil twin of satisfaction! How can I be satisfied with any technique(s) when they're imperfect from the start? I can't! Therefore, I must continue on my journey in order to find that one perfect technique, and in that journey, I'm not complacent in any shape, way, and/or form...no...I'm not complete in my totality towards any technique(s)! I can do one punch 1 billion times or more, yet, I will not be satisfied...still...or ever!

WOW...me? COOL! Completely unexpected, but, it's truly appreciated! Thank you so very much for the honor! Thanks to Patrick and the entire Karate Forums staff as well as the KF members! oohoohooh...I get one of those rainbow belts....YES!

I don't worry about complacency within myself because I already know that I'll never reach the end of my journey; train until I die. Perfecting the unperfectable technique! Was Bruce complacent in these words?... "If I tell you I'm good, you would probably think I'm boasting. If I tell you I'm no good, you know I'm lying."