sensei8

Century Martial Arts Supplies has a fantastic line of "tools" that would be excellent for 3 year olds in that they'd have fun, be challenged, not get bored, and learn the Martial Arts.

Size and maturity. I allow students that are 13 years old to be in the adult class, but, this is based on a child to child circumstances. For example, size and maturity still bears consideration. Everything has the appearance of it being a workable thing at its beginning, but, will that come to fruition once its considered more, that remains to be seen. Some kids love to spar adults because it's an honor thing amoungst kids, especially when the child scores on the adult with a great technique that's not based on size and maturity; a pure technique.

"Punk!" I wouldn't say that, not even under my breath/to myself in the fear that he'd have superman hearing/mind-reading abilities.

IMHO... The teacher should be expected to provide their students with any and every possible tool to effectively defend themselves against an attack! This means develop content! This means customize content! This means the curriculum/syllabus isn't and shouldn't be set in stone. I'm answerable to my Hombu/Dai-Soke, but, I'm complete in my totality. I respect the Hombu/Dai-Soke but not to the end-of-all. I'm the very first one, and I've been this way for along time, to challenge the Hombu/Dai-Soke on any issue that I feel isn't beneficial to my students as well as myself. My Dai-Soke layed out the foundation for me, yet, I've built the house in which I live in and I've built my house on a rock, not upon sand! IMHO... YES! The teacher sets the path via the lesson plans on what the teacher wants to teach but I believe that this must be in concert with what the students want to learn, yet, not so that the student dictates to the teacher. The teacher is the final author of said lesson plans based on effective reality in order to give to the student the best offered. The teacher doesn't let the white belt student tell the teacher "I want to learn a flying kick FIRST!" This isn't beneficial to the student because the white belt is learning how to crawl, etc. Now as the student progresses, then the teacher must respect the students desires, yet, still guide the course in which is allowed for the student to improve. IMHO... Considered? Yes! Respect begets respect! The teacher has the final saying not the student. The student then decides if this is what they're looking for; then quit or not is always left up to the students; in that, teachers shouldn't be influenced in any shape, way, and/or form because a student wants to quit or not. Teachers teach and students learn; both are in constant concert for success to occur. Teachers must explain to the students as to whatever final decision has been made and this is because the students deserve an explanation; respect is earned! IMHO... Not all black belts can teach or should they! If one can't convey the most simple thing to a student...don't teach! IMHO... ABSOLUTELY! The invention of the wheel has been improved upon to what it is now...even in that, new patents are in the works to improve the wheel. Man always says..."What do I know that can benefit/make better/improve on [fill in blank]?" Never be satisfied with the end results because that says that nothing can ever be improved...non-sense! I'd say that I fit more into this category. Yet, this category isn't etched into my being. I'm a Martial Artist that always questions ANYTHING/EVERYTHING no matter the source. If my Hombu/Dai-Soke don't like it...TOUGH! I'm concerned with what 'it' is that will benefit me; I pass this on the my students and then my students decide if the 'it' is beneficial to them! If my Hombu/Dai-Soke try to give me something without regard to whether those things are currently applicable or can be be improved upon via modern approaches, then I will reject it. My Hombu/Dai-Soke can have a fit all they want, I'll quit before I succumb to uneffective doctrine/methodology/theories; tradition has its place but not when it interferes with sold effective doctrine/methodology/theories according to what I've experienced as well as what I know.

Nope! One side's as good as the other.

My Dojo has an active student body that meets and well exceeds your question/requirements. How can we/I here at KF help you?

My Saturday classes are "OPEN" from 10am - 2pm. I reserve 3pm - 8pm for seminars and the like, but, this time must be reserved 1 month in advance of said event. Yet, I reserve the right to deny and cancel 3pm - 8pm time-frame, providing nothings been pre-arranged, for whatever reason(s) I deem accordingly. This "OPEN" time is for ALL students to come into the Dojo to work on anything the students desire and/or to ask me questions about whatever's on their mind; I can do either individuals and/or in groups. I also work out myself during this "OPEN" workout when time permits. My attention is geared towards the students more than to myself because I've got a key to the front door and I can workout whenever the I want before/after hours. I usually get more Adults during my "OPEN" workouts especially when sports are in full gear. Besides, most kids on Saturday either want to watch cartoons and/or play. Also, the kids are on MOM/DAD schedule on the weekend, therefore, Saturday is family time; I highly encourage that! I'd say that on an average, I get about 50 regulars that attend the Saturday "OPEN" workouts. Most of my students just want an informal workout, yet, I'm there to assist in anyway that I can. I live in an area with a population of just over 393,000 in the city/Density is 2,152 per square mile/Metro population is just over 905,000 spread out over an area of just over 186 squared miles. Within my 25 miles radius of my Dojo, the population is just over 53,000 residents.

Well...I totally agree with JusticeZero and Brian...100%! Expanding the knowledge base is paramount, not awarding rank/title!!!!! This is both the role and as to how a teacher adds value to the student/teacher relationship. Be consistent and never violate the maxims that protect both the students as well as the teacher.

Sounds to me like another means to increase the bottom line. Can anybody say...the terrible 2's and the difficult 3's? Gross body movement would be about all that would be achieved overall; playing, imho. Baby-sitting is more like it....but...the bottom line would be increased! How long would these classes be? Hopefully not long at all because there's nothing worse that a 3 yr old CONTROLLING the class when the 3 yr old gets bored quickly. Early Child Development experts say that a childs attention span in minutes is equal to the age of the child. Good luck and let us know how it goes.

You probably don't like roofing tiles for the same reason that I don't like baseball bats other than during a baseball game. Why don't you like roofing tiles? If you say because of the slate that's found in American made roofing tiles, then I wholeheartedly concur with you on that. It's not that I don't like baseball bats in my Tameshiwara, it's just that I've never tried to break a baseball bats with my shins or the like. It's the unknown about it as well I suppose...I really don't know.

It really is beyond disheartening to say the least. Thank God that the truth is discovered on the floor..quickly! What drives a person to want to become involved in self-promotions? Why? I guess I'm just a dinosaur from a time that's been long gone!

We use baseball bat for ours what do you use? Boards, bricks, roofing tiles, 2X4's, 2X2X8's, and rocks. The higher the Dan rank testing the more of the materials to choose from as well as the quantity.

Me neither because that would be a little embarrassing with me standing there with one of the ends of my obi in my hand because I've torn it right off while I was trying to tie it. I would think that my then it's time to retire the poor thing.

Congrats to all of the Steeler Nation! Brian's a Chief fan, bad year for them! Me scalpem all then them all go away. I'm a Cowboy fan, Romo go away! But....how about them Steelers? Yahoo!! It was one of the greatest Super Bowls that I've ever seen, imho.

Why do you think I started this thread? Not because I actually wanted to congratulate Brian, but because I thought of it and said, hey, I can get a post ahead of him in a way that no one will ever suspect me!!!!! Brian will catch me soon enough. That'll be a happy day. Patrick Haha if that's your strategy you need to start a thread every time Brian gets another 100 posts... And then reply to every single message! As Patrick said..."That's good thinking." But that might not work unless the posts are meaningful. Why? I'm glad I asked me According to the KF User Guidelines... 2. While member post count has meaning, it should not be taken too seriously. Attempts to artificially increase your post count are prohibited. This includes the mass creation of short or meaningless posts. When participating in game threads such as "Word Association Game" or "What song are you listening to right now?", please do not post consecutive replies within a short period of time. Being that you're the owner of KF, you could temporarily suspend Brian's posting abilities and then blame it on the...computer or something creative. Heheheheheheheheeeeeee...as just a thought! I'll go back to my room now. But seriously, CONGRATS BRIAN!!!!!!!!

There was an article not long ago in 2008 in a NAPMA magazine that addressed this very thing. The author of this article is an attorney and said that from a legal stand point, all one would have to do to legitimize themselves/their own style of the Martial Arts and then declare themselves "Grandmaster" would be to create a logo first, then a letterhead. No fuss and no muss! Of course....good luck with this and its credibility....which seems to be the rage of the page nowadays.

I was playing pool with some of my friends and after the game one of my friends asked me... "You say you're a black belt in karate, yet, with all of your so-called black belt and all, why is your hand and eye coordination so bad in a simple game of pool?" My response was... "I'm sorry! I've never seen a pool table, not one time, in my Dojo nor have I ever seen any classes on the schedule for learning how to play pool or anybody taking pool lessons in my Dojo. I think I was cheated! " Although all of us got a good laugh from it!

Shodan requirements: As learnt from Jukyu to Ikkyu>>> *All Kihon *All Kata (Empty/Weapons) including all Bunkai/Oyo Bunkai *All Kumite *Tuite/Grappling/Kyusho Jitsu *Tameshiwara *1000 word essay as directed by the Testing Board of the Hombu ("What is Karate-Do?" and "What is Shugyo?") *Having meet age requirements *Having meet all "teaching" requirements from Sankyu to Ikkyu *Demonstrate basic knowledge of the history and the like of our style This is the base core of our grading syllabus of our Shodan requirements. This list should be enough to give you an idea of our Shodan requirements. Some of the things not listed above are Etiquette, Citizenship, Displayed Tenets/The Dojo Kun, Japanese Karate Terminologies, and The Code Of Bushido.

Sorry, but, what in the world? How long does your test last? WOW!

This is a perfect explanation of how styles in the Martial Arts differ, stances in this case, one from another. My style teaches... Neko Ashi Dachi: 95% of the weight on the back leg and 5% on the front leg Kokutsu Dachi: 75% on the back leg and 25% on the front leg :::me singing::: You say tomatoe and I'll say tomatoe...la la la la....yippee

While the topic of frayed or not concerning the obi is interesting in hearing the varying opinions/believes and the like, the fraying of a Yudansha obi doesn't lessen the knowledge base of the practitioner, imho! Many here know of Iain Abernethy. He's a Godan. He's well versed in many aspects, theories, applications, methodologies, and the like to be for sure. He's well respected by many Martial Artists, both here at KF and over the world. He's well spoken in both the written word as well as the video genre is concerned. Iain's Yudansa obi is frayed. That being said, does this take away from his knowledge base? Does this cause practitioners to take him less seriously? Does this turn the stomach of the most staunchest "traditionalist" at the sight of Iain's frayed Yudansha obi? Does this same "traditionalist" turn on a closed ear to what Iain has to say on any subject of the Martial Arts because his Yudansha obi is frayed? Speaking for myself...NO! The fraying of ones Yudansha obi is of a miniscule importance to me. Whether I like it or not or if my obi is frayed or not is the furthest thing from my mind because it's unimportant to me in the scope of expanding my knowledge base. To be frayed or not to be frayed; that is the question. The answer is up to each individual, imho.

So says who? The By-Laws of my style are quite exacting in their definitions/meanings/intent! Every Jr. Black Belt has completed all of the needed requirements according to our grading syllabus, and this syllabus doesn't signify between whether one is a child or an adult. You're correct when you say that our JBB's aren't black belts...full fledged black belts that is. This means that the adults can achieve Dan rankings while a JBB can't! BTW, age is a minuscule portion of Yudansha, both JBB and an adult Shodan must meet the requirements satisfactory of the three K's...Kihon, Kata, and Kumite. The only thing that differs the two is AGE as far as our Hombu's By-Laws ranking guidelines are concerned...any student that's under the age of 18 may not possess a Shodan, full fledged black belt, but this student may obtain the rank of Junior Black Belt. A Yudansha of the rank of Shodan MUST be at a minimum age of 18 years old. Our JBB's cannot achieve any Dan ranking whatsoever, not until they meet the age requirement for Shodan...18 years old. Even then, when our JBB's reach 18 years of age, these JBB's must apply for testing for Shodan but they must wait a minimum of 6 months of having reached the age of 18 years of age, AND even then, these JBB's must be invited by the Chief Instructor of the Dojo to test for Shodan. Therefore, having reached 18 years of age means nothing to the testing board of the Hombu...other than when a JBB would be getting a birthday card from the Hombu. As are ALL of the ranks within ANY style of the Martial Arts that puts value of the ranks over knowledge. I wish the belt ranking system wasn't ever invented but it was and it's here, yet, it's value has been misplaced, imho! Opinions vary and our JBB's would agree with you that while they're not full fledged black belts due to having not reached 18 years of age! They'd also agree with you that they shouldn't be teaching a class...without the very close supervision of their Sensei/Chief Instructor AND the Hombu. To think in this manner is a sign of disrespect to the Chief Instructor, the Hombu, and the JBB's who have worked JUST AS HARD as the adult Yudansha's. Age requirements must be set and obeyed for the sake of the JBB's growth in the Martial Arts as well as for the betterment of the style. No I wouldn't go to a Dojo and the like if a JBB was the Chief Instructor as well as teaching on their own without proper supervision/guidance of a highly qualified adult Yudansha. I'd go to the Dojo if a JBB was teaching UNDER THE PROPER GUIDANCE OF A HIGHLY QUALIFIED SENSEI/CHIEF INSTRUCTOR. Otherwise, how's the JBB going to learn anything about teaching. My style REQUIRES ALL STUDENTS to begin "assisting/learning how to teach" at the rank of Sankyu no matter the age. Our Hombu thru the By-Laws has things in place to cover/protect/benefit all students, all instructors, and the Hombu when in comes to "teaching" and "Jr. Black Belts" and in this, there's no ambiquity whatsoever! BTW, close supervision doesn't mean that our JBB's would be on their own on the floor...NO WAY! My Yudansha's and I are on the floor right beside them every step of the way. This journey is to sensitive across the board to be left for the JBB to experience, learn, and discover on their own. You're in Goju-ryu and Goju-ryu has JBB's, therefore, don't you believe in Goju-ryu's own JBB's as well as the Goju-ryu By-Laws?

It's common practice to see upper ranks to help/assist lower ranks. For example, it's not uncommon to see a yellow belt help out a white belt OR for seeing a green belt help out that same white belt, and what's important to note is that this is always done under the close supervision of the Chief Instructor and/or other Yudansha's on the floor. Does this mean that this yellow or green belt in the example above ARE teaching the class and/or teaching the student that's getting the help? NO! Both have just stepped aside away from the class as to not disturb the rest of the class. Upper Kyu's are expected to assist the Sensei/Chief Instructor with younger or less experienced students. One higher ranked student is just helping the lower ranked student at the directions of the Chief Instructor/Sensei and/or other Yudansha's on the floor.

White (Jukyu) White with black stripe (Kukyu) Yellow (Hachikyu) Orange (Nanakyu) Green (Rokyu) Blue (Gokyu) Purple (Yonkyu) Brown (Sankyu) Brown with white stripe (Nikyu) Brown with black stripe (Ikkyu) Black (Shodan - Judan)

Iain Abernethy, at the time of this video, Iain was a Yondan; Iain's a Godan at the present. Thank you for this video; I enjoyed it!