sensei8

My “Stay in your Lane” is directed to minors that earn a Shodan and believe that they can be effective against an adult who’s only desire is to destroy said minor at any cost. It might happen, being effective against an adult; stranger things have. I earned my JBB at 13. As a 13 year old JBB, I wasn’t effective against an adult. I was a scrawny little kid, and my brother, who was 20 years old when I earned my JBB, was still smashing me at will. I learned real quick that even if I was a JBB, I needed to stay in my lane because my techniques and mindset was immature. Shodan’s in the dojo were destroying me at will even though I was able to get a technique or two in but it was very rare. 5 years later, this JBB earned a Shodan and my brother wasn’t smashing me at will anymore. Stay in your lane is NOT meant to be an insult whatsoever, it’s just some advice.

Minors seem to think that having Shodan by itself protects them from a very determined adult heck bent on destroying said minor. The lack of maturity in both techniques and mindset aren’t an imaginary problem. Not that I’d ever want to intentionally harm a minor, but if I ever did, that minor’s Shodan would not stand any chance against me. Their actions would only anger me at their blatant audacity. My only advice to any minor that has ever earned Shodan, and I do commend them for training hard to achieve Shodan, is…stay in your lane.

Hulk’s ex-wife, Linda and Hulk’s daughter, Brooke, refuse to attend his memorial and funeral. Hulk’s son, Nick, was at his memorial and funeral.

My one regret is that I wasn’t strong enough to prevent the SKKA civil unrest and war that eventually caused the SKKA’s collapse and closure.

I was a JBB for 5 years; those students that were not 18 years old for earning a Shodan but were very capable of passing the Testing Cycle for Shodan were awarded a JBB. I’m not bitter…now…but I was for several years because I wasn’t mature enough to deal with my feelings. Rank is not about one’s feelings, rank is about being effective on and off the floor!! It’s the way of Shindokan and the SKKA to NOT permit any student to apply for the Shodan Testing Cycle because minors aren’t mature enough to deal with the awesome responsibilities that come with Shodan. At one time, as the Kaicho of the SKKA, I could’ve campaigned and partitioned the SKKA’s Higher Hierarchy to adopt the change in the SKKA’s By-Laws but that would’ve taken an unanimous vote. Seeing that we of the Higher Hierarchy were deeply dedicated/loyal to Soke and Dai-Soke, and those two wrote the SKKA By-Laws, we weren’t going to go against their wishes even if we wanted to, and we did want to, in this particular instance, no matter how close minded we were towards this issue, change wasn’t inevitable…not going to happen because as their students, we eventually learned that in this regard that their mindset was the correct decision. One could say we became brainwashed in this situation by obeying a By-Law that seemed to be stuck in the past…they could. BUT we didn’t see it that way. You see, while one can bring a horse to water, but one cannot make the horse drink the water.

Nope!! First Class; both ways!! Our thoughts on this is that if we invite, and the guest(s) accept our invite, then it’s our responsibility and obligation to provide the Airfare. However, we set a limit as how many we’d include in the Airfare; 3 was the limit because some guest instructors travel with a lot of assistants, etc., so if they want to bring 5, including the guest instructor, they’d have to pay the airfare for 2, and so on. Of course, it’s not like we invited guest instructors every month. No!! There was no set method of our madness. On an average we’d invite 1 guest instructor a year, usually right after our annual Testing Cycle at the Hombu, with was held every June/July. Many times we wouldn’t invite a guest instructor for several years. Let be serious, there’s not that many effective guest instructor globally but there’s a ton of ineffective instructors all over the world. And if a guest instructor wowed up across the board, we’d invite them more than once. Can’t put a price on a great guest instructor, so while it can take a bit out of our wallet, but that’s why there’s a budget and planning department that oversees things like that. Okinawans, and this isn’t an insult, can be quite frugal, and in rare cases, quite frivolous to a point; Soke and Dai-Soke were, that’s for sure.

As far as providing accommodation, whenever our Soke and Dai-Soke invited an instructor from out of the USA, which wasn’t quite often, the guest would stay at either of their homes spare bedroom; they had free range of the home inside and outside. One of us Seniors would drive them wherever they wanted to go no matter the time of the day. Airfare and general expenses was taken care of by the SKKA. Most of the time the guest would provide a lot of their own general expenses even if we insisted. Gifts were always exchanged between host and guest(s).

Hulk Hogan dead this morning at 71 of cardiac arrest!! There’s not much more information other than this headline!!! Hogan did so much for the pro-wrestling business; he was, without any doubt, an iconic figure. RIP Hulk Hogan!!

Oh yeah!! Master Tomo was the Pretzel master to the Nth degree. I use to train with Allen Tackett; a Master Tomo Kudan student…great times!! Ron Nix, who lives in Okinawa, is another Master Tomo Kudan that I’ve had the pleasure to know.

I’m quite persistent when it comes to my health at my old age. Nevada has been an exercise of frustration when it comes to abating and keeping my medical insurance. Houston was a breeze!!

Master Tomo of Okinawa Seidokan Karate taught a very effective grappling that’s still recognized as one of the best. How he himself was effective was no joke at all; he’d turn you inside and out so effortlessly. After he got ahold of you, you understood what a ringed out wash cloth felt like.

First, I lose Dr. Oscar Goodman, my Oncologist, because he left Comprehensive Cancer Center, but I was able to find Dr. Imran Ahmed, my new Oncologist, who was with the Comprehensive Cancer Center practice. Things were looking pretty good!! Until today!! I receive this disheartening letter from Comprehensive Cancer Center... "We regret to inform you that, effective September 21, 2025, our providers will no longer be participating in the Alignment Health Plan Medicare Advantage network." My medical insurance is Alignment Heath Plan Medicare Advantage!! While I'm not actively receiving any treatments, and I'm still in complete remission, I still need regular appointments with an Oncologist so my cancer can still be managed. I’m not cancer free yet!! Can’t hitch up to that pony until there’s no detectable cancer for 5 years; it’s only been 2 years this December. I’ve reached out to my medical insurance broker, Josh, so that we can discuss any possible options. Sometimes I feel it’s like walking through the eye of a needle!!

Please clarify your question?? From day one, kata bunkai as well as grappling are taught to Shindokan students without exceptions. There’s no such thing as waiting until higher kyu ranks are earned in Shindokan. Most assuredly, kata bunkai, and the like, and grappling aren’t taught until Shodan. As a JJB for 5 long years, I can’t imagine not learning/training kata bunkai and grappling until I earned Shodan; JJB students are forbidden from earning Shodan until they reach 18 years of age.

I’ve only had the privilege to meet 2 KF members face to face; Brian, aka bushido_man96 and Ken, aka wagnerk. I trained 2 days with Brian on 8/20/2011 and 8/21/2011 in his home town of Hayes, KS…14 years ago this August. Great time and I’d love to share the floor with him once again before I pass away!! My wife, Linda, and I meet Ken at lunch while he was in Tulsa, OK from UK on 7/22/2018 for business…7 years ago this August. It was a great time. Patrick, our beloved KF Administrator, is on my bucket list to meet…he lives in Hollywood, CA with his wife, Kara, and their son PJ…just a mere 5 hours away from me. If any of you KF members ever come to Las Vegas, NV, please drop me a line, and perhaps we can either train together and/or have breakfast or lunch or dinner; I’d welcome that in a second!!

In Shindokan, even the most basic of kata bunkai is taught at all ranks; age isn’t an exception.

I’m a firm believer that Kata without bunkai is nothing more than an empty dance; an exercise of ineffectiveness.

Very much so!!

I’ve taught as many seminars as I’ve attended, and that’s quite a lot, in and out of the Shindokan circle. The list found in the OP are each important at any given time based on what I was going to teach and what I wanted to learn at that moment. Choosing what to teach at a seminar or what to learn at a seminar can be akin to buying a car or a house or anything else for that matter; what’s floating your boat. If I’m teaching a seminar in-house, then it’s a no-brainer…Shindokan based all of the way. If I’m teaching a seminar out-of-house I go two ways…what is the hosting school wanting me to focus more on, Kata, Kumite, or Kata?!? Or does the hosting school leave the subject matter up to me?!? If it’s up to me then it’ll be, for example, Space Management and how we in Shindokan strive to get behind our attacker, but nonetheless, it’ll be Shindokan based. Out-of-house…No matter what, put your ear to the ground and find out what is the current trend, then teach that but only if what you’re teaching adds value to what is the current trend but make it effective/practical. In-house…PLAN #1: Listen to your Student Body, then fulfill their need(s). PLAN #2: Teach what you’ve noticed that they in the most need of and teach that whether they like that or not; they’re a captive audience at a in-house seminar. if at anytime that you attend a seminar as the student, be respectful across the board. However, if at anytime you feel what’s being taught is not your cup of tea, for whatever the reason(s) might be, excuse yourself and leave…I’ve done that more times than I can count. Teach but don’t be a bore or impractical. Whatever is taught add to their MA betterment, and if not, then don’t teach at a seminar because we are responsible of what they learn; it’s a matter of life and death. Oh, one last thing…it’s a seminar and not a car or a house. So be practical in what you’re charging for your seminar. Same thing goes if your attending a seminar, don’t pay for the hosts new car or house because no instructor is that darn good.

Illegal Fireworks Enforcement, Las Vegas Metro Police Department (LVMPD), Clark County Fire Department (CCFD), and Las Vegas Fire Department (LVFD) here in Las Vegas, NV reported: 1) Confiscated 8,851.55 lbs 2) Citations Issued: 149 Las VegasNV Population: 2.4 Million

I love how city authorities will ban the shooting off of fireworks unless you’ve permission from the state/city but there’s no ban from selling fireworks. Every single year as I drive through the city streets around where I live, I can see the aftermath of fireworks debris everywhere and fireworks boxes piled in front of of many houses for the trash man to pick up. When I lived in Houston, fireworks were set off from MY FRONT PORCH by my neighbors. There’s a huge fine and/or punishment for shooting off fireworks. There’s even a phone number to call to report illegal fireworks displays. Problem with that is there’s never enough LEO’s to handle those calls.

How many years as a LEO??

Happy 4th of July; be safe. We don’t buy fireworks but we’ll watch fireworks either in person or on tv: we’re going to watch the Macy 4th of July Fireworks show tonight on NBC.

Possible brain damage come to my mind especially with repeated blows. DP says it well…

Congrats, Brian!! I’ve always respected those who seriously train in multiple MA because it takes a lot of dedication to train floor to floor.

The OP’s proposed changes seem doable across the board. Not all black belts can teach, and furthermore, not a black belts can teach kids. Zaire’s idea is a proven solution when kids are concerned. Teaching kids takes a special CI because kids will be kids in every shape, way, and form. Experts say that the age of the person, especially kids, is how many minutes their attention span will last. No matter what, if class is boring, no positive change will occur or be quite difficult to achieve. Listen to your Student Body. If they prefer smaller segments in white belt, then seriously consider their feedback. Hang in there. Rome wasn’t built in one day; thank the Lord for that .