sensei8

It's great to see you again, skullsplitter!! Congrats on earning your Sandan, skullsplitter. That particular rank is quite important in ones MA journey due to that it carries a general understanding within the MA world that at Sandan, the opening of ones own dojo at Sandan is more acceptable. Not that Sandan must be earned before one opens their own dojo, anyone can certainly open a dojo whenever they want to. Above and beyond opening a dojo, Sandan speaks in volume as to ones own knowledge and experience, and that can take about 10+ years to earn, depending on the style/CI/Governing Body.

Solid post!!

Patrick, Thank you for allowing and trusting me enough to share this with the community. Your words, Patrick, mean everything to me, and I sincerely thank you for them. I do see the community as that supportive force and here to give me that added boost. After all, I've always seen this community as family!!

Bone Scan set up for August 13, 2020 at 8AM. Visit Instructions.... Preparation: No preparation needed Time: Total 3-4 hours to complete Initial: Interview will take 15-30 minutes Return 2-3 hours later for scan Scan will take 30-60 minutes to complete Hopefully neither of these Scans will be as claustrophobic as the MRI's I've done in the past.

Thank you, Ken; means everything to me!! I too look forward to having lunch with you once again soon. Doing my best to keep my spirits up and keeping my body strong, as well as doing all I can do to NOT catch the Covid-19.

Thank you, JR; means the world to me!! As I did when I was losing weight, I'll keep an running update here whenever they occur during this fight. Still some uncertanties as to the unknown, like what the scans will reveal and just how serious those results might be, and treatment options.

Welcome to KF, DouweterHorst; glad that you are here!!

Thank you, Wado Heretic; means the world to me!!

I've just been diagnosed with Prostate Cancer. What's next?? CT Scan on August 26, 2020 and follow-up on August 28, 2020; Bone Scan appointment hasn't been set as of yet, but should be quite soon because these scans take priority. CT Scans take about 30-60 minutes, whereas, a Bone Scans can last 1-3 hours...oh boy. These scans determine Stages and if said cancer has spread; and it's aggressive or not. Off these scans, treatments are entertained. I'm praying for local treatments and not systemic treatments. At my last blood work, my PSA was at 29. My Gleason Score, as of my biopsy, is a 9...what the Gleason Score indicates, well, I've no idea if that score is promising or not; I've submitted that exact question to my Urologist through his portal. Here's what I know: 1) I have Prostate Cancer 2) I need a CT Scan 3) I need a Bone Scan 4) I'm at High Risk for the cancer spreading outside of the prostate Sad thing is that there's no cancer history in my family, on either side!! Bad enough I have Afib, but now this as well...discouraging as all get out. Doctor told me yesterday that of all of the cancers, Prostate is the best to have, with seems odd to say. Life expectancy is long term, even in Stage 4. Of course, other parameters are taken into consideration. Medical treatments and all have gone a long way, and in short, the medical field has gotten far better at treating Prostate Cancer. Will this affect my MA training and teaching?? For now, no!! Hard to tell because I've not started any treatment as of yet. If the treatment proves to be more tasking on me, then I'll decide options. Life expectancy at this moment is to early to predict. No matter how long I might have, I'm a fighter, and I will fight!! I might lose a battle or two, but I will win this war!! Please, men, allow me this time to encourage you to do regular blood work to determine your PSA, but of course, speak with your doctor, and not me. This fight is in God's hand!!

Hey, Joe92, I know you live in Texas, for grins and giggles, I live in Houston, TX.

I've no idea how, if at all, a lottery windfall would affect my MA training. After all, I'm 62 years old, of which I've trained in the MA ever since 1964---55 years; I've no MA bucket list for me to consider anymore.

You can now enjoy Last Dance on Netflix, as well.

Solid post!! I've pushed mine back to October 5th, even that depends on what our Governor decides on September 30th. Virtual classes will have to suffice until then.

Solid post!!

Thank you, Danielle; she certainly was, thanks to some of the other mom's who encouraged mom to become far more involved in my training across the board. Mom had a rocky start; her and Sensei were estranged with each other right from the start, always bumping heads.

Congrats on being selelcted MOM for the 3rd time, Wado Heretic; well deserved!!

You can watch far worse MA movies than the Ip Man movies; some [ip Man movies] you have to read while watching and others, you don't. Ip Man 4 you get both.

In a way, you've already been doing that, Brian. Like here... https://www.karateforums.com/the-martial-artists-training-log-vt30246.html

Ah, those are some names! I've still got some of my TKD Times magazines, too. I can't bring myself to get rid of any of them, either!Yeah, to get rid of them is like getting rid of your MA soul. Perhaps that's about the only thing that might label me a hoarder of MA magazines.

I've no specificality towards any one particular fighting style whatsoever. Inspite of being raised in the bare-knuckle knock-down excitements that was Shindokan, I'm quite ecelectic whenever it comes to fighting/sparring/Kumite/etc; the more raw and in-your-face the much more I'm drawn into it. I've no desire to pick a one or two or plethora fighting type because that limits me across the board. I'm comfortable on the floor no matter what stands before me. I'm quite fortunate to have been taught by two exceptional Okinawan Sensei's, Soke Saitou and Dai-Soke Takahashi because they liked fighting hard and raw with one another with no-holds barred; the rougher and rawer, the better for them. To watch them go at each other, you'd swear that they hated each other and were trying to kill one another. They held back nothing and apologized for nothing. Nothing was prohibited...nothing!! That being said, that's exactly how Greg Forsythe and I went at each other on the floor, nothing was prohibited, and whenever Soke and/or Dai-Soke would observe Greg and me fighting one another, they would just shine an agreeing smile at is both; they recognized themselves by observing us trying to tear each other apart. I could only do that type of fighting with Greg because the other Senior Ranks wanted nothing to do with that for some unknown reason(s), even though I've my own as to why. Greg and I did some I'm-gonna-kill-you type of fighting sessions over many years with Dai-Soke, and our eyes were opened wide as to things of effectiveness, that one can't receive by just engaging in Jiyu Kumite because Jiyu Kumite is limited compared to what Soke and Dai-Soke engaged in with each other, and the same can be fairly said the same for what Greg and I engaged in. Were we out of control?? With that type of sparring?? No!! Why?? The streets are unlimited and unforgiving being that if you're timid, you're already going to be eaten alive unmercifully. As cruel and barbaric as it might seem, oftentimes, kill or be killed is the way of the jungle. So, how I was taught and brought up on the floor with Soke and Dai-Soke was very beneficial for me in my MA journey. Nonetheless, as a CI, I'm gentle, yet aggressive towards my Student Body, yet as raw as I believe a student can take, therefore, their learning curve is challenged, and that too is beneficial for them. As far as the poll here, perhaps I selected the very last choice, and explained that in this post of mine. I looked over the list, and I couldn't select any particular one choice because as I've explained here, therefore, all of the above might better describe my preference within this topic.

Welcome to KF, SanchinTensho; glad that you're here!!

I was thinking about this, and this was exactly my point but I didn't articulate it well in my original post - can some random dude really just open a dojo and claim to be a "new martial art" or "a karate school" or "a kempo school" or a "taekwondo school" when in reality it has no affiliation to any club or organization out there and/or its kata/forms are all made up? Sure, there's no reason why not; that's the beauty of Business 101 and "Who Moved My Cheese?". Business and the inevitable change allow this to happen, even at the most unexpected times.

Meijin Dojo Gi is priced from $47 to $67, depending on size. It's a very durable Gi across the board. Many Okinawan Masters wear Meijin Gi's, including the Meijin Dojo Gi. As a CI of my own dojo and owning a MA supply store inside of my dojo, I can vouch for the Meijin brand across the board both personally and professionally, as well as many other Gi brands. I've no experience with Mugen/KI, or Tokon keiko-gi at all.

That Gi is 8 ounces!! A very nice and durable Gi!! Many well known Okinawan Masters wear Meijin Gi's, including Meijin Dojo Gi. Like scohen0300, I've several Meijin Gi's personally myself, if not all of them, several times over. Now, having a MA supply store inside my dojo, I stock a wide variety of different brands of Gi's in all sizes and weights and colors, and not just for Karate. So, Meijin is a great Gi overall, and as the CI of my own dojo, I can personally vouch for them. Nonetheless, I can also vouch for the various other Gi brands personally, and not just professionally.

Perhaps you meant Jason Scott Lee, and not Brandon Lee, who starred and portrayed Bruce Lee in Dragon. I thought that Jason's portrayal of Bruce was a betrayal because of his overreaching throughout Dragon. For me, not one actor has ever done justice to Bruce in any shape, way, and/or form. Albeit, no one can fill in Bruce's shoes across the board, and to attempt to do so will always fall way short of its mark. Good thing about the portray of Bruce in Ip Man 4 was that Bruce wasn't caused to save the day, and facts about Bruce was correct. For example, Bruce upsetting the local martial arts community in San Francisco by opening a Wing Chun school, teaching non-Chinese people martial arts and writing an English-language book on martial arts. In short, I'm thankful that Bruce was purposefully underrepresented because this movie was about the life of Ip Man, and not about Bruce Lee. To the credits of the director Wilson Yip and producer Raymond Wong, Ip Man 4: The Finale was a movie centralized about the final 8 years of life of Ip Man, and not about Bruce Lee. Whereas, Bruce Lee was respectfully in a role as one that's mentioned about, and not the primary subject of this movie. Imho.