sensei8

Yeah, I failed miserably across the board!! Therefore, I'll not make any New Year's resolutions anymore!!

Solid post!!

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

Welcome to KF, Eighties; glad that you're here!! MMA schools, as well as many other MA styles, for that fact, just don't believe in Kata/Bunkai for their own reason(s); it's just not their sought after methodology and/or ideology. Having trained in old school traditional Okinawa Karate dojo for over 5 decades, I'm a firm proponent of the 3 K's....Kihon, Kata, and Kumite, and for me to not have that in my life would be akin to having no air to breath. I can understand the MMA approaches where Kata/Bunkai is concerned because they want to cut out the middleman and get right into the brass tacks of what the street will be like in a reality fashion, not muss and no fuss. Whereas, we being believers of Kata/Bunkai approach preferred by many through its Oyo and the like....to each his own, I suppose. I do believe that whether it be traditional or MMA, they do reach their desired goals in their very effectiveness, even though both don't see eye to eye across the board. If you want Kata/Bunkai or MMA, with what each can offer, then as an old idiom states... "When in Rome, Do as the Romans do" or as I've heard before, "If you want tomatoes, then you'll have to go to the tomatoes vendor". So, if you want to train with your son for your given reasons, and no matter how alien to you it might be, you'll have to move with the cheese and train in MMA with your son. Albeit, if your heart is crying out to you to return to the way of traditional Karate training, then go where you heart lays and yearns with your ever fiber. However, change is inevitable one way or another. To me, whichever MA journey you decide upon, there's no wrong answer. Perhaps the more you're on a MMA floor, the more it'll be much more welcoming across the board. After all, the floor doesn't care which floor you train on, just as long as you are training in an effective MA seriously and consistently. I got your back on which way you decide, Chris!!

To each and everyone, I'd like to wish one and all a very Merry Christmas, and safe travels wherever that might be. Christmas is about spending time with family and friends. It’s about creating happy memories that will last a lifetime. Merry Christmas to you and your family!!

I really enjoy following your posts here quite a lot, Brian!! Keep it up; your a beast!!

You have to be happy wherever you train. Otherwise, the learning is suffered through an through; students must concentrate on learning and not why the CI isn't at least affable at all. Go where you'll be the happiest across the board!! After all, it's your journey...and your money.

Brown is normally 3rd Kyu - 1st Kyu. I've not trained in two Okinawan styles simultaneously, just cross trained via seminars and/or just visiting; I've only trained in one Okinawan style these past 55 years. As Wastelander points out, especially at first, they'll bleed together, and Goju will try to take over because of that muscle memory. Oh, it can be done, but that discipline is already ingrained in you.

Thank you so very much, Mo!!

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

Congrats to all!! Thank you for your votes for me; I'm deeply honored as well as humbled to have earned your votes.

Thank you all for your support across the board!! Somehow I feel it's my fault, somehow and someway; not a second goes by that I blame myself. Maybe if I stayed true to the previous mission, the mission that birthed this thread, but I failed in maintaining that mission goal, even though I'm back on the right track in that regard. I just don't know anymore.

My PCP has used the word Prostate Cancer so much that Wednesday, I guess I just don't know. I know my Prostate numbers are 29, where as 9 months ago they were 21...I've no idea what that means. Don't know if someone with that type of cancer would go to the Urologist first or to somewhere the cancer is immediately dealt with.

Sparring reviews that I film are reviewed on split screen of the most recent sparring sessions to one of that students archived sparring sessions for comparison; to illustrate many things, but to also show progress as well as digressions, if any.

I don't find the value with challenges of this type because once fatigue sets in, and it will set in, no matter the degree, bad starts to creep in. Often times, bad muscle memory starts confusing the intent with the content across the board. It's not the quantity but the quality of the technique(s), punches, in this case. Perhaps it's akin to when one's at the gym lifting weights, and it's not the weight that's important, but it's the amount of reps that's important. Just not my cup of tea of a challenge.

Thank you Alan and Brian!! This terrifying news was told to me by my PCP last Wednesday afternoon. Waiting to see a Urologist, hopefully sooner than later; this time of the year, doctor appointments are quite scarce. PCP is very adamant about me getting to a Urologist ASAP; but it might be 2-3 weeks, and that seems like forever and a day away. No matter what, the gym is an even more vital to saving my life; have to get the Prostate PSA numbers way down. There's no QUIT in me!! Sure, I get depressed, and you can bet the farm on it, that when I heard the news, I broke down and bawled and bawled; I was overwhelmed to the Nth degree.

Nothing wrong with that. Things come up, and at times, it's better to wait another testing cycle, that way you can be sure you are fully prepared.I wholeheartedly agree with Brian here. Any and all Testing Cycle's will always take care of themselves...whenever that might be. Test when YOU can, and not when the CI says; just be sure to communicate with your CI any schedule conflicts so that you're all on the same page. Never rush to test; there's always more Testing Cycles around the corner.

The video option is a good idea, too. I've done that before with forms, but not with sparring. What I found was that you can tell a student over and over again what it is they're doing, but in their mind, they have a certain way they see it. When you show it to them on video, then it kind of clicks with them, as they get to see it themselves. I think the benefits this could have on sparring strategies would be awesome. In sparring class, we encourage the students to try out new tactics, different techniques, and the like in order to get used to different things, get out of their comfort zones, and broaden their repertoire. Seeing things on video would be helpful in this. This would probably take more time, for sure, but would be worthwhile to do periodically. What I choose to do is to run a split screen for them to observe. On the right, is me doing said technique(s), and on the left is my student doing that same said technique(s). First, the student observes themselves executing said technique(s) in full screen mode. Then the student observes me executing said technique(s) in same full screen mode. Then, for me this is key, is that once I sync screens so that they can run split screen and at the same time side by side, the student can really become awakened as to what they're doing versus what I'm doing. No, my intent isn't to have my students to be exact copycats of myself, that would be wrong of me, but to discover where they might make those those necessary corrections in which they can be more consistent in their effectiveness. The sync split screen has jogged many students minds more then any other teaching tool that's at my disposal.

I've a new battle to win.... Prostate Cancer!!

Sure...why not?? After all, the street is the proving ground for what we've learned from over the many years of training, perhaps from a dojo, for example. Albeit, the responsibility belongs to the individual. If what's been taught/learned in the dojo, and the like, aren't effective anywhere else, then they'll not be effective in the street whatsoever. Imho!!

I'm with you, Bob! It seems I'm running into layoff after layoff, stymying my ability to improve. But, we've got to just keep plugging away at it. After all, like Martial Arts, it's about the journey, and we have to keep walking that path!I wholeheartedly agree with you!! My life depends on it, and after seeing my PCP yesterday, even more so.

No doubt there. I've struggled and struggled with consistent training these past ten years or so, and it isn't going to get any easier as I go along. I think a lot of people get like this, and feel like if they can't train regularly, then they just won't do it. I hate to see this, and as an instructor that struggles with consistency as well, I would hope other instructors would find it in their hearts to be willing to work with individuals that run into this.In that regard, if one's still stepping on the floor after many years, no matter how irregular, than that student is still considered long term. There are full time and part time students, nonetheless, they're still considered long term.

Kanazawa Sensei will be sorely missed!! His impact on Karate, namely Shotokan, and the MA in general was felt worldwide. His lineage is undeniable with his teachers being Gichin Funakoshi and Masatoshi Nakayama. I, too, would like to offer my sincere condolences to his family and friends and his students around the world. RIP, Kanazawa Sensei!!

My chest cold is finally GONE; back to the gym Monday!! The beast in me has to be released because it's time to renew myself once again; I did it before, I'll do it again.

Excellent posts so far. For the most part, we do a plethora of Kumite, anywhere from Ippon Kumite to Jiyu Ippon Kumite. At no time are students left of there own devices to fend for themselves on the floor. We break things down...tear things down...then, we rebuild it so that students have a clear and concise understanding of what is up or down or inside or outside, and we don't leave said subject until I'm satisfied that they do understand. I love to drill my students as though there's no tomorrow, including Kumite. For me, and the way I was taught, get out there, and spar until the wheels fall off, and then some. Students never spar the same sparring partner because it can become quite stale and dead. I've used video for as long as I can remember, and yes, this is a great and valuable tools for the students; they see their mistakes, and they're gently guided towards them understanding by my Instructors and/or myself.