sensei8

I hope that everyone had a safe and happy 4th of July, for those countries that do celebrate it, and for those who have a similar celebration, I pray that you did/will have a happy and safe one!! I did; plenty of family and friends and food and fun and fireworks!!

If I've misunderstood what the OP was asking/saying, I might've stated myself incorrectly, and I respectfully apologize. I was under the impression that the topic was somewhat about a BB, for example, in one said MA style, who had joined a totally different MA style, in which said student, who's now a white belt in said new MA style, was entering tournaments as a beginner, knowing quite well that said student was, in fact, an advanced student due to the earned BB already. If I was correct in my first impression, then I stand by what my first post in this thread spoke about wholeheartedly, and without any ambiguity whatsoever.

My goal is to always comp up across the board: Daily, weekly, monthly, quarterly, and annually. 8% is the lowest comp I'll accept, for my dojo. The Hombu comps up at a minimum of 10% through those parameters; both make a profit The quarterly comps reveal if the annual comps are feasible; can't live without the P&L and/or the KPI reports because they take the pulse of the business.

Whatever is in the First-Aid kit that I bought at the store; seems to have what I need, and I have the biggest kit I could find for the house and car and gym. I carry a lot of bandaids and New Skin glue because I take a blood thinner twice a day.

Shugyo; suck it up!! That's what was drilled into us forever and a day by Soke and Dai-Soke. Endure, no matter what. By that, they both were very mindful as well as compassionate to physical limitations across the board. What they didn't tolerate was whenever the Student Body whined about anything and everything, except of a known physical limitations as diagnosed by a students doctor(s). As the student, you have to be accountable about yourself across the board, no matter what a Governing Body and/or CI and/or anybody might ever say. If the pain is more than one can bear, and going to a different style is the best thing for you, then that's what you do. A sympathetic CI would support your decisions across the board. Well, they should. If not, go anyway. Hang in there...train hard..train well!!

Please never forget that complacency can set in whenever your sparring partners are the same; familiarity can upset the apple cart. Change up sparring partners as often as possible. Your CI is a viable partner providing that that's not against protocol. As time goes by, your comfort level will vary, but it'll lean more towards the positive than the negative. Danielle's post is solid; backing/retreating does have it's black hole affect; it can draw in one's opponent unwittingly so. That ploy has to be garnered softly too.

Spencer Johnson, M.D., who authored "Who Moved My Cheese?". His book changed my life across the board. A riveting book that speaks purely about change. This book rewrote my life in many numerous ways, and it also mapped out my methodology and ideology in my life, more than any other person in history. This book has had a much more profoundly changed my life, unlike any other text ever written. "Who Moved My Cheese?" for me, helped rounded out and filled in many empty spaces in my life that had befuddled me to no end. Accepting change is difficult, if not darn right impossible, for some. I pass this book out to whomever all of the time.

Yes, of course, if you're quite overwhelmed, then the sane thing to do is retreat to a safe haven. There's no shame in that whatsoever!!

I hate thief's and liar's with a passion; don't want them near me in any shape, way, and/or form.

Welcome to KF, prokaryote; glad that you're here!! You might consider getting a larger top than the bottom. Have you looked into either a Meijin or a Seishin?? Both in the $300 price range. Seishin has a Female gi of all sizes tailored for females. Not sure if Meijin caters to Female gi's or not; they've an excellent cut to them.

I knew you were going to post something along these lines, as I’ve heard you briefly speak about not backing up before. I really like the detail you put into this post. I fight at a closer range than most people at my dojo do. Being 5’9 and having short legs (29” inseam) has something to do with that. Having horrible flexibility that kicking above rib height has something to do with it. Having the wrestling experience I have and not being afraid of being grabbed or thrown has something to do with it too. There’s a guy who can easily sweep me at any given moment, but I’ll discuss him a bit later. I like fighting up close. It takes away people’s reach advantage, and especially their kicking. I find most taller and thinner people like to keep guys like me in a range where they can hit me but I can’t hit them. They also like to catch me on the way in. They typically have the most difficulty when I get up close. People around my size aren’t as predictable. The most difficult people to find a comfortable range against is the taller AND big guys. They’ll happily keep you outside your range, then when you get in and under them, they’ll happily trade punches and make you carry their weight. The guy I referenced earlier in this post who’s a yondan (not the yondan in my previous post). Whenever I get close, he either goes Rock ‘Em Sock ‘Em Robots with me, which ends in my demise, or he just sweeps me and laughs. If he’s in a really good mood, he’ll do both. We were sparring one day, and he just kept tagging me every time I tried anything from the outside. So I got up really close, and he picked me apart inside and swept me. My CI just shook his head and chuckled. I said “ toying was working from the outside, so I figured I had to change it up.” My CI nodded, then I followed up with “nothing really worked when I got inside either, so I’m out of options.” Everyone in the dojo found that one amusing. But fighting up close and not backing up are two different things. They appear the same on the outside, the way I did it last night was a significantly different experience. All I did differently than usual was not take a single step backward. If my opponent stepped backward, I simply took a step forward. If they stepped forward, they got themselves into an up close range without me initiating it. I’m really looking forward to seeing the seniors and trying this. The above mentioned yondan who loves to sweep me will most likely have a field day with me. It’s all good though. To the bold type above... That's it, right there!! Backing-up/retreating from an opponent can create temporal space between one another, which might prevent anyone contacting. However, that space created ALSO creates that exact space that your opponent's striving for. Your opponent presses you...you backup...and WHAM...you're tagged-and-bagged unceremoniously. You stepping forward, and it causing him to step backwards, offers you a plethora of opportunities through calculating angles and the like, while constantly scanning for his hidden attacks. Dai-Soke called that 4X4 Awareness; attentiveness to all 4 immediate sides offensive and offensive. We don't execute singularly whatsoever; always multiple attacks. This increases our ratio of contacts. Always forward at every possible angle. Attacking deserving targets gets opponents attention, and their attention isn't always that focused where it ought to be; not everyone can watch everything. Especially is I keep them busy here, while I attack over there. That too. is 4X4 Awareness...where he isn't, I will be!! Now, the world could be turned upside down for me when my opponent tackles me to the ground. However, I don't fear the ground, I welcome the ground. Take me to the ground...I like it there too.

Were you a trouble maker? LOL!! No, but you sure couldn't tell that by the torture pace he set...day after day after day after day. So you had a multi-day test? Oh yeah; 3 days...10 hours each day. Glad those days are far behind me...I felt he was trying to kill me.

Back up only when necessary!! That's a Shindokan staple through and through. Through Space Management I can drastically curb the urge to back up. How? Forward motions far outweigh backwards, albeit, it's easier to watch forward than it is to watch over your shoulder behind you. As it is in Close Range, so is it in NOT BACKING UP. Ether take guts to executed effectively; the air of uncertainty can be quite stifling at first until much more knowledge and experience is acquired on the floor...wherever that floor might be. Defeat the fear of not retreating asap because that which one can't overcome, it shall most assuredly conquer you. Once fear's set in, it's quite impossible to overcome it. These aren't maxim to ignore!! The options before any practitioner in the regards of backing up/retreating are as wide as the skies. Angles are your friend. Slipping is your friend. Ducking is your friend. Receiving is your friend. Intercepting is your friend. So on and so forth. Whenever I do backup/retreat, and it's extremely rare that I do, it's within my goal and plan to do so, in order to do set-ups and checks, and/or to draw my opponent into my zone purposefully with resolve. Even whenever an attacker's attack is overwhelming, my backing up/retreating isn't for naught; there's a plan already in motion to reengage AND reestablish my forward Short Range attacks/counterattacks and the like. For me, it's all a Chess game with me. Establishing and reestablishing that center through your opening game. Sending out your scouts here and there. Thinking always 5 moves ahead. Setting up those hidden attacks. Blindsiding the corners. Solidifying ones middle game. Willing to sacrifice. Constant reevaluation of strengths and weaknesses. Trapping opponents pieces; freezing. Weakening their defense by capturing one piece at a time for the end game. Introducing Check Mate from the most unexpected place. Whomever plays the game better; wins!!

Solid post!! While I might support the 3 classes per week staple, it's surely not enforced whatsoever. What one puts in should reflect that that's what one will get out of it. Attending often or sparingly is up to the practitioner with the goal in mind of capturing quality of knowledge and experience.

Welcome to KF, Jerrykern; glad that you're here!! Master Soo Kim Pyung still has a dojang in Houston, TX with his son, Sean; a very nice looking dojang with quite a lot of students. Did you ever train with him and/or his son??

Treating equally and the same aren’t the same thing. You treat all students with equal respect and dignity, regardless of rank, so long as they’re worthy of that respect and dignity. And that respect and dignity starts at day one and doesn’t waver until they’ve acted in a way to revoke it. How long they’ve been there and their abilities have nothing to do with it. I say you absolutely treat the yudansha differently than the kyus. You treat everyone differently than each other. Why? Because they’re individual human beings who have different strengths and weaknesses, likes and dislikes, etc. Not everyone learns the same way, and not everyone’s motivated the same way. Furthermore, the longer someone’s been around, the better you know them. Quite possibly the more they’ve done for you and you’ve done for them. If you expect different things from them, you should treat them differently. But that doesn’t mean you treat anyone like garbage. That doesn’t mean anyone gets treated in a lesser manner until they’ve somehow proven themselves. Everyone should be extended equal respect until they earn more or earn less. Equal and same aren’t the same thing. Just my opinion. Solid post, JR!! In my post, I'm referring to rank status, and not to the individual human being. Therefore, I do not, and will not treat my students, nor the SKKA Student Body, differently rank wise. For me to do so, means that rank is paramount over anything and everything. Rank doesn't mean that that rank is above the law just because of its status. I see students, never ranks because they, to me, are distinctly different, whereas, the value of the students betterment is far paramount to rank, any rank. That's one of the reasons why we moved away from rank identifiers some time ago because the emphasis must be on the student, and never on the rank. Sure, students wear different ranks in class for simplification reasons, however, not for status because to do that, places certain ranks on a pedestal and other ranks at the foot of said pedestal, and that's unwarranted. By my ranks and by my titles, I'm not more important than those who aren't of my ranks and titles. Yes, we've formality for certain formal occasions, to be for sure. However, outside of those formal settings, I do not see rank...just students. Outside of these formal settings, I'm just Bob; nothing more, nothing less. Why?? Well, proof is on the floor!! Imho!!

I can see that happening, especially if the TM/SM ownership hadn't expired. Just because a business is defunct, doesn't mean that the TM/SM is. That's why checking first with a lawyer, and doing some homework is crucial. Better to be safe, than sorry!!

Hands closed TIGHTLY at the moment of contact; not before that!! Other than that, loose and relaxed for optimum movement(s); flowing to and through. My hands are always relaxed, therefore always loose, until just right before contact defensively and/or offensively. Fingers that are kept together support one another at those moments necessary. This is very crucial for us because Shindokan, after all, is 85% hands. Our hands are nearly constantly engaged one way or another. One of the things we practice to strengthen our hands is Hojo Undo; a crucial staple for us. But beyond this, PROPER EXECUTION of any technique must be paramount. All of the Hojo Undo becomes meaningless is ones techniques aren't properly executed.

That's a good question. I think instead of trying to reinvent the wheel, I'd take moves that already portray distinct self-defense maneuvers and build my form out of them. Unless I figured something out from my own unfortunate experience of self-defense, and could come up with a way to mimic that movement that would look different than anything I've already seen in a form. To the bold type above... I like how you've worded that, Brian..."already portray distinct" because nearly everything taught in ones style of the MA possesses distinct SD maneuvers through Bunkai and/or the like. Slowly pieces of the puzzle come together on the practitioners palette with one distinct maneuver after another until the masterpiece is revealed. The most basic maneuvers over the most advanced, for me, are the most desired hues. Distinct!!

Were you a trouble maker? LOL!! No, but you sure couldn't tell that by the torture pace he set...day after day after day after day.

I believe that the 2 time Academy Award winner, Hilary Swank, is in demand way to much to be interested in entertaining that with her agent...but...one never really knows.

3 class per week are a staple. However, schedules of either the school and/or the student have a lot to do with it; 1 a week is far better than 1 class a month or once every two weeks. Availability loves to get in the way of schedules.

Even those with a Master's in Education start at a entry level, and no higher until it's appropriate to do so. To assume a position that one doesn't officially possess is an act of disrespect for said position and for those who've truly earned it. Without the White Belt, NO OTHER BELT EXISTS, NOR SHOULD IT!! Wearing the White Belt carries the same respect as a Black Belt because they each have its own value; none less valued than another. Do you treat the White Belt differently than the Black Belt?? If so, then honor has been swept aside for status. Imho!!

Ok so here is a question. Let's say sony owns the copyright in both Canada and us but they don't own the trademark. Does this mean a karate person can open his dojo with the name cobra kai but can't make books and videos that is cobra kai themed? Like you have your own cobra kai school and the service you offer is instruction. As long as you are not selling anything based on the material of the movie then you are fine. Is that an accurate statement? Oh and to the poster that said the cobra kai is bad. I disagree, the cobra kai are not good or bad. Their method is based on the reflection of reality and that is a merciless world. I like the zen and calm miyagi approach but yin and yang have to coexist together. Sense John kreese was honorable enough to allow larusso and miyagi to train without disruption of his students. That has to mean something. I have been in boxing and other combat sports and the people I saw act the way they did would make John kreese look like a sweetheart. Specific example in boxing would be racist insults or bitter local boxers discouraging young boxers with disparaging and false comments to get in to their head. Sorry didn't mean to get a bit off topic but anyway, I liked the cobra kai because they had effective training and they ran it like a military. No nonsense, solid conditioning program and they had great footwork in the tournament. Visit a copyright and/or trademark/servicemark and/or patent lawyer for the correct answer(s) to your question(s) because anything I might post might be way off base.I've experienced many, many things along this line, but I am not a lawyer in this field. Usually you have one or another, not one or more; dependent on what's being protected. The following info comes from our SKKA's outside law firm, Beckworth. Please consult with a lawyer of your choice. Info here is based on USA law's, rules, and regulations. Copyright is a form of protection provided to the authors of “original works of authorship” including literary, dramatic, musical, artistic, and certain other intellectual works, both published and unpublished. The copyright protects the form of expression rather than the subject matter of the writing. Lasts roughly Life plus 70 years in the USA. A trademark is a word, name, symbol or device which is used in trade with goods to indicate the source of the goods and to distinguish them from the goods of others. A servicemark is the same as a trademark except that it identifies and distinguishes the source of a service rather than a product. Unlike patents and copyrights, trademarks do not expire after a set period of time. Trademarks, in the USA, will persist so long as the owner continues to use the trademark. Owner stops using it, then it's no longer valid. A patent for an invention is the grant of a property right to the inventor, issued by the Patent and Trademark Office. The term of a new patent is 20 years, 14 years for Design Patents, from the date on which the application for the patent was filed in the USA.

When I used to train as a teenager, in wado then kung fu, the instructors were very mean. But they were mean because they were instilling discipline while teaching combat. Back then, this was the 1980s, I've heard it was even worse going further back, being a martial arts instructor was a free ticket to be violent. They would step us mid technique, make us hold our position and focus while having a leisurely walk around inspecting. And then they test someone at random. A totally unprovoked punch to the face to see if you block it or evade in time. Or a leg sweep to test how solid your stance is. It sounds horrible, but it sharpish develops your mental readiness and attention to detail. If you blocked or dodges their random attack, they'd look at you for a moment, you'd look straight back at them with no emotion on your face whatsoever, they'd pause, you'd keep staring, then they'd give a subtle nod and move along the lines. I remember one day at kung fu. We had a new guy. He was only on his second or third class. Our grandmaster visited from China. I guess if he'd known this guy was only on his second or third class he might have cut him a bit of slack. Anyway, he'd stopped us mid technique for inspection. There we all were eyes forward, no expression on our faces, machine like. Except the new guy who was looking about and smirking. I saw grandmaster in my peripheral vision slowly heading down the line inspecting us. He got to me, made some subtle adjustments to my posture, and moved on. I remember being surprised that he walked straight past the fidgety guy. Then suddenly, all I heard was HAI. ... BOOM. The grandmaster had delivered a dragon tail sweep and the fidgety new guy had literally gone airborne, and crash landed flat on his back. He never came back to class after that day. I started in the 70's and I can attest to the difference in teaching styles then compared to the softer gentler side of teaching now. I have many stories of walking home with a broken nose, bruises and the occasional broken finger or toe. Even a few ribs. However I did not perceive it as being brutal. All instructors were the same in their methods of teaching. They were all very strict and they all believed in contact. However none of them, at least in my opinion, were out to hurt you. You were hurt in the process of training because you missed the punch and got hit. It wasn't vindictive or an excuse to beat on their students, it was real. I agree that now days these same men that we revered and respected back then would be looking at aggravated assault charges but then it was just common place and to be expected. I don't condone instructors using their students as punching bags, what-so-ever, but I do feel that the lessons then taught students how to fight vs the soft side of training that is seen in the vast majority of schools these days. 90% of schools practice no contact or very, very light contact. This might be great for those that are looking for a good work out but I feel it hinders those looking to actually learn how to defend themselves. I feel it robs them of lessons that can only be learned with contact. Do I feel that training might have stepped over the boundary line from time to time back then? Most assuredly. However there is something to be said for the lessons that contact teaches. 1. you loose your fear of being hit and realize it's not the end of the world. There are those in the MA's that have never been hit (really hit). I have known some of these people and it's interesting to see the first time they taste a solid strike. Lets say that the vast majority of the time they do not react like they thought they would. 2. you learn very fast. You don't want to get hit again so you improve very fast out of necessity. 3. you learn what works and what doesn't work. Lets face it, those that have never experienced the pain that some strikes produce on the body can be sold just about any bridge. A friends kid was taking, what he called Karate, and was showing me what they were learning. He was explaining what happened if you hit someone here or there. I asked him if he had seen the effects first hand and he admitted that they do not actually contact other students or instructors for that matter. 30% of what he thought was effective would possibly cause some minor damage and 70% would just serve to anger the attacker more unless you were fighting a complete wimp. 4. you actually could fight by the time you reached Shodan. Believe it or not there was a time that you had to be able to defend yourself by a given time to be promoted. "I know, I know, it's just another step on the rung and just another belt". I've heard it all before but there was a time when you had to prove your ability to fight and the way you were taught fostered those abilities and produced students that could not only handle themselves but do it well. Of course that was then and this is now. Nothing lasts forever. Nothing good anyway. There are some that would say there is never a reason for contact. I for one believe wholeheartedly in it. I personally do not believe that you can teach a combat art without realism. Brutality, No. Contact and realism, Yes. But then again, that's coming from someone that didn't think teachers back then were just violent people with a license to brutalize their students but actually people that wanted their students to be able to fight. Maybe I'm wrong. Solid post!! Student AREN'T punching bags; they're human beings, and they deserve CI/Instructors/Sempai's that have at least the modicum of decency towards their fellow human beings. Strictness and toughness are the mere staples of a CI/Instructor/Sempai; challenging their students to strive to improve themselves on and off the floor. That strictness and toughness isn't the same thing as whopping on a student at will whenever they want to; just because they're in a position of authority and hold a black belt or a brown/red belt. Accidents are called that because the intent wasn't on purpose. Injuries are the unfortunate, but acceptable, side effects in the MA. Especially when students train in styles that teach Resisting Training; in a give-and-take atmosphere, injuries aren't about 'if', but more like 'when', even under the very watchful eyes of the CI/Instructor/Sempai!! The Kun doesn't allow, well, it shouldn't allow, the bully teaching mentality across the board because that's not what the student's paying for. If the student allows that to happen, then the student's just as guilty as the bully teacher; get out and away from the CI/Instructor/Sempai that are proponents of that diseased bully teaching mentality. No student...absolutely nobody, deserves nothing but the CI/Instructor/Sempai's very professional best all of the time, and the bully teaching mentality ISN'T the best. The bully teaching mentality IS the worse. Train hard...train well!! NOT, be a punching bag because the CI/Instructor/Sempai are insecure in themselves across the board and is/are a big mean bully!!