GeoGiant

Maybe some presidents / COEs / supervisors forget that their subordinates don't have the same ability to express their thoughts and opinions as they do. I laugh at his jokes, I don't correct him when he's wrong, and I don't pass judgement he does something that is inappropriate but when I'm off work and dealing with my close friends and family and don't my boss overseeing my interaction.

Dave - My boss is the owner of the company. This is a man i might see every couple weeks at best. He's very successful and very eccentric (to put in nicely). He's not the kind of person who would ever consider someone's feelings. Telling him FB is not for company use would be like a slap in the face to him. As it stands now i intend to tell him I kept getting spammed so I deleted my account.

I shouldn't even say my boss, the president of the company I work for sent me a Facebook request and I responded by deleting my account... I guess I'll find out the repercussions of my action sometime soon. I'm livid about this situation. I'm not friends with this guy, we don't get together socially and we don't have similar interests. I feel like this guy just trampled into my personal space. Trying to explain the obvious, like I prefer to keep FB for close friends and family, is not an option. Not sure how others feel about this but I'm disgusted.

Contact guy here. I wear soft 30-day disposable contacts. Glasses got in my way during training. It will take a week or two but you will get comfortable wearing contacts.

I've spoken with a few BBs since the test. Apparently more than one BB wanted to fail this guy but they didn't want to express their feelings because they knew that our instructor didn't feel the same way. I always knew that there was some animosity between some of the BBs and this person but I didn't know how deep it ran. Don't get me wrong, this guy has always worked hard and he has always been at class since I've been training there but he seems to have some kind of inside tract with the instructor. I don't know if its an age thing... older guy been training for years but something beyond his control always happens when he's finally ready to test ... etc, so the instructor has empathy for him... I don't know but whatever "it" is the other BBs don't share it. I've spoken with the guy twice and made an effort to really chat with him, no heavy discussion or talk of (dare I say it ) feelings, but just general chit-chat and he seems to have moved beyond whatever his feelings were - thankfully. I love my dojo and the people that train there, the last thing I want to see is some divide occur.

Wow, so its not uncommon for someone to act a fool at their BB test.

The guy did pass. He's been working off and on toward a BB for the last 20 years so he's been training for some time. Again, he's not a bad guy, he's just a little rough around the edges. After I had him wrapped up on the ground one of the BBs did step in and break it up but it was clear that he was being dominated. Part of me thinks that is what my instructor wanted to happen. I don't have a problem with the way it went down I was just a little freaked to see someone I train with lose it like that on someone else in our dojo (regardless if it was me or not).

I'm a brown belt and I train in an mma class that my dojo offers. During the mma class we full contact spar at times so my instructor knows that I like contact and I enjoy heavy sparring... he also knows that I don't lose my cool during contact. Well out of nowhere I was asked to spar with someone going for their BB. I'm 40 years old and this potential BB is 50. This guy known for man-handling others and a lack of control... he's old school gruff but he's not a bad guy. I'm assuming that I was asked to spar him because all the BBs sit on the panel to judge. Needless to say, this guy lost his cool and went after me. I had no problem taking his full aggression while still working him pretty good. At one point he grabbed my leg and tried to drive me to the floor... well mma kicked in and I dropped to the floor, pulled him on top of me, wrapped him up with my legs and I went for a choke. This guy doesn't take mma so he did everything he wasn't supposed to... we went down, he posted up and I easily slip under his arm and had him in solid choke. I looked at my instructor unsure what to do. I didn't want to let go for fear of getting hit so I started to apply the choke. After 15 seconds he started to go a little limp and the BB's separated us. I never lost my cool and all the BBs said I did what I had to do but looking back at the situation l'm left with an odd feeling and I'm not sure why. After a few minutes I walked over and gave the guy a hug and said he did a good job but he was clearly irritated. I guess I feel odd knowing someone came after with the intent to do.... not sure. I've seen people lose their cool but not like this. Not sure why I'm posting this but I thought others here would understand.

Very solid post. Quitting being number 1. A lot of those old says like winners never quit are old sayings for a reason.

As others have said, I think most new students would gravitate to the Kumite champion however Dobbersky makes a good point.

Thanks, a lot of good replies. Its odd how people's perceptions on this topic are different. I'm guessing that someone that is "sometimes unhygienic" would never explain their reasoning. Just this week i was asked to warm up two new students for a mma class. One of these guys, who was maybe 20 years old, started to stink immediately. I'm assuming that this guy doesn't / didn't wear deodorant. I wasn't teaching the class and I wasnt working with this guy so I just ignored it and figured I'd let the instructor deal with it. Probably a wimp move on my part but I have to oversee enough people with my job, the dojo is supposed to be my sanctuary - no politics, no stress, no management others.

Congrats!

Think how good my kata would get!

DWx this is the dojo I train at, not mine. I think the dojo is fairly clean but it seems like there have been a few things floating around. I've noticed powder on people's feet and a few people seem to be avoiding the locker room.

Oh the anonymity of the internet allows one to speak freely about these topics. First let me say that I would consider my dojo clean and the folks that attend seem to practice good hygiene but in the last few months there have been a few jock itch / athletes foot issues. I was wonder how others address / prepare for dealing with these issues. 1. Does anyone have any rituals they use to avoid being affected by bacteria and / or fungus in the dojo? Things like not using the changing room, applying anti-fungal spray before getting dressed, using hand sanitizer before you use the bathroom during class, etc. 2. How do you deal with keeping your gi, sparring gear, bag, etc. clean and free from undesirables? 3. Does anyone identify and avoid what they would consider as "hot spots" for contamination? 4. Anyone contracted athletes foot, jock itch, a staph infection, etc, from the dojo or gym. If so how did you handle it and move forward. I know this is a gross topic but I think its something that should be discussed.

Awesome pics. My dojo used to do this every once in awhile but unfortunately it never seemed to go that well. Nothing bad ever happened but at times it seemed like there some uncomfortable vibes in the air.

Hey, I received a member of month mention once so I'm in the inner circle, woo-hoo!

I'm 6'4" and 180 lbs and I've been working out with weights for a longtime. I usually bench 130 to 150 lbs. I've gotten my bench press up to 200 lbs a few times and I always ended up hurting a shoulder or pulling something. I finally gave up with the heavy weight, I just figured i don't have the body type to lift heavy. If i were you i would not focus on weight, focus on fitness and cross training.

I'm 6'4" and 180 lbs and I've been working out with weights for a longtime. I usually bench 130 to 150 lbs. I've gotten my bench press up to 200 lbs a few times and I always ended up hurting a shoulder or pulling something. I finally gave up with the heavy weight, I just figured i don't have the body type to lift heavy. If i were you i would not focus on weight, focus on fitness and cross training.

I agree with MasterPain, stronger is better, but I think a lot depends on your body type. I'm tall with a thin frame so I need to lift to be able to keep up with some of the bigger guys in my dojo. However, some of the bigger guys at my dojo tell me they don't lift because it really slows them down when they bulk up (I never really bulk up). Try training with your own body weight - squats, push-ups, etc and see how that works for you.

I has similar problems a few years ago and the only thing I found that stopped the blisters was conditioning. Fortunately for me I was having this problem in the summer so I wore flip flops a lot and I sat at my desk at work wearing no shoes.

What makes you cry? I usually don't, my parents raised a robot, LOL. In the last 10 years I've cried 3 times - when my golden retriever died (wife had him when we met), when my lab died (pound rescue, he was 10, died at 12) and when my cocker spaniel died (pound rescue, he was 9, died at 17). What makes you smile? I smile a lot but really makes me smile is when I see someone exceed their expectations. I workout with one guy that is really over-weight but he never gives up or makes excuses, he just keeps his feet moving - I love that. What makes you say "WOW"? When I see someone march to the beat of their own drum, un-phased by the judgements of others. The younger they are, the more I think WOW. What makes you pause? When I question ones intentions. What makes you angry? People that take advantage because they can. In class, at work, public gathering, etc, stepping on someone because you can is despicable. What makes you laugh? Sorry... potty humor and uncomfortable situations. What makes you think? When I see someone consumed by their circumstances. It could be dealing with a cancer diagnosis, a recent divorce, ailing child, etc. What makes you try? A goal. If I commit to something for a friend, something at work, or something at the dojo i will follow through. This quality is one of the positive things about being hard headed, LOL. What makes you surrender? I'm not sure I ever have. I don't mean that in a tough guy way. i don't come from a close family and I don't have any children so I haven't really been faced with a situation where I had to accept the results without having any say-so in the matter. What makes you respect? I respect consistency. I respect someone that accepts someone elses choices without understanding why they made those choices.

Without the ability to take one of the two out of commission I'd say stacking your opponents is the best way to go. At my dojo, BBs test with 3 ppl so the option of stacking is, somewhat, taken away.

Interesting topic. For me at least, I recognize that doing the right thing, may at times, as in your story, have negative consequences and I'm willing to accept that.

I won't restate what everyone else said (all good advice), but what I always liked about MAs is that there is an element of dedication that is acknowledged along with the skill element. One element doesn't necessarily outweigh the other. For example, person A is really athletic and learns a new kick in 3 lessons. Person B has a bad knee and it takes them 3 months to properly perform the same kick. In baseball, football, etc, person A may be the focus of the coach but in MAs person A has shown nothing other then athletic ability yet person B has shown commitment and faced adversity... person B has shown the qualities that built character and define a leader. Picking yourself up when you want to quit is tough but it pays off. Good luck to you.