taebot

Reading is essential to thinking. Thinking is essential to fighting. My translation of Five Rings includes the discussion of the phrase Bunbu Itchi, pen and sword in accord. I worked out with Dr. GT, Chair of the English Department at ESU who convinced me to return to school and get a degree, which I did. He gave me a reading list some of which included, Crime and Punishment - Dostoyevsky The Trial - Kafka Slughterhouse Five - Vonnegut (It was such a god list and now memory escapes me... Head blows. What can you do after the fact, eh?) Some of my personal likes, Magistre Ludi - Hesse (actually ALL of Hesse) Dog Years - Gunter Grasse Farenheit 451, Brave New World, 1984, Animal Farm - ALL still applicable. And the writing style of Trevenian who even made spy stuff palatable in the Eiger Sanction and the Loo Sanction. Shimbumi is a great read for MArtial Artists!

Based on this past week's attendance, I'd say people's number one resolution was NOT to get into better shape !

I'm simply amazed that you can so succinctly put everyone into four niches. I tend to group people as wrasslers, dancers, or kick-punch bots... Oh, yeah, biters...

One day my instructor put a black belt on me and told me to go teach... I never saw him much after that. Sensei LW fights and knocks out all of his brown belts as part of their testing! I've been to many white belt testings where they've had board-breaking. Countless ways to be tested. You can climb into the ring as an orange belt, win a few fights, earn a title and get as much, if not more, than most "tested" black belts.

Why? Our friends in China and Russia are the instigators of both problems. Russia may try to beat us to the airport so to speak (remember the Balkans?) to protect their financial investments... It is less than coincidence that North Korea, a traditional Chinese vassel state, decided to speak up now ! We are following a long-term strategy designed to topple Saddam from within. A very HUGE PUBLIC buildup so that the Iraqi military can see it. Pure tactic. These guys are dying to surrender to avoid being shot at from two directions as in Desert Storm. If you are concerned about our two-front abilities, John L. Perry addressed those concerns well in a recent commentary. As per the Russo-Sino Axis and it's open confrontation with the United States, I would read Alexander Nements recent series of well-researched articles. We must topple Saddam, Iran is ready to fall internally, and then either overthrow the "Royal" house of Sa'ad (former desert brigands) or have them put the muzzle on the Wahhabbis, which they may be unable to do. This then secures the oil fields and ends the Chechin problem and some other regional problems based on RUSSIA's attempts to disrupt new oil pipeline to the west from it's former republics to the south. The war is about oil. China's and Russia's attempt to corner the world markets. If we just push a little harder on the hydrogen fuel cells, we can alleviate a whole bunch of this nonsense... This rant brought to you by the country of Columbia and the Columbian Coffee Bean Export Council !

You are correct in your statements, but I think there is a difference here between casual dating among the students and the dojo bunny as described.

Matayoshi no kama ich... I hate forms. I've been working on Chongji for at least a quarter of a century and I STILL can't get it right! WTF V. ITF? I prefer the latter having a disinclination towards the upright stances. Fighting's much easier. As long as you stay upright and conscious what goes where when why and how just doesn't seem as important !

I could see where one could confuse the musical stylings of the two...

Does being in the America's Funniest Video's Karate Segment count? Or do you need to win the $10,000 to be considered?

I've been on another rough and tumble board for the past three years which gave me time to learn the ropes, pick up some do's and dont's, and develop a posting style. I think the best introductions are well thought-out posts so that you don't get into the credentialing debate and instead talk about ideas. I also think it's best to keep a low-profile on personal information because some people cannot, will not conceed an argument and can and will make things very personal. I have seen stunts pulled that just amaze me at how low people are willing to go to be either correct or get you to shut up. I'm here to have fun and pick up the social slack that I miss when I gave up the chase of the holy plastic trophy ...

The contracts are legally unenforceable. No instructor is going to go after an unfulfilled contract because of the negative aspect presented to potential sales. It's a marketing and budgeting tool, more or less... As far as Century/Graden/et. al., I have mixed emotions. First and foremost elevating ourselves and our images can not be a bad thing, no matter the vehicle. I get three separate magazines from these entities every month, some of it chock full of good stuff. MASuccess (I think, it may have been one of the others) even had good 'ol bloody Jim Harrison openly lambasting the efforts of the types of people the magazine supports. Peyton Quinn has a lot of good stuff, too. Outside of the Asian Journal, it's some of the best martial writing out there. We are benefitting from their open competition. Now can PEOPLE, individuals, get greedy? Can you go too far. Absolutely. Don't treat these guys like some enemy that has to be fought before they end your way of practice. Their public expenditures increase PUBLIC awareness of the martial arts, puts a friendlier face on it, and gets MORE people into the martial arts. More students for them, yes. More students for you too! No one school can be everything to everyone. I good friend of mine, MR. NH always asks me, Why do you think they put all the fast food places in one spot? People want variety and choices. And I'll bet something else. I'll bet some of those McDojo's are actually GOOD schools ! Lawd knows I love a good cheeseburger and it's comforting to know I can get one in Beijing !

Should I stay or should I go now? I guess we finally got the answer to 'ol Joe's question...

45 here. Still winning tournaments at 42. I could still do it now, but I am concentrating on the women in my life. I spent too many weekends traveling playing boy's games. Now I just practice. Practice. Practice...

Killing, as is most of the work, is a metaphore. The work is as timely now, maybe even more so in these chaotic times... Especially in terms of the three strategies.

Go Rin No Sho Reader's Digest Version of Sun Tzu's Art of War...

That's a new term, not a new phenomona. It is one thing that argues towards older, more mature instructors. If allowed to continue it will hurt morale. Then again, changing human behavior... There are no quick fixes. Do you think given time even a dojo bunny gains self-confidence, self-worth, a redefinition of herself as a woman outside of her baser instincts?

And to finally answer the question... My one and only "MASTER" was an illiterate Korean who spent 40 years in America with the appearant inability to even learn a new language... Since that time, I have had many mentors of varying degrees of education. The ones that scare the living daylights out of me generally tend to have little or no formal education. I also know a lot of highly educated masters that I can whip the dogsnot out of. But they know an awful lot and tend towards more enlightened discussions. I think the self-educated ones are the best. The ones whom have learned to think, examine, and more importantly, question everything they are supposedly "taught."

What it does show and what is valued is demonstrated ability to commit to a task. It also reassures the employer that the educated man knows how to research and GET the answers. You became one of his tools... Nothing personal!

Bunbu itchi... Pen and Sword in accord. It sure helps the instructor grow and this must benefit the student. On the other hand, my college degree has yet to block a single kick or punch !

But, we are a mobile society (witness Pete) prone to travel and change at least here in the States. Which, is one of the secrets to Franchise success. You KNOW what you're getting at McDonalds whether it be New York, Kansas City, or Fuzhou. That appeals to a lot of poeple, especially parents, who want the best and most up-and-up of whatever they get for their children.

I've learned MORE from the bad instructors of my life than the good ones. They teach you succinctly, everything you do not want to be and you work so much harder to avoid it, having had it pointed out to you...

I saw a recently published article in which dna differences and similarities among peoples were not at all tied to skin color. I'll have to think about where I read it, but it goes to your point.

Since most training halls are societies, to ask if societies discriminate would be a rhetorical one at best... One thing I have done, based on some unfortunate instances when I taught in a racially diverse area, is to drop the term master. Several black youths dramatically informed me of what they thought of "white masters." Also, it's more like the style of my mentors. White uniforms. Plain black belts. The humility thing.

It is both. On one hand, you must hide some of the cost of instruction as not to offend the frugal. At the same time, it provides structure and hierarchy. I am told that the ranking system is mainly for goal-oriented Westerners, yet look at the history of the Okinawan Ranking Societies and one sees rank being used before the Americans arrived on Okinawa. Any system can be abused. I know guys who think ALL commercial schools are rip-offs. They and their three students meeting twice a week in the basement...

I practice in America. America is, for all intents and purposes, a mercantile society. I have been called upon at times by my peer group and at times by the public at large to do something about school or instructor. My reply is this... I ain't the black belt police. The marketplace will decide. Either you deliver an acceptable product or you go out of business. There may be a sucker born every minute, but you can't fool most of the people most of the time. One of my instructors got his start by questioning... RM walks into the gym where TM is practicing. RM: You a black belt? TM: Yes. RM: Can you prove it? TM: Here (takes certificate from briefcase). RM: Can you prove it? This is where TM kicks RM's posterior. btw... I ain't the spelling or grammar police either...