senseikellam

I saw your note and thought perhaps I should refer you to my earlier post about the Meijin Gi review. Meijin offers split sizes and half sizes which is something few manufacturers do. Just in case you don't see the earlier post, check out the following:http://voices.yahoo.com/the-meijin-tropical-karate-uniform-offers-exceptional-11035308.html?cat=11 Good Luck!

I wanted to share a review of the Meijin Karate Uniform that I my nephew wrote. http://voices.yahoo.com/the-meijin-tropical-karate-uniform-offers-exceptional-11035308.html

Well, I am a big fan of Meijin. I have worn many different brands over my many years of training and I have not found any that I like better for the price. They also offer half sizes which is nice if you want just a little better fit than you often find in just the whole sizes. I always had to settle for a 5 when ordering from Century or Tokon, but, I was thrilled to find a 5.5 by Meijin. I like my pants a little longer and the 5.5 gives me that. They also provide free embroidery and they know how to get the kanji correct. Another fine choice that I have recently came across is the Fuji brand (specifically there BJJ uniform). Anyway check out Meijin at: http://www.dragon-tsunami.org/Products/Pages/Meijin_black.htm

My original black belt was lost when my suitcase was damaged by a certain airline who will remain nameless. My suitcase was not a cheap one either. Anyway, I had to replace it and I ordered one from Meijin. I have worn their uniforms for a long time and love them, so I decided to give their belt a try even though they are a lot less expensive than shureido or tokaido, they are every bit as nice. The owners are Japanese and they know how to properly translate whatever you what your belt to say. And, just in case you are wondering, I am not affiliated with them in any way other than the fact that I love their products. Check them out at:http://www.dragon-tsunami.org/Products/Pages/belts.htm

Not sue how far Grapevine, Texas is but http://www.grapevinemartialarts.com is a good school which combines a view different forms.

DobbySky To the above, I would just like to say, We have all heard the phrase, “Respect is earned, not given.” However true that may be strictly depends on what an individual's perception of respect is. You cannot learn to show respect until it is understood why it needs to be given. Giving respect goes beyond the ability to follow guidelines or rules; however important they may be, but it is the learned thought process that has to be trained to understand why respect should be given. Training someone starts with basic guidelines and understanding of rules necessary to make class go smoothly so everyone can benefit, and then broadens as their confidence and learning grows. Watching the gleam in your student's eyes as they start to build confidence and grow into a pattern of giving respect is one of the most awesome parts of our teaching experience. Now, I wasn't their when the individual was hit, but I have been witness to similar circumstances. A friend of mine and I first started training at a dojo where the teacher favored certain students who could do no wrong and who often did not exercise any control. Now, we all expected get hit and to do some hitting when sparring. A mean, that is what sparring is about, but everyone was supposed to be aware of the rules and not to break them. One guy in the glass kept kicking in areas that would have gotten the rest of us in a lot of trouble. He always hit with full force even though we were taught to exercise some restraint in class (I mean class was for learning and not meant to be a life or death situation). We were taught to land the point in sparring, but, not go overboard like in bloodsport. This guy finally got to my friend and she stopped coming for a while and then we got together and decided that both the instructor and this guy needed a dose of their own medicine. So, she returned to class and one day when sparring, I got to spar with the instructor and she sparred with the favorite student and both of them got taken down. Things improved after that and the instructor stopped playing favorites and started making the guy follow the same rules. I am not proud of that, but, sometimes we all get pushed to far. Maybe that is what happened with this guy. Maybe he will give it another chance after a while.

You should only go about a half size larger in the Meijin. (Yeap, they have half sizes!) You could even order split sizes if you need. Just call them at the number on their site and give them your height and weight and they will help you determine what you need. These guys are great and have been doing business a long time. They know their stuff!

AMEN! LOVE THE WAY YOU SAID THIS!

Check out the Ed Parker Kenpo gi. Tiger Claw is proud to offer Ed Parker Jr.’s signature line of premium gi’s. This is a durable, well-constructed gi with the serious Kenpo practitioner in mind. Modeled after Ed Parker’s original gi design, these gis feature thick, stone-washed black, 100% cotton fabric, with double stitched seams, double-layer knee and shins, reinforced critical seams, and the signature back pants pocket and inner flank pocket. Superb quality and craftsmanship. This is a uniform worthy of the Parker name. You can find it here: http://www.blackbeltshop.com/stone_washed_14_oz_heavy_weight_uniform.htm Another good option may be found at: http:// http://www.karatemart.com/karate-cargo-pants or here: http:// http://www.martialartsmart.com/k11-22.html I have a friend that got some from the following and loves them: http://www.physiquebodywareusa.com/PictureFrame.asp?Sku=901 I hope one of the options works for you!

The easiest to learn is simply that which holds your interest! Doesn't matter what others say is easy. If you are not interested in say the bo staff or tonfa, etc., then learning it would probably be difficult. After all, you have to be willing to pick up a weapon to learn it. Can't learn if you just let it sit on the shelf and stare at it. Stick with what you have a passion for.

I just thought that I would mention that for those of you that have a wholesale account with Century Martial Arts, they have some nice looking weapons on clearance right now. They are designed for competition (to be sort of flashy) but if your into that, then check them out.

VERY WELL SAID!

VERY TRUE! Perhaps those that think that headgear does little good are using cheap or inadequate headgear. I am not saying that to be mean or tacky, but, let's face it there are a lot of different types and styles of headgear and one must select the right type for the individual situation (IE: MMA, Boxing, Karate, Sparring). There are differences. Some people just purchase headgear without talking to their instructor and don't have a glue that that Karate headgear might not be suitable for hard core MMA. If your life depends on a certain medication, you wouldn't go borrow the next best thing from Joe Blow down the street. So, headgear should be treated as such!

Century Martial Arts and KI International Corporation are good options. Both require a wholesale account (sales tax license) and a store/school address. Tiger Claw has some nice items but, they require you to place a credit card on file which some people don't mind doing, but, I don't like that myself.

I am not sure about the company you are dealing with either, but, I would like to note that many suppliers are running short on inventory due to a cotton shortage because a lot of the cotton for gi's was coming from Japan. Even Century Martial Arts is suffering from the shortage. They claim that they have taken steps to insure they have merchandise, but, I have noticed that when I have looked for items for students, they have been out of a lot of sizes in a lot of styles. Let's all pray that Japan gets back on it's feet after suffering from such awful natural disasters that they recently faced.