The Greatest Disciple

Wow. Seems like I'm doing everything the hard way by working for at least my 4th Dan before I develop my own style. It seems bizarre to me there is no restriction to this. No wonder I have seen dozens of 10th Dans. I'm a little upset by this.

Mr. Wilkerson

This shouldn't be a discussion, because the answer is clearly when you are dead. There is always something more they can learn from you, and you from them.

So I have gone to a few hundred tournaments and I have seen about 50-100 10th Dan black belts... Do you need to be promoted and certified under a board to do this or can just anybody go and claim to have a martial art and get it automatically?

There are dojos from South Africa, France, and lots of other countries there

A McDojo is not something you NEED to compete with. It'll fizzle out after some of their guys get their butts kicked by some thugs for being terrible fighters. At the last tournament I attended, I saw a HUGE flock of fighters from, what I could tell, a McDojo. I put their number around 40. They spoke ZERO Japanese, and they didn't take anything better than 4th. I guess they thought that with enough people, they could place high in something. Our school took home 8 first place trophies, and we only had a dozen students compete. Not saying a McDojo can't produce a good fighter now and then, but their tradition is usually lacking, and they get a lot less one-on-one time because of huge classes. The people who really want a traditional Martial Arts experience will find you. Trust me.

I will be in Orlando, FL for the US Open this year. Anyone else?

I'm going on a two-week, much needed vacation this summer. I have contemplated where I want to go, but I know I'm going to take a trial course of a MA while I'm there. Most likely Juijutsu, Ninjutsu, BJJ, or Judo. If I like it, I may stick with it, but either way it'll be nice to learn a new trick or two to add to my collection.

Well, for most it is to fill the gaps in technique, like he said above. For me, I started shorin-ryu because it was more about killing someone attacking you. In my other style of Goju/Kempo Karate, there is a lot of point fighting, and pretty tournament practice.

I have taken Kobayashi Shorin-Ryu for a little while, and my assessment is that unlike Shotokan, Goju, Kempo, and other forms of Karate, Shorin-Ryu is more complete. Now, it could just be in the teaching, but my Shihan studied 9 styles before landing in Shorin-Ryu. He stayed there because it is the most effective and sensible style. Nothing is wasted.

I spar approximately 6-10 minutes a week at about half contact for 2 minute rounds. I spar about 2-3 hours a week in point fighting. The only time I ever spar at "full contact" is when someone is testing for a black belt, and even then I pull my punches a little. If I were to hit a little guy with 100% power, I'd kill him. I believe if you were to ever go 100% full contact, you are trying to cripple or kill your opponent. Not something for the dojo. To spar means to train. You can't help the other guy improve if you hospitalize him.

I'd agree with that. Also I think in a way it'd be a poor investment of your time. You'd end up having to constantly correct all the subtle differences back and forth and your progress in either style would be hindered because you'd confuse yourself. Probably ok if you wanted to create a hybrid style for yourself but even then, how many alternative ways do you need to kick and punch? IMHO better to invest that time into something that offers a different focus, like a grappling art, to cover the gaps in your current training. I agree with some of this, but it is like this: I'm taking two styles at the same time. The first couple of weeks, I had some issues with the differences in the basics. It quickly got to the point where now I can switch back and forth between styles seamlessly. It just takes a lot of focus. One thing to remember is "When in Rome, do as the Romans do." Don't bring the chamber to the inside like in one style when your instructor wants you to bring it up to the outside. I did that once and got yelled at. Never did it again, though.