ninjanurse

What time?

First of all: One is allowed to use their art to protect life...indeed the case here so don't feel guilty. Secondly: Get him the hell out of your house! "Fool me once, shame on you. Fool me twice, shame on me."

I'm game! How about before the BB test? We could meet early and have a cup while all the canidates are warming up and freaking out!

Flogging Molly, DropKick Murphys, Enter the Haggis, Switchfoot, Bleach, Kill Concept, Dead Center, Blink 182, Good Charlotte, Falling Up, Fly Leaf, Simple Plan, etc...to name a few. And of course my daughter's band InWard!!

You betcha!!!!! Any good coffee places your way?

Laurie, I agree but I have not found that to be the case in BB class! Most of the guys rise to the occasion...in fact I have found myself airborne quite a few times!

Yes, I'll admit it...I AM a coffee snob. Fresh ground Starbucks or Gevalia made by the cup, usually with a french press or espresso machine.

In my old school higher belt levels assisted with classes and we had informal instructor training sessions. Those that were effective were given their own classes and eventually hired to staff. In my new school there is a formal certification process that you must go through with classes every 6 months, a certification fee, and a test and/or essay requirement. It is an advancement requirement for higher color belts to assist with classes but not to become certified-unless of course you want to commmitt professional suicide within the organization !

Na, it's the first I heard of it. Maybe I'll do that when I hit BB (if I ever do ... it's seems like it's taking for ever ). Ahm!!! Does this look familiar Laurie? Mastery comes not by being better than everyone else, but through being more persistent. - TangSooGuy I thought so...just checking!

My old school gave you three wacks on the butt with an escrima stick when you received your confirmed BB-no matter what your age. It was always fun and lighthearted but it did hurt a bit. My new school has quite an elaborate ceremony for receiving a confirmed rank...lighting of candles and everything-very serious. Afterwards we all go out to dinner.

My background is mostly Japanese, however, I have studied Korean, Chinese, and Phillipino arts along the way.

Ah, you're getting warmer!

Wow. Quite a few differing ideas, attitudes, opinions, and angles on this subject to say the least. Laurie's question is not as simple as it may seem on the surface, nor is the answer. I think we can all agree that there are certain physical expectations of any BB-but even those must be weighed against many factors (i.e., size, weight, disability, etc.). The question here is not about the physical, nor is it particularly performance related (although some aspects of performance do relate to internal factors such as attitude, character, etc.). It is about the "self"...who is that person that we recommend for promotion? What qualities do we look for in our students that tell us "That's the one!"? What qualities do we look for in ourselves that give us fuel for growth or cause us to stagnate? I think these are the questions Laurie is asking. A desire to know what to recognize in students and ourselves, and what our teachers are looking for in us as we train. Seems simple, yes? It is simple yet comlpex. It's like the stone you find in the middle of your yard that you decide to move. You start to dig and you find that the stone is just the tip of a large boulder buried deep beneath the soil. What started out as a simple task is now going to consume an entire afternoon.

Welcome!

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Howdy!

Welcome!

Hello and welcome!

Welcome!!

Howdy!!! And welcome back!

Welcome!

Welcome!!

Congrats and welcome!!!