ninjanurse

Did someone say "cake"? Congrats Patrick!!!!

Congratulations!

Whew!

Welcome back and congratulations!

Welcome!

Welcome!

Welcome!

Welcome back!

Welcome and Happy New Year!

Not that I am giving any medical advice here but......risk is present in anything you do and a spleen can be ruptured in many ways-not just by getting kicked in the stomach. It does not make sense to me that a "scarred spleen" is weaker as most scars are stronger than the tissue that originally tore...but I am not a doctor or physiologist so I don't know the facts. I do know that if it was me I would train and take the risk (after a suitable rest time of course) as while the risk of bleeding to death from a ruptured spleen is real, many people live very healthy lives without them and I don't think I would miss mine one bit! The safest plan is to discuss this with your doctor and get another opinion if necessary. Doctors tend to manage their patients differently and not all are conservative in their management of injuries.

I am of the same opinion as the majority here: shirts that brag of rank or title should not be worn on the street, nor should the dobok/gi. School logos are good advertising and give a sense of camaraderie so I am not opposed to them at all.

I have a drill the students call "forms by the corners" where 4 students make a square and the front right student calls the form. After each run-through the square makes a quarter turn-facing a new direction with a new caller. We also do this with the students facing inward diagonally across from each other. It can be quite challenging and provides many opportunities to observe and discuss the many aspects/concepts of martial arts whether forms related or not.

I know that this thread is not about 10 year old black belts but I feel that I just have to say something here about this subject. TRUE=you can't compare age groups...a ten year old can not be expected to fight a 14 year old, or an 80 year old...and vice versa. The standards are the same yet different and a good instructor should be able to judge each student's strengths, weaknesses, desire, and fortitude....and devise a plan and goal for that student to reach Black Belt. Only we know our students....from beginning to end...through the tough times and the easy times...the good and the bad. We know their struggles and their triumphs, their pain and their glory.....regardless of their age we are there for them. TRUE=there are schools out there that hand out Black Belts like candy and degrade the standards of the rank for the sake of a buck. That said...I am in the position to have an 7 year old take his Black Test test within the next 14 months! Granted, in my system, no one under 16 years old achieves a "full" Dan Grading but even a Junior Black Belt should be seen as quite an achievement. This student is not a typical 7 year old-besides being physically talented he is dedicated and works his butt off every day in class because he has a goal....Black Belt. As his instructor I contracted with him to help him achieve his goal and as long as he meets (or exceeds) the standards why should I stand in the way?

Good luck!

I teach every other Saturday and Sunday and one weekday all throughout the season...and I ride any and all free hours I have-which are getting fewer and fewer due to the growth of the karate school (which I am NOT complaining about!). Someday I will quit my JOB so that my activities will be limited to snowboarding and martial arts. It'll be tough but somebody's got to do it!

Finally....snowboarding season is here in Upstate NY!!!!!!! I spent the entire weekend shredding!!!!! Can't wait for more white stuff!!!

Nice job!

Congratulations!

Good luck with all and congrats!

Congratulations!

I agree here-you have to be careful and discerning when using music to train. Safety is an issue but so is learning style...some students can be distracted when trying to focus on a new skill. BBC-Thanks for the list!!!

Welcome back! Good luck on the test!

Happy Birthday and Congrats to you and KF!!!

Welcome and congrats!!!

Ditto!