Bulltahr

Thank you Alan, that is just the sort of post I was hoping for. They say 6 days a week and repair the 7th, is that too long without time to repair?

As the title says, looking to improve the height of my mawashis. Anyone have any specific stretches to improve them?

Maybe swap it for one of those soft cotton webbing style ones like on the Blitz pants.

Married with 1 child, (She trains with me). I have a job with very defined seasons, so 5-6 months of the year I train very little, but when I am home every night for the rest of the year two 2 hour sessions are the minimum. double that when preparing for a grading. We also do yoga 1 night a week to complement the karate as I need to improve flexibility. Sometimes in the weekends we will practise on the lawn, katas or Kihons, but mostly pad work.

The almighty dollar and ego are both to blame for what you talk about there MatsuShinshii, I believe anyway. And yes, in the public's eye Karate has been lessened thanks to those McDojos and 300 LB CIs. When did the rot start to creep in? I don't know, but I suspect pretty soon after Karate made it to the western world after WW 2. Western "culture" and beliefs (I.E. our priorities for gauging success, Money, fame) have a habit of screwing up some of the beautiful arts and culture from other parts of the world. What say you, when did the rot set in in your opinion? There have been Charlatanes in this game since well before Frank Dux I am sure....

Old school eh? Well I think you will feel right at home around here. Welcome!

When your CI (Chief Instructor) says so, and not sooner!! I refer you back to your first question above. You might feel ready, but the call isn't your in the first place!! Feeling ready and being ready are two separate things. If you're referring to the Testing Cycle, then, NO!! Respectfully refuse the offer for personal reasons. But be careful, not many CI's like being told, directly or indirectly, anything that questions them. But it's a risk that must be taken if one's that serious. While there might be a formula to determine this concern, I'd say this...NO!! There's no number of months you should wait before because it's the least of thing to be concerned with; it'll occur when it does, and no time any sooner!! Knowledge and experience is paramount over the belt. The belt isn't that important!! The belt should never define you!! It's not important to be a black belt. What's important is the betterment of the MAist, through and through. This is obtained through time, and in time, knowledge and experience are increased, but once again, only in time. No. Belts are part of Kyokushin. Belts are just that tangible thing that you wrap around your waist, however, the importance of the belt might only be valuable in THAT dojo, and nowhere else!!!! The furthest away from the belt as possible, the sooner the better!! Knowledge and experience through time spent on the floor!! Be patient, and do not seek out for any belt and any promotion whatsoever!! The above is the absolute complete answer for you Bombon, When your Chief Instructor tells you, then you MUST trust his judgement and grade (Test), it is his decision and his alone to make!

Which part of WI? I'm about an hour from the WI/MI border, and a couple hours from Green Bay. Winters aren't so bad. I actually moved to the UP to avoid the summer heat in Detroit. Summers in the UP are far more tolerable (we rarely see 90F, and 80's are far less frequent.) I would love to visit the UP in summer, but alas, too much work at this end over that period. Furthest North I will be is St Germaine, snow mobiling for a few days....Then Stevens point, Berlin (Grimms) and Baraboo.

They do stand out one their own just as good. I have several in my Youtube favourites.

Thinking of all my TX friends. Stay safe and dry if you can.

Only 3 more days till Spring here, extra training for me and my daughter on the lawn once it warms up a bit more. Michigan, hhmmmmm I will be in WI this January again, I don't envy you with those winters............

I respectfully beg to differ, I believe that it is all about the MONEY and if you peel it back to it's core, it's about the $$$ for BOTH of them. Mayweather has already made his rep and history cannot be changed.

Very similar to this countryman of mine. Shotokan.

Congratulations Skullsplitter!

Don't forget to breathe! A lot of people don't breathe properly when sparring and you run out of gas much quicker.......

Anyway that you try to handle that situation the end result will be the same, you will lose. (The battle) The rights and wrongs are a different topic, but in that situation you will come out on the wrong side of the battle. No-one will jump up and help you....

All part of the chase for the almighty dollar I'm afraid, but there are a few "custom" makers out there, every year less and less, people seem happy to buy cheap and nasty to save a few bucks. Me, not so much!

IPA mmmmmmmm Scott's of Oamaru 7.8%.......... (Right now)

Happy Birthday DWx!! have a great day!

If it was the first time, then leave it, maybe he was having a bad day. Or maybe mention to him that you would like to know how you have offended him so you can note it for the future. Sometimes those who do not have "it" resent those that do, I'm talking about teaching skills and student respect......

Ego's in the sense of self given titles, 30 year old "Grand Masters", disrespecting other styles and practitioners, the "UFC" mentality of "I'll kick your butt, cause I know Martial arts" and all that comes with it.

Ego............. Best things: camaraderie, discipline and respect........

That's great! Feeds the fire! As Sensei8 has said, this actually frees you up to dedicate all that freed up time and energy into your own training. Embrace the opportunity...............

Preparing for a counter attack, in a nutshell? I do it all the time, a wise man once told me, "you have to take a few to get set up for the big one". For better or worse it has been true for me!!!

Hi Lynn, Welcome to KF! From my life experience, and take from that what you will. For whatever reason, the knives are out, and the cancer has taken over, so to speak. The bad news is if there is nowhere else for you to train then you only have 1 option if you want to continue, really not an option if you ask me tho. I hope someone else can here can be more positive for you, but it seems a very toxic environment with a perceived competition for favour by this woman. What normally happens in this sort of situation is that the boss/owner doesn't see the problem until it's too late and everyone else has left........