JR 137

Both don't mean that one can produce; actions have to occur. One needs to look no further than Mike Tyson vs “Buster” Douglas. Tyson quite possibly could’ve been the best that ever lived. Part of the problem was he knew he was the “baddest man on the planet.” Buster Douglas? A 42-1 underdog. Douglas and his team put together a solid plan, and Douglas worked his tail off. Tyson allegedly trained for 3 day’s for that fight. 3 DAYS. ‘Nuff said.

I agree on principle, however a caveat... That’s not the syllabus/curriculum, it’s the implementation of it. My teacher teaches the exact same self defenses, kihon kumite, yakusoku kumite, et al as every other Seido dojo. His interpretation of the syllabus is how he describes those things (concepts vs textbook facts) to us. Not that I needed to hear it, as I had those feelings before I first heard him say it. But I actually learned some of those during my first stint in karate about 20 years ago, and that wasn’t explained to me. It was “this is how this is done” without a deeper why it’s done. As I progressed through the ranks, that became more obvious to me, but I was never told that. In my previous post when I said “at first you think...; then you think...; then you realize...”, it’s because that’s exactly what I went through and what several others I trained with went through too. My original organization was an offshoot of sorts of my current organization (Seido). My original organization was started by 2 higher ranking Seido teachers who left and started their own thing. 90% of the syllabus was identical up to and including 1st dan. So going to Seido was a very easy transition for me after my 15 year hiatus. One of the things that really attracted me to my current teacher the first time I visited and watched a class was his explanation of why the students were doing the self defenses (they’re the exact same in both organizations). He articulated to his students exactly what I felt, and it was the first time I’ve ever heard anyone say it. And they were beginner students. Same curriculum, same exact movements, different teaching styles. It’s not the syllabus, it’s the student’s understanding of it. And the way the student was taught it.

Not everything in a curriculum has direct fighting applications. Not that push-ups are in too many curricula I’ve seen, it if they were/are formally in a curriculum, it’s use is quite obvious yet not directly a fighting technique. At some point, the MAist has to move from seeing things as techniques to seeing them as principles. In Seido we have what we call beginner, intermediate and advanced “self defenses.” 10 beginner (20 if you count right punch coming and left punch coming individually), 10 intermediate, and possibility 10 advanced (those are above my current grade). They’re pretty simple - opponent steps forward and punches. Depending on the one you’re doing, you either step back, forward, or angle; block or lock up; strike, kick, and/or sweep. When you first learn them, starting at white belt, you think “this is a choreographed response to a punch that would work when I get better.” You get better and think “this is stupid and would never work; no one punches like that, the block wouldn’t work, and they wouldn’t stand around while I’m countering either.” Then you realize their intent - they teach posture, footwork, timing, where to aim your block, where to strike, what to strike with, when to strike, etc. Rather than a choreographed sequence to be followed exactly, they become concepts. You start moving a certain way, blocking a certain way, striking certain places with certain weapons, etc. Then we have “kihon kumite.” They’re basically pre-arranged shadow boxing drills using basics (kihon) in a sparring/fighting sense (kumite). The stances are more natural, hands are kept up to protect the head instead of traditionally chambered, etc. As my teacher says, “they’re designed to bridge the gap between a textbook technique and a natural fighting technique.” No one’s going to throw that exact set of strikes in that order at you and allow you to return the favor that exact way; they’re drilling concepts. Then there’s yakusoku kumite, or prearranged sparring with a partner. Same stuff as above. I think the people who think the curriculum doesn’t work, isn’t good, is fantasy, etc. are the people taking these things as actual responses that are supposed to be done the exact way they’re taught. Maybe this is why people leave in the mid-kyu ranks because they lose faith in the system. My CI does a good job explaining why we do these things, but I don’t think he explains it enough sometimes. I don’t know if other CIs are explaining it like that or just going through the curriculum. But to make a long story short, all techniques taught are mainly principles rather than textbook techniques that should be done exactly as taught. When looking at karate through this lens (don’t forget kata!), it makes a lot more sense. Just my non-expert opinion.

“Remember, the saddest thing in life is wasted talent. You could have all the talent in the world, but if you don’t do the right thing, then nothing happens.” ~ Lorenzo, “A Bronx Tale” Talent and potential are one in the same in this thread IMO.

Watching the replay in slo-mo, that one landed just like an uppercut. Great example. I haven’t seen that clip before. And yeah, I’m in the same boat with my kicks. I guess I got forced to make mae geri work, in a way. My ushiro geri (back kick) is quite strong and effective on people I haven’t sparred with before. I do it as more of a side and half way spinning geri of sorts as a follow up to stuff like mawashi geri (roundhouse) or kake geri (hook kick to the non-Seido contingent). I never throw ushiro geri on it’s own; it’s always at the end or near the end of a combo.

I sincerely hope you never find out what it feels like when blunt force trauma causes permanent damage to one or more of your toe joints. To give you some idea of the potential consequences of 'hurting your toes', expect to spend a lot more money on footwear. Expect to spend much more time searching for footwear that works for you. Don't be planning too much running. Develop an intimate knowledge of anti inflammatory drugs and ointments, buy yourself a walking stick, maybe 20 years before you're old enough to suit it. Learn alternates to very standard exercises and techniques, even the simple pushup requiring modification, and learn to not care too much if someone asks you why you modify your training. And learn to say without sounding embarrassed or hurt, sorry sir, I can't do that. All this for what? To satisfy some bizarre idea of 'traditional' training, ideas passed down from some long dead master and often misinterpreted and stagnated in time. Because we all know, if ever we get attacked and have to engage in hand to hand combat, it's most likely we'll tell our attacker to wait 15 minutes while we take our shoes off then do a quick warm up, maybe stretch off a bit, before kicking them and hoping they don't try to hard to prevent us from kicking them. Hurting your toes sounds trivial. Until you remember that ever single step you take places forces through your toes. Every time we walk on an uneven surface or raise one leg for a kick, our toes provide the feedback needed to stabilise the supporting foot. Your toes are really quite important. I think you misunderstood my post. I’m completely empathetic to your personal situation. I said in a previous post that with your particular condition, it’s really stupid to use the front kick. I’m not changing my stance on that, regardless of whatever else I post. I understand the importance of the toes. I’ve injured mine on a number of occasions; not to the extent you have, obviously. With about 16 years of professional experience in sports medicine (athletic trainer), I’m fully aware of biomechanics. I was speaking in general, not of your specific condition. If I came off any other way, I truly apologize. That wasn’t my intention. You’re truly an exception to my thoughts on the front kick. You didn’t “hurt” your toes; you permanently injured/damaged them, if that makes sense? I don’t remember off the top of my head how you did that, but I’m quite certain someone won’t damage their toes to the extent you have by having a front kick blocked. Especially while wearing shoes in an actual fight. Crazier things have happened though. In regards to doing it because it’s “traditional” “expected” or someone doesn’t want to tell their teacher they can’t do it and face backlash, I don’t have much to say except they’ve got the wrong teacher. Any teacher worth his/her salt will accommodate a student with a genuine physical limitation(s). I’ve got a torn labrum in my shoulder. I can’t do push-ups without grinding pain, then aching and throbbing for days or longer afterwards. Knuckle pushups on the wooden floor are “traditional” at my current and former dojo. We line up and do them often as an entire class, with our teacher doing them as well. My teacher knows my limitation and doesn’t bat an eyelash when I immediately roll onto my back and do sit-ups while everyone else is doing push-ups. Neither does anyone else. We have a 3rd dan who just got a knee replacement yesterday. She hasn’t done kiba dachi/horse stance in years. No one’s told her to get lower in ANY stance. No one’s told her to twist more in any kick, etc. I’d do push-ups if I could; she’d do lower stances if she could; you’d do front kick if you could. That’s the way it’s supposed to be. If you’ve got a genuine condition, you’re not supposed to “suck it up” and make it worse; you’re supposed to work within your limitations. Any teacher who can’t accept that is in the wrong business IMO. The MA are supposed to be a lifelong study that makes you stronger, or something that physically breaks you down to the point you can’t train again. Note: The “you” is a general “you” and not you personally. Again, I’m empathetic to your situation. While I don’t have exactly what you have, I can easily relate. My previous posts were about the kick in general and practiced by someone without extenuating circumstances. If I came across any differently, I apologize.

OneKickWonder, You’ve mentioned the front kick is “high risk” several times. What’s so high risk about it? Other than hurting your toes. Roundhouse kick is higher risk IMO. The leg comes up from the side and hooks around, thereby throwing off balance more. And it takes more of a lean. It takes longer to land, as a front kick is a straight line, whereas a roundhouse is an arc. It’s easier to catch and hold it. The in regards to the path it takes and time, it’s like a cross vs a hook punch. The cross is a faster and straighter punch. And because your punching hand is still in front of you, you’re more closed off than a hook which opens you up a bit more. Front vs roundhouse is the same IMO. Sidekick’s biggest risk IMO is you need to turn sideways to deliver it correctly. That exposes your back more. Biomechanicaly, the sidekick should be the most powerful kick as it engages more leg muscles and those muscles are at a more advantageous line of pull than the others, but it’s not nearly as easy to master as a front kick; and it’s not a kick that’s not as versatile (for me anyway). No need to discuss the risk of spinning and/or flying kicks. Regardless of the kick, you’re standing on one leg. Regardless of the kick, you could injury any kicking surface. Have you ever had someone block a roundhouse with the point of their elbow? One of the most painful kicking mistakes I’ve made. Ever have a roundhouse “checked” by someone else’s shin? Ooowwww! doesn’t do it justice. How is the front kick inherently more risky than any other kick? I’m genuinely trying to understand this. IMO it’s easily the lowest risk kick, hence part of why I throw it so often. If it doesn’t have any power behind it, it’s not worth throwing. But that could be said of any technique.

Then again with your feet/foot and what you said in the other thread... yeah... I wouldn’t be trying to make any version of it work.

I guess with the snap kick version you could use it as a distraction to set other stuff up. Kinda like how I use the front kick as a jab to get in in some cases. I’m not a fan of throwing stuff without much power behind it. Stuff like flutter roundhouse kicks really turn me off. That’s stuff is all fine and good for point fighting, but I don’t have much interest in it. Same for the famous backfist-reverse lunch combo; all flash and no bang. Unless it’s something I can reliably use to get someone to move their hands away from a target I’m going for, I’m not throwing something that won’t cause some damage. There’s a time and a place for everything, so play around with it. That’s what sparring is truly for. Think outside the box a bit and try it in different contexts and combinations. It may surprise you. But also keep in mind not every technique is for everyone. We’ve got spear hand techniques in my school that just aren’t for me. Same for spinning stuff.

It’s easily my most used kick. I’m not much of a kicker, and we don’t kick the legs in free-sparring very often for safety reasons. If I could roundhouse the thighs in free-sparring, front kick would be my #2 kick. As far as risk, for me it’s far lower risk than any other kick (again I’m not a good kicker). Broken toes-wise, I’m pretty sure shoes will protect sufficiently. Power-wise, every strike I know’s power improved significantly from hitting a bag. Everyone thinks crescent kicks are inherently weak. After a few weeks of pounding a bag with them, they got quite powerful for me. Same for every strike. I use front kick in many ways. Again, I’m a poor kicker and somehow I’m built for front kicks I use it as a sort of jab - throw it and use it to get someone to back up and get inside. I use it to push someone off/back someone up when they’re too close. Muay Thai May call this a “teep”? I use it sparingly at longer range, but mostly at an in-between to closet range. My preferred sparring range is closer than most strikers’ range that I’ve been around, and front kick just works for me at that range. I use it at the end of a combo - I’m mostly hands, so people are most concerned with that, and a strong front kick to the stomach ends a punching combo. My main target is right above the belt. If I were to use it in an actual fight, I’d probably aim right below the belt, in the bladder area. That’s a very sensitive spot to get hit. I really try to do other kicks in sparring, but front kick is easily my most effective and go-to kick. I use it far more than anyone in the dojo. Several people have commented they love sparring me because I’m the only one who consistently throws front kicks, and I throw them well. The way my hips work, it’s practically my only kick.

Just when I’m on a roll and think I’m onto the next big thing, you’ve got to go ahead and use logic. Thanks for crushing my dreams of being the next big inventor

It's a bit worse than that in my case unfortunately, as if worn cartilage is not bad enough. I had an accident and few years ago. Unfortunately the x ray technician failed to spot the damage. The conclusion in a very busy A and E department was that nothing was broken, just badly bruised, and a few weeks of rest to light activity would fix it. It was about 2 years later when the problems persisted that an MRI and further xray analysis revealed that in fact the two joint surfaces had actually caved in. Fragments of broken bone from the smashed joint surfaces had moved and reset in the wrong position. If we'd realised this at the time, there's a chance that key hole surgery could have saved the joint. As it's all now well and truly set in the wrong place, it's a case of management until it either fuses or possibly a joint replacement. As grim as all that sounds though, in about 50% of similar cases, joint degradation stops, and it gets no worse for years. It sounds like there’s going to be some trial and error involved in finding the right art that doesn’t make training debilitatingly painful after some time. Boxing footwork may or may not cause pain; being on a judo/BJJ/wrestling mat for periods of time may or may not cause pain, etc.

Note to self: start a gi manufacturing company that makes women’s gis that actually fit women. Sorry... this topic comes up so often without any good solutions beyond buying a gi and having it altered. I feel for you, ladies. I’m a guy who’s got serious problems finding clothes, including gis, that actually fit right. I find a brand and stick it forever, or until they change their cut. Then it’s back to the frustration all over again. I’ve got 1 brand and cut within that brand of jeans that fit right. Same for every type of clothing, but I’ve got a little wiggle room in t-shirts and shorts. You’d figure that a gi brand or two would smarten up and want to dominate an untapped market. I’m shocked that a company as big as Adidas hasn’t done so. I understand the relatively speaking small companies like Shureido not taking the risk, but still...

That’s the biggest downfall of being at a small dojo such as ours - there not much variety in sparring partners. My CI spoke about that the first time I visited and sat down and talked with him. A small dojo also has its benefits too; we all know each other quite well and work together. Our seniors are fantastic about working with the lower ranks. In a great way, it’s as if every nidan and up is a teacher every moment you’re sparring (and any other time you’re paired up). I say nidan and up because the shodans, while they’re quite helpful, are a bit more reserved in their advice (again in a good way). Come to think of it, I’ve never picked who I’m sparring with; in my current dojo nor my former dojo. We just line up and pair off, then circulate through. Everyone spars everyone. I’ve only sparred with my CI once. It was during my 4th kyu test due to not enough sparring partners that night. He’s trying to put off getting his hip replaced again (2nd time on that side, and 3rd overall) for as long as he can. Sparring with him that night was definitely an eye opener in staying within your physical limitations and being as efficient in movement as possible; he moved just barely enough to make me miss every time, made me move more than enough to exhaust me, and hit me with whatever he wanted whenever he wanted to. According to everyone - not just his students, but his peers too - he was a phenomenal competitor in kata and kumite when we were Kyokushin and the subsequent early Seido days. His first hip replacement put an end to that stuff. He does an appropriate amount of partner drills with us. You can easily see when he’s starting to overdo it though.

Absolutely. There’s a time and place for everything. Like everything else, what you’re talking about is a skill, and one I could definitely improve on. Right now however, I’m trying to fix one problem at a time. Once I’m really comfortable with what I’m doing and relatively got it down, then I’ll work on baiting my opponents with backward motion. The more I force myself not to step backward, the more I realize how often I did it when I didn’t need to/shouldn’t have.

It would depend on how bad my feet hurt and what made it worse. Is it just kicking, or the pounding on your feet? Have you tried wearing shoes while you train? I get plantar fasciitis from time to time. When it starts getting bad, I wear wrestling shoes in the dojo. The hardwood floor is pretty unforgiving, and the wrestling shoes take the edge off. If it ever gets worse, I’d ask to wear (clean and indoor only) running shoes. Arthritis and plantar fasciitis aren’t the same thing, but perhaps it could help? If I were to migrate to a hands only style/system, two options immediately come up in my head that I’ve wanted to do for quite some time - Judo and boxing. But that would be a try and see how it works out thing. The softer judo tatami (mats) may be too soft and exacerbate problems. Boxing has a ton of footwork involved, and the bouncing and pounding associated with it may also cause issues. I did a little boxing in college. I loved every minute of it. If you’re looking for an effective hands-only style, I can’t think of anything that’s in the same league. If you want the whole tradition and belt ranking system, judo or BJJ.

I’m just fighting the urge to do so. So far I’m actually winning that particular fight. I kept at it today. Same result with equal and lower ranks. I finally got to try it out against a higher rank. It was the yondan who loves to sweep me. He’s also a person I’d characterize as a mountain of a man. He’s practically immovable and holds his ground better than just about anyone I know. He’s not a highly athletic guy by any means, but he stays within his limitations and does it quite well. I didn’t back up at all. Neither did he. I got swept twice, but that’s not any more than usual with him. I got hit a few times, but again, no more than usual. Actually, it was a lot less than I expected. We pushed each other back a few times. I went further than he did though, as expected I’m really digging this. It’s tough to do, but it’s working so much better for me so far. I’m definitely not a light on my feet kinda guy, so I’ve got to play to my strengths and not force myself to be something that quite frankly I’ll never be. That doesn’t mean I shouldn’t nor won’t get out of my comfort zone; it just means he realistic about not ever being Bruce Lee darting in and out. I told my CI and said yondan about my strategy after class today. They both said it was a pretty big improvement. They both encouraged me to keep at it. If the usual Tuesday crew shows up, that’ll be the real test. On a side note, sparring this way is so much more tiring. When you’re in that range, you’ve got to constantly work. Stopping for a second can easily mean lights out. There’s no jumping back and taking a breather while acting like I’m resetting. The only breather I get now is when I back up to let people away from the wall.

I need to read more stuff beyond Men’s Health magazine and MA forums. I guess that’s why I’m struggling to find an inspirational figure from history. Not all is lost though. Plenty of people here inspire me

I like your analysis. That’s about what I was doing before, but add in a little backing up on my part to create some space. I noticed 2 main things by not backing up last night... 1. My opponents couldn’t throw much more than one technique at a time. They threw a kick or a punch and tried to step forward during it in attempt to continue the combo. Me just standing there and them running out of room confused them and inadvertently “jammed” them. 2. I didn’t do what my CI refers to as “going tit for tat” meaning it wasn’t one guy throwing a combo with the other guy backing up, and then starting his combo; basically taking turns on offense then defense the entire time. My scientific inquiry mind tells me I should stick with this for several weeks without changing anything else to determine its true effectiveness.

I knew you were going to post something along these lines, as I’ve heard you briefly speak about not backing up before. I really like the detail you put into this post. I fight at a closer range than most people at my dojo do. Being 5’9 and having short legs (29” inseam) has something to do with that. Having horrible flexibility that kicking above rib height has something to do with it. Having the wrestling experience I have and not being afraid of being grabbed or thrown has something to do with it too. There’s a guy who can easily sweep me at any given moment, but I’ll discuss him a bit later. I like fighting up close. It takes away people’s reach advantage, and especially their kicking. I find most taller and thinner people like to keep guys like me in a range where they can hit me but I can’t hit them. They also like to catch me on the way in. They typically have the most difficulty when I get up close. People around my size aren’t as predictable. The most difficult people to find a comfortable range against is the taller AND big guys. They’ll happily keep you outside your range, then when you get in and under them, they’ll happily trade punches and make you carry their weight. The guy I referenced earlier in this post who’s a yondan (not the yondan in my previous post). Whenever I get close, he either goes Rock ‘Em Sock ‘Em Robots with me, which ends in my demise, or he just sweeps me and laughs. If he’s in a really good mood, he’ll do both. We were sparring one day, and he just kept tagging me every time I tried anything from the outside. So I got up really close, and he picked me apart inside and swept me. My CI just shook his head and chuckled. I said “ toying was working from the outside, so I figured I had to change it up.” My CI nodded, then I followed up with “nothing really worked when I got inside either, so I’m out of options.” Everyone in the dojo found that one amusing. But fighting up close and not backing up are two different things. They appear the same on the outside, the way I did it last night was a significantly different experience. All I did differently than usual was not take a single step backward. If my opponent stepped backward, I simply took a step forward. If they stepped forward, they got themselves into an up close range without me initiating it. I’m really looking forward to seeing the seniors and trying this. The above mentioned yondan who loves to sweep me will most likely have a field day with me. It’s all good though.

I was having a conversation about my fighting stance a few weeks ago with a yondan who likes to let me go hard and pushes me outside my comfort level. He and the two sandans I mentioned earlier are by far my favorite sparring partners. I try new things with them, and they give me just enough to try it while picking apart my mistakes, yet not completely shutting me down like they can if they wanted to. It’s a pretty difficult balance IMO. Anyway, while talking to that yondan a few weeks ago, I told him how it’s difficult for me to stay in an orthodox stance, even though I’m significantly stronger in it. When I’m matched up with someone who doesn’t give me any problems and I have to defend minimally, it’s not an issue at all; when I’m paired up with someone who clearly outclasses me, I go into my comfortable southpaw stance. I do that because my right hand and foot are quicker, so it’s easier to block and counter. I block far more stuff and land far more stuff with my lead hand and foot. Only problem is there’s not nearly as much power behind anything. I work on it on my bag, but it’s quite obvious that I’m far stronger in an orthodox stance when I’m hitting the bag and not holding back. Looking into it further, it’s purely a defensive thing the more I analyze it. Now when I go into a southpaw stance, he does too. He used to sometimes do it just to take the angle advantage away, but now he does it every time to force me into my orthodox stance because he knows I’m trying to break that habit. Maybe not backing up at all will help keep me in my orthodox stance? Maybe it’ll force me to use right rear leg kicks instead of relying on right front leg kicks? Whatever it does, I’m just looking to dictate the right against a clearly superior partner as much as I can rather than playing inadvertently constantly defense and just going for whatever will give me the least trouble when I’ve got my hands full. Sure, retreating has its advantages. But I’d rather retreat because it’ll be a true advantage and baiting them rather than out of preconceived necessity. When I see those guys, it’ll be just hold my ground, regardless of the outcome. My biggest obstacle at this point will be to stick with it rather than abandon it when it gets tough. I’m quite sure they’ll adjust and it won’t have the immediate and long lasting effect it did last night. But the only way to make it truly effective is to stick with it and gain the experience of exactly how and when. I’m certain I’ll “lose” more than “win,” but eventually that’ll change; there’s no miracle fighting methods here.

Half way through my first round of sparring with a usual partner, I asked myself why am I backing up? The only time he truly lands anything substantial is when I back up and disengage/reset. I wondered “what if I don’t back up AT ALL?” So I didn’t take a single step backward, not even angled or circled backwards to block or counter like I usually do. His kicks are his true strength, whereas his punching isn’t very good. I wasn’t trying to exploit that, but it just worked out that way. I realized how bad his punching and overall hand stuff really is. I hope he did too and works on it. After that, I though “I’m not going to take a single backwards step the rest of the night, no matter what.” I didn’t get “all up in everyone’s face” or or chase anyone down, I simply held my ground and didn’t back up. Everyone started backing up to make some room, and all I did was take a step forward with them. It frustrated everyone; I forced them to fight my fight rather than their own, and they all ended up with their back to the wall. I should actually amend the premise - I only backed up to reset when they were too close to the wall or each other. The only one who was semi-comfortable with it was the guy who’s about 5 inches taller and about 60 lbs heavier than me. Half way through the round he realized he should do the same thing and started making me deal his size advantage. After his adjustment, he was quite ok with not kicking. None of it turned into an uncontrolled slug-fest. I wasn’t actively stalking anyone nor trying to corner them. I wasn’t actively trying to take away any techniques from anyone. All I set out to do was not take a single step backward and see what would come of it. Everything above happened on its own. We didn’t have the upper ranks that usually beat up on me (in a good way) last night. It was all people right around my rank. I’m really looking forward to seeing how this will all play out on Tuesday night when that group usually comes to class. There’s a sandan woman who’s easily the best and most effective kicker I’ve ever sparred with who really gives me a hard time (again, in a good way). I almost always try to get really close to take her kicks away from her, with varying levels of success. She somehow always sneaks a few well timed and targeted kicks in though. She’s the reason why I bought a custom molded mouthpiece I wonder how this approach will work rather than actively trying to get really close. Last night proved the best defense is a solid offense. Now to see how well that holds up against a pair of sandans and yondans. I have the feeling there will be a painful learning curve.

Quality trumps quantity, so long as there’s enough quality training time. Only going to class once a month, no matter how good the training is, isn’t exactly going to be better than going a few times a week to mediocre classes. Developing muscle memory and constant refining of it are key. As is consistent work against resistance. Think about a baseball player; he needs to see live pitching regularly to maintain his skills. Simply swinging a bat without a baseball coming his way doesn’t work. But within the quality vs quantity discussion, something is better than nothing, provided the something isn’t counterproductive to the skills being worked on.

Thanks again, guys. And gal. It was a great day. Perfect weather; mini golf, go-carts and ice cream (my 7 and 5 year old daughters planned the day ). As much fun as it was, and it was a lot of fun, it’s all about the company you keep.

Treating equally and the same aren’t the same thing. You treat all students with equal respect and dignity, regardless of rank, so long as they’re worthy of that respect and dignity. And that respect and dignity starts at day one and doesn’t waver until they’ve acted in a way to revoke it. How long they’ve been there and their abilities have nothing to do with it. I say you absolutely treat the yudansha differently than the kyus. You treat everyone differently than each other. Why? Because they’re individual human beings who have different strengths and weaknesses, likes and dislikes, etc. Not everyone learns the same way, and not everyone’s motivated the same way. Furthermore, the longer someone’s been around, the better you know them. Quite possibly the more they’ve done for you and you’ve done for them. If you expect different things from them, you should treat them differently. But that doesn’t mean you treat anyone like garbage. That doesn’t mean anyone gets treated in a lesser manner until they’ve somehow proven themselves. Everyone should be extended equal respect until they earn more or earn less. Equal and same aren’t the same thing. Just my opinion.