JR 137

I think the commitment and dedication to the teacher in MA is a highly romanticized thing. Loyalty works both ways. With the exception of things like monachs and the like, IMO loyalty has always worked both ways. And if we take a good look at history, a lot of the monarchs who weren’t loyal to their people were dealt with. I take issue with only one thing you said somewhere here - that you don’t think your now former sensei would let you train in karate somewhere else. How is that? There’s no need for permission. Unless it’s a case of him paying your bills, providing for you, employing you, etc.; there’s no permission anywhere in this equation. You made a difficult decision, but IMO it was the right one. You were no longer getting what you expected. You were no longer getting what you came for. Again, loyalty works both ways. If I was told I was going to be taught A, and slowly over the course of time I was no longer being taught A, but now solely being taught B, I wouldn’t consider that being loyal to my needs. Everyone’s got to do what they’ve got to do. Things changed, and they weren’t the changes you envisioned. There’s no shame in saying it’s no longer meeting the needs you came for. There’s no shame in saying it’s no longer meeting your goals and interests. There’s no shame in saying “this just isn’t for me.” It’s only an issue if one of the parties doesn’t respect the other party’s reasons. My CI isn’t getting any younger. I’ve thought about what will happen when he eventually retires. There’s several scenarios in my head. I’d happily stay under some of them, and I’m quite sure I’d eventually leave under a few others. I wouldn’t hold any grudges nor would I feel dishonorable if I left under certain scenarios. I’d remain friends with them no matter what, unless I was disrespected by my decision to leave. If my CI decides today that we’re going to focus on point fighting, tournament kata performance, and generating maximum revenue by filling the place up with wannabe ninja turtles kids, I’d respectfully tell him my heart’s not into training like that. If he had a problem with that, then unfortunately that’s his own problem that he needs to work out on his own. I don’t foresee that happening, but in the grand scheme of things you didn’t either, so one never really knows.

I thought the wooden name tags on the walls were the names of current yudansha, not just members of the dojo. Then again, different dojos have different traditions. I’ve seen the wooden name tags on dojo walls in Okinawa in videos, so I don’t think it’s unheard of for Okinawan teachers here to do so. And even if it’s a Japanese or anything else thing in origin, I think it’s a great tradition so what difference does it really make? Nothing wrong with borrowing a different tradition so long as it fits with what you’re doing and it’s not being done the wrong way IMO. As far as cleaning the floor like you described, in Seido everyone does it, all throughout the ranks. The lowest ranked student(s) are responsible for handing out the towels, but everyone does it. And it’s considered part of class. No one’s “too good” to clean the floor. And if someone feels they are, they’re in the wrong place. We also have a “dojo cleaning day” once every few months. It’s not required to attend, but just about all of us show up and help. Even the parents who don’t train come to help out. Stuff like that builds a community in the dojo.

I’d contact them too. Give them a chance to make it right. For what it’s worth, I buy every gi a full size larger to account for shrinkage (cue George Costanza’s voice here ). All 100% cotton gis shrink quite a bit initially, then I’ve found most continue to shrink a very little bit over the course of a year being washed 1-2 times a week. I always wash cold and hang dry. The Seishin gi seems to have changed in some ways since the initial run, and not for the better. No one had a single negative thing to say about them. Now seemingly all of a sudden things have changed. And the price went up about $100. The ads used to say one of the goals was to make it affordable for the everyday person. They missed that goal IMO as the initial crowdsourcing run was $150 USD for one and $260 USD for 2. At the current $269 USD from their website, the price is currently $9 more than doubled. I don’t think everyday people are wearing a $150 gi, let alone a $269 gi. Call me crazy. And writing Made in Pakistan, but using Japanese katakana? An absolute disgrace IMO. I’m sure a lot of people wouldn’t be too happy if they knew it was Pakistan written instead of Japan. In my mind there’s no way that couldn’t have been a conscientious decision to deceive people. I know I’d have assumed it said Japan had I not seen this. Before all of this I was considering buying a Seishin gi. I’m glad I bought a second Shureido K-11. And I saved about $100 over the Seishin.

The Eagles’ defense wasn’t exactly stellar either. They made one big play. Granted, it was at the most important moment (which is what makes great “great”), but I think both teams struggled defensively. Struggled might be a strong word though. I think both teams played very conservative on defense, trying not to give up too many big plays. It seemed like they were ok with allowing a long drive and tried to tighten up significantly in the red zone. The 1,100+ yards of combined total offense makes me think both teams were playing a “bend but don’t break” defense. Add to that both QBs had stellar games and the receivers didn’t drop anything.

It was a great game. Foles and Ertz along with the rest of the Eagles really impressed me. So did the Patriots. As for the Cowboys, they’re currently undefeated, so they’ve got that going for them, which is nice

A CI IMO has a moral/ethical obligation to act on red flags. Unless the person is a known criminal, I don’t think there’s much screening that really can or should be done. If I had to go through some sort of background check, I’d have most likely joined a different dojo to be honest. And I’ve been fingerprinted and screened due to being a teacher, so obviously I don’t have anything in my past that would exclude me. But here’s the thing about background checks... they only indicate if you’ve been caught or are currently being accused. Case in point is there was a child molester working at school I used to work at. He’d passed his background check and everything was fine at hiring. He hadn’t been accused of anything. Once charges were brought against him, the school was promptly (I’m assuming) informed and he was immediately placed on unpaid leave pending the outcome. People criticized the school for hiring him once the allegations were brought forward. But there was no way anyone knew anything until that point. A background check doesn’t reveal what someone’s actually doing, only what they’ve been accused of and/or convicted of.

On the surface it seems like a hamstring strain. What have you been done since it occurred? If you haven’t taken much time off and have been doing a lot of stretching, this may be why it’s still bothering you and/or getting worse. When you “pull” a muscle (strain), you pull the fibers apart. It seems like a good stretch will loosen it up and work it out. That’s actually counterproductive. When the fibers are pulled apart, they need to stick back together so they can heal. Every time you stretch and kick, you’re reaggravating the injury, even if only a little bit. At this long out, your best bet is a good warmup followed by gentle stretching. By gentle stretching, I mean going right to that point of discomfort and backing off. These things generally take a good month or two to heal up, depending on the severity, and that’s with rest. If you haven’t taken any time off, you’re most likely making it worse. The older we get, the longer it takes to recover unfortunately. If I could treat you, I’d also do some myofascial release, most likely ART on the area, along with some moderate strengthening exercises. But first I’d have to know what the injury actually is It wouldn’t hurt to see an orthopedist and/or physical therapist. They’d be able to put their hands on you and figure out exactly what’s going on. It could be something else.

Forget about the Rubik’s cube. Set up chess boards...

He noticed there was a TKD tournament going on at a different hotel, so he went to check it out during some down time during his work. He paid $18 for his ticket to the tournament. At least that’s my assumption after reading it.

If it was a Kung fu demo, would you be upset if they didn’t mention which type of Kung fu?

Exactly. Couldn’t agree more. Furthermore, even non-Karate places use the term karate. I’ve seen it used many times with TKD and Tang Soo Do. I understand it used to be referred to as “Korean Karate,” but call it what is is, either TKD or TSD. I don’t understand how JKA or any other actual karate organization simply using the term Karate is wrong. Would a car dealership be incorrect in having a sign that says “Cars?” A restaurant with a sign that says “Food?” A pet store that says “Pets?” Sure, being more descriptive might bring in more people who want what a specific thing and less people will turn away because they were expecting something else, but being generic in the description is far from incorrect. Being too generic can have its downfalls. If I saw a sign that simply said food, I probably wouldn’t go in because I’d have no idea what to expect from the menu. But if I’m looking for a new option, I might do a bit more research on that restaurant.

My understanding is Yamaguchi was taught Goju Ryu in Japan under one of Miyagi’s direct students. Miyagi was invited by Yamaguchi and his teacher to Japan, where they both studied further Miyagi. Miyagi is said to have given Yamaguchi the responsibility of spreading Goju to mainland Japan. I’ve also read Yamaguchi traveled to Okinawan several times afterwards to train with Miyagi and Miyagi’s senior-most students after Miyagi’s death, most notably Meitoku Yagi. I guess it could be said that Goju-Kai is Yamaguchi’s take and tweaking of Miyagi’s Goju Ryu. I’m pretty sure the syllabi are close to identical when it comes to kata and requirements for promotion. Yamaguchi is said to have introduced Jiyu Kumite (free fighting) into Goju, so there may or may not be a heavier emphasis on free sparring over kata bunkai. If there’s a big difference, I’d guess that it would be more teacher to teacher than Goju Ryu vs Goju Kai. But that’s all conjecture on my part.

Thanks, Danielle. Now I’m starting to get it. Especially the security aspect. At our house, someone’s always around. I’m in a two-family house, and the people downstairs always have at least one person home. The neighbors next door both work from home, so there’s always multiple sets of eyes on the house. I like the promimity lights on the porch idea though. I’d like a proximity key like a lot of cars have too. It would be cool to walk up to the door and have it unlock, and have it lock on my way out without fumbling with keys. I’m always carrying far too much stuff like my daughters’ backpacks.

If I’m ever fortunate enough to be able to retire, I’ll be looking for someplace where I open my door and I’m on the beach. And I’m comfortably wearing a pair of shorts and a t-shirt 365 days a year.

What if you locked yourself out and the phone is still in the house? I know I’m late to the party here, but... My mother-in-law gave us an echo dot for Christmas 2 years ago. It’s still in the box. Other than asking it what the weather is like or something like that, I don’t have much use for it. I’ve got an old fashioned thermostat, light switches, etc. I even have a turntable that I listen to vinyl on. I guess I’m old school. I wouldn’t mind getting the nest thermostat, or whatever it’s called. Using my phone to control the temperature in my house before I get there would be pretty cool. But not $200+ cool. Telling a computerized whatever to turn lights off because my wife can’t be bothered to turn a light off whenever she leaves a room would be great. I’d go with motion sensor light switches, but where my overhead light switches currently are would be a nightmare. If I were to go the automated route, I’d presumably have to install new switches that are capable of receiving a signal. Too much hassle and probably more money that I’d care to spend. I’ll continue getting off my lazy rear end and turn off every light in the house while muttering things under my breath. Controlling the tv would be great. I’m on day 4 of looking for the main tv remote. I’m using the DVD player remote to turn the tv on and off and control volume. We’ve got a Roku box and don’t have cable, so it’s not like I flip through channels. The Roku remote has been found. No idea how to get the echo dot to control a tv. I don’t have a “smart tv” (talk about an oxymoron), so I’m assuming I’d need to buy one. Not worth a few hundred bucks to me. Then there’s the refrigerator my sister-in-law bought. It’s got an iPad looking thing on it that keeps track of a grocery list. She allegedly doesn’t have to open the thing to know what she needs to buy. Yeah, talk about a great feature that’s going to change my life. Imagine the amount of time and energy saved by not having to open the refrigerator to figure out what you need. Sign me up. Maybe when I have severe short term memory loss. I’ve got an easier way to figure out how the weather’s going to be than asking out loud - I take my phone out of my pocket and open an app with one touch. Done. I’ve got 2 pretty much foolproof ways of playing music - 1. Get up, turn the stereo on, and open the app on my phone that’s connected to my music server; 2. Get up, turn the stereo on, and put an album on the turntable. If its too much work to do either of those two, I should really rethink things. Barring physical disability of course. I’d really like to yell “will you please turn of the kitchen light!” and have someone... err... something... actually listen to me and do it though. Show me how to get it to clean the house, wash the dishes, cook, wash and fold and put away the laundry, and go grocery shopping, and I’m in. Until then, it’s not going to save me any truly valuable time. Maybe im too old and set in my ways. I am 41 after all. Maybe I’m too cheap. Maybe I don’t want the hassle of installing stuff that’s going to aggravate me in different ways. Pretty sure it’s a combination of all of those. I can hear myself now... “You lazy snot-nosed kids with your fancy computers that do everything for you so you don’t have to get up like we used to back in my day. You have no idea what hard work really is!”

Playing devil’s advocate here... The student was a brown belt and they wanted him to go to the extra training sessions on the weekend. Was this help him prepare for a possibly upcoming black belt test? I could see an instructor setting this up and wanting his students nearing the test to participate. Whenever we have a student who’s getting ready for a black belt test (any dan ranking), my CI asks the black belts to come in and help prepare the student on an off day, usually after regular Saturday classes or on Sunday. The more people there, the more sparring partners and sets of eyes on the student. They all get together a few times and it’s kind of like a private lesson for the student. But it’s absolutely optional for everyone involved; if people can’t make it it’s no big deal. Or if the student testing just flat out doesn’t want to, it’s his/her training. It’s simply a way to help each other out and pay it forward from when people helped you if you’re not testing. If it’s like this, it might be that the teacher in question doesn’t like the fact that he’s trying to help the student along and the student care. That’s a reach, but you never know. Second thought is are you close to the “expelled” student? If so, perhaps you’re guilty by association in his mind. He might feel you two are commiserating. Regardless of why, it’s all irrelevant. You deserve to train somewhere you feel completely comfortable and not looking over your shoulder. You shouldn’t feel like you’re walking on eggshells nor begging to be treated like you’re a part of the dojo.

I have a Shureido bo. No idea where it is now, as I haven’t used it since around 2001. I’m pretty sure it’s at my in-laws’ house, as my wife and I lived there before we moved away and turned it over to them. I loved that bo. No idea why, but it just felt perfect in my hands. A tad light (in a good way), perfectly balanced, etc. Hard to describe. If you randomly picked it up you wouldn’t notice, but if you used it day in and day out then picked up something else you’d really miss it. Shureido makes great stuff. I’ve owned the K-10 and now have 2 K-11s. Not a single disappointment. Expensive, but IMO worth every penny. And they’re subtly great - they don’t shout out “I’m awesome;” you realize how great they are and really miss them when you go back to something else.

Was that one really 13 years ago? It just hit me now. I’m feeling old.

Congratulations. Do you have the bag spot all picked out and roped off yet?

Welcome aboard

I'm not actively seeking to steal my instructor's students but I've been thinking about this myself this year. I don't like the direction the club is going, have some very different ideas about how to teach and run things and, I think it's the next step in my training and learning. I don't intend to take students and definitely have no intention of issuing my instructor an ultimatum, but I half suspect a lot of the higher grade students would follow me. I don’t see anything wrong with you leaving. And I don’t see anything wrong with some of the students following you. If you were to tell the students beforehand and try to get them to follow you, that’s a different story. This reminds me of a guy I used to bartend with. He was leaving and opening up his own place. One night when the boss wasn’t around, I asked him if he was looking for people. He stopped me before I finished my sentence and said he wouldn’t discuss it at work, but if I was interested to give him a call. He didn’t approach a single person, but 3 of us approached him in private. He wasn’t out to “steal” staff, and he and our former boss remained friends afterwards. Don’t actively reach out to the students, but talk to them if they approach you. Make sure you let them know you’re not actively pursuing them, but if they decided to follow you then they’re welcome to. Just my opinion.

MatsuShinshii, you’d probably love my dojo too... I just found out our dojo turned 30 years old on Tuesday. My CI his wife started the dojo after their teacher and another local dojo left Seido. They both taught for a few years under both of them. After their teachers’ split from Seido, they decided they didn’t want to play politics and decide who they’d follow, so they opened a dojo directly under Nakamura. They opened it as a way to continue training and teaching Seido. A dojo mate and I were contemplating the financial state of the dojo, so to speak, a few months ago. Looking at the number of students, and average cost of rent and utilities, I think the dojo pays for itself, a dozen or so trips to honbu for my CI, and maybe, just maybe, a few days of vacation for my CI and his wife a year. The other guy thinks it’s break-even and doesn’t cover all the trips to honbu. Either way, it’s been a 30 year labor of love for both of them. We’ve got about 25 adult students and about 30 kids/young teens. He knows what everyone else charges, but he’s said several times “I charge what I think is a fair price.” To put it into perspective, my CI charges $55 per month for adults and $45 per month for kids. And there’s $10 off for family members. The average commercial dojos charge $125-$150 per month per person.

Congratulations prototype

The more I read this thread and contemplate it, the more it becomes obvious to me that there needs to be a balance. A balance of not too few and not too many. More kata equals more options. If the school teaches only 5 kata throughout the entire syllabus, what if the student doesn’t “get it” with those 5 kata or those kata don’t “click?” There are some kata that I’m required to know, but I honestly don’t think they have as much value as others I know. Case in point Pinan 3. I know the kata, I’ve seen a lot of bunkai from it, and I’ve done my fair share in the past. I just don’t like the bunkai from it and wouldn’t use much of it as my “go to” stuff. I doubt practicing and breaking down that one for several years would change my mind. Then there’s Saiha/Saifa that just works for me. When doing that one and breaking it down, it just flat out makes sense and I could easily solely do that one for years. Sanchin too, although for different reasons. Then you have the camp with 2-3 kata for each kyu level, and a few at each dan level. You’re talking 30+ when all’s said and done here. How much understanding can you get for each kata? But by having more kata, the student can have more options. Not in the number of available techniques sense, but can easier choose a specialty, so to speak. Let’s say I start a school and have 15 required kata in my syllabus. Some will love some kata and go through the motions with other kata. The student can choose which kata they study a mile deep, and which ones they study a few feet deep. That doesn’t mean the student dictates which kata they’ll learn nor the level of competence of each kata, but rather as they advance through the ranks they can make certain kata “their own.” They can have a handful of kata they truly know and can keep exploring vs when there’s only 5 options, they may only have a single one that really stands out to them. With more kata, there’s also more to go back to. What was an effective and boring kata can be viewed differently later on when they’ve got more experience and can see things in a different light and through a more experienced lens. What was once not desirable is now a really good thing. None of this is to being in more students by broadening the art. It’s about keeping who you’ve got interested for the long term. A good example is at nidan there’s only one empty handed kata in my school’s syllabus. What if I despise that kata? It’s the only one for a good 3-4 years minimum. And if my organization only does a handful of kata beforehand, I’m going to get burnt out. Our 8th kyus only know 3 kata, two of which are practically indistinguishable (taikyoku 1 middle punch be taikyoku 2 high punch). They tend to get this look on their face like “when am I going to do something else?” Now imagine if that went on for 3-4 years minimum.

My bad, sorry about my post!! A different list...or is what JR posted, what you're asking for?? Yes I love the “yes” response to a multiple choice question. Me: “Honey, do you want to go to the Italian restaurant or the steak restaurant?” My wife: “Yes.” Me: Shakes head and walks away thinking “how is it someone with a degree in English has no clue how to speak English?” That happens about 4 times a day on average. Different questions, same answer.