JR 137

Please don't take this as me feeling sorry for myself nor needing sympathy. It's as much me getting this off my chest as anything else. I'll look back at this thread (hopefully sooner than later) and reflect on it. The fatigue, while front and center isn't the only thing going on. The following occurred in order, and all feel like they're getting worse... My muscles, predominantly my quads and upper back/shoulders, are constantly sore. Sore like I overdid a workout the day before. Every day. They're sore and tired. Both shoulders feel like impingement syndrome. Both of my hands feel like carpal tunnel syndrome. Opening bottles, bags, etc. causes pain in my hands that radiates up my forearms. Writing and brushing my teeth do the same. Then I woke up with a pain inside my left foot. It feels like a stress fracture if I move my foot a certain way. It lead to numbness and tingling in my middle 3 toes. Now I've also got pain in the tendons at the front of the ankle, and random shooting pain up my shin. Twisting certain ways, the muscles between and around my ribs spasm/cramp. The latest is pain along my left knee MCL. I'm getting headaches behind my eyes, almost daily. I tended to get these when I was fatigued and/or went too long without eating before the Lyme diagnosis. None of these things are severe enough to keep me from working nor doing everyday stuff. But if I do too much, like I did the other day by playing dodgeball for 20 minutes with the 8th grade PE class I was covering, I'm done. I'm useless the rest of the day, and dragging the next day. I just wonder what new pain I'll wake up with that won't go away.

Will your heart really be in it if you stay? Will you really be teaching what Shinshii taught you and demanded from you and your students? Are you loyal to a shell of a former organization or to the art Shinshii taught you and the standards at which he taught? Had he foreseen the current state, would he have granted these people (and you, if you choose to comply) the right to teach and carry on his art in the first place? If the Rolex name was bought by Timex, and all Rolexes produced afterward were really just dressed up Timexes, would they still be Rolexes? Would you be comfortable selling these "Rolexes" to your loyal customers? Granted, I'm only hearing your side of this, but I don't see anyone in their right mind complying with these changes for any length of time. Unless there's an issue of racism, sexism, etc., no organization should demand teachers teach anyone they don't want to teach, let alone establish a quota. My organization has curricula for ages 4 and up. Our kaicho doesn't require that anyone teach any individual group nor all groups. He doesn't interfere in costs (I'm assuming provided no one is damaging the Seido Juku name or another Seido Juku dojo). His way of keeping teachers in check is holding them accountable when he tests the teachers' students for dan grades. If I were in charge, I'd run it the same way. If that made me a dinosaur, I'd happily walk around like a T. Rex all day.

Keep at it, sensei8! Just remember, it's a marathon and not a sprint. If what you're doing ain't broke, don't try to fix it.

Thanks, sensei8. It means a lot to me. This fatigue thing is different than anything I've experienced before. As I said before, in the past exercise has ALWAYS helped me feel better. With this, I genuinely feel worse for the rest of the day. I keep telling myself it's all in my head (the fatigue thing), but no matter how hard I try to just "punch through," my body very sternly reminds me it's not in my head. I'm doing what the doc says. I'm eating pretty healthy. My doctor isn't the one who says I need exercise, I'm the one saying it. His advice is do what I can and listen to my body. I just don't want to hear what my body has to say

3rd round of antibiotics. Lyme is still in my blood. Doing some other tests so I can bring them to an infectious disease specialist. Just got put on blood pressure meds too. BP was 141/109. I need exercise, but I don't have enough energy. Little bit of a quandary there, huh?

My K-10 shrunk quite a bit during the 4 years I owned it. It only shrunk length-wise, not width, for what it's worth. However, I always washed it warm and machine dried it. Every time. Thinking about it, it may have been 4 inches. I warm washed and machine dried my K-11 about 5 times when I first got, before alterations. It's still a bit long, which I can live with. When I first tried it on, my wife laughed and said it looked like a dress. She was right. I now was all my gis cold and hang dry. My wife dried my other 2 gis a few times, and the jackets get shorter every time. Doesn't happen when I hang dry them. Only drawback to hang drying is the material feels a bit rough. I'm fine with that though. If I want to feel all nice and snugglie, I'll machine dry it for a few minutes. No-heat machine drying might be fine, but I can't be bothered.

Welcome aboard

If kata is a big part of your training, do your most space consuming kata, figure out the square footage required, and multiply by the number of students. Bo kata probably require more space. Our dojo is quite small. Senior students performing kata such as Koryu Gojushiho and Kanku start with their back almost against a wall, and usually have to shuffle backward so they don't hit the opposing wall. They have no problems when they start where the adjacent wall would be, but then we're limited to two or three people at a time. There's a bo kata that brings about the same situation. Those kata are very long in the embussen. We have enough room for every other kata. We've adjusted pretty well with the space we've got. Also factor in space on the floor and wall(s) for things like bags, weapons (if they're stored on the wall), mats (if you have a stack of them in a corner, etc. If I were looking at a place, I'd do the most space consuming kata during a walk-through to get an idea. The realtor/landlord may look at you funny while doing it, but oh well. If a kata can fit comfortably, so can anything else IMO. Better yet, bring a bo and run through a bo kata (if you teach bo). The dojo ceiling gets shorter and the space gets narrower somehow when bo kata is being done

I really think think it's a combination of factors. The way the instructor carries him/herself is very critical. An instructor who's arrogant, sarcastic, and/or very matter of fact isn't the type I look for. A quiet dignity is preferable to me. Arrogance is usually a facade to hide insecurity IMO. If you tell me you're the best teacher there is, teaching the best style there is, etc., I know you're not. Saying "this is what we do and how we do it" shows confidence. The teacher doesn't have to be technically gifted by any means. He/she needs to watch the students and be able to pick apart the flaws, and correct them in a way the students can understand and actually do. How many hall of fame players became hall of fame coaches? None that I know of.

Welcome aboard

An instructor who demands when people train is pretty out of touch with reality imo. Unless of course training is your job, such as a pro fighter, or you've committed to teaching regularly. The best thing I've heard in this regard came from my current teacher. Before officially signing up, I told him I can attend certain nights regularly, but I have work and family stuff that comes up (my daughters are 4 and 6). His response - everyone's got a life to live. You can come every day, never, or anything in between. It's your training, not mine. I teach whoever's here and don't ask people where they've been. (We tell him though )

If you teach children, you should probably shorten their class to 45 minutes and charge a bit less than adults. If no children, disregard. Children are important though. They quite often bring in adults who stay long after they've lost interest. 3/4 of the adults in my dojo brought their kids in and decided to stop watching and start training after a few months. Only one of that group has kids who still train there.

A couple questions... How many classes available per night? Is it just one class where kids and adults train together, are they split, and/or is there a split in ranks? Are weekend private lesson included with tuition, or are they extra? I don't see anything wrong with what you've stated, just looking for clarification. Our dojo has 2 classes every night Monday-Thursday. Monday is kids followed by adults, Tuesday is kata class followed by advanced class (4th kyu and up adults), Wednesday is adults followed by black belt adults, Thursday and Saturday are kids followed by adults. Adults and kids classes are all ranks, except advanced class and black belt class. The big dojos in my area will typically have about 4 classes per night, separating kids and adults, and low ranks and high ranks. We're not a big dojo; about 40 students total, about 50/50 kids to adults. I think one of the most important things is class times. Get the times right and you'll do well; get them wrong and no one will show up, even if they want to. There were two dojos I was interested in when I restarted that I didn't visit. Neither one had enough classes offered when I could attend. One was a Kyokushin dojo that had adult classes two nights a week - the same two nights and times that I work late. I couldn't even visit if I tried, and that place was #2 on my short list to visit.

Not to answer for sensei8, but I must say... Menkyo Kaiden was awarded to Dai-Soke from Soke. Menkyo Kaiden was not awarded from Dai-Soke to San Dai-Soke. How can San Dai-Soke be stripped of any ownership of SKKA/Shindokan? From what I'm interpreting (and it could be quite wrong), he abandoned it when he closed the honbu and was not to be found. Sensei8 - if these guys want to further their knowledge and the former San Dai-Soke has the knowledge they're after, tell them to encourage the former San Dai-Soke to start his own dojo/organization, and encourage anyone who's interested to resign and become his students. I get wanting to further the knowledge, but at the expense of the art and organization itself? People who forget history are destined to be reminded the hard way. Harsh, yes. But hey, he almost ruined the organization single handedly once. Brining him back in any capacity is inviting him to have a second chance at it. Once he's back, there's no telling how manipulative he'll get. Would divide and conquer be completely out of the realm of possibility? By-Laws can be changed if the right puppets are in place. Not that I think they're puppets by any means, but him coming in could easily spread his cancer. People get manipulated all the time, and all too often it's too late when they finally realize it. Sorry, I know I'm being blunt. I'm just running out of ways to say it more succinctly. I commend you for trying to be fair, rational, forgiving, etc. You're a better person than I. I know, what I've posted is worst case scenario. Sorry to be all doom and gloom.

Your present situation reminds me of people's attitudes toward Fidel Castro. Obviously he's dead now and it's somewhat irrelevant, but play along... People forget the Cuban missile crisis. People forget Castro almost ended everything due to his actions. Lift the embargo on Cuba? Not a chance IMO. Yes, I understand the people of Cuba are being punished by this, but the sentence was handed down for great reason. I can't imagine anyone who was alive at the time would agree with forgiving Castro. I wasn't alive and I still see the why! Hopefully this doesn't turn into a political discussion. The point is to say some things are unforgivable.

Welcome to the forum Chaby. I don't know London (I'm in the States). I also don't know what is easily accessible, but I'm quite confident that London is a pretty large city and not everything is equally easy to get to. People ask about which art is best all the time. There is no best art. There is only best fit for the student. Find out all the places that accessible. Eliminate places that conflict with your schedule. Eliminate places you can't afford. With this narrowed down list, visit these schools. Some will have great teachers, others will have not so great teachers. Some will have ideal students to train alongside, others won't. When you visit the schools, you'll get a sense of the atmosphere, the work rate, and so on. Basically, you'll know which school is the right fit. Forget about styles, pick a school. Let's say Judo burns more calories than karate (not an unreasonable assumption). Where will he burn more calories, the Judo club that he hates to go to and quits after 1 month, or the karate club he loves to go to 4 nights a week and stays at for years?

You're not stupid. I'd not allow him back, according to everything that was previously stated (I didn't read the links, as I remember quite enough). Looking at it through their lens, they probably feel that with the loss of the gentlemen came a loss in knowledge of the art. I imagine they'd like to restore as much of it as possible. I respect the motive. I don't respect the method however. I doubt they fully understand all that went on, as they weren't behind closed doors to see, hear, and feel it all (don't get me wrong, either was I!). Perhaps calmly explaining Shindokan will never be exactly what it was when Soke was alive, Dai-Soke was alive, and the 6 gentlemen were alive will help them ease up a bit. With every loss of life comes a loss of knowledge and experience. But bringing back a person who brought negative to the organization and art definitely won't fill that void. With every passing of a leader comes some doubt. People may feel it impossible to carry on that person's (or people's) legacy. Rather than trying to resurrect something that's clearly not in the best interest of anyone, the art and organization must evolve. Bringing San Dai-Soke isn't resurrecting the leader they think it is. Remember this, above all else when I say what I'm about to say - I'M ON YOUR SIDE. Again, I'M ON YOUR SIDE... They're looking for a leader. You're not there Day in and day out. They've been around for quite some time, and possibly were leaders of their own dojo or even honbu. But they weren't true leaders of the entire organization. They feel like they've been thrown into the deep end alone right now. Had you packed up and moved to honbu permanently, bringing him back may quite well have never came up. You haven't done anything wrong. You shouldn't feel forced to move your family cross-country because these guys have their insecurities. But they have insecurities. Your job as kaicho is to ease these insecurities. Perhaps more communication is in order. Perhaps a different type of communication is in order, such as video conferencing. Perhaps more consistent communication is in order. Probably a combination of all of the above. Meet with them in person. If that's impossible in the very near future, video conference them. Ask them hypothetically "what will San Dai-Soke fix?" "if San Dai-Soke were to not accept the invitation, what would you do?" Listen to their answers. Don't think about counters to their answers, but actually listen fully and without anyone (you nor the others) interrupting. Every single one of them. Also let them know in a nice way that bringing him back undermines everything the board did, and goes against what they stood for. Dai-Soke made an unforseen mistake. It won't be unforeseen if it occurs again. To me it seems like part of the grieving process and fallout from the tragedy. Things are out of balance. If you're who I'm pretty sure you are, you'll restore that balance. It won't be an easy thing nor a one time fix. But so long as there's moving parts, balance always has to be maintained. They need more hand holding as they're genuinely new to all of this. Hold their hands until they're confident enough to let go and cross the street on their own. Just my opinions.

Congratulations Twistkick!

Sorry I missed this... Happy birthday Heidi!

Sorry I missed this... Happy birthday Brian!

If I had to guess, I'd say the K-10 is 12 oz and the K-11 is 10 oz. The K-11 is a little lighter than my 12 oz Ronin. These are odd gis (in a very good way); they're cooler and lighter feeling than the typical gis. They breathe so much better. Add to that the material is softer and whiter. It's hard to describe. Even just initially handling it doesn't do much justice.

I don't know if they've been 10 oz. exactly, but most middleweight gis I've seen are twill material rather than canvas. Basically, a little heavier than instructors typically give out for free with initially signing up. Regarding Shureido's K-11, picture a 12 oz. gi, but just a little lighter. Still all cotton canvas, still stiff enough to not look like you're wearing pajamas. I train with several people who wear middleweight gis. I hate to say it, but they're all garbage IMO. The material is like a light pair of jeans rather than stiffer canvas. It looks like a lot of them also mix polyester in the material. In that case, the gi is even hotter as polyester doesn't breathe like cotton. I highly doubt you'll be disappointed with a K-11. I look at it as a cooler wearing (as in temperature) version of the the K-10.

Couldn't agree more, Danielle.

It really depends on the cost of living in your area and how many students you'll potentially be able to have. That price will put someone out of business in the NYC area due to not covering the rent, but may be too much to be competitive in a small town. The best advice is to look at the competition. Charge somewhere in line with comparable schools. Not really stylistically similar schools, but location, hours, number of students, etc. Also keep in mind if this is a full blown commercial school or if it's more of a club. Is it a business atmosphere you're after or a family type atmosphere (I don't mean kids, I mean tight knit). Last thing is people price themselves out of the market by over charging and surprisingly under charging. When something's too cheap (in price), people question why. Great example is my dojo. My CI charges $55/month for adults and $45 for kids, no contract. The norm is $125/month with an annual contract. I have several friends to send their kids to McDojos that charge that and more, and have even longer term contracts. And for kids! I tell them where I train and the price, and the look on their face says it all - it's not premium instruction if the price is bargain basement. I've talked to my CI about his price vs everyone else's. He say "I charge a price I think is fair. I always wonder how many more students I'll get if I jack up the price." The dojo is a second family for him. He's recently retired from his day job. He only relies on the dojo paying for itself and covering his expenses of training. He and his wife probably get a vacation or two per year out of it after the bills are paid. Do I think $100/month is a fair price? Depends on what you're offering. Seems quite reasonable on the surface. It wouldn't turn me away during an initial inquiry.

I think they listened to your complaints... http://www.centurymartialarts.com/mobi/training-bags/century-versys-vsbob It won't make an appearance at my house for $500 any time soon though.