JR 137

I have that same issue. Once she is there and doing things she has fun. Sometimes parents have to make the decision for them. I just want to be sure she's there for herself and not for me. My wife is a bit too lax when it comes to making her go. Then again, my wife never played sports or did MA or the like. When my wife starts telling Kathryn it's ok if she stays home, I tell my wife that if she doesn't want to be there when she's actually at the dojo I'll stop bringing her. It's a delicate balance. Not forcing her to go, but at the same time not letting her think she can show up if she doesn't have anything better to do. There's some days when she's tired due to a long week; I have no problem with that. There's also no off-season like there is with sports. And she's not even 6 yet. But watching her on the floor, there's no doubt that she likes it. Once I'm done with class, I go into the locker room and get her gi top and belt. She's always excited to start. She's never once said she wanted to go home instead of taking class. When I can bring her on a day when i don't have class, there's never been an issue. Once all that changes, I'll stop bringing her.

Kathryn promoted to advanced blue belt last week. We're not the type of dojo that promotes every other month; we promote when the student is fully proficient in the required material. Add to that, my CI doesn't follow the pee-wee syllabus for the younger kids, instead he follows the junior syllabus (the one for 8-15 year olds). In order to promote, she had to know the following: Sanbon Tsuki Kata 1 and 2 (they're Seido kata that are only taught to the young kids; 3 steps forward with basic punches, and 3 steps back with basic blocks) Taikyoku 1 and 2 4 basic blocks - high, low, inside out, outside in Front kick Roundhouse kick Side kick Groin kick Knee kick Morote tsuki Awaze (spelling?) tsuki Zenkutsu dachi Kokutsu dachi Sanchin dachi Kiba dachi Basic self defense 1 & 2 Non-contact sparring Japanese terminology for all of those and more She was the only one testing, and was doing her usual looking at others thing she commonly does. Towards the end, my CI called her out in the middle and had her perform her kata and self defenses in front of everyone; not to prove she knew them, but to prove to her that she knew them and didn't need help. She nailed them. Not a single mistake, zero self doubt. He asked her to demonstrate kihon, and only used the Japanese terms (i.e. "Show me jodan uke. Mawashi geri"). I'm so proud of my little girl. She's not even 6 yet and she's learned all of this stuff, inside and out. She loves it and is excited (yet nervous) about learning material for her new rank. The only hiccup is that I've only been able to take her on Saturday mornings due to other stuff she's involved in. She's getting bored with waiting for over an hour by herself during my class (she sits in a chair watching my class, playing on her iPod, coloring, etc.). She's said several times that she doesn't want to go. After some Jedi-like questioning on my part, it's because she's bored for that hour. Once she's on the floor, she loves it. I've got to figure out a way for her to not lose interest because of the waiting around.

It depends on your school's view on what 1st dan means. Many think 1st dan means you've shown proficiency in the basics and can begin to learn/be taught what the art is about. Others just see it as the next color after brown. If 1st dan in your art is someone who's shown proficiency in the basics, then a brown belt is just about there. And don't worry about what anyone else thinks. They don't have a clue. When you get your black belt, I'm sure they'll still think they're tougher than you. Haters always gonna hate, they'll just hate differently.

I'd be pretty frustrated too.

I'm a huge Shureido fan, but don't mistake that for making excuses for them... They're not a mass production gi. They make quality stuff, and as far as I know most of it is by hand. With limited resources, they make what sells the most. Size 5 is by far their most popular size. If they're going to have to decide what to make, they've got to go with the highest demanded product. I'd be willing to bet the K-10 in size 5 is the overwhelming majority of their sales. If Ford could only make 100 cars this month, what do you think they'd make, F-150s or Mustang Cobras?

The Ronin and KW-11 are cut similarly. If one fits, the other should. There's really no comparison in the quality of the material, as the K-11's material is better in every way. It's lighter (good or bad is subjective), breathes better, and is far softer and smoother. I still sweat a lot, but not as much. That's not a knock on the Ronin though; we're comparing a $65 gi to a $185 gi. The Ronin does have two things going for it (other than price) - the ties are the best ties I've ever seen. I wish Shureido used them. They never loosen nor come untied. The Shureido ties are ordinary. And the Ronin has more snap to it. I don't care about that, but it's something I noticed a week or two ago. I really love the K-11. It's the perfect gi for me. It fits right, feels great, and if it's anything like my K-10 was, it'll last a long time. Worth every penny IMO. I really like the Ronin too. In your shoes, I'd buy one to hold me over. Who knows, you may not want a K-11 afterward. It's a very good gi.

Both dojos I've been a part of cut old gis into strips and dyed them. They were used as flags for kids' flag game (put a strip of cloth in your belt and defend it), and used by adults during point fighting in the back of their belts as the designated red person. We also use them in other drills, such as sparring when each person has to hold one end of it. We had a woman who would wrap one around her hand when she was recovering from wrist surgery; it reminded everyone to not block that wrist. My former Sensei dyed an old one and wore it with a bunch of pillows under it to allow people in SD classes to hit him with significant force. My old belts are in a box somewhere in my mother's basement. Never had the heart to throw them out, but never had the desire to keep them out in the open either. The belts I earned in my current dojo are on a shelf out of the way. I'd box them up, but haven't had the motivation. My kids put them on and practice their "hiyas" from time to time.

Two videos I love regarding karate in Okinawa are Tee: The Spirit of Okinawan Karate and Samurai Spirit: Karate. Maybe look those up to give a sense of why I'm so envious. Hopefully those documentaries aren't an exaggeration of what really goes on.

Welcome to the forum. I think a lot of us here will be envious (in a good way) that you have this unique opportunity to train full time in the homeland and heart of what many consider true karate. I know I'm a bit envious. Not knowing the language, nor probably more importantly the customs can be nerve wracking. I've heard the Okinawans are very accepting of foreigners and forgiving when they unknowingly make these mistakes. I've never been there, so my perception could very well be wrong. There are several people here who've trained karate in Okinawa, and a few others who train there semi-regularly. I'm quite sure they'd be willing to give you a heads up on some rules and customs. Your best bet may be to start a thread in the karate or general martial arts section of the forum. They may also be able to point you in the direction of a dojo or two they know if you're looking for that as well. But with what you've said in mind, pick a dojo and not a style. The most important things are the teacher and your prospective classmates. How the teacher organizes class, how he/she relates and treats the students, and how the students train alongside you are going to be far more important at this stage (and pretty much any stage) than the style itself. I think this is more critical for you personally as may feel like a stranger in a strange land trying to get in. You and your sons have a great opportunity. Make the most of it! And keep in mind every single karateka (karate practicioner) had a first day. We (including the greatest masters) were once the guy/gal who showed up one day knowing nothing at all and wondered what was going to happen. The difference between us then and now is we stuck around and kept at it. There's no secret, magical, nor mystical qualities that separated any of us. Edit: Reading this before posting it, I think I may have come off as saying I'm some kind of expert or something in those last few lines; far from it! I look forward to hearing how your journey goes. Please keep us updated!

I'm not good at cutting and pasting multiple quotes, so please bear with me... What exactly is a "real student?" Training 2-3 times per week shouldn't get someone ignored during class. It's not as if you're a professional fighter and your trainer demands 6 hours a day 6 days a week. People have jobs, families, and other meaningful commitments. For most of us, it's quality over quantity; you should be consistent and work hard when you're there. I could see a teacher not taking time away from students who are consistent and serious by devoting way too much time to someone who shows up once every few weeks and goofs around while he/she's there, but this doesn't seem to be the case. If you're serious when you're there, you should be taken seriously. The style of teaching raises red flags. Replicating what your teacher does tells me you don't really know what you're doing. Not explaining things tells me you don't know how to explain them. I could see getting aggravated with a student who's been there for 10 years and has been explained how to do something throughout their tenure, but all students? One of the requirements of being an effective teacher is being an effective communicator. Making expectations clear is a big part of that. It shouldn't take students longer to figure out how to do a drill than actually doing the drill. Being a school teacher, it shouldn't take my students longer to figure out how to do their homework than it takes to actually do it. It shouldn't take longer to figure out how to do an activity in class than to actually do the activity. If they can't figure out how to do it, either I haven't explained it well enough or it's too difficult; both scenarios are on me, not them. There's usually someone who doesn't quite get it, but it's one or two, not half of the class. I can't say whether the teacher is great or horrible or anything in between. I haven't been his student. For all I know, you could be the problem. Highly unlikely though. As a student, your biggest stress shouldn't be if you're insulting your teacher, it should be a "no matter how many times I throw a front leg roundhouse kick, I can't get any power behind it" sort of thing. How well do kids learn from someone they're genuinely afraid of? How well do adults learn from someone they're genuinely afraid of offending? You're not 100% concentrating on what you're supposed to be there to learn, you're worrying about doing 'something stupid' that'll get you in trouble. Talk to him privately. If you don't get the answers you feel you deserve, find another teacher. That doesn't necessarily mean getting the answers you want, although it can too. It's your training; you should be getting out of it what you want, reasonably speaking.

Sounds like your Sensei was taught by an old school instructor or he is just socially awkward. If he was taught the old school way it is expected that the student pay attention and learn or mimic his teachers directions without questions. The theory is that the student first learn the proper way before an explanation is ever given. If he is just socially awkward you may want to speak with him after class and ask him what he expects in this situation. Another thought is that he may not pay the same attention to you because he knows you already know these drills and expects you to be an example to the other students being that you are senior. I would say that only your Sensei can answer these questions and you should talk to him. Respect is one of the tenants of our art. You should be respectful to him and ask him away from the other students as the answer may not be something he would want shared with them. Having said that he should respect you and give you an answer. The entire post is right on, but the last paragraph is especially true. Ask privately. Asking during class in the heat of the moment can easily bring on a power struggle. And if asked in private and asked respectfully, the teacher is obligated to answer. Why? The teacher is supposed to teach! I wouldn't train anywhere I felt I was constantly walking on eggshells. Not for very long anyway.

Stupid question, is your teacher Japanese/Okinawan/other Asian? I'm assuming so, but you never actually said he is (or I didn't see it). IMO, you shouldn't be wondering what's acceptable after training with anyone for 10 years. 10 weeks or 10 months? Sure. 10 years?

Curiosity question - how do you collect payment? By that I mean everyone hands you, say, a $10 bill every time they walk in, or can they pay in advance? My former Sensei taught a cardio kickboxing class that was strictly pay as you go. He issued cards that were bought for a certain amount. Every class, he hole punched everyone's card. Once there were no classes left on the card, they bought a new card. A dojo I was looking into before I joined my current one did the same thing as a pay as you go option (you could also pay a monthly membership instead).

Congratulations CTTKDKing

Not sure how much I'd come away with in a 1 hour private lesson. But if I could, I'd go with Chojun Miyagi. My favorite kata are Goju kata. Just watching him do them would be enough. It would be good to see how much they've been changed over the years/generations. I could also ask him what bunkai he had in mind when creating his kata; coming straight from the horse's mouth leaves little doubt. Of course all of that assumes he has to answer each question fully.

All I can picture right now is Wayne and Garth meeting Alice Cooper backstage.

Antiquated? We pay either cash or check. We have a card that gets stamped and initialed every month when we pay. My CI also writes who, when, and how much was paid into a ledger book. I'd like to pay with a card because I rarely carry more than a few singles, and the monthly amount for my daughter and I isn't a multiple of $20. ATMs only dispense $20s, so I usually have him keep the $10 change and credit my account. I haven't had checks in about 5 years either. I keep telling myself I should order some, but the only thing I'd use them for is the dojo. I don't blame him for not accepting credit cards. He'd have to pay an annual or monthly fee, a transaction fee, and a percentage. For a dojo with 40 or so students, it's not worth his time. Keep in mind that all 40 students aren't paying individually; there's many families that pay together. I guess there's some way to set up an auto-pay through my bank that'll mail him a check. I'm too untrustworthy of my bank. They've messed up plenty of things in the past and somehow charge me for it until I go in and argue with them. A different local dojo does PayPal online. I'd rather something like that over the current method.

Do not ever use smelling salts to wake up an unconscious person! Why not? When someone is woken up this way, their head moves very sharply when they come to. The medical field learned the hard way that unconscious people with a broken neck were significantly worsening their condition being woken up this way. When someone is unconscious due to trauma, you have to assume their neck is broken until it's ruled out by X-Ray or the like. When someone is KO'ed, they often hit their head on the ground too. This can and does cause neck fractures. While I'm on a roll, never remove a helmet, head gear, etc. from an unconscious person either. You can and will move their neck while taking it off. Only remove it if you have to perform mouth to mouth and there's absolutely no other way, as in they have some sort of face shield that can't be cut off and they're not breathing. Sorry for the lecture; it's the former sports medicine guy in me.

The distance depends on the town. In NYC, several blocks makes all the difference as to who'll walk in. 5 blocks away can mean different subway lines, bringing entirely different people. Most people I know that live in NYC stick to a 3 block radius of certain subway stops. It's actually comical how they live in the biggest city in the world, yet they rarely leave a few block radius. They've got their work stop, their home stop, and maybe one or two more. Then again, everything they need is pretty much always within a few blocks anyway. I'm sure other big cities are similar. In LA, I'm sure a few miles makes all the difference in the world due to their freeway nightmare system. But I agree with what you're saying. My examples are exceptions, not the norm. In a perfect world, having affiliated dojos in close proximity wouldn't be a problem. We don't live in anything close to a perfect world. Our honbu reportedly had a problem with people from neighboring dojos within the organization coming in. Our honbu is near the Flatiron building in Manhattan, hence the high overhead cost of rent and therefore high tuition. Apparently it was significantly cheaper to join a dojo run out of one of the NYC YMCAs, so a few students signed up there, trained there once every other week, and went to the honbu several times a week. Once people figured out what those few students were doing, the policy changed pretty quick.

Back then they called it shell shock. My grandfather was a Korean War veteran (Marines). One night when I was a teenager, we were watching Full Metal Jacket. We were laughing at the things the drill instructor was saying and doing to the cadets. Stupid us should have realized he was staying quiet for a reason. After the boot camp portion ended, my grandfather said "Do you really think that was an exaggeration? That's exactly how Parris Island was." He said the drill instructors had no problem with slapping you around, berating you, etc. We stayed quiet for the rest of the movie. Didn't have to ask if the war portion was an exaggeration or not. We could tell it was too real for him. He was fortunate in that he didn't have any issues that any of us knew of. He'd only talk about it when someone said something stupid. For example, my uncle (his son) was joking around saying he didn't know how to swim because no one ever saw him swim before. He just said he didn't like the water. My uncle kept it up, and my grandfather gave him "the 1,000 yard stare" and said calmly but matter of factly "do you really think I would have left Parris Island not knowing how to swim? Anyone who didn't know how to swim got kicked into the pool and was forced to learn the hard way. They didn't pull you out until you were under water for at least 15 seconds." Then he snapped back into nice grandfather mode instantly. He shut everyone up that day.

A good friend of mine's father was the same way. After Vietnam, the only person who could get close when waking him up was his wife. If you were within an arm's reach, you were going to catch a fist on your jaw or get choked. Whenever a helicopter flew (he literally lived next door to the wall of an arsenal), he was on the floor face down with his hands covering his head. He'd hear them long before anyone else would. Very sad.

I agree with what you're saying, however... The honbu should have a say in how close dojos can be to each other. Forget free enterprise/free market, etc. My CI has a dojo. Should I be able to open up my own Seido dojo a block away? That creates competition within the organization. Does it help the organization in any way if I leave my teacher, open my own Seido dojo a block down the road, and take a bunch of his students with me? Does it benefit the organization to have in-fighting within the organization? Chances are pretty good that both will fight each other and both leave. An organization has no right to say who can and can't open their own dojo wherever they want. But they most certainly have the right to say who can and can't use their name. In my above scenario, I'm quite sure our Kaicho wouldn't allow the Seido name to be used. It would have to be JR-Do-Te, not JR's Seido Karate. Just as in who's allowed to open up a dojo under the Seido name, I'm quite sure there's no set in stone rules as to how far apart they must be. Who's allowed to teach depends on the potential dojo owner and the circumstances. I'd imagine they've got to be far enough away where they aren't directly targeting the same group of potential students. Some places, that could be a few blocks (like NYC), other places, that could be 30 miles (maybe Wyoming? There aren't Seido dojos in Wyoming though).

Welcome to the forum, JimW. Don't worry about coming across as bragging, this is the area to tell us about yourself. Lots of good people here, and I'm sure you've got plenty to contribute.

Best news I've heard in quite some time!

A the Ronin heavyweight is a very good gi for a great price. About $60, it could hold you over until a Shureido becomes available and serve as a second gi afterwards... http://www.discountmas.com/heavweigwhit.html Just make sure you call and check to see if your size is in stock first. I really like mine. If I didn't own a Shureido or ever see a Tokaido, I'd think it was the best gi there is.