MatsuShinshii

You have to understand that, as wastelander pointed out, the Kata is not Kumite. The Kata were invented to house/keep the applications and techniques within them just like a book or manual today. Each posture or sequence of postures represents one or a multitude of applications to include techniques such as striking, kicking, blocking, sweeping, brushing, redirecting, trapping, joint locks, chokes, takedowns, dislocations, vital point targeting, etc. etc. etc. It is up to the student to take these applications and individual techniques (Kihon) and learn how to implement them into their Kumite. This can only be done by application and practice. First at a slow pace to learn how to read/anticipate the attack and then at a faster and faster pace until the body reacts without thought. The point of Kata and it's application is to build memory within the body (Muscle Memory) so that the body responds immediately. If Kata is practiced separate from Kumite as if they are two individual methods this can/ will never be achieved. Kumite is the practice of your arts methods. If not trained this way why do it at all? Side bar: I do not mean sport Kumite. I mean when Tori (Attacker) executes a technique, Uke (Defender, YOU) pull from the thousands of techniques and applications that you have learned through the study of the Kata(s) (Bunkai) in order to defeat their attack. Unfortunately not many modern arts teach these methods anymore. Further more most students can practice the Kata and it's Bunkai for hours and once on the mat to engage in Kumite they revert back to more of a kickboxing or point sparring (long distance) type of fighting rather than utilizing what has been taught through the Kata and it's applications. Just my 2 cents.

IMHO I think that Wastelander and Dani-001 are spot on with their explanations.

The first impression I had of my Shinshii was him teaching Bunkai for Pinan Shodan. A simple non-complex Kata, at least that is what I thought at the time, that he made seem ridiculously complex. The first style of Karate I took as a kid was within our lineage line, a sister art if you will, and they had never demonstrated the applications or defined what the postures/movements actually meant. I was a Nikyu when I joined his school and was awestruck by the way he moved and what he was teaching. It was the first time I got why we were learning Kata. Before then it was just something I had to learn to grade and had next to no interest in it. After that first night I never looked back. I guess you could say he changed my life and my total perspective on the arts. He gave what I was doing purpose and meaning. He showed me that it wasn't about standing in line and shouting at the top of our lungs. He showed me the underlying, what some call hidden, meaning and lit the spark that burns in me to this day. My first impression? Blown away!dumbfounded! Awestruck! He became my mentor and my hero over the years but at that moment I believed he could walk up the wall, punch through steel and if he chose to, change the rotation of the earth by walking the other way. I was amazed by his skill and knowledge and to this day that feeling has never subsided. That one moment changed the course of my life and drove me to aspire to be like him.

That depends on you and your schedule. If you have the time to devote to each then do it. If you do not have the time then I would stick with your original art. I guess the question is how many days a week do you already devote to Goju and will you have the time outside of class to practice what you have been taught. The problem is you only spend so much time in class learning the curriculum. If you do not train outside of class this will effect your own progress and slow your ability to absorb all of the material. Remember your Sensei has a finite amount of time to teach you what he needs to. This doesn't leave much personal time for you to practice what was taught in class, thus the necessity to practice outside of class. If you do not have other responsibilities standing in your way and can devote the time necessary to both arts, go for it. If you find that you are unable to do both and give both the proper time they deserve then you will have to choose.

Exactly what I was getting at. Its not that it is not original, but more so that it is shared in some respects by other sister arts within our lineage line. And no they are not keeping the name as a selling point so much as a way to have leverage against us. But as I said the branding and name belong to Shinshii as it was registered years/ decades ago. So to be honest if we really wanted to use the original name we could. However my point was that it becomes rather diluted amongst the other arts with similar names. That and it's not worth pushing our old association by using it. If Shinshii wants to prohibit it's use then he can. I hope that clears it up. I know this is confusing because, quite frankly it's confusing to me and I am probably not doing it justice in trying to explain it. Anyway I get your point.

First let me welcome you to KF. First and foremost instructors are human. This means we are not perfect and we have bad days just like our students and everyone else. I can't comment on your Sensei's behavior because I do not know him. I am sure he has reasons for doing what he does in class and ultimately it is his class. I would ask to speak with him privately after class and away from the other students. There is nothing wrong with asking your Sensei questions. Whether he gives you the answers you want to hear or not is up to him. If you are not happy with the instruction or the way the class is ran you have a few options. You can find another school, you can speak with him and see if that solves things or you can gut it out. I understand what you have said of his actions but you must understand that there are three sides to every story. Yours, his and the truth. I am not saying that you are lying so please don't take it that way but you are only giving your side of the story. I am sure he has his. Bottom line is if you are not happy with the instruction you should talk to him or find another school. Other than that I am hesitant to speak about his behavior because I don't know his side or his reasons for doing what you have described. I have an open door policy, within reason. If a student is upset with something that has happened or with me they are free to talk to me about it. However and again, that does not mean they will get the answers they are looking for nor the reaction they were looking for. Instructors do things for a reason. Take your testing for an example. In my mind I can see this as a test within itself. He tested you once and then asked you to retest at camp. This could've been to test your convictions, maturity, personality, demeanor and mental state. If you would have gripped about retesting you would have failed immediately with me. This is just an example of looking at things another way. I will say this... most students (younger) think that they should progress faster and want everything divulged to them right now. I should have learned this Kata by now, I should be higher than this student because I know more or have more skills or have been here longer than them. I am not saying this is your attitude but being around people like this can tend to alter our way of thinking. If you trust him then follow his lead and he will teach you what he feels you can handle or what is consistent with your grade and progress. If you do not trust him, leave. Some arts teach a ton of Kata and old school guys like me feel that you should become proficient with the ones you have learned before being able to learn more. Maybe he is allowing students to become proficient with the Kata already taught before throwing more into the mix. Maybe he is not teaching the next Kata because he doesn't feel that his students or the Gokyu in particular has taken it seriously and trained outside of class. Keep in mind that the old ways were to show the kata to a student a few times and allow them to work on it on their own. Periodically the instructor will have the class perform the Kata and if no progress has been made he will not move them past that Kata. At this point it is up to the student to find out what the teacher wants to see. In today's society most students want a teacher that will hold their hand and guide them every step of their journey. This is not doing the student any good because they never develop their own interpretations. A good student trains in class and trains more outside of class. This is, at least for me, the way I can tell how serious a student is. If they do not take the time to practice what I have taught them I quickly realize they are wasting my time with them and I tell them to leave until they are ready to take it seriously. My point is there are a myriad of reasons. Until you speak with him you are guessing just like I am. Talk to your Sensei.

That is a good idea. Get proficient in a core art and then if you wish to add to it you will already have a good foundation to build on.

I guess it falls down too a simple, just because you can may not mean you should, theory. Yes we can indeed retain everything if we/Shinshii forces the issue. The problem is we would be utilizing our own money to fight any legal court cases and neither of us was born with the proverbial silver spoon in our mouths so if we can avoid the possibility of a legal battle I think it prudent to do so. Now Shinshii knowing what he now knows of the changes might take it upon himself to strip them of all branding. He has said as much when we spoke to him. He is none to pleased with the recent turn of events and does not want his branding to be associated with these changes. However this is totally up to him. We do not have a stake in it other than carrying on his legacy. We did not have anything to do with the name or the branding (Patches and the like) so it would be totally in his court. Having said this we are hoping that he does pull his branding away from them. He does not have to pull the name as it was told to us by legal counsel as the board had changed the name and thus loosing all rights to the original name. Neither myself or my cohort want to admit this to Shinshii but the original name is generic and is widely used throughout the lineage branches of our art thus posing a possible problem down the road. As our lawyer pointed out you can do a google search and a ton of lineage lines/organizations that share this name sake pop up. However what we are changing our name to does not. In fact we have already started the process of trade marking/registering it as this was our counsels advice as a form of protection from legal recourse. This is primarily why the board changed the name after Shinshii retired. Since we had no appointed successor we had no legal claim to the name. Just like the old association has no legal claim to the branding if Shinshii wishes to remove their rights to it. I hope I am saying all of this correctly as I again am not a lawyer nor do I have any expertise in this arena. I am sure some of what I am saying is not being passed on exactly as our legal counsel has outlined it but it is close and I ask you patience if you see something that does not ring true. As I said I am out of my element here.

I would very much appreciate any and all help from you Sensei8. As issues come up I will post them to get your feed back. The only issue we have right now is the name and branding. If Shinshii names a successor this issue is a mute point. However neither myself or Kosei want to step into this role at this point in our journey. I have turned it down once before and truthfully my mindset has not changed on the matter. Having said this I personally think that by changing the name we avoid any confusion with our old association and any legal recourse they would levy against us even if they have nothing to stand on. To me the change is minor and in keeping with the intent of our lineage. It certainly drives the point of old school home. The original name was Matsumura Shorin Ryu. Pretty common except some utilize the Seito or Kempo with in the name. It was changed to Matsumura Suide (Shuri-Te). We are tossing around Matsumura Suide To-Di Jutsu and Matsumura Shuri-Te Karate Jutsu. I personally have always preferred the Uchina Guchi (Hogan) pronunciation rather than the Japanese pronunciation. As far as the branding I will leave that up to our lawyer and whether Shinshii feels like getting involved from a legal perspective since the design is his and unique to his schools. I will ask if there is a way to make sure that a board of equally powered individuals can be made permanent in Bylaws so that no one person can call the shots. We thought our previous bylaws covered these issues sufficiently but as I found out they did not. I guess I'm asking how you build in a prevention so that, say a Soke, can not be elected by the board. Myself, Kosei and the 4 other instructors I mentioned all have agreed that there was one Shinshii (in this context I am using the term Shinshii as an honorary role denoting founder/leader/ family head. All teachers are refered to as Shinshii just like Sensei. Shinshii just never liked other titles or accolades so we all used this term to mean more than just teacher when refering to him) and none of us want to be in that role. For one thing none of us feel worthy of that role not to mention that none of us have the grade or teaching license consistent with this position. We all understand that once awarded/granted this position an automatic grade of Kudan and license of Hanshi would follow but to be honest we all feel this would be little more than a paper tiger (meaningless if not earned). The only really good thing that has come out of this is Shinshii agreed to grade us to Hachidan when he feels we are ready and we feel ready. He is also going to award Kosei with the Hanshi teaching license which gives him the ability to grade higher than two grades below his. From a training and grading stand point I feel we have all that we need to succeed. From a protective/political/operations stand point we are lacking as neither of us have done anything except follow the bylaws and rules set in place by Shinshii. We know there are loop holes but just don't know how to fix them. I am sure that our legal council will cover most but as you said if you have not ran across something before you may not know what to look for. One thing we have discussed and are going to administer is the appointing of our legal counsel to the board as an honorary member without voting rights. This way he gets all issues first hand and can advise us how to navigate the issues in keeping with the intent of our bylaws. The mistake we all made was there was a few with good intentions that voted against the intent of our bylaws thus inadvertently changing the bylaws by precedent. I'm sure I sound like I know what I'm talking about but I assure you I am merely parroting what we have been told by legal counsel. One more issue I fear is the fact that now more than half of the student body has told us that they will be leaving our old association and following/joining us. This in itself worries me as this will, if nothing else, anger our previous association and possibly bring us into a legal battle even if there is no way for them to win. My fear is all of the money going into this at this point is mine and Kosei's. We definitely do not have the money or the time to fight a legal battle even if we are right. Can you tell me how this could effect us and what recourse, if any, our old association would have if almost 3/4 of their student body jumps ship and joins us? Actually this number may be a little light but I am being conservative thinking that not all will jump ship even though their instructors have already committed. As I said, I think it's more like a little more than half. Even so this is a huge set back and will not make a very egocentric president, bent on increased numbers, a happy camper to say the least. Any guidance is appreciated.

We only wear our school patch on the left breast. It is small and subtle. I am just curious why you add a shoulder patch and what it is. I grew up in the Boy Scouts so patches intrigue me. We collected and traded them. I hope you have success with your new organization and are able avoid legal pitfalls. I know you are not in it for the money, but for the art, so I wish you enough financial success to keep the art alive. Sorry, I am an Accounting and Finance student. It just comes naturally. The patch on the arm/shoulder is a Mitsu Tomoe. Don't ask me why they chose this to represent Kobudo, they just did. Beside 2 Rokushaku kata all other curriculum comes from Matayoshi Kobudo. I personally would think we would use that patch but maybe there are legal, trade mark, proprietary issues with it. I don't profess to know, I just know the Mitsu Tomoe has always been the only other patch allowed on our Gi's. We only allow this patch if someone has graded to Shodan or above in Kobudo. Sort of a identifier/ award for getting to that level. To be honest most including myself do not even wear it on our training Gi's. I usually only wear it for ceremonial purposes for which I have one Gi that I wear with it and the Matsumura patch. All of my other gi's are for training and none have anything on them except the Matsumura patch.

Update: I spoke with our old VP Friday night after getting deluged with phone calls and emails requesting that he and myself start a organization. He told me that he also had gotten many calls and emails and had considered this before. He said he would consider starting a new organization providing that I share the responsibilities of overseeing and establishing it. After a long talk I said I would be willing to do so. Apparently word got back to our previous association and we both received a phone call Saturday and was threatened with legal action if we moved ahead with our plans. I am not a lawyer nor do I pretend to know the ins and outs of this type of stuff so I told Kosei to hold off until we seek legal guidance. He told me that our old association had no legal rights to Shinshii's legacy since Shinshii did not pass down his successor-ship to him or anyone else left in the association. Yesterday he contacted Shinshii and patched me in to the call. He explained what had transpired and that we were being threatened with legal action should we attempt to create a new organization under the same name or any name associated or close to the same name. That we could not use the student/instructor manuals as they are proprietary to the association (Not buying this as I wrote both under Shinshii's supervision to replace the outdated and incomplete one we were using). He stated that he would back us up should we proceed with our plans. He also stated that since he did not appoint a successor he placed verbiage in our bylaws that he reserved the right to do so in the future. I told him that he should pass this honor down to Kosei if he was thinking of doing so. Kosei opted to wait until after we spoke to our previous association with Shinshii. He dialed up the president of our previous association and told him that Shinshii and myself were on the call. I have never heard anyone speak so rudely to Shinshii in all of my time training. He blew up when Shinshii told him he had no legal claim to his name, the name of the organization (especially since he changed it soon after he was appointed) and he had no claim to the content, curriculum, or the art itself. He explained that if he pursued legal action he would appoint either Kosei or myself as his successor and that would end all disputes and transfer all rights to the name, branding, manuals, etc. etc. Needless to say it did not go well. Kosei told him that we would proceed with our plans and if he chose to he could seek legal action. I personally wished he would not push him along these lines as I do not wish to be caught up in legal battles but there was little I could do on the phone without giving him the impression we were divided and weak. I contacted our lawyer who represents our old association and was told that he could not represent us do to a legal conflict but that I should contact another firm that he suggested. I did so and spoke with this man in great detail for over an hour. After the phone call I sent a copy of our old bylaws. After an hour he called me back and said we should proceed if we so chose as the bylaws were not written to give them any recourse what-so-ever. We returned emails and phone calls to inform all that requested this that we would in fact be establishing a new organization and that it would be created with the intent of continuing Shinshii and his teachers legacy and teachings. No kids. No rainbow of Obi's. No reduced requirements. Etc., etc., etc. As of 5 minutes before I started this post we have had a little more than half of the old student body and instructors wishing to join. It will be a busy month as we intend and have promised to start enrollment on the last week of February. We have to write the bylaws, elect board members, retain legal counsel, start our insurance (which I have already done for my students so this will just be added), etc. etc. I never thought so much could happen within a months time. I receive a belated grading and teaching license, quit my association and now will be starting a new organization under our old VP and with the help of 4 other instructors that have expressed an interest in helping us out. I hope we are wise enough to do things the right way so that what happened in my old association does not happen again. We have already talked about a few things that need to be changed. I also talked Kosei into not using our old name and branding as I think this would enter into an issue that would eventually become a legal issue. He agreed and we have come up with three new names that will be voted on once we start up. We have also altered our patch (we only wear one patch on the left chest) so as to stand apart from the old association. We do wear one other patch on our left arm after achieving Shodan or higher in Kobudo but that will not change as it would be difficult for them to come after us as this is not proprietary to their branding. We will however utilize our old manuals, both student and instructor. I reminded our old president that he openly stated that he was doing away with them and writing new so he pretty much gave up any rights (not that he had them) to the manuals. Since they were authored by me and Shinshii and only myself, Kosei and Shinshii appear in the pictorials of Kata, Tuidi, Tegumi, Kyusho, Hojo-Undo, Ti'Gwa, Buki'Gwa, etc. there is nothing to point to for them to claim ownership. At least this is what our new lawyer is telling us. So all's well that ends well. What a month! If anyone has been through something similar and has experience with restructuring and can give advise, so as to not repeat history, it would be very welcome. I am in un-charter territory and do not claim to understand all that goes into this process. Our lawyer says he can walk us through this but I am more worried about the pit falls that he may not think of. Any and all advise is welcomed.

No disrespect taken.

Welcome to KF TeamAlphaBeast

Welcome to KF danbrendel

Welcome to KF

Welcome.

My first and oldest student surpassed me in rank. I was a Godan at the time. I continued to teach him for 6 months after his Rokudan promotion. It was fine with me but not the organization I belonged to. He ended up moving closer to our Hombu and took lessons directly under our Shinshii 1st in line student. To me it's not a problem. If you have the knowledge and skill to teach those above you then I don't see where it is really an issue. If the higher grades don't have an issue, which it seems that they do not according to your post, then where is the problem? Just because someone has a higher rank does not mean they have more knowledge or skill in the art. My student did not know more than me nor was he as skilled at the time. He just accepted the invitation to test before I did and passed. The only problem that I could see with your scenario is ego. If all parties are willing to put their ego's aside it will work just fine.

Well I met with my students last night and explained the situation. I told them that I would not change the way I teach and that means that I would be leaving the association. I told them that it was their choice whether they wanted to stay with me or with the association. I explained to those students that have schools of their own that this is a great way to make more money if they felt they could teach under the presidents guidelines and I would not hold it against them or any one else if they decided to stay with the association but my time was up. I told them to think about it and get back to me when they had made a decision. I told them if enough of them wanted to stay with the association I would personally call the president and ask him to appoint a CI for my area that all could fall under. I took a few questions and then turned them over to my senior instructor and left the floor to wait in my office. I was summoned back to the floor about 5 minutes latter and was told that all but 4 were leaving the association with me. 1 of the four has his own school and explained that he worried about loosing the ability to grade higher and to be able to grade his students higher (he has 24 students under him). The other three are his students that want to stay with him. [sidebar: In my art it is traditional for three instructors to grade and place their signatures to be on a Yudansha certificate. This has always been Shinshii's and two others. However this can be circumvented as long as the instructor has the proper teaching credentials and grade. In this case I could only promote students to Godan. You can only promote students to within two grade of the one you hold unless you are the highest instructor in the organization or unless you hold the position of Soke or some equivalent position.] I shook all 4 of their hands and wished them good luck. I told them that my door would always be open to them should they ever choose to leave the association. I spoke to the rest of them one last time to make sure they understood their decision. My heart was filled when I told my students that I could only bring them so far, so they may want to take some more time to reconsider their decision. They told me that the belt meant nothing compared to the knowledge. It made me realize they have been listening to me and that I had passed on a little piece of my teachers lessons. I made a call to the president of the association and told him that I was leaving and that Tom and three of his students were staying. I recommended that he be made the CI for this area and that he extend any help that he may need. He asked me why I would make such a brash choice? I explained that I was Shinshii's student through and through and would not teach the way that they expected me to teach. He asked me if he made an exception for me and my students would I stay. I explained that forcing any instructor to conform to his will in their own Dojo is wrong. To change the art Shinshii passed down to us is wrong. I told him that I could not wake up every day and look myself in the mirror knowing that I belonged to an organization that I have always called a McDojo. He raised his voice and his objects at this statement. I asked him what he would call quota's, mandatory time to grade, and all of the other wacky schemes he was implementing. He said that if I did not reconsider it would adversely effect the association that I claim to love so much as many see myself and our VP as the torch carriers of Shinshii's legacy. I don't feel good about this today but last night I let my anger boil over and said some choice words and phrases that I can not repeat here. Tp paraphrase for the forum; I told him that he has destroyed what Shinshii had left to us and that his ego and power hungry character will be the down fall of the association not me or Kosei leaving. I asked him why he did not go begging Kosei (VP) to stay. I told him that he should be ashamed of his dealings with him as he followed him when Shinshii retired and did not make him the successor. He was a true friend and you are a two faced back stabber. I told him that Kosei followed him because he felt bad that Shinshii passed him up and was worried about him enough to leave the organization he loved. He ended up saying some pretty choice words to me as well. I caught myself and said that I had always liked him and thought at the time that Shinshii would pass the art to him but what he was doing was against everything I believe in and because of that I have no choice but to leave. I wished him the best and hung up. My personal email filled to capacity within a few hours today. I have been asked to talk to the VP and to carry on the association as it was by most of the student body. I am going to talk to Kosei but I am not going to pretend to be the man to create an organization. If Kosei wants to do so I will join him but my political days are at an end. I have aged 20 years in the last 6 and I miss just teaching and helping others to reach their personal goals. Not sure what he will say but if he says yes and keeps things as they are I will follow him and have told the student body as much. So I guess I am an independent. Feels really weird. Not sure how this is going to work. I am half hoping that Kosei decides to develop a new organization as it seems we will maintain more than half of the student body which would be nice. I guess time and his decision will tell. As for me I have very mixed feelings. On one hand I feel a great sense of loss as I feel that I have allowed Shinshii's legacy to be decimated even though I know I had nothing to do with it and had no power to stop it. On the other hand I feel like I am starting on a new journey and within that a sense of rejuvenated purpose.

High rank is not needed to express ones opinion. Your opinion is just as welcome as any other. I get what you are saying, but... I follow my Shinshii's example and do not/will not teach children. To do so would mean that I would have to change the way I teach, what I teach and worse I would have to cater to their parents. I neither need the extra students nor want them. I am too old and too set in my ways to change the way I teach and what I teach. No it would not be possible to keep traditional grading the same as what I teach (very traditional methods) could not be taught and thus not be tested for. I would not expect you to know this and you may not understand this, but for me it is not about revenue, profit or added students. I own my Dojo so I do not have rent to pay. I have a full time job in which I am highly paid for so I do not need the extra cash. To me it is about giving back what was given to me. I have never needed additional students and to be honest I don't go looking for them. I presently have enough students to last me until I retire or take a dirt nap. My Hachikyu, Shechikyu and Rokkyu will be with me until I'm possibly too old to teach given our (Shinshii's testing requirements). I also like the fact that we have always had high standards and have always been back up by Shinshii in our decisions. If a student was not worthy they would be sent packing. I like the fact that I do not depend on a specific number of students to keep my doors open. I doubt this will ever change whether I have 87 students (todays count) or whether I only have one does not matter to me as long as they are worthy and I can pass on my Shinshii's teachings and keep the art alive past my time. To be totally honest, selling my integrity and ethics to gain more students and or cash is not within me to do. 5% of my students do not pay for lessons due to their financial situation and the rest only pay enough for me to keep the lights and water on and to help me pay for their belts and grade certificates. I guess you missed the part where I said that the new president is doing away with our student manual. It is not up to us since he has enough votes to push this things through without any obstacles from the traditionalists. This hits the nail on the head. I teach old school Todi/Ti'Gwa/Karate Jutsu and no I am not willing to take things like chokes out of the curriculum. This in large part is why we only ever accepted students 16 yrs and older. The entire curriculum would, sorry IS now being changed to suite the new student base. I have no interest whatsoever in teaching a watered down and dumbed down version of our art just so the new president can make his pockets grow larger. The techniques we teach come straight from the Kata and they are taught as they have been passed down for centuries. What is taught is neither appropriate nor understandable to a child. I understand what you are saying and appreciate your insights but I have already made my decision and can not/ will not turn my Dojo into a McDojo. In some instances this is absolutely true but I am of the mind set that the art of Karate in most modern Dojo is not traditional but merely a watered down sport version of what it was intended to be. If this is something that students want there are thousands if not millions of schools they can go to find this. Why then would I change to become the same. My students come/stay with me because I teach what I teach. They are not concerned with winning patty cake sparring matches nor do they have a need to win trophies. Most are cops and the rest are looking to be able to actually defend themselves. Sports are great and I have nothing against those schools that have chosen to turn away from the old ways so they can win tournaments but this is just not me. Kids are interested in achievements that can be seen. My students are concerned with personal achievements that are not on display for others to see. Most feel as I do. Personal betterment in the art is not sitting on a shelf, it's within.

Agreed and thanks for the laugh, I needed it.

Just received a call from the insurance company our association uses and they will extend the same coverage for the same cost to me and my students. So basically I am an instructor without a home at this point because I have made up my mind to separate from my association. I will talk with my students tonight and see what they think about this and which way they want to go. Hopefully I know them better than I did the rest of the student body.

Agreed. I am more worried about my students. Most of them have been with me for over 15 years. Some for 20. No I don't want to teach this way nor can I comply but again there is more at stake besides just me. I know about half of my personal student base would follow me. If I can get decent rates for insurance I'll be gone today. I am actually waiting to hear back from our associations agent. As it stands the association pays for insurance out of our school and student dues and they get a really cheap rate. If they can match that for me it's not even a decision.

I don't mind at all. My grade is Nanadan and hold a Kyoshi teaching license.

Well... we had our instructors board meeting last night and it did not turn out as I expected. I was ready to cast my vote to push a few votes forward after getting feed back from some of you when we were all told that they had enough votes to pass all issues without "wasting our time". Our VP cut in and asked what this meant and how this transpired since we were dead locked on more than 90% of the issues. To this he was told, quite rudely I might add, that two of the board members came to their senses and sided with the him and told him that they would be voting yes across the board and that the days of old traditionalists were at an end. I was quite taken back by the attitude and expressed that there was no need for mud slinging. I was told that the old ways were not the future for our organization and I could either get on board with progress or get left behind. Our VP said that he was not going to sit back and let one person dictate to the rest of us. He said that we all have equal votes and no one has been appointed Soke, therefore no one has the right to over set our bylaws. He was "somehow" disconnected from the on-line meeting. He never returned to the meeting. I got off line and let what had transpired sink in. I realized that with ALL of the issues being approved, I now teach for and belong to a McDojo. I spoke with Kosei (our VP) today and told him that I was not comfortable with the way things are going and that I can not figure out how the president was able to convince two of our board members to vote for his changes. He told me that he too was not happy about the direction the president is leading us and said that he had a long conversation with him after the meeting. He said that he regrets to inform me of the fact that he is no longer the VP and in fact he is no longer a member of the association. He would not tell me what transpired during the conversation or what was said but told me that it was his decision to leave due to what the president told him. He said that he is either going to take his students and just teach or he will start from scratch with new students if they wanted to stay with the association. This came as a pretty big bomb shell to me. I begged him to reconsider but he said he could not stay knowing what he knows and not being able to stop it. Sooooooooo... I guess I am a member of a Mcdojo now. Yep, we have the whole rainbow of belts, less time and requirements for Shodan, no testing for Rokudan and up, more fees, and yep, we now have kids. Oh I forgot to mention that unbeknownst to myself and the VP the issue was changed to kids will be required. That's right, it's not the instructors choice it's a requirement, and here is the best part... there is a quota that we have to meet. Oh and this just tickled me pink, the student and instructor manual that I wrote under Shinshii's request and direction will be replaced because, "it fosters the wrong message and is not conducive to growth within the organization". Isn't that great? Just makes me want to do some cart wheels! I called our President and told him that I would not be teaching kids nor would I adhere to these changes within my Dojo, that I had more than enough students to literally teach to the day I die without needing to add kids. I was told that I did not have that option and that if I wanted to remain as a member of the board and of the association I would lead by example and adhere to these changes or I could choose to leave. So needless to say I am at a point where I have to make a decision of whether I want to belong to something that goes against everything I have ever known or quit. McDojo or stick to Shinshii's standards. Gee thats a really hard decision. Sorry for the sarcasm. I think I need some time to think about the positive and negative points of leaving the association before making a decision that effects not just me but my students as well. I don't have the grade or teaching license to start my own thing so I would just teach as an independent. I need to figure out how this would effect my students. I also need to see if I can get in touch with our insurance company to see if I can get the same rates as the association. If not it doesn't look good for me to continue to teach. My students journey with me may be at an end if I decide I can't go along with these GREAT CHANGES! I hate airing dirty laundry and normally would keep my off handed comments to myself but this just takes the cake and has broken the camels back. Hopefully you understand and do not hold my disdain for this situation against me. I actually never saw this coming in a million years. I guess Shinshii's students were not as loyal as I thought. I can not tell you how disheartened I am by this and how utterly sad I feel that what Shinshii left in our hands has been destroyed in mere years. I really don't know what the next step is. Maybe I am a dinosaur. I have no respect for things like trophies, quick promotions for literally nothing, flashy kata that represent nothing, quantity over quality. I don't think I could go along with this. I have already made my decision but the only thing holding me back is that I am also making it for my family (students) that have not had the opportunity to express their feelings about it. I guess I fear that this will appeal to them and I know I just can not pass on this legacy of nothingness where money and numbers mean more than teaching the art. Maybe my beliefs are obsolete and stuck in a different time. Well I guess I'll find out in tomorrows class when I pose the question to them. It's a lot to process and I kinda fear what they might say.

Welcome Wayofaswede