singularity6

I prepare for battle by logging into Battle.net, then starting Diablo 3. ;-D

Happy birthday, man!

That's certainly quite a journey! While I have not walked in your shoes, I do realize that a lot of folks have a hard time understand things that aren't binary. Thanks for sharing, Joe.

Oh, let's see here... 1. Math instructor at a community college 2. I've "played guitar" since I was 16 (I'm 40 now.) Never in a band... I'm not that good 3. Hiking 4. Astronomy (when the urge strikes me) 5. My friends and I burned 72 Christmas trees on NYE at their house which is right on Lake MI.

I've felt burnout a few times in my career while teaching (13 years now.) Sometimes it's just a rough class. Other times it's external things. Either way, the best way I can describe it is a greatly reduced interest/motivation to do my job. I've always been able to power through, and based on my student evals, they haven't noticed when it does happen. Sometimes you just need to put on a game face! Here's some ideas (mostly based on my experience as a MA student, as well as a math instructor.) Anything that involves a long-term commitment can suffer from burnout. This is why it is important to always mix things up. Keep a journal about what worked well in your classes, and what could stand some tweaking. Doing the same thing each day gets boring for you (and to the students!) A class full of disengaged students makes things that much worse. The internet should be able to provide you with a number of ideas to keep things fresh in your dojo. Changing the warm-ups or changing the drills a bit will force the students to pay more attention to what they're doing, and it'll force you to interact more with them.

Heh, now McGreggor and Nasukawa have something in common!

Best of luck on the tenure-track job! I'm not sure what the market looks like in your field of study, but things are pretty flooded for mathematicians. Thanks Singularity! Right now it's seeming like even the small biology tenure track jobs are getting at least 150 applicants each. For that reason when I only made the short list for 1 of 10 jobs I applied to last year, I wasn't super surprised. I'm trying to get some manuscripts out and at least double my number of applications in 2019 to boost my chances. In the past week I've applied to 5 more positions, and I plan to submit two more applications today. Fingers crossed! One day at a time I guess. It would be really great to start my own university club too. Undergrads are my favorite group to train. Unlike little kids, every single one of them wants to be there and is ready to go at the beginning of class. Many students are also looking for the community and friendship that a dojo can offer. It can be an outlet for the stress university or graduate life puts on people. It's nice to have a place to diffuse all of that. I have many fond memories and lasting friendships from my college karate club(s). It'd be great to be able to start that somewhere new. I'd love to give more people a chance to experience this. Well, I landed a tenure-track job at a community college 5 years ago (it took 2 years of applying.) Since then, I've been on a couple search committees. Feel free to PM me if you'd like some advice!

Yeah, I don't know what the organizers were thinking... Floyd looked like he was gonna be having fun the whole time (until he got hit.) This was the only match where I felt that Tenshin was nervous for. He did seem to go into the match with a lot more trepidation than he usually does. To be honest, I expected it to be over even quicker.

"Punch'em in the face" is what I always say!

Best of luck on the tenure-track job! I'm not sure what the market looks like in your field of study, but things are pretty flooded for mathematicians.

Hey, congrats!

Happy holidays to all! I will be traveling this evening, through the 27th. Be well. Cheers!

"OW! MY HIP!"

That pretty much says it all. Treat other with the same respect you expect them to give you. I'm just wondering when it became so bad to have different idea's? Didn't we use to celebrate this? To the bold: It seems like different ideas have always been frowned upon (in general, by the masses.) Things like major world events and major social changes always tend to polarize people. These polarizations have been exacerbated by our ability to communicate with the masses, while surrounding ourselves with too many like-minded individuals. The world is experiencing a lot of change, and at a very fast rate. I think most of the bad stuff we're seeing is mostly due to fear and a natural resistance to change. If one want to keep growing as a person, one must always seek discomfort (if it doesn't hurt, you're not learning!)

My style is a blend of taekwando and hapkido. Having studied aikido before, I have seen some similar principles being applied. So yeah, I think karate and aikido should supplement each other nicely!

Woah, here we go. Bear with me, I have a lot of thoughts and I'll try to form them in a concise and constructive way: We live in complicated times. The social media platforms have allowed us to surround ourselves with like-minded individuals, and in a way, filter out those who don't agree as much. The internet in general has given us a "safe" place to air our grievances without direct contact with others. It has gotten to the point to where it seems that "everyone" is the "drunk uncle" at Thanksgiving dinner - those who agree are called friends, and those who don't are the enemy. We are dividing ourselves. My political beliefs do not line up with my instructors, nor do they line up with a fair number of my classmates. They are still great people, and we still get along very well. Why? Well, those discussions do not belong on the floor (we're smarter about it... we wait until we're drinking at a bar to have those discussions ) Now, I teach math at a college. Historically, I used to allow my students to occasionally discuss things that weren't related to class, so long as it wasn't disrupting the learning that had to be done (I've always tried to respectfully bowed of these, as I don't want any of my students to feel uncomfortable.) After all, it's college, and differing opinions should be celebrated, not shunned! Things have changed enough now to where I no longer allow these discussions in the classroom, as the discussions get too heated too quickly. Something I think we should all be mindful of are our guiding principles we take for our martial art. In Taekwondo, we have our Oath: 1 Observe the tenets of Taekwondo. 2 Respect instructors and seniors. 3 Never misuse Taekwondo. 4 Be a champion of freedom and justice. 5 Help to build a more peaceful world. Tenants: 1 Courtesy 2 Integrity 3 Perseverance 4 Self-control 5 Indomitable spirit I know other styles have similar guiding principles. These principles (for whichever style you practice) should always be observed - on and off the floor! Now... this has got me thinking... Most religions have a lot of teachings about being humble and respectful. And what about in the workplace? How many of us work for a company that has a mission statement, or "cultural beliefs"? I'll bet integrity and respect are mentioned in some way shape or form! Folks in law enforcement and medicine are required to take an oath upon entering their fields. By being part of a religious group, working for a company, or being a law enforcement officer/medical practitioner, we are agreeing to these ideas, to these beliefs. Maybe we should start living these ideas and beliefs!

That pretty much describes what happened to me each time I test. I'm still trying to figure out how to cope with it.

Welcome, and congrats! We all look forward to your contributions here on the forum!

When I'm training regularly, my spinning side kicks knock it over easy if I really hit it. I can also knock it over with my basic side kicks, if I try. That being said, normal punch and kick combos get it to wobble and scoot a bit on the flooring I have, but it doesn't fall over. I would say that it's by far the most stable of the freestanding bags that I've used (and I've used several.) Seriously, if you want to practice power without the inconvenience of a bag swinging wildly or falling over, buy a kicking shield and have a partner hold it. The T2 is definitely the best you can do with a freestanding bag.

Maybe if I can get back into my routine. Things with work have been really crazy and I haven't been able to get back into training with any regularity since March.

Welcome aboard!

The woods that are commonly used for particular applications are used for a variety of reasons. 1) Availability 2) The wood has characteristics that make it particularly useful in that application

Woah! Congrats!

I've been the only adult in class (but it's not a regular thing.) There are only a few times where I notice: 1) When I'm asked to do one-steps, self defense, or spar with a child 2) When a child starts crying after holding a pose for 10 seconds Other than that, it doesn't bother me.

Congrats, and thank you for your service!