SLK59

Very nicely done! It looked like a ‘proper’ old-school karate dojo, too.

John Timothy Keehan, aka “Count Dante,” comes to mind. See also the excellent YouTube videos “What is a McDojo?” and “What is a McDojo? Revisited” by Mr. Dan at Art of One Dojo.

For me, earning a belt grade from a sensei and organization whose strength, character and lineage I admire is akin to earning a college degree from a highly respected university - it takes years of training, hard work and self examination. It also represents significant physical, mental and spiritual development. These are not things that someone can judge for or about themselves, and giving oneself a rank would indicate a self-absorbed focus on belt colors and grades for their own sake, rather than striving to become a better person. In this forum I often see people say things along the lines of, “belt rank is meaningless.” While I disagree with that sentiment when applied to grades earned from reputable organizations, I do think that people who award themselves belt ranks that they haven’t truly earned are guilty of falsifying their resumes, just as surely as someone who claims to have a college degree without ever actually having received one. What they are doing is deceiving themselves and others - no more, no less. Under those circumstances, the belt grades truly are meaningless. My apologies if all of this sounds heavy, pompous or pedantic, but it is a subject about which I feel very strongly. Cheers, Scott

Thank you, sensei8!

Thank you for your kind words and encouragement, Alan and bushido_man96!

Another enthusiastic vote for Muhammad Ali, “the Greatest!” Even more impressive when one remembers that he was not allowed to fight during his prime fighting years (1967-1970, when he was aged 25-29), for his refusal to serve in the US Armed Forces during the Vietnam War.

Three years ago I underwent a double lung transplant, and I am currently in the hospital after having had a serious bout of pneumonia (along with other complications) in mid-January. So my current fitness challenge is to work on my PT regimen and get strong enough to leave the hospital and resume my at-home karate training, hopefully by the end of March. The good news is that I have managed to remain COVID-free through all of this.

Previous movies in the MonsterVerse have presented both Godzilla and Kong as positive characters. I suspect that this one will to the same, while following the precedent of the original Toho film in having one or both of them temporarily under some kind of control by the villains of the film.

You are very welcome, sensei8. Like you, my wife and I have two cats, and we have also run into similar charges. I think these are most likely due to extra expenses incurred by the motel from less-responsible pet owners for dealing with hair, odors, noise, etc.

Congratulations, Mick 11 - well done!

The all-time ‘biggest’ movie fight is coming to theaters and on HBOMax: https://www.ign.com/videos/2021/01/24/godzilla-vs-kong-official-trailer

Very best wishes for you and your family, Bob. My thoughts are with you as you continue your medical progress. Cheers, Scott

Welcome to the forum, hunter_02, and to the next phase in your martial arts journey! Cheers, Scoot

When I began training in 1974, our for-profit dojo had classes for adults only {15 years and up), none for kids. Classes were held on M-F evenings and Sat mornings. Typical class size was 10-30 students. By the time I was manager and CI for one of our dojos in 1981, our adult classes were smaller, with fewer white belts and a high proportion of ‘old timer’ brown and black belts. Meanwhile, rents and expenses were going up, and our largest competitors were now running Kids classes very successfully. So we had added a Children’s program for kids age 7-14, with classes M-F evenings and Sat mornings, as well as a dedicated instructor ranked Nidan or higher for each program. We did not have junior grading or belts - children partnered together for kumite training and testing, but used the same overall grading criteria and belt ranking as adults. Over time, the Children’s programs grew in size (20-40 per class), while the original adult classes decreased in size, with higher proportions of upper-level belt ranks. So kids classes were vital for a commercial for-profit dojo 40 years ago. From some of the posts above, it sounds like they are at least as vital for most for-profit dojos today.

Sounds like you are teaching your grandkids a good, balanced approach to life, hunter_02. And welcome to KF!.

Congratulations, advfhorn! 😃

Belated congratulations, Himokiri Karate! 😀

scohen0300 - It sounds like you have a great kihon routine in place! My own basic Covid self-training for kihon consists of 10-20 reps of each of the following strikes and blocks, stepping forward and/or backward in the appropriate basic stance: Lunge punch (oi-zuki) Reverse punch (gyaku-zuki) Downward block (gedan-barai) Rising block (age-uke) Forearm block (ude-uke) Hammer block (tetsui-uke) Knife-hand block (shuto-uke) Like you, I sometimes do combinations by adding a reverse punch to the techniques listed above. Then I do 10-20 reps of each of the following kicks, once again moving forward and/or backward in the appropriate basic stance: Front kick (mae-geri) Side-up kick (yokogeri-keage) Side-thrust kick (yokogeri-kekomi) Round kick (mawashi-geri) Crescent kick (mikazuki-geri) Stamping kick (fumikomi) Rear kick (ushiro-geri) On alternating days, I do each of the following basic kata 2-3 times: Heian Shodan Heian Nidan Heian Sandan Heian Yodan Heian Godan Tekki Shodan As my form and stamina improve, I plan to put all of that together in a single session. Hopefully that will help me be ready for when my dojo resumes in-person classes sometime in 2021.

From my personal perspective, karate and MMA are as different from one another as is judo from Greco-Roman wrestling, or kendo from western fencing. Apples and oranges, different strokes for different folks.

Glad to hear that there was such a positive response among your students!

That is going to vary a lot, even for different organizations within the same style. It seems to me that, if such a thing does exist, the ‘main’ kata within a group or style often turns out to have been the personal favorite of the founder or current chief instructor.

Agree 100%. I can think of few remakes that contribute much of anything new beyond the original. The motivation of the studios seems to be simply to ‘cash in’ by remaking and ‘modernizing’ popular and well-regarded classics, rather than coming up with new, creative concepts of their own.

Dredging up an old topic with a few additional thoughts. First, congratulations sensei8 on decreasing the number of belt colors back to your organization’s original preferred system. It may be difficult for students used to the old ‘rainbow’ of colors, but it is one way to save costs for your students while also getting them to obsess just a little less about receiving a new belt color every time they are graded to a new rank. Would you be willing to post a follow-up describing how the students have reacted to the changes? BTW, in Shotokan Karate of America, we have used the original system set up by Gichin Funakoshi since 1956: 8th-4th kyu: white belt 3rd-1st kyu: brown belt 1st-5th dan: black belt There are no stripes or bars, just the three belt colors. This ranking system is the same for all ages, i.e. no junior ranks. Cheers, Scott

Welcome to the group, Mick 11!

Those interested can read about the legal wranglings here: https://www.tohokingdom.com/blog/the-legal-battle-over-seven-samurai-and-the-magnificent-seven/