Patrick

Hey all, With KarateForums.com's 25th birthday on May 21, I would love to have you contribute to one or both of our projects where we will feature your thoughts on the community and your time here. You can find these projects below: Submit an audio clip for our 25th birthday podcast (May 14 deadline) Submit a text post for our 25th birthday series where members reflect on what the community means to them (May 18 deadline) Whether you've been here for a few months or 20 years, your contribution would be deeply appreciated. Audio, text, or both! Thank you for considering it. Patrick

Hey all, If recording an audio clip is not your thing - or even if it is - I invite you to write a post sharing your thoughts on what KarateForums.com means to you, in celebration of our upcoming 25th birthday. Please do this by submitting a post in our KarateForums.com 25th Birthday Submissions forum. What should you write about? Well, here are some ideas for things you could cover: What does KarateForums.com mean to you? What memories spring to mind when you think of the community? How has KarateForums.com impacted your life and/or your martial arts journey? Is there anything you want to say to your fellow members in honor of this shared milestone? Don't worry too much about length. I would say a great post could be anywhere from 100 to 2,000 words. We reserve the right to apply light edits to the submission for grammar and spelling. As with all posts here, please ensure the post is work friendly and free of any self-promotion. Please have any submissions in by May 18. If you'd like to contribute to this project, as well as the audio podcast project, that is definitely encouraged. Thank you for your time and consideration. Patrick

Hey all, On May 21, we'll be celebrating 25 years of KarateForums.com, and I'd love to release a podcast of members reflecting on the community. It's easy! Just use the audio recording app on your phone and send me the audio at patrick@ifroggy.com. Steps for both Android and iPhone phones below. But, first let's discuss what you should talk about when you record. You should begin by introducing yourself. "Hello, I go by Patrick on KarateForums.com" or something along those lines will work well. After that, you could answer the following questions: How do you view yourself when you joined the community, and how has that changed? What does KarateForums.com mean to you? How has KarateForums.com impacted your life and/or martial arts journey? What memories stand out when you look back on your time here? You don't need to answer all of these questions. These are just prompts to make it easier and so that each clip fits the general theme. Don't sweat the length too much. Let's say a clip should be at least 30 seconds, and no more than 3 minutes. Please keep it work friendly - just like KarateForums.com. The clip should not include any self-promotion of a school, website, social media handles, or similar. I will have an audio producer edit all of these clips into a single episode, maximizing audio quality. We reserve the right to make simple edits to eliminate unnecessary pauses, sounds or words, and to shorten the clip if needed. Please have audio submissions in by May 14. A lot of people feel self-conscious about their voice. Please don't. I'd love to have you participate. Thank you for considering it! But if you're more of a text person, please contribute to our text project instead! If you'd like to contribute to both, that is definitely welcome! And now steps for your phone: On iPhone, open the Voice Memos app. Tap the red circle to start recording and speak. When you're done, tap the red square (stop) button. Then select the recording you just made, tap the three dot (...) menu, then tap "Share." Next, tap your email app, and your iPhone will attach the audio to an email message. Send it to me at patrick@ifroggy.com, and you're done. Watch a video tutorial. On Android, open the Record app. Tap the red circle button to begin recording, and the "Stop" button to end. Next, select the record you just made, and then tap the three dot (...) menu. Tap "Share," then "Audio or transcript file," followed by "Next." After this, select your email client, and the audio file will be attached to a new message. Send it to me at patrick@ifroggy.com, and you're done. Thanks again, Patrick

Hey all, Thank you for visiting KarateForums.com. We recognize one member every month as the KarateForums.com Member of the Month for their positive contributions to this community. Our honoree this time is... @Spartacus Maximus for the fifth time! With almost 12 years in our community, Spartacus Maximus has really become a fixture here, and a member who sets a great example for others to follow. Thanks for being such a big part of this space for so long. Patrick

Sorry Bob. Hoping for the best possible outcome.

Hey Josh, welcome. Glad to have you.

No worries, Bob. Just wanted to make sure it was clear. Thanks.

Hey all, I know it is so far out (July 2028) that it is kind of silly to think about, but just thought I'd start a thread in case anyone ends up going to the Summer Olympics in 2028! I'm local to Los Angeles (well, I am as I wrote this in 2026, anyway), so we picked up tickets to a couple of events during the locals presale, including the JUD10 Judo Mixed Final, which will include: Women's -70kg Repechage Contests Women's -70kg Semifinal Contests Men's -90kg Repechage Contests Men's -90kg Semifinal Contests Women's -70kg Bronze Contests Women's -70kg Final Men's -90kg Bronze Contests Men's -90kg Final Seemed like a fun idea! Maybe some other community members will make it out. Patrick

Thanks Bob and Ken. I'm glad you enjoyed it.

Thanks for the replies and/or understanding. Just for the avoidance of any doubt, I wanted to reiterate that the idea was for the answers to be the opposite of what one might expect, so they would go into the quiz confident they weren't attending a "McDojo," and then be told they were.

This quiz was our 2026 April Fool's Day prank. Please see more here: https://karateforums.com/topic/52511-april-fools-the-is-your-martial-arts-school-a-mcdojo-quiz/ Hope everyone had a great day. Patrick

Hey all, Our April Fool's Day prank this year was to launch a quiz where you could find out if your school is a "McDojo" or not, just to poke fun at the idea and understandable sensitivities around it. It was actually possible to be told that your school was not a McDojo, and that happened in 2 of 13 results. The quiz remains online at the moment, and will be for the foreseeable future, so please feel free to play with it. But for the sake of posterity, please find the questions and answers from the quiz, and how they informed whether or not you were told that you were in a McDojo. The answers generally led you to the opposite of what you would have assumed. Thank you to @bushido_man96 for question ideas. Thanks for all of your good natured replies, as always. The quiz was not anyone saying that any of the traits mentioned is definitively a "McDojo" or not because while some traits may be more common in schools where training quality may not be good compared to the cost, there are plenty of exceptions where the opposite can be true. Hope you had a great day! Patrick Introduction: Do You Train at a McDojo? Answer these questions to see whether your school leans more toward quality training or has questionable “belt factory” vibes. 1. How many colored belt ranks does your school have? Less than 5 (this answer indicates your school is a McDojo) 5-10 (McDojo) More than 10 (neutral; I did this so that ties would always go to your school being a McDojo) 2. Does your school train only on hardwood floors? Yes (McDojo) No (Not a McDojo) 3. Does your instructor display his certifications in the dojo? Yes (Not a McDojo) No (McDojo) 4. Does your instructor use a curriculum that starts simple and gets more complex as ranks increase? Yes (McDojo) No (Not a McDojo) 5. What happens when a student makes mistakes or struggles? They get coached with specifics, patience, and realistic feedback (McDojo) Students are praised no matter what, and standard feel unclear or lowered to avoid discomfort (Not a McDojo) 6. How does the school handle cross-training or visiting other gyms/schools? They're supportive or neutral (McDojo) Cross-training is treated like betrayal (Not a McDojo) Outcome #1: Not a McDojo (Solid School). Your school shows strong signs of legit instruction. No school is perfect, but yours looks focused on growth over gimmicks. Outcome #2: Full McDojo (Belt Factory Alert). Sorry to say that it appears you are training at a McDojo.

Hey all, We're adding a new feature to the site: Quizzes. Our first one is now available, drawing on nearly 25 years of conversations here in the community to help you determine whether or not the school you are currently training at is a McDojo. Take the quiz and find out! Quiz: Is Your Martial Arts School a McDojo? We'll be adding a new quiz every week through the summer, so stay tuned. Thanks for reading. Patrick

Thanks for weighing in, Bob and Brian. I appreciate it. Sounds good, @Zaine. I'll follow up in the next couple weeks if I don't hear from you. I have served as the editor of these efforts for years, so don't worry too much about rambling. haha. Thanks. Also, anyone else, if you haven't replied but want to: Please feel free. Thanks for reading.

KarateKen's post above was the first post in the community about the passing of Chuck Norris. With that said, to keep things simple, due to the title of the thread, I think it would be a good idea to keep posts regarding the passing of Chuck Norris to a single thread, which can be found here: https://karateforums.com/topic/52504-chuck-norris-passed-away/ Thank you for your understanding.

Thanks for giving it some thought, @Zaine and @KarateKen. No Karate tournaments just yet. John, I appreciate the kind words and the specific ideas you shared. We should definitely incorporate interviews and/or essays in some form - short or long; text, audio, or video. Even if it is just a few text prompts to encourage members to reflect or 60 second video where a member talks about what the community means to them. As you noted, there are differing levels of time commitment there, but they'd all be fun. At minimum, I'd love for you to write that longer post, and I'd be happy to sit for an interview with you via any means you'd like. It's hard to say this without sounding a bit rehearsed, but in hosting celebrations like this over the years for various milestones (which are all archived here in the KarateForums.com Announcements forum), I think it's important to place the emphasis on our members. But if you (and possibly others) would find it interesting to hear from me and have me reflect, then I'm happy to do it. So, please feel free to start to piece that together or think about it. We can also brainstorm privately, as well. I look forward to it. Thanks again, Patrick

Sorry to hear that, Ken. I think they did such a good job on the second season. I came into it with no knowledge of the manga or anime. Another family we know has been going through the anime like you, @DarthPenguin. Maybe we'll give it a look at some point.

Thanks @KarateKen! It was the hottest St. Patrick's Day ever throughout much of Southern California. DTLA hit 98 degrees, breaking the previous record of 94 in 1914. My son (also Patrick) and I got out for part of it to have some fun, but have been inside a bunch this week.

That's very touching, John. Thank you for putting that into words and for being a part of what makes this place so special. Patrick

Hey all, May 21 will mark 25 years since KarateForums.com launched. I know. That's pretty wild. Thank you for being a part of it. Obviously, I want to mark the occasion. Amongst the staff, we're kicking around some ideas. For example: We'll dig into the stats a bit and come up with some interesting lists and data. Maybe we could open up a submission form for members to talk about what the community means to them and publish those stories. And the ideas build from there! But I wanted to put out a public call, too, because I'd love to hear from you and any ideas that you might have. If you'd prefer it be private, please send me a private message. Obviously, I can't make any guarantees on any particular idea, just because it's based on the time I have available, but it would still be wonderful to hear more about anything that comes to mind for you. Thank you for reading this. Patrick

Anyone else watch the One Piece live action series on Netflix? It's such a fun show.

Had to take a break from Iron Flame as it was due back at the library. In that time, I read the X-Men Noir: Mark of Cain paperback, and now I am working on wrapping up Ultimate Iron Man: Volume 1 before I go back to finish the last 30% or so of Iron Flame.

Hey all, Thank you for visiting KarateForums.com. We recognize one member every month as the KarateForums.com Member of the Month for their positive contributions to this community. Our honoree this time is... @Zaine for the fourth time! Last August, Zaine marked 20 years of being a member here at KarateForums.com! That's an incredible period of time, but it is easily exceeded by the quality of your contributions over the years, John. Thank you for being such a big part of our community! Patrick

The ups and down of being the parent of an athlete. Enjoyed reading these. Sounds like Kenneth gave it his very best.

I think I'm in the same neighborhood as you - mid hundreds. This was probably helped by COVID and having a kid. If not, living in Los Angeles and having some venues walkable, I'd have gone to a bunch more shows by now. We have tickets for My Chemical Romance in October as my wife is a fan. That might be the most expensive, at least in present day dollars vs. inflation adjusted. Those are a bit under $500. We just saw the New York Rangers (vs. the Kings) earlier this year, and I bought the tickets a few hours before the game - they were under $99 (including taxes and feessuite tickets, where we had a suite and seats at the front of the suite. I think we'll try to do that more often to see the Rangers and Lakers and maybe the Yankees when they are in Anaheim. We went to a Yankees/Dodgers game, and it wasn't as fun as it could have been. But we went to a 3 game set in San Diego two years ago, and that was really fun. Going to see them in San Francisco this month for the opening series (not Opening Day, though). I'm also going to try to go to some of the 2028 Olympics in Los Angeles, but am curious to see how much that ends up being.