Patrick

Haha. Thanks Alex. Congrats Clay. Patrick

Thanks for sharing, Liver Punch. Patrick

Hello, Thank you for visiting KarateForums.com. I just wanted to take a moment to thank everyone who has positively contributed to KarateForums.com in 2011. Thank you to everyone who has helped another member, offered some insight or otherwise added something to the community. If you enjoy and respect this community, I appreciate it. Your support means a lot. This is the year that we turned 10 years old and we had a big celebration to mark the milestone. That's a long time and it's not something to take for granted. Thank you to everyone who helped us reach it. Thank you to everyone on my staff, including Heidi, Brian, Danielle, Alex, Jennifer, Jeff, Clay and Bob, for all of your support and help in maintaining this community. You are an important part of what keeps everything going. If you are reading this and you fit into any of the groups mentioned above, thank you. I hope that you have a great holiday season and a happy, healthy and successful 2012. Sincerely, Patrick

Congrats. Thanks for sharing this. Patrick

Great thinking to bring this back up, quinteros1963!

Congrats. Patrick

Ah, no worries. I see that you started a new thread. I am going to close this one and send everyone over there: http://www.karateforums.com/success-vt41989.html Thanks, Patrick

Thanks for the replies, all. Patrick

How'd it go, Crimson_Lotus? Patrick

Welcome aboard, Koopyetz. Patrick

Hey Bob, I don't think doing anything this season is really the goal. Firing him just allows them to get a jump on talking to coaches. Patrick

Hello, Thank you for visiting KarateForums.com. After more than a month and a half of nominating and voting, the KarateForums.com Awards 2011 have come to their conclusion. It is now time for us to announce the winners. Before I do so, I wanted to once again congratulate everyone who was nominated. Being nominated, in and of itself, is a beautiful thing and should be recognized. If you did not win or were not nominated, please do not take it personally. These awards do have meaning, but they are also for fun and not everyone can win or be nominated. Please join me in congratulating our winners. I would also like to pass along a huge thank you to everyone who participated in the process by nominating and voting. You are vital to this event. You, the community, selected the nominees and decided the winners. Without further ado, here they are: 1. Member of the Year: sensei8 2. New Member of the Year: Groinstrike 3. Community Spirit Award: evergrey 4. Staff Member of the Year: DWx 5. Funniest Member of the Year: MasterPain 6. Article of the Year: Capoeira Explained by JusticeZero Congratulations to Bob (sensei8), Clay (Groinstrike), evergrey, Danielle (DWx), MasterPain and JusticeZero! For past winners, please check out: http://www.karateforums.com/awards.php Thank you for reading and for supporting the KarateForums.com Awards. Sincerely, Patrick

Dobbersky didn't mention how many sessions a week people were limited to, but that could definitely be the case. I don't know that a percentage of population really works. The more people live in a city or area, the more expensive it is to maintain that city or area and the higher the cost of living is. So, that's why the raw number of people matters. Big cities, in general, are extremes. But, I can see how London is probably more of an extreme to the rest of the U.K. than Chicago is an extreme to the rest of the U.S. Sort of like New York City is a big extreme, compared to the rest of the U.S. Patrick

Here's the article, I think: http://www.pcworld.com/article/245250/robots_have_just_become_selfaware_sorta.html

Good luck and welcome back! Patrick

Here's the clip that they are referring to: Thanks, Patrick

Hello, Thank you for visiting KarateForums.com. Unfortunately, we have removed a post from this thread in error. Please find it quoted below. I apologize for the inconvenience. Thanks, Patrick Best of all. Worst of none. .... Thats like saying poor people deserve to be raped.... I disagree!

Yeah, gonna be a great 6-10 year! We're bad, but not bad enough for a high draft pick.

That's what I am saying, essentially. We're talking about Chicago, a major U.S. city. Martial arts instruction will theoretically cost more there then in many other, smaller cities because it represents a higher cost of living, which applies across the board. So, that's why the comparison to London. To compare Manchester to Chicago, I didn't feel was an apt enough comparison (could be wrong), as far as the populations of the cities. I don't know that the conversion is any more unfair than any other methods. Comparing cost based on the value of the currency is probably no more inaccurate than other methods, including household or individual income. Nothing's perfect. I realize that the U.K. is much, much smaller than the U.S., but for example, I'd never think of saying "in North Carolina, martial arts instruction costs..." just because there are so many different cities, schools, types of arts and what not. Even within a state, you have big cities, small cities and what not. Perhaps the U.K. isn't like that, though it is interesting that Dobbersky said that martial arts in the U.K. cost £20-£40 monthly, while Danielle said £60-£70. There is a pretty sizable difference between those ranges. Patrick

Welcome aboard, Mark. Patrick

Hello, Thank you for visiting KarateForums.com. We removed a post from this thread in error. It is quoted below. I apologize for the trouble. Thanks, Patrick

Thanks for sharing that, Wastelander. I went ahead and gave this it's own thread. Thanks, Patrick

Voting is now closed. Thank you to everyone who voted. The results will be announced soon. Sincerely, Patrick

Hey Wastelander, You mentioned $40-$60, but that is essentially (give or take a few dollars) what Dobbersky said that they "tend" to pay in the U.K. Although obviously many places charge much more. With that in mind, would you say that it is difficult in the U.S. to find a school that charges between $31.19 and $62.38 monthly? Patrick

Your comment piqued by curiosity, Dobbersky. So, I did a little research to see if there was a great disparity. £5 = $7.80 £20 - £40 a month = $31.19 - $62.38 a month Wouldn't you say that "in the U.K." too vague? I am sure that you can find $7.80 per class or $31.19-$62.38 a month in plenty of places in the U.S. But, price can vary, based on any number of factors. On geographic location, on physical location (downtown, convenient, safe area, not safe area, etc.) on the type of school, on whether the teachers do it full time, on other, club related benefits and access, etc. Alex said $100 should cover you in a major metropolitan area. Manchester is a decent sized city, from what I know. I looked it up on Wikipedia, and I'm not sure how accurate this is, but it says that there is a population of 498,800 in the city and 2.6 million in the metro area. Chicago, according to Wikipedia, has 2.7 million in the city alone. The city itself is the Manchester metro. The Chicago metro is 9.8 million. This would be more comparable to London, which is 7.8 million and 13.9 million, respectively. I did some Google searches for "downtown London martial arts" and "downtown London martial arts pricing" (no quotes on both) and it seems like many schools are hesitant to put pricing online. But, on the first page of results on Google.co.uk, I found: http://www.londonfightfactory.com/costs (a one time joining fee of £25/$39.01, plus £90/$140.36 monthly for unlimited classes, £70/$109.17 for three classes a week and £55/$85.84 for two classes per week) http://www.kravmaga-eastlondon.com/ (no pricing, but they sell a "beginner's package," which is £60/$93.57 for 10 classes) http://bmsmartialart.com/studying-bms-2/studying-bms (£70/$109.17 introductory fee and then £70/$109.17 monthly or $467.85 per term, which run from 13 to 15 weeks) http://www.centrallondonshodokanaikido.co.uk/ (£60/$93.57 monthly, plus annual membership and insurance fee of £30/$46.79) http://www.changshapkido.net/london/ (£75/$116.96 registration fee, plus monthly tuition of £110/$171.64 for unlimited classes, £80/$124.76 for five classes a week, £70/$109.17 for three classes a week and £60/$93.57 for two classes a week, plus various fees for uniforms, grading, etc.) So, I don't know if there is a great disparity here. I am sure that, in London, you can also find many lower priced martial arts classes, as well. But, they offer different things, different experiences and different levels of service. Hope this helps! Patrick