Patrick

A little housekeeping: this thread was started as a discussion on mean instructors, but the thread starter changed it to something else. This is why the first few posts don't seem to fit. I apologize for the trouble. Thanks, Patrick

Hey all, We just finished the KarateForums.com 15th anniversary livestream, and it was a lot of fun. I'd like to thank everyone who participated in this event. First, tallgeese for being a wonderful co-host. It wouldn't have been possible without you. Next, the guests who stopped by, including DWx, Nidan Melbourne, MasterPain, Zaine, sensei8, Luther unleashed, Bulltahr and bushido_man96. Finally, everyone who watched and participated in the chat. It was a great time. I feel the love, and I'm proud of the community that we have all contributed to. If you would like to watch the replay of the stream, please watch: Please note that it's not the most polished production, but we had a good time bringing everyone together. Thanks again, Patrick

I'm excited to talk with everyone.

Thanks Brian. You're a big part of everything we've done here over the last 10 years! I appreciate you. Patrick

Welcome aboard, Matt. Glad to have you. We don't actually even allow generic "best" martial arts discussions here. I hope you find that the community is what you're looking for. Thanks, Patrick

Hey all, As a reminder, our 15th anniversary livestream celebration will be on Saturday, June 4 at 4 PM Eastern (GMT -4). We're planning to go for 3 hours and we'll be talking to several members from the community! We'll also have a chat room going so that those watching can talk with one another and with whoever is currently on the stream! If you are unsure of when the stream will start in your part of the world, please check these start times: New York: 4 PM, June 4 Los Angeles: 1 PM, June 4 London: 9 PM, June 4 Melbourne, Australia: 6 AM, June 5 Watch the livestream! You can click that link at any time before and during the stream and press play on the video of that page to watch the stream. Even if you are early, you'll see a countdown and the stream will start automatically at start time. If you have any questions or run into any technical issues, please let me know. Thanks, Patrick

Thank you to those who have died serving our country, and to their families. Patrick

Welcome to KF, Mr. Yamamoto! Patrick

Hey all, We are working on the schedule now, but if you are interested in coming on and appearing on video and/or audio, please let me know! Would love to have as many members as we can. Thanks, Patrick

Hey Bill! Great to hear from you. Congrats on getting yourself out of debt! Always happy to have you around here! Patrick

Thank you, Danielle, Alex, Liam, Noah, Mo and Heidi! Very kind. I'm looking forward to the livestream! Patrick

Hello, Thank you for visiting KarateForums.com. It was 15 years ago today that KarateForums.com launched. The longevity of this community is incredible to me. Even with 15 years and 535,437 posts, when I tell people about this community, it's not the numbers that I spend time discussing. What I tell them is how beautiful this community is. How people speak to one another. How thoughtful they are. How, even when disagreeing, we treat each other with respect. How we bring people together, from all different walks of life, through the martial arts. That's what I'm proud of. You can't do that without amazing, exemplary members who participate in a way that reinforces and encourages those ideals. These great members, given a structure that enables them to stand out, really show people what the community is about, and ensures that we continue to bring in new people who share the same interest in having thoughtful conversations. Thank you. Naming names is fun because I will always end up leaving out a large number of members who have contributed to our community in a positive way. Even so, I would like to thank a group of members specifically, in recognition of their longstanding and/or current contributions to these forums. Thank you to bushido_man96, sensei8, tallgeese, SaiFightsMS, ninjanurse, DWx, karatekid1975, aefibird, SBN Doug, monkeygirl, kicker, G95champ, ps1, joesteph, ZeRo, Treebranch, Red J, cathal, gheinisch, Shotokan-kez, JusticeZero, Goju_boi, battousai16, Wastelander, iamrushman, cross, MasterPain, Harkon72, ShotokanKid, TJS, Menjo, delta1, Sam, lordtariel, Pacificshore, patusai, white owl, Jack, Nidan Melbourne, Aodhan, ramymensa, italian_guy, KarateK, Zaine, yamesu, GoldDragon, Lupin1, the beast, GrrrArg, Karateka_latino, The BB of C, y2_sub, P.A.L, Jay, Kirves, pittbullJudoka, BKJ1216, jaymac, Tiger1962, NightOwl, Kuma, June1, Adonis, Spartacus Maximus, krzychicano, kchenault, IcemanSK, pineapple, granmasterchen, Icetuete, marie curie, KarateEd and LeaF. Thank you to Hawkmoon, ShoriKid, JR 137, Montana, stonecrusher69, wagnerk, Kusotare, jaypo, Luther unleashed, JohnASE, cheesefrysamurai, pers, ashworth, brickshooter, mazzybear, armanox, hammer, Spodo Komodo, sperki, Titanium, kenpo4life, Wado Heretic, Nevinyrral, vantheman, chiliphil1, Judodad_karateson, RW, lowereastside, The Pred, CTTKDKing, liger, Bulltahr, guird, Harlan, Drew, Kanku65, A. Orstrom, bassaiguy, stoneheart, wayneshin, hawkfish, skullsplitter, Canadian77, DaveB, Oshishinobu and Karate_John. I would further like to recognize our current staff for the exceptional role that they play in carefully steering this community. Thank you to ninjanurse, bushido_man96, DWx, tallgeese, Wastelander, sensei8, Lupin1 and Zaine. Finally, I would like to thank past staff members SaiFightsMS, monkeygirl, karatekid1975, SBN Doug, gheinisch, scottnshelly and jdash for the deeply valued contributions that they made. Your Thoughts? On this day, I would love to hear your thoughts about KarateForums.com. Why have you become a regular member of our community? Why do you stay? Who are some members who make this a great community for you? I'd love to hear your thoughts. Our Livestream Celebration Also, don't forget: in two weeks, we'll be hosting a big livestream celebration with various members of the community appearing. We'd love to have you participate, but even if you can't, please tune in and participate in the chat room. The fun starts at 4 PM EDT (UTC -4) on June 4. Thank you for reading and for supporting KarateForums.com. Sincerely, Patrick

Thanks for the replies. Brian and Colin - excellent! Can't wait. Liam - I will see if we can make that work once we set out the schedule. Noah - I'm sorry to hear that. Would have loved to have had you on. Can the agent move the appointment? Haha. Thanks, Patrick

Great! Thank you, Bob, Liam and Alex. I look forward to chatting with you. There are plenty of slots open in that 3 hour window, so I look forward to others joining us, as well. Patrick

That's a long time. Thanks for sticking with us. Patrick

Hey all, On May 21, our community will turn 15 years old. In celebration of this amazing milestone, we are hosting a 3 hour livestream in exactly 3 weeks on Saturday, June 4 at 4 PM EDT (UTC -4). We Want You! The livestream is all about putting a voice and, hopefully, a face to as many community members as we can. We want you to be a part of it. I'd love to have you join us for 5-10 minutes to talk about your martial art and this community. Please reply to this thread or send me a private message to let me know if you would be up for it! I'll include some technical details at the bottom of this post, if you'd like to make sure you are set up to jump on the stream. If you don't want to be on video, you can be audio only. If you can't or aren't comfortable doing either, that's not a problem. We'll have a text chat room available where you can chat with other members and interact with those on the stream. And, of course, you can simply watch. Time Zones If you are unsure what time the stream will start in your time zone, please let me know, and I'll be happy to look it up. You can also use this time difference calculator. Here is the start time in a few big cities: New York: 4 PM, June 4 Los Angeles: 1 PM, June 4 London: 9 PM, June 4 Melbourne, Australia: 6 AM, June 5 Ideas? If you have any ideas for the livestream, things we should talk about or any feedback in general, please don't hesitate to let me know. 3 Weeks! Past livestreams have been a lot of fun, so I'm excited about this one. What makes it great is the community participation, which allows us all to get to know each other just a little better. 3 weeks can't come fast enough! We'll share updates as we get closer. Thank you for reading and for visiting KarateForums.com. Sincerely, Patrick

Hello, Thank you to everyone who showed interest in this project. Unfortunately, due to a lack of submissions, I have decided to cancel this effort. Hopefully, we can revisit it again in the future. I'm sorry. However, we will have a big announcement later today, tied to the 15th anniversary celebration. I appreciate your time and understanding. Thanks, Patrick

Hello, 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 for May is... ashworth. Congratulations! Thank you for the wonderful contributions that you have made to our community in your 10 years (this November) of being here! Sincerely, Patrick

I went ahead and gave this its own thread. Welcome back, jaymac! Patrick

Belated welcome, Slab! Thanks for making the leap. Patrick

Welcome to KF, Brock. Glad to have you. Patrick

Belated welcome, Ingdow. Thanks for joining us. Patrick

Belated congrats, Ken! That's awesome. Patrick

Awesome, Liam. I look forward to seeing it. Thanks, Patrick

Happy birthday to our own Wastelander (Noah), a thoughtful voice within our community, and an excellent moderator. Have a great day, Noah. Patrick