Patrick

Member Profile yamesu (View Profile) Joined: July 14, 2004 Posts: 1,113 Interview Where are you from? I am Australian born, have lived in Asia, regularly do trips to Thailand, but permanently reside in Australia at present. Why did you get started in the martial arts? I first walked into a dojo at age 7 (22 years ago now... that makes me feel old). My mother told me my friends were going to try it out and asked if I wanted to. Just happened to be a Kyokuhsin dojo, which I have continued to practice on and off to this day. Why have you continued to practice them? Self discipline, focus, fitness. Whenever I stop training for a little while, I get withdrawal and have to go back! Additionally, looking at availability and gaps in my skills has led me to take on other martial arts over the years including those from non-Japanese systems which has, I think, led me to become a more well rounded martial artist. Please briefly describe the styles of martial arts that you have taken. Kyokushin: a hard and full contact karate style invented by Sosai Mas OyamaPresas Modern Arnis: a contact stick fighting style used to emulate knife and machete fighting, originating from the Philippines Judo: a Japanese grappling art focused on takedowns and submissions Muay Thai: a full contact kickboxing style, simple but full on, originating from Thailand Kobudo: traditional Okinawan weaponryWhat is your grade or level? Black belt in KyokushinIsa (black belt) in Arnis Green belt in judo Yellow belt in kobudo.Do you teach? Yes, I regularly teach at the moment. What are your first memories from training? Doing partnered work as a child, linking arms back to back sitting down and having to stand up using cooperation and reading the other persons body movement. I still teach this with the kids in class today! What has been the highlight of your training? I think I gain something from it everyday, in my personal, work and social life. Grading to new heights and getting the epiphany of how a technique works is also always a great moment! What do you do when you're not training? I am a government scientist and (on the side) web programmer. I also play music (guitar and piano), and love being around my friends and family just hanging out. What can you tell us about your job? I am a government scientist and work in a diversity of areas from regulation (law) to groundwater chemical analysis (everyday is different), but have in recent years, moved into middle management so do less research and more telling other people what to do. Who are or were your martial arts heroes? Chuck Norris, Bruce Lee, Jet Li, Jackie Chan (and does Arnie count?). Also the Ninja Turtles, Power Rangers, Goku (from Dragon Ball Z) and of course Monkey Magic!!! What are your favorite martial arts films and/or shows? Pretty much everything, but picking a couple: Fong Sai-yuk (starring Jet Li) and Aragami are brilliant. Where do you see yourself going in your martial arts journey in the next few years? Continuing to train, probably more exclusively in Kyokushin as time constraints get more and more pressing. Do you remember how you found KarateForums.com? Why did you join? Web search, after Planet Jubei shut down I needed to rant about martial arts. Why did you stay? I stayed because of the diversity of members from around the world and from a variety of styles (which makes for good conversation), as well as the interesting topics that are discussed. You've been a member since July 13, 2004. During this time, how has KarateForums.com changed in your eyes, if at all? Not a lot really. I think that I may have missed changes as they come and went! How, if at all, have you used KarateForums.com in your classes or training? I would say yes. I cannot think of any specific examples, but I can say that a lot of conversation gets the brain juices flowing and that leads me to think about both positive and negative aspects of training and how I can show this to the juniors in classes. Are there any members here who have had a particular influence or impact on you? A number over the years. More recently sensei8, bushido_man96, tallgeese and Kuma. Can you share a memorable moment within the community where you received great advice or an experience that really affected you and your martial arts journey? Finding The Martial Artists' Training Log thread and seeing what others were doing on a consistent basis. I had, at that point, been in a relationship for several years and had stopped training seriously, as well as having put on a few kilos. This spurred me to get back on the horse by finding my original instructor (trained directly by Mas Oyama, and in Kyokushin it does not get better than that!!!). I am now still with my lovely lady, and looking like I did the day I met her again! Win-win for both of us. This also led to me finding a permanent place at my preferred dojo (90 minute travel time from home but worth it) and beginning to teach classes again after some years off. I have since also started traditional kobudo and have been trained by some greats from Okinawa, notably Sensei Tetsushiro Hokama (again, cream of the crop when it comes to martial artists who are alive today).

Thank you for sharing your story with us, and for your service, ps1. This is very meaningful to me personally and it shows the impact that online communities can have in a person's life. Thank you for all of the outstanding contributions that you have made to this community. Patrick

Member Profile ps1 (View Profile) Joined: November 9, 2004 Posts: 2,793 KarateForums.com Awards: Member of the Year (2007) Interview Where are you from? I live in Ravenna, Ohio. My academy is in Cuyahoga Falls, Ohio. Why did you get started in the martial arts? I remember watching The Karate Kid when I was very young. I really loved the movie and told my mom I wanted to do it. So, for my 6th birthday, my mom took me to a local TKD school. I trained there for 3 years until we moved to Ohio. I found another school and my journey has continued to blossom ever since. Why have you continued to practice them? Something about the martial arts just clicks with me. I feel deeply connected to my body in a way that, in my opinion, most people never do. Please briefly describe the styles of martial arts that you have taken. As I mentioned, I studied TKD for 3 years (from 6 to 9 years old). After moving to Ohio, I studied Poekoelan Tjimindie Teii Chuan Fa (an Indonesian art that combines kung fu with silat). After training in that to the age of 19, I began Shotokan karate and Aiki jujitsu. While training those arts I also trained an intensive, 1 year, sogo bujitsu program designed to train instructors. At the age of 24, I was introduced to Brazilian jiu-jitsu. I'm 34 now, for a total of 28 years of training. What is your grade or level? TKD: green belt (very long time ago)Chuan Fa: 3rd degree black sash Shotokan karate: Nidan Aiki jujitsu: Nidan Gracie jiu-jitsu: black beltDo you teach? Yes, I own and operate Top Level Martial Arts in Cuhahoga Falls, Ohio. I also taught Army combatives while in Iraq and the accredited Self Defense course at Youngstown State University. What are your first memories from training? Doing forms and duck-walks during my TKD training. What has been the highlight of your training? Earning my black belt in BJJ. What do you do when you're not training? Think about training and play with my children. What do you do for a living? I'm a Verification and Validation Engineer. I help design and test medical imaging equipment such as CT scanners, MRI, PET and SPECT imaging systems. Who are or were your martial arts heroes? Jigoro Kano, Musashi, Carlos Gracie, Helio Gracie, Chuck Norris, Bruce Lee, JJ Machado, Saulo Ribeiro, Pedro Sauer, Rickson Gracie, Uma Thurman and Michelle Krasnoo. What are your favorite martial arts films and/or shows? Choke, UFC and Kill Bill. Where do you see yourself going in your martial arts journey in the next few years? Possibly participating in a few local tournaments and focusing on growing my academy and passing jiu-jitsu on to the next generation. Do you remember how you found KarateForums.com? Why did you join? I was still deployed in Iraq when I found KF. I was just looking for a forum where I could get my mind off what was going on around me. I remember my first few posts, like many newbies, were a bit pretentious. I soon realized I was talking to people who took martial arts a serious as I do and who read, train and care as much as I do. That led me to stick around. My original handle here was pendakarshihan1, paying homage to the high level titles from both poekoelan and shotokan, my goals at the time. However, I felt the handle was too long and I had Patrick shorten it to ps1. Why did you stay? I've stuck around because there's a really great and positive community on this forum. It got me through a really difficult time in life. You've been a member since November 9, 2004. During this time, how has KarateForums.com changed in your eyes, if at all? The biggest changes I notice are in how many people come and go. One of my favorite posters when I started on the forum was 24fightingchickens. But that person hasn't been around in a very long time, unless he's lurking. Additionally, after another decade of training, my perspective on things has changed as well. I'm sure you can find a post of mine from 10 years ago that probably contradicts something I would say today. I was way more into the feudal Japanese arts and warriorship back then. So my posts were more geared toward those things. Now my my focus is on BJJ and growing my academy. So you'll see more posts in the grappling forums and instructor forums, with less in the karate forums. How, if at all, have you used KarateForums.com in your classes or training? I would say I use it very indirectly. I like to read the instructor forums and see what other people think of situations. I can wrap those methods into my own and use them. Can you share a memorable moment within the community where you received great advice or an experience that really affected you and your martial arts journey? As I mentioned above, KF helped me get through a pretty tough time in life. I was fighting a war and this was a great place to go and get my mind off the crap going on. I really appreciate that I had somewhere to go to do that.

Hello, Thank you for visiting KarateForums.com. As a community, we have now reached 500,000 posts. This is a really impressive milestone and I'm grateful that we've had the opportunity to maintain this type of longevity. What makes 500,000 posts special for us isn't just the number because numbers can be played with and manipulated. What makes it special is the quality of the discussions that we have here. The way people speak to one another. The fact that we can have a respectful discussion about a controversial topic. I am really proud of our culture, more than any numbers. In fact, in how the site is moderated, we almost certainly cut down on the number of posts that we could have, in order to preserve the culture that we enjoy. Every online community has a different culture. Variety is good because no community is for everyone and, if our atmosphere doesn't work for someone, they can probably find a community that gives them what they want. But for those who enjoy, and add to, what we have here - we're honored to have you. 92 members have 1,000 posts or more. As I look down this list, I see many great contributors from the past and present. This includes Brian (bushido_man96), Pat (SaiFightsMS), Bob (sensei8), Heidi (ninjanurse), Alex (tallgeese), Laurie (PunchPressQueen75), Danielle (DWx), Doug (SBN Doug), Tammy (monkeygirl), kicker, G95champ, ps1, joesteph, Treebranch, Red J, Kerry (Shotokan-kez), Goju_boi, Greg (gheinisch), Justice (JusticeZero), battousai16, Shawn (cathal), iamrushman, cross, Shorin Ryuu, ShotokanKid, TJS, Bill (MasterPain), Menjo, delta1, Sam, lordtariel, Pacificshore, patusai, Brenda (white owl), Aodhan, Ramona (ramymensa), italian_guy, Kirsty (KarateK), GoldDragon, Dave (the beast), GrrrArg, Karateka_latino, The BB of C, y2_sub, Jay, Kirves, BKJ1216, yamesu, Tiger1962, NightOwl, Kuma, June1, Adonis, krzychicano, kchenault, Gareth (Harkon72), Rusty (pittbullJudoka), pineapple, granmasterchen, Icetuete, marie curie, Ed (KarateEd) and LeaF. Devin (Lupin1) and Noah (Wastelander) will soon be joining this group, as well. Thank you to all of these members and thank you to everyone who has contributed to KarateForums.com in a positive, meaningful way. I appreciate you. This is a milestone worth celebrating and we have three big things planned, in addition to a few surprises. Live Stream On November 9 at 2 PM ET (GMT/UTC -5), I will be hosting a special 3 hour live stream where I will be joined by an assortment of members. I will be on video, participants will be on audio and anyone can watch and participate in a text-based chat room. Two hours of the program will consist of quick chats with members, reflecting on the time they have spent at KarateForums.com. This will be 5-10 minutes per person, just so that we can fit a lot of people in. If you would be interested in participating, please let me know. The third hour will mostly be dedicated to two staff member panels - one featuring previous Senseis (moderators) and one featuring current Senseis. We'll talk about moderating the community and what they have gained from their time on staff. Member Interviews I have conducted a series of 26 interviews with members from all eras of the history of KarateForums.com. I will be publishing these over the coming weeks, in the dedicated KarateForums.com 500,000 Posts Celebration forum. These interviews will give you a greater insight into who these members are, what their martial arts background is and what KarateForums.com means to them. KarateForums.com Awards The twelfth annual KarateForums.com Awards will begin soon, bigger than ever. Through these awards, we aim to recognize just a handful of the individuals who have made outstanding contributions to KarateForums.com in the past year. We'll have six new award categories this year, each matching a popular forum on KarateForums.com. They are Equipment Poster of the Year, Health, Training and Fitness Poster of the Year, Instructor Central Poster of the Year, Jiu-Jitsu and Grappling Martial Arts Poster of the Year, Karate Poster of the Year and Korean Martial Arts Poster of the Year. Thank You It should be a fun few weeks! Thank you to Heidi, Brian, Danielle, Alex, Bob, Gareth, Noah and Devin for helping me to plan out these festivities. Thank you for reading and for supporting KarateForums.com. Sincerely, Patrick

I don't think the WWE or TNA example really makes sense because why is it OK for them to employ international players for teams but not others? All of the national sporting leagues of the highest level also employ people of any nationality to compete as a team. Generally, all sports have a pre-eminent league where the most talented players of that sport wish to compete. Often, teams within that sport have extensive scouting departments with representatives covering countries with serious interest in that sport. If they are truly the best, they will usually end up in the pre-eminent league, unless they make a personal choice to stay in their own country, are contractually obligated to someone or there are some political reasons. But those types of exceptions, red tape, extenuating circumstances, etc. are always present. Which means that there can never be a "world champion" to this standard and the term has to be retired. I mean, the average pre-eminent sports league really has no less valid a claim to "world champion" than any martial arts "world champion" or even the Olympics, where many of the premiere athletes do not compete or, at least, historically, did not compete or were not allowed because they were not amateurs. To me, it's just a term. I don't find it arrogant and it doesn't bother me because it doesn't hurt me. It's kinda sorta the type of thing you have to choose to take badly, when you could just as easy choose to look at it as "world champions of ," which is what it really is.

Congrats armanox.

Yep, the last undefeated team. Congrats! Patrick

I'll go with St. Louis, as well. Patrick

This is great. Thank you for posting this, blacknebula. Patrick

Happy Birthday Bob. Thank you for all of your great contributions to this community. I appreciate all of your support. Patrick

Yeah, he's finished serving his time. Here is a picture from the set: http://www.comingsoon.net/news/movienews.php?id=108105 I'm kind of curious to see how Kelsey Grammer fits in. Patrick

Looking at Alex Smith's numbers (since I've never really watched him much, not being a fan of the 49ers of the Chiefs), it just doesn't seem like he's that type of QB. Pulled up his game logs and in his career, he has thrown for 300 or more yards in just 3 games - 303, 309 and 310. He's played 86 games (started 81). So, I don't know if you'll get those types of numbers out of him. But if the offense can maintain balance and not turn the ball over, maybe that's exactly what you need. The Chiefs are leading the NFL in turnover differential with +12 (the next closest team is only at +. That's pretty great. Patrick

Thank you for the submission. Patrick

Yeah, I saw that. Oh well. Stuff happens. But they do have some interesting additions to the cast: http://www.imdb.com/title/tt2333784/ Antonio Banderas Wesley Snipes Mel Gibson (bad guy) Harrison Ford Milla Jovovich Kellan Lutz Kelsey Grammer Victor Ortiz Patrick

Congrats. If you do want to change your username, just send me a PM. Patrick

Congrats Devin! Patrick

KarateForums.com is a media supplement, too, don't forget. So when you talk about media supplements in a positive or negative light, we're in that boat for a lot of people. Patrick

Yeah, the Chiefs are killing it. They have benefited from a pretty weak schedule, but the Jets, Broncos and Bears have all had weaker schedules, according to Pro Football Reference. Of course, winning contributes to weakening one's strength of schedule, too. The Dolphins are tied for the 3rd hardest schedule. So I guess I'm happy to just be 3-2. Our schedule is going to ease up, but we still have to win the games. November 17 and December 1, between the Chiefs and Broncos, should make for a couple of interesting games! Patrick

Sorry to hear about your appendix! Like Evil Dave and Shodan melbourne said, I think it's best to go with your doctor. Patrick

This may be a silly suggestion, but will wrinkle release spray, like Downy Wrinkle Releaser, do anything to it? http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GUx-wOXjq_I Patrick

Thank you for the submission. Patrick

Welcome to KF, DaveAkaSuperman! Patrick

Welcome aboard, MasutaDeKaba. Glad to have you. Patrick

Welcome to KF, ozm8. Glad to have you. Patrick

I think I'll take the Dodgers.