Patrick

I had no expectations for the Dolphins this season. Our offseason went awful. Pretty much anyone who we wanted didn't want to come to Miami or we refused to seal the deal. Then, we traded away our most talented player in Brandon Marshall - really one of the few things, maybe the only thing, that has made Dolphins games fun to watch over the last few years. That trade still kills me, no matter what. Marshall would have done a lot for Tannehill as a target. And, of course, he's leading the 6-1 Bears and is fourth in the NFL in reception yards. But, somehow, we're 4-3. Last year, we were 0-7. Ryan Tannehill is playing really well, given that it is his first year. I was just happy to get a win early in the season, but now we've got a winning streak going. "Cautious optimism with no expectations" is how I'd describe myself. Heh.

If you've nominated already, thanks! If you haven't, please take a look. We've received a bunch of nominations already and more will only help to solidify the ballots. I appreciate it. Patrick

Thank you to everyone who has nominated thus far! If you haven't done so yet, please take a moment to do so. It really helps the process. Thanks again, Patrick

This article reminded me of this post: http://www.traynorseye.com/2012/09/meeting-troll.html Not the same, but related. Unfortunately, the internet makes good things better and bad things worse. Patrick

Hey Jeff. Welcome aboard! Patrick

Hello, Welcome to the eleventh annual KarateForums.com Awards. Through these awards, we recognize just a few of the individuals who have made outstanding contributions to KarateForums.com in the past year. Over the last ten years, we have honored 35 different members and that number will grow again this year. These awards take into consideration all community activity between October 19, 2011 and October 18, 2012. Members must be nominated based upon their activity in this period and articles nominated for Article of the Year must have been published in this span. To nominate, you must have a KarateForums.com account and must have made at least 25 posts on or before October 18, 2012 (Eastern Time). There are just four guidelines to keep in mind when nominating: 1. Only ONE member or article can be nominated for EACH award. In other words, you cannot nominate the entire staff for Staff Member of the Year. You have to pick one person. One person can be nominated for more than one award, however. 2. You cannot nominate yourself or an article that you wrote for any of the awards. 3. Do not attempt to artificially inflate our nomination totals in any way. This includes but is not limited to trading nominations, encouraging people to nominate indiscriminately (publicly or privately), sending spam and any other behavior that could lead to results being artificially skewed. Individuals found to be participating in these activities will be disqualified from nomination in any category. 4. Though it is unlikely to occur, a banned member cannot be nominated. Please note that you do not have to nominate for every category. You can nominate for as many or as few as you would like - please go for as many as you feel comfortable with. The more valid nominations that we receive, the better! From these nominations, the ballot for each award will be chosen, consisting of the top 4 nominees, plus ties. Through the poll system available on these forums, you will be able to vote for the winners! Here are this year's categories: 1. Member of the Year This award is intended to acknowledge the non-staff member who you feel best exemplifies the qualities that KarateForums.com puts a premium on. Knowledge is valuable, but most valuable is a kind and helpful nature. You don't need to be a martial arts expert to be nominated for this award - you need to be someone who is kind and who shares what they know in a productive fashion that helps others. Current staff members (Sempais, Senseis and Patrick) cannot be nominated for this award. 2. New Member of the Year Basically, this award is the same as the Member of the Year award, except that this one is strictly for members that registered on or between the dates of October 19, 2011 and July 18, 2012. Current staff members (Sempais, Senseis and Patrick) cannot be nominated for this award. 3. Community Spirit Award This award should go to a person whom you feel has a passion for this community. A person who is all about the home team - in this case, KarateForums.com. Regular members and staff members (except Patrick) can be nominated for this award. 4. Staff Member of the Year Basically, this award is the same as the Member of the Year award, except that this award is for current staff members only (except Patrick). Regular members cannot be nominated. If you are unsure of who is on staff, please visit http://www.karateforums.com/staff.php for a complete listing. 5. Funniest Member of the Year Humor is an important aspect of the forums and this award recognizes the member who has brought a smile to your face many times. This person should have a good, clean sense of humor. Regular members and staff members (except Patrick) can be nominated for this award. 6. Article of the Year This award distinguishes your favorite article that was published in the KarateForums.com Articles section on or between October 19, 2011 and October 18, 2012. Whether the article enlightened or inspired you, this is the place to recognize it. Here are the articles that are eligible for nomination: Personal Safety and the 5 Stages of Violent Crime by ninjanurse The Practicality of Typical Martial Arts Weapons by KarateEd Martial Arts: Forever in One's Life by sensei8 UNTIL! by sensei8 So, that's all there is to it. Please nominate. You will find a blank ballot at the bottom of this message that you can copy and paste. We need as many valid nominations as possible! You nominate by sending a private message to the Awards account through this link: http://www.karateforums.com/privmsg.php?mode=post&u=2715 - nominations will be closed on November 2, 2012 at 6 PM ET. Please do not post your nominations on this, or any thread. If you have any questions, please do not hesitate to private message me or reply to this thread. Thank you for reading and for visiting KarateForums.com. Your participation in these awards is a key ingredient to what makes them great and meaningful. Here is the ballot that you can use:

Happy Birthday Bob. I hope that you have a great day. Patrick

Thank you for the submission. Patrick

Old doesn't mean bad. Thanks for sharing. Patrick

Welcome aboard, kamasabi. Patrick

Thanks for the replies, all. Congrats again, DoctorQui. Patrick

Hey Jon. Welcome aboard. 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. The October 2012 selection is... DoctorQui. Congratulations! Thank you for all of your great contributions to our community. Sincerely, Patrick

Gotcha.

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

Thank you for the kind words, darksoul. DoctorQui, for a full list of belts and the post counts where they come into effect, scroll down a little on the FAQ page: http://www.karateforums.com/faq.php Thanks, Patrick

Congrats jaypo! Patrick

Welcome back, AikiGuy. Patrick

Welcome aboard, Vengeance. Patrick

Hey Nightingale. Welcome to KF! Patrick

So, first episode down. Next episode tomorrow. Anyone watching? Thoughts? Patrick

Good luck, jaypo! Patrick

My pleasure. Thanks again. Patrick

Glad to hear it. Patrick

Congratulations Dobbersky. Thank you for all of the great contributions that you have made to our community. I appreciate the kind words from you and DoctorQui. This was your first post: http://www.karateforums.com/post332108.html#332108 Greetings my fellow Martial Artist I used to train in Tang Soo Do and graded upto 4th Gup, I left 1 week away from my 3rd Gup grading. I miss Tang Soo Do and the Senior Kata that I was begining to learn I'd just begun to learn the Chil Sung Hyungs. My instructor changed the gradiing syllabus and rearranged the Kata for each grade, plus put the prices up dramtically for monthly subscription and gradings. I was cross training in Ashihara Karate (which I now teach), and I had to make a decision as to which 'Do' to follow. I have trained in various styles since leaving Tang Soo Do but it never had the same 'feel' until I found 'Wado Ryu'. The 'Nai Han Ji' hyung is similar to Wado Ryu's Naihanchi kata and is also practiced in other Japanese karate styles (it is know as Tekki in Shotokan) so I am unsure of its origin but most forms are predominately Chinese/Korean by default via Okinawa where Japanese Karate stems from http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Naihanchi Thanks, Patrick