Zaine

In the Shobayashi dojo, the stripes are official rankings. One stripe promotes to 9th kyu, etc. With adults generally making the jump from 10th to 7th in one test.

I've been to multiple schools that segment white belts like this, and it seems to be a good plan, especially for children. In my Shobayashi dojo, the kids must earn 2 stripes before testing for yellow. The adults, on the other hand, while technically following the same path, typically don't get stripes. Stripes are an excellent way to set expectations for students, particularly for younger students. Given students smaller mile markers makes them feel like the journey is more achievable, and gives them that dopamine hit of "ranking up" with more frequency. This also helps because it allows the student to feel like they belong faster. They've made it through the introductory part of the martial arts, and are now eager to practice. So, in all, I definitely like option 3 for kids, option 4 for adults.

The breadth of Dragonlance is crazy. There are a lot of books just for this universe. I tend to stick to the main line, so Chronicles, Legends, etc. I'm not a huge fan of the 5th age stuff, and so far the Destinies trilogy (I'm on book 1) is underwhelming. That said, it's the series that got me into high fantasy. I loved dragons as a kid so a series called "Dragonlance" was always going to bring me in. Oddly enough, I had no idea that it had anything to do with D&D until much later. Perhaps that's why the FR stuff was unknown to me. My parents, at the time, were not welcoming to D&D. As an adult, I now collect the DL D&D modules and sourcebooks. I've given thought to collecting all the DL books, but with so many out of print I might see what this reprint/omnibus spree might give us. Next I am going to read Sabriel by Garth Nix on the suggestion of a friend. I have been promised a very good time with the book, so I'm trying not to hype myself up too much.

I didn't really read any Forgotten Realms stuff. Not sure why Dragonlance was on my radar as a kid but FR wasn't.

Good question. I always struggle with that. Just roll a die?

I've been in a reading slump, but I picked up Dragonlance Chronicles to reread. Dragonlance is the series that got me into fantasy. It's been a blast reading them again. I can't seem to put the books down.

Sleep? I'm unfamiliar with the term. I shoot for 7 - 8, but often get 5 - 6 due to varying conditions.

Congrats!

I joined August 31, 2005. It was my mother's birthday, as a matter of fact. I was 15. This year marks my 20th year with this website. I've had so many meaningful conversations here. I've grown as a person and a martial artist in these 20 years, and a portion of that positive growth I owe to my time here. In that time, I finished high school, college, grad school, got married, had a child, and so much more. This place has seen me through it all. I am so grateful that this place is still here. Thank you, Patrick, for creating it, and thank you everyone for making this a place worth coming back to. Y'all really are the best.

Something that I like about Clarke's approach is that it's analysis. I've read enough history to understand the overview, there's only so much I can learn at a surface level. In all, I find that martial arts has fewer people critically engaging with the history than I would like. The why of history is really important, and we tend to focus on what happened. Even then, however, I find that a lot of the critical engagement is less about looking for truth and more about saying that this tradition is more correct than that one.

Congrats!

Congrats!

It's a lot of fun if you've played those games in the past. I found it fun revisiting some of my favorites.

Congrats!

Welcome to KF! It's great to have you!

I didn't know that! I might look into it then, I like holding the magazine when I read articles.

They have moved to a digital only model, which is not how I like to consume my written media. I would take a look at some of the articles they have published recently and see if it's something that you're interested in. As far as I remember, they talk a lot about the MMA side of martial arts, which is not really what I'm into.

Absolutely. Culture of the school is just as important, if not more, than what you're learning. I would much rather go to a place that was welcoming and friendly than somewhere that had a reputation for good martial arts but bad attitudes.

That's a common trap. Don't focus on doing it perfectly. Focus on doing it better than you did it yesterday. Progress over perfection.

Nothing has been released as to the cause of his passing.

You're doing great! Keep at it!

I have not, though it looks very fun. It actually reminds me a little of my brother, who quit doing karate because our sensei didn't teach sparring with weapons. In my brother's summation, there was no reason to learn it if he didn't get to use it, so he walked away because he couldn't advance without learning bo.

Tales from the Western Generation by Matthew Apsokardu

This isn't actually a new thing, we just have a little recency bias. I was commiserating with a friend on this exact topic the other day and we, like you, seemed to notice a rise in people not wanting to put in the actual work for a belt. America, and the West in general, is full of consumers. We love our instant gratification. We love our same-day deliveries. However, instructors in the 60s and 70s were complaining about the same thing. I've recently picked up Tales from the Western Generation by Matthew Apsokardu. It's a book that is full of interviews from the people who brought karate from Okinawa to the U.S. in the mid 1900s. In it, multiple sensei detail that they had/have issues with students who wanted status without discipline and time served. I was surprised to find that they had much the same complaints as I did with my friend. I came up in the early 2000s. I got my shodan in 2007/8. Thinking back, I can remember there were a number of people not satisfied with their progress and so they left. Some left for easier programs, others left martial arts altogether. That it seems a more recent phenomenon to us might just be that we're in a position of leadership now, or our relationships with our sensei have become more casual and friendly than they were. We are now more aware of the problem because it effects us in a different way. So, to answer your question. It is a real thing. There are plenty of people who want to say that they're a black belt but don't want to put in the work. I've certainly encountered it in my community. There will always be people who join who don't intend to play by the rules. We just have to give them the same as everyone else. The long-term students will come.

The reason that gi pants don't have pockets is likely due more to tradition than deterrence. This is conjecture, but pockets became a popular choice in clothing for Japan during the Meiji period, but mostly with the aristocracy. Kano Jigoro was alive during the Meiji period, and he is the progenitor of the gi. However, Jigoro was not aristocracy, though he was a politician. It likely didn't occur to him to add pockets, as this was a new trend to hit Japan at the time. Perhaps he was against the new Western influence in fashion. Maybe, like you, he was worried that people would use the pockets as an excuse to wear them elsewhere. Maybe he just didn't think about it. We can't know. We'll just have to agree to disagree here. I don't see the issue with people who lack the discipline to change their clothes before they go out to hang out with friends. That just means, to me, that they will need to be more thorough in their cleaning of their gis, or face the consequence of having to purchase more gi pants. Personally, I don't find gi pants any more comfortable than what I usually wear. Pair this with the fact that I just sweat in my gi after a class, I always take my gi off the moment I get home and shower/change.