Zaine

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

That's awesome. I've been really diving into Lictenaur lately and it has been a ton of fun. I've also taken the time to pick up a rapier, and it's just been a blast.

Do you focus on a certain person or country for longsword?

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

"You're the only one who cares if you fail." An visiting instructor told me this one day. Changed the way I saw learning in general. If I was the only one embarrassed by not doing it correctly, then I was the only one getting in my way. Training became much smoother after that.

Would have loved to make the stream. Thanks for all that you do for us Brian.

Firstly, I don't think that Sensei8 would appreciate being hit. All this talking of hitting BOB might but him on edge. Seriously, however, I tend to lean more towards BOBs for training. I find that both suffer from easily from (my) user error of not ever anchoring it properly, but in the case of BOBs I like the "realness" that comes with it. Being able to feel, in one way or another, a humanoid response in your own body to a kick is something that I enjoy. As far as I know, and my knowledge is admittedly limited here, the problems with splitting have been fixed. That being said, the WM is more durable. I would, however, definitely just save up and by the Outslayer and BOB if that's what you want.

Welcome! It's great to have you. Where do you train in DFW?

Merry Christmas to all!

This would be super hard to research, but really interesting to find out. I wonder how successful a poll would be. Some arts divulge these things though. My club had three, me being the first. It closed down shortly after the third was tested. My sensei's dojo (Matsumura-Seito Shorin Ryu) has 32 overall black belts, with 13 of those still being active within his dojo, and 19 being listed under the "non-active" section. James Coffman, Gagne's sensei, does not have such a list on his website, so I'm not sure where the numbers are after this point.

From my perspective I think that your Sensei sees your effort. If you're the one asking all the questions, perhaps your Sensei finds it better to focus more on the students who are self-advocating as well as you are. Furthermore, knowing what you should be doing and being able to do it aren't the same. If, in fact, real-world application is where you feel weakest, then the bunkai is a good thing, and you should be doing a lot. That being said, talk to your Sensei. Tell them what you want to know, and your end goals as far as kata and bunkai are concerned. It's entirely possible that it has not crossed your Sensei's mind to mention that, and it is also possible that you're one of only a few interested in that particular area. Showing this interest to your Sensei would help you immensely. I've never met a teacher, MA or otherwise, who wasn't enthusiastic about their students furthering their own journeys. At the end of the day, it's best to approach your Sensei. Be bold about how you learn. We all learn differently, and your Sensei knows that. Give them the opportunity to teach you in a way that will best facilitate your growth.

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

I've had friends take them off in the past, and I've had friends become experts at defending their heads. It really all depends on what you do I guess. Contact lenses seem like the best option to me though. That being said, I only wear glasses to read, so this has never been an issue.

I definitely did not do the second one. Instead I ventured into the world of online MA, which was an awesome experience in itself.

Same as always really. I just want to get better. I might look towards opening a studio, or taking in students towards the end of next year, but we'll see where I am then. Really, if anything, it would be great to pick up a new style.

Congrats everyone!

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

Congrats! Well earned!

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

For the purpose of this experiment I used wushushaolin.com. I looked at a few others though. It was between this and a shotokan course that I can't remember the name of.

It's awesome that you're undertaking this journey, and it's awesome that you have a community of people who are incredibly dedicated to supporting that journey. I wish you all the best. I am worried about the rate of weight lost you're experiencing. 20lbs in a month is a lot, and while it's a great accomplishment, I don't want you to hurt yourself in the process. It's good that you're staying close with your PCP during this process, as they will be able to show you how to remain healthy with that drastic weight lose. Have you also been to a Nutritionist?

I disagree that it was meant to confuse the student. I think it was geared more towards making the student go down mental avenues that they may have not previously explored, which lines up with your other statements. It allows the student to lost that philosophical tunnel vision and explore their own mindscape with more lucidity.

Joking aside, the posit was as follows: "Two hands clap and there is a sound. What is the sound of one hand?" This, to me, means something different than your post. It's meant to focus attention on something that is traditionally outside the realm of possibility, where enlightenment lies. Of course, it's clear that you know that already, so you get what I'm saying.

https://youtu.be/V2kkzhb6YJQ I think I've figured it out.

That's the kind of thing that makes every bad day teaching worth it. It's awesome that your juniors are starting to listen and it's starting to click with them.