IcemanSK

Although Tokaido, Shureido and Hirota are great brands you may want to try out a non MA embroidery company. I'm sure you can find somewhere that does standard embroidery of stuff like tshirts and just normal clothes that will do it. Unfortunately I don't know of any US companies.. I agree that a local embroidery company may do it cheaper. Eosinpanther.com may do it on a belt you send, but it probably wouldn't be cheap. They are in the US.

Wow, that would look cool. Silver on a tsd masters belt!

I've worn MA shirts, jackets, etc. on & off for years. I've never made a big deal of it & neither have most folks. When I was younger, I had folks want to make a big deal of it to see if they get a rise out of me. When I don't get excited, they leave it alone. I figure that, if I wear an MA shirt as if said, "Nick's Pizza" or "Nike" or something else non-threatening, I don't get hassled. If I act like jerk wearing it however, I should expect to treated like a jerk.

I prefer to think that it goes into my mind. But, I can see what you are saying. I tell the kids that what's the tradition says. Then I ask, "does your knowledge really go in your belt or your head?" They say, "in your head." I say, "exactly. But it's a tradition that we keep." I think it's important to explain things like that so that kids get that it's a part of what we do without them believing it's somehow mysterious. I also tell them it's tradition to not let your belt touch the floor. Then I point out that it does touch the floor when we do push-ups & sit-ups. I tell them the point is to treat their uniform & belt with respect. Much like a police office probably wouldn't drag his uniform on the ground on the way to the hamper at night, we don't wanna do that with our belts & uniforms either.

I like gold embroidery on a black belt.

I don't wash my belt because of the tradition. But if I did, I'd just hang it up on a clothesline & hose it down & let it air dry. The tradition that I tell my students about it (& I tell them it's a tradition, not the gospel truth) is that all your knowledge & pain goes into your belt. So, you don't want to wash that away. I'm not sure why anyone would want to keep their pain, but oh well

We do a lot of the same things we do in class (forms, basics, one-steps) & a lot of breaking. My GM is very fond of power breaks (concrete) so most of the schools add those as well.

Taekwondoan is proper for TKD students. Kyukido (pronounced Koo key doh) is Korean for martial arts. Not sure what Martial Artist is in Korean, tho.

Outstanding!

Yes, I do think students & parents think a BB instructor is more qualified than a colored belt instructor. It's like having a teaching assistant teach a college course vs. the professor. And yes, hopefully the BB is able to teach.

Ugh, what a story. I'm sorry your folks told you that. But it seems as tho it's motivated you to some degree to train to the level you are at now. I got interested in 1981 when I got 3 free issues of the short-lived "Kick Illustrated" magazine. I was hooked! The next year, my folks won free lessons at an auction & my best friend & I started training. Everyone figured I'd give it up & he'd stay with it. He quit within 6 months. I've been training for 25 years. I even taught him & his son about 15 years ago.

I thought of the idea of a "pink belt" when students forget their's. A friend's school has one that is white in the middle & light blue on one edge & pink on the other. My worry is that it might become a thing that draws attention for a kid who wants any kind of attention positive or negative.

Some of these over lap. Taekwondo 25 years Western Boxing 11 years Full Contact Rules Kickboxing 5 years A bit of Aikido (just enough to appreciate folks who can do it well) & a bit of Hapkido.

I missed whether these were kids or adults. I'm guessing they are children. The kind of subtlty your are suggesting by wearing a white belt may be lost on some kids. Telling them that you won't tolerate the kind of squabbling about who gets to line up where (while wearing your BB) will get the point across quicker. Belts are earned. Therefore status in the mat is earned. A part of being yellow belt (or green or black belt) is respect for others & humility. If a student has trouble understanding that, them wearing a white belt & being at the back of the room (behind new students) may get their attention very quick. I have a 15 year old 7th gup (one of my best students!) who forgot her belt last night. She told me she did have her 8th gup belt with her, tho. I told her to put that on & stand with the 8th gups in line. She did so with a smile knowing that she got the message & won't forget her belt again. Your wearing a white belt sends a message that YOU understand. A green belt having to wear a white belt because they want to squabble over being important sends a message that HE will understand. I also like the switching belts idea above. my .02 cents.

well guys this is the problem we have. it's like a plague, that has striken our studio. you won't believe that i have almost witnessed We don't know each other, but I hope you take this well. I mean this as one instructor to another. You are the instructor (your student's MA father, if you will) it's your responsibility to set the tone for what happens in that room. If this is a plague, it's your job to bring the cure to your school. You can take care of this.

Ask your child's instructor what is allowed before buying something, tho. As mentioned, Kwon, Adidas & others do make MA shoes.

Well, I could see it being a problem for 7 year olds, but at some point, people grow up.....Hopefully

I know it's not the same issue, but I have a similiar situation. I sat on a guy's 2nd gup testing board way back when. I'd known him for years. He always said, "testing isn't important to me." Flash forward 16 years & he's a 6th Dan in 2 arts! Funny how life happens.

This is really nit-picking at this point. As an instructor, who I give a belt to first is completely arbitrary. Say I have new 5 yellow belts to give after testing. All 5 are present, but I give no thought whatsoever to who I tie a belt onto first. One time it may be Susie & the time, John. If each received the same rank from the same test, the older student is the higher rank. If two people were born at the exact same time on the same day....I s'pose they alternate. There are legitimate issues around rank, but this is to an extreme it need not go.

I also trained at a school where the instructor was diagnosed with a brain tumor about the time I started. I stayed through 4 surgeries watching this very strong man with a quick wit turn into a very weak man with a quick wit. He died 5 years after the diagnosis. The school disbanded that day. That was in 1999. Every 6 months, folks from the gym still get together for dinner. That instructor was the man quoted in my signture. I named my school after him....Superkick.

Yes. In my organization there is: Assistant Instructor. Usually only 1st Dan Instructor. At 2nd Dan (although some 1st are eligible for it) Head Instructor (need to be teaching a black belt) Chief Instructor (3rd Dan, teaching an instructor &/or teaching at 2 or more schools) Assistant Master (4th Dan. Usually for those who just want to train, rather than teach.) Master. 4th Dan (training head or chief instructors) Master Instructor. 5th Dan (similar requirements) Chief Master. 6th Dan (similar requirements) Professor. 7th Dan (similar requirements) Grandmaster. 8th Senior Grandmaster. 9th Someone above said something about different ranks of black belt having different issues. My GM is fond of saying that 3rd Dans ask the most questions. Well, at least that's what he says to me. wow thats alot of titles, good God, if you don't mind how do you earn them, do you have to test or are they given to you when you meet the requirements and when you are ready? One must test for the belt rank like always; but the rank instructor rank one must only meet the requirements. (for example, One can be a 4th Dan, but wouldn't be considered a full master if they don't have at least head instructor ranked students.

Yes. In my organization there is: Assistant Instructor. Usually only 1st Dan Instructor. At 2nd Dan (although some 1st are eligible for it) Head Instructor (need to be teaching a black belt) Chief Instructor (3rd Dan, teaching an instructor &/or teaching at 2 or more schools) Assistant Master (4th Dan. Usually for those who just want to train, rather than teach.) Master. 4th Dan (training head or chief instructors) Master Instructor. 5th Dan (similar requirements) Chief Master. 6th Dan (similar requirements) Professor. 7th Dan (similar requirements) Grandmaster. 8th Senior Grandmaster. 9th Someone above said something about different ranks of black belt having different issues. My GM is fond of saying that 3rd Dans ask the most questions. Well, at least that's what he says to me.

I have a good friend who is the #2 man in his system of karate (at 7th Dan). He teaches & has his students simply call him, "sensei" rather than shihan or other such terms. He has an interesting take on a lot of folks who like to lord their rank over others. He really feels (& I've often found this to be true) that folks that lord their rank & position on the mat over others often have nowhere jobs &/or otherwise just feel lousy about themselves outside the training hall. So, the training hall is that one place where they are "important" in any way.

In the TKD org. that I belong to, we wear one braid on our left forearm sleeve for every four years that we've trained on our dress uniforms. Now, despite my being a 3rd Dan, I've trained for 25 years. At big events, I try to move toward the end of the line among folks my rank, but always get sent to the front of the 3rd Dans. I have younger & senior BB's calling me "sir" because of my time in. I have mixed feelings about it. On the one hand, it's nice to get the recognition, but it's hard when I just want to learn from another 3rd Dan or just be "one of the guys."

boodlook.com also.