karateka200

learning kempo- the problem is, I've already sent back the pants because I wanted to exchange those. I was never told to send back the DVD until I called to check on my pants exchange order. Only then, did they tell me that I had to send back the DVD in order to get my pants exchanged. So now I have to pay extra shipping to correct their mistake so that I can get the pants I ordered.

Hi all, just wanted to share a cautionary tale about ordering Meijin uniforms from dragon-tsunami.org. I order a pair of karate pants from them after reading about the great quality and low cost of Meijin uniforms. By mistake, the people at dragon-tsunami sent me the pants I ordered, along with a karate DVD. Having never ordered from them before, I assumed the DVD was complimentary, as many companies will send things of that nature to first time buyers to promote themselves and their products. I then needed to exchange the uniform I bought for a larger size, so I sent it back and asked for an exchange. Upon calling to check on my return order status, I was told, very rudely, by the customer service rep that I should not have accepted the DVD since I did not order it, and that my uniform would not be exchanged unless I returned the DVD and paid for the return shipping myself. I tried explaining to them that I should not be forced to pay the shipping, since it was THEIR mistake that I received it in the first place. I also asked to speak with any other customer service reps, and was told that was not possible. This person was very rude to me, and kept insisting that I was trying to keep something I did not order, never acknowledging the fact that it was their fault, NOT MINE, that I received the extra DVD. I am extremely disappointed with dragon tsunami and their service and will most definitely not order from them again.

Thanks for all the replies and good advice. I agree that the best solution is to talk with those who make remarks and "clear the air". There's a slight difficulty with that approach in that many of those making these remarks are older than I am and out-rank me (I'm 3rd dan, they are 4th or 5th), and out of respect for them and their rank, I hesitate to call them out. I think the fact that they out-rank me and yet I get more of Sensei's attention is a big part of the problem.

Hi all. I'm a long time lurker, first time poster. My situation/problem is this: Let me start by saying that I love my school. There are some truly wonderful people there and the training atmosphere is definitely top-notch. I didn't start out at this school, but since I've been here I've grown and developed in so many ways as a martial artist. So in the few years that I've been at my school, I've become very "visible" (for lack of a better term) at the dojo- mainly because I train there nearly every day, work very hard, and I'm pretty good at what I do, so people take notice. My sensei, who owns the school, takes notice, too. Because of my training ethic, abilities and potential, he has spent a lot of time working with me one-on-one to help me develop those abilities and potential. So the problem is the other students, some of who have been at the school longer than I have, are jealous of the time Sensei spends working with me and many of them resent me to the point of going out of their way to make my life difficult. Nothing too big, mainly just snide remarks and complaints here and there, but hurtful nonetheless. And it's consistent enough that it affects my mentality and my training. I've never been disrespectful to anyone and never tried to make myself out to be a "teacher's pet"-type. Yet somehow, the resentment continues. There were several occasions where I thought of leaving my school, but I could never bring myself to do it, because as I mentioned before, I really love my school and I think I would be missing a huge part of my life if I left it. Not to mention I'd also feel like I was betraying my sensei who's put so much time into me. So my question to anyone out there is how do I continue my training under these circumstances? Do I tell Sensei to stop training me, when I know that I can learn and grow so much from his teachings, just to pacify the other students? Or do I keep going on the way I have and ignore everyone else? (already tried that; it's hard to ignore people that you train and sweat with). I'd appreciate any comments, suggestions, opinions etc., particularly from other instructors and/or higher-ranking senior students.