still kicking

Thief wrote: Well, you're the one who started the topic of standards (or the lack thereof) for karate ranks. I am very glad to hear that you did not attain the rank of nidan after 1.5 years, but hey, after reading these and other forums for a few years, nothing would surprise me. I seem to recall that a long while back someone posted something about a very young nidan who crawled into her mother's lap and sucked her thumb after leaving the dojo floor, so, you see, my interpretation wasn't totally out in left field. Glad to know you are legit, and presumably, don't suck your thumb when you are through with training for the night.

Thief wrote: I hope that you had trained somewhere else previously, and that you are not saying that you attained 2nd Dan after a year and a half of training. Wow, I would find that to be a bit inconceivable!

sensei8 wrote: Maybe so, but do you think he should be able to profit from it? I don't!

jae wrote: If whatever he wrote is so invaluable, maybe anyone who wants to read it could find it in the library. Or steal it. Ha ha, just kidding. Personally I would not spend money on this book if the author would profit from it in any way. If he wanted to show atonement, he could donate any profits from his books and DVDs to organizations that help victims/survivors of sexual abuse. If I knew that was the case, it might change my mind.

Sainthood wrote: I think it's only strange if everyone passes. In my opinion, a test should be an actual test, and not just a formality. People should be passed only if they can perform the requirements at a skill level suitable for the rank, taking into account intangibles such as effort, improvement, etc., and not just passed along due to having put in the requisite time. It might take a while to get to black belt, but what's the big hurry? That's how I see it, anyway.

sojobo wrote: Well, for one thing the hakama never felt like it fit me correctly, even though I tried 2 different brands. I think they are made for people with skinnier hips, i.e., men. Also, the ends were always poking out of my obi, even though many people patiently explained the various ways of tying it, and I practiced and practiced at home. I am used to wearing a white gi, and I think that's the maximum amount of formality I feel comfortable with. Though I do understand that the precision of the ritual of tying on the obi, etc, is part of the training. I'm sure it's all my fault -- not enough patience or fine motor skills, I suppose. Maybe I'll try again some day.

It's very exacting. Lots of repetition and attention to detail. I loved it, actually, during the year and a quarter I took it, but never could get the clothing down. Also, there is a great deal of attention to reiho/etiquette, almost more than to kata. Even though I enjoyed it, I found it a bit frustrating at times. Still, I hope to get back to it once I can ease up on my karate training a bit.

Dobbersky wrote: But that's the thing, they can mess up on the day! Being able to hold up and perform well under pressure is part of the test, IMO.

quoting quinteros1963: quinteros, I know you said this was just your opinion, but I think your statement perfectly illustrates why it is so difficult to have this discussion. It also helps explain the reason for 3-4 year black belts vs 8-10 year black belts. I used to regularly observe a Shotokan class (due to knowing someone in the class), and was told that one student had attained bb in 3 years, "but he was training 3x/week". Usually it took 4 years at 2x/week. In my system, 8 years would be a very good result, and that's training 4-6x/week in the last year or two, and 3x/week is considered minimal. By shodan you have a pretty comprehensive understanding of the curriculum, and are expected to teach classes, though of course understanding gets deeper with time. To me, the Shotokan black belts I observed were quite good, but about as good as our 4th or 3rd kyus -- who had about the same amount of time in. Well, I hope this doesn't sound like a "my style's better" kind of thing, but as has been said many times already, a rank only has meaning within a system! IMO.

I would go to the beach every day. I would love that, no problem! (Of course it would be sunny and warm every day, too).

Awesome, good work!!!

shudokaratemomma -- If you like bo, you will probably really enjoy the oar, AKA kaibo or eiku. You are right, it is a little harder, because it is not symmetrical. It is obvious which end is the oar end, but not so obvious, when doing a kata, which side of the blade should be facing out. I like it because it has more weight than the bo, so you can generate more power. We do not do a lot of different weapons in our school, but have a lot of weapons kata. We only do bo, sai, kaibo, and tonfa at this time. The first 3 kaibo kata we do are kaibo ten no kata, kaibo jiin no kata, and kaibo chi no kata. These are for 1st kyu, shodan-ho, and shodan respectively. There are some others, but I haven't learned them yet. Have fun!

Eat more beans and tofu! They're good, really! Maybe then the cows won't be after you. Ha ha, OK, now I've done it.

Crimson_Lotus -- I think that usually the best thing for a cold is to just let it take its course. Rest, drink a lot of liquids, etc. Once, though, I had a bad cold on testing day, and really wanted to test, so I took some Dayquil. It did the trick for me, i.e. dried up the cold enough to enable me to perform well. Of course I got slammed with it that much harder the next day, but I didn't care, I was happy because I'd passed! Good luck.

JusticeZero, as unpleasant as the visit might be for you, from what you said, I am quite concerned for your step-daughter. He "made" her buy the ticket, has no income of his own, and is micromanaging her finances? I think your challenge is that the more you object to this guy, at her age that is just likely to make him seem more attractive to her. Depending on your relationship with her -- and/or her mother's -- obviously we have minimal information about that -- perhaps one or both of you could have a calm discussion with her, where you express your concerns and give her some basic information about victimization and the signs of abusive and exploitative relationships. Ah, the holidays, "it's that most wonderful time of the year". Good luck!

And should have added to the end of my previous post -- he had still jumped through all the hoops to get the PhD!

I agree with everything you said, Bushidoman. There are plenty of educated idiots and knowledgeable self-made people of all stripes. I just think that if someone is good at what they do, they should just be good at it, but not confer fake degrees or meaningless credentials upon themselves. In some fields, though, the credential is a necessary prerequisite to obtain licensure. The degree, along with a certain number of supervised hours and post-graduate training, and passing tests, is supposed to demonstrate a degree of proficiency in the field, as judged by others in the field. I tend to think that in martial arts, recognition from an organization that one respects is worth something. Clearly there are many people who are good at what they do without this, but sadly, there are many more who are not nearly as special as they seem to think they are. In my opinion, holding rank in a respected organization shows that others who are well advanced in the art agree with me that I am indeed special. In any case, I would argue that if someone is truly secure in his/her abilities, they would not need to make up an entirely meaningless and out of context credential to prove it. That having been said... I once had a college professor who wrote a letter to the editor of a local newspaper. It was a very well articulated and knowledgeable letter on a topic that was closely related to his field, but he signed his name without using the PhD, and just allowed his words and thoughts to stand on their own. I really respected that.

I only read this article out of curiosity, but fortunately you have to click again to see the picture. The description was enough for me -- no thanks, I'll take your word for it, it sounds really gross!!!

I decided to go back and re-read the whole thread, and found this really old quote (from 2007) that might help explain my position on this topic. Quoting ps1: To me, creating one's own style, and self-conferring a black belt, is akin to the above mentioned musician creating his or her own university, then granting him or herself a degree in musicology. Yeah, maybe they can play piano real nice, but are lacking the scaffolding provided by an academic study of music history, theory, etc. Even if they have picked up some of that on their own, there are things you get from interacting with classmates and other scholars, and ongoing feedback from professors, that can provide far more depth and breadth of understanding. The degree means that an institution that is recognized and respected in society acknowledges that you have attained sufficient knowledge to have attained the degree. Maybe the person mentioned above just want to play piano, that's fine, but it seems clear to me that the degree is bogus!

quinteros1963 wrote: Well, at the risk of sounding reduntant, especially in TMA, a black belt isn't just about winning fights, it signifies a comprehensive understanding of the curriculum, and the ability to pass it along. In arts that are predominantly fighting, being able to win fights might be adequate to teach others how to fight, but when there are lots of kata, one step routines, bunkai, maybe kobudo, etc. involved, then you have to know those well enough to teach them. IMO.

Lots of people fail in our school. We have testing/evaluations 3 times a year, and everyone participates. Even if you have been practicing a lot and know all of the requirements, and even if you didn't get promoted last time either, a lot of the time sensei still wants to "see more improvement", and will give feedback on what. Then you have to wait 4 more months to try again. Although sometimes if people are close she will let them retry in a few weeks. There can be a lot of stress and anxiety around promotion time, because a lot of the time only a couple of people pass, and it is a bit of a wait until the next one, but I do think it is a true "test". Even if you can perform at the next rank level consistently in class, if nerves get to you in testing, you might fail. AARGH! Well, another few months at the same rank never killed anyone, but it can be quite disappointing at times. Just keep at it and you will be fine, is what I say!

judobrah wrote: Making fun of people and calling them names is bullying, and it is a serious thing. I agree that a teacher and/or other responsible adult should be told about this.

Those kids probably have PhD, or maybe MD degrees, as well. Ha ha, whatever. I have been training my (head) off for the past 6 years, after having already attained black belt in the same system. When I (re)earn my black belt, if all goes well, in March, I know it will mean something. It is true that the meaning of a black belt can only be defined within a system, but I am proud that within our organization, everyone knows what kind of rigorous training is behind the black belt. The sad thing is, kids who get it too easily do not get to experience the satisfaction of a major hard-earned accomplishment. It's their loss, and they don't even know it.

We do Bassai Syo in my Shito ryu school, but it's not emphasized very much, whereas Bassai Dai is one of the most important kata. We also have Matsamura ha Bassai, again not practiced intensively, but we bring it out from time to time. I've worked on Bassai Dai hundreds of times more than the others, but it's nice to refer to them for a different view of Bassai kata.

Robothat, I hope you will reconsider your decision. I'm sure others more articulate than I will have some useful advice for you, but here's what I think. I think you should talk to doctors, physical therapists, your sensei, whoever you can think of who might be in a position to help you. If your doctor or PT can't help you, get one who can. There are many many people who have overcome all kinds of obstacles and physical challenges to succeed in martial arts. You say your 6 or so years of training have helped you in many ways, and it sounds like you were doing well since using the inserts. Obvious question... why not stop using them? Basically, though your specific problem might be different, it is very normal to have times in training where you hit a wall or reach a plateau, however you want to look at it. You are still young, and I think if you can put up with the disappointment and frustration of the temporary setback, and deal with the blow to your pride and ego due to not being able to function as well as you had been, I am sure you can overcome this and emerge victorious! If you quit now, you might always regret it. It's also possible that you might later realize you miss MA's and get back to it, or that you'll find some other area of interest. I just think that you might be happier with yourself if you perservere through this rough patch, maybe train to shodan, then decide if you want to stay with it. Whatever you decide, good luck!