ramymensa

Timing is the bigest problem for a teacher, as well for a sensei. We tend to overemphasise something and times flies. So I'd say a little planning could do no wrong (the class would be more structured), but it doesn't have to be obvious. At the beginners it tends to be like that (you see them all the time trying to get in accordance with the watch ). A more experienced sensei does the same, but you can't tell it because now he kinda "feels" it. I'd rather work under a schedule, than waste time with unimportant things and rush through the "vital" ones.

Like your cat, Devil. Wished I had one. It's impossible since I've got a dog. And he's quite territorial Bathing him is not as tough as bathing a cat. The dogs don't scratch and seem to obey their master .

We start with Taikyoku Shodan (the others we skip) and then the Heians

It's heian in our Shotokan dojo, though we kinda know the other name too

It it's any sort of comfort ... we've been through this before and unfortunatelly it would happen any time in the future. Sometimes things are not so great, so we must learn to live with it. I've had an awful week too, and maybe in the future this kind of unpleasant thing would happen again. So just don't overreact, be confident and realise we're not perfect. Good luck next week

Just take it easy so you won't injure yourself. Better slower than out of action from time to time because of reckless training.

Given the fact the big money is now from K1 I'm not amazed by this unpleasant turn. Indeed the Yokozuna has nothing to do in K1 (my opinion of course). Sumo is way different than fighting in K1. We are talking distinct techniques, ways of training and rules. Unfortunatelly some matches seem "worked" from outside and less credible. Maybe something would change for the better, though it's a small chance ... we're talking here BIG money.

I think they are way too many. The twenty and some katas in Shotokan seem many, but 119 are indeed a burden. I'm almost convinced this great number won't do any good in the proficiency aspect regarding katas and bunkai. But whatever floats their boat ...

GREAT JOB. Impressive I could say. Enjoy your hard won medals And good luck in the next event. Guess you can be a champ even if over 40

It's not cheating, ot at least not from your side If you are really doing great you can be granted this testings, though in my opinion it's kinda soon even if you train 30 hours a month. I train more than that and still tested twice a year. Now at high rank, I'll wait for an entire year or even more to be tested. I don't say it's wrong. It's how your sensei does it. Maybe we'll get some more opinions on this matter.

It's quite nice to hear about your problems there We've got our share of food that's "modern",tasteless and expensive (because of all the processes). Still I can buy tomatoes that taste like tomatoes, garlic, that smells so strong that you wouldn't eat it 2 days before a meeting , cheese ... natural and yammy ... I use to buy milk from a guy who's got cows and brings it 3 times a week. It's been checked so it's ok. It's a lot better than that from the packs. Very healthy and tasty. I'd go with the natural stuff too. I have food with countless Es. It's a problem for us too

I'm not going into disputes here. I just want to say I feel that the guit is not soldiers. They are doing their best and die for a cause, even if it's a good one or not. The events in 11th september were horrid and undeserved, like those in march 11, in Spain. Those people didn't deserve to die. Nor did "my" neighbours in ex-Jugoslavia who were bombarded in the Holy Easter day by americans and their allies (and my country was allied, god damn our president and those who took this decision. Timisoara, my town, is just 50 km away from the serbian border ... we could hear the bombing and could do nothing but pray for those who were having such hard time. We have thousands of serbians in this part of the country and we could only imagine how they felt, knowing their family or relatives were in danger. Not to mention our fear that our town would be wiped out. In war 50 km is nothing. It's easy to watch on TV a conflict .. we did so in other cases .. but it's quite different when you know your town could be an easy target too.) They said they were trying to mantain peace. Unfortunatelly some serious damage was done too. A beautiful country almost destroyed, so many dead people, children left orphan and homeless, so many women raped and tortured (many of them by the "peace forces" and so on.) Those who died in Iraq, Nam (on both sides), in Hiroshima, Nagasaki and many others in so many conflicts didn't deserve their death. Americans and other nations ... it's a pitty so many lives were wasted.

No problem We are more inclined to change the B with a P (don't know maybe it's easier) And parai in Romanian is the slang for "money". So it's quite funny when it comes like this And ... typos ... Sometimes I don't spot them until I read the post weeks from the moment I've written it. So I guess I'm worse. Not to mention that English is not quite offcial language in my country

It's BARAI not BERAI And the different names can mean only some different combinations of words in Japanese. But BARAI is BARAI, no matter how many words acompany it And I agree, Gedan Barai is the technique, not the stance (that would be Zenkutsu Dachi or whatever one wishes to use.)

And Jiyn, it's sensei not sensi (the ei is read like the a in abc). Sorry for being picky, but it's your signature And congrats for your belt .. now I'm pathetic too

IMO a high level tourney should have the rules of protective gear, too. I don't see as low level to protect your mouth, your genitals or your chest (as a woman). I'd rather stay away from these "high level" tournaments than to risk damages to my teeth or God forbid my toracic area. We're talking safety here and health issues not the "pride" of competing bareknuckle and without minimum safety. Back to the discussion. It's indeed interesting how in USA there are many open tourneys. In Romania open means you can compete at the category of over 18 years old (it's just the age thing). I've seen a documentary on discovery about some tourneys in USA. The bad thing is sometimes people outside a style have to judge the performance of a karateka (or whatever). They are UNQUALIFIED in the style so they award trophies withiut knowing what's going on in the style. It's bad and unprofessional. As a general rule a competition like an open tourney is a good thing, because you get to know some other related styles. Still we can't compare styles, because it's all about the humans involved. A bad gojo ryu student doesn't mean the style sucks. My opinion, as stated before

I wouldn;t buy it. Sounds like another good for nothing extemelly expensive (for what is really worth) item. Like tele shopping. Gee hate all that stuff. Use your money for better things ... or buy it, if you really like it. On a second sight ... it's a rip off. Can't you make your own ladder .. some rope and sticks. The wonder ladder in the ad is nothing more than that ...

Gedan Barai

If the fact with the camp is REAL, you could considerr getting to another club. It's not how it should be. And you could do better with a serious instructor.

It's KIHON And you pronounce it like keehon (and the o is pronounced like the a in all)

We're not being given * and so on ... it's OK or not. Anyway ... 1. You should know what's not so OK in your performance. The exam is a learning tool, not just a way to take money from you. You are entitled to KNOW. So thus you should work on the weaker sides. And the excuse you are many is CRAP. You need half a minute to be told about the exam and the guy should be open and tell you what went wrong so you won't remain in thick fog like now. 2. Comparison is not a good idea ... You are not like the others. All of us are different so it's not apropriate to make such comments (if so, they must be careful put). We are told that we did better or worse in comparison with ourselves. I'm not interested to find out another is better or worse. Let them do some kumite with me and we'll talk about that I was always told that I did make serious progress and that I need to work at this and that. The only refference to the "herd" was if I was "really" shining. It was something like that: " You all (those who graded) did great. I'm proud of you. And I must say was very good. Liked the technique and so on." 3. ASK all the questions in the world. Your sensei is there to answer (even if payed or not for the classes). Lack of comunication is the worst thing. 4. This exam thing is just a ceremony to advance to the next level. In a normal world sensei knows if you are eligible for the next rank even during normal training sessions. So this exam is just an oportunity to "shine" and to deal with a contest like situation. As for kids .. they should NEVER be compared to adults (or teenagers). There are so many differences in the physiology that it's ludicrous. And agai ... he shouldn't make this kind of comparison. You are fighting with your weeknesses not others. Now ... you can shot me

I'm a shoto freak too, so I say SHOTOKAN! Anyway ... you'll have to decide. Sometimes you get to study a style you didn't intend to learn, just because you've found a great instructor and a warm dojo. And in the end this is important. There is no ultimate, perfect style, so just search some good and proffesional people and it will be ok. Your wife and daughter can join and in fact it's great to have them involved in it. Your health problems are not the end of the world and still you can be a decent martial artist. Since I've read SaiFights article I'm convinced that indeed there's no limit, except for those we impose ourselves. Good luck and best wishes

It's not a problem. Of she's worth the fuss, just go for it.

FiA shoto freak too, so I say SHOTOKAN! Anyway ... you'll have to decide. Sometimes you get to study a style you didn't intend to learn, just because you've found a great instructor and a warm dojo. And in the end this is important. There is no ultimate, perfect style, so just search some good and proffesional people and it will be ok. Your wife and daughter can join and in fact it's great to have them involved in it. Your health problems are not the end of the world and still you can be a decent martial artist. Since I've read SaiFights article I'm convinced that indeed there's no limit, except for those we impose ourselves. Good luck and best wishes

His life has a new centre His kid, but honeslty I'd leave the site on the internet, even without making updates. It was informative and a good learning tool. I haven't updated the writen material on my site for an year. Still I let the site online to help those who need it (especially beginners). I thought something happened .. a tragedy or so. Fortunatelly it's just a decision to rest from all the turmoil. I'm happy it's just that and hope Rob will be OK. We thank him for the work and wish him a good life. Looks like he's done what he always adviced: when you feel like you don't want to do something (he reffered to karate, but it's good with every part of the life), at least have the courage to just move on. All the best. And Patrick, I see a point in your opinion regarding corporations. We're small and it's always easy to blame the big-bad guy