Dojo leaving

[ps1]

Wow! Where to begin? I guess the beginning will do. I began training at a "traditional" tae kwon do school when I was 6 years old. By the way, they said it was traditional, I don't know the difference between traditional and non traditional TKD. Anyhoo, my mom remarried when i was nine and we moved away. I had earned a green belt by that time. I trained the kicks and punches I had learned for the next year or two but the forms slipped. Then, at about 11 years old, I began training in an Indonesian form of chuan fa known as Poekoelan Tjimindi Teii (Indo-Dutch spelling). I continued training in Poekoelan until I left for the military at 19 yrs old. When I returned from basic training and AIT I returned to the school and earned my 3rd degree black belt. However, it was always a small school and the instructor finally had to close. I decided to train TKD again! The school I decided upon, though, really didn't impress me and I finally changed my mind and began studying Shotokan. I caught on very quickly and earned shodan in one year there (I trained alot:)). Soon after, the school began offering Aiki Jujitsu. I began learning that and competing and earned my aiki jujitsu black belt in two years (end of 2002) and my nidan in Shotokan at the same time. I was keeping up my chuan fa training on my own and would give lessons from time to time. Now I was teaching at the school three times/week. One day of Shotokan and two days of Jujitsu. Then duty called....

I was deployed to iraq for a year and 3 months. During that time I was tasked to teach combatives for the unit. I worked with others and learned alot about real combat. It changed me dramatically, especially my outlook on fighting. As far as a war experience, mine was very mild too. No one in my unit was injured or killed by enemy fire or attacks. Woohoo

Now I return home!! Yeah!!! When I came home a new instructor was teaching the Jujitsu. Except it wasn't Aiki Jujitsu, it was Brazilian Jiujitsu. The school owner said I could take back over if I wanted. But I decided to test myself against the BJJ instructor first. It wasn't even a contest. He killed me, his students killed me, his grandmother probably would have killed me. This....I had to learn. Now I was given the responsibility of teaching the Black belt class and promoted to third degree. In addition, I began learning BJJ three times/week. Now things get weird...

I was offered a position teaching martial arts for a community center that was about 40 minutes away. Of course I accepted. Now I should mention that while I was in Iraq, the organization I was under had some major falling outs. Personally, I agreed with the people who left. So when I opened my own school, I chose not to affiliate it with the org. Shortly after I made that decision, the owner of the school where I was teaching approached me and said told me he was upset I had opened the school because he wanted to teach there (which I didn't know) and he was unhappy I didn't affiliate with the org. Then he said he didn't think he'd be doing a black belt class anymore, "it wasn't profitable." Then Tony (BJJ instructor) decided to open a new school so he could have all BJJ. Of course I followed and continued training with him. Apparently, this was the straw that broke the camel's back. Though I didn't know at the time.

Ok, here's the point of all this...sorry it's so long winded....

There came a point when I could no longer continue with the school I was running. I immediately called the owner of the Karate school and offered it to him! Of course, he accepted. I gave him the school he wanted and it came with 20 students! Then I called him and asked if I could train my Karate at his school again since I wasn't running mine anymore. ... He said no! He was upset that Tony had opened his own school and I was training there (although when I began training with tony, the owner gave his blessing). He told me I'd have to quit BJJ. I wasn't about to do that.

Now here's the worst part. The owner was not the shihan within the school. So I figured I would work with our shihan and that would be that. A few weeks later he died in a parachute accident. So I was stuck without a way to advance in Shotokan.

In summary....I continue to study and even teach BJJ now. I can't advance in Shotokan because there's no one around my area who is capable of promoting me. My chuan fa instructor is still around, but doesn't teach. The owner of the Shotokan school will never get a good reference from me. I didn't do anything to the guy and even handed him more business...then got kicked out of the school for my trouble. I've been in 5 schools, kicked out of 1, had 1 shut down, moved away from 1, and didn't like 1. The only one left for me is BJJ. I'm still looking for another Shotokan school to continue my training.

[harleyt26]

Keep trainig ps1,promotions are not all they are cracked up to be.You don't need a belt to keep getting better.It sounds like you have enough training under your belt to have enough to work on for quite some time.If you are serious about it,good things will come around eventualy.Good luck,personaly I think you are better off without the organizational dictatorship.But that is probably because of my own history with them.There are good ones out there but they seem to be rare,I have found one that I like for now.We will see what the future holds.

Tom Hodges

[ps1]

Keep trainig ps1,promotions are not all they are cracked up to be.You don't need a belt to keep getting better.It sounds like you have enough training under your belt to have enough to work on for quite some time.If you are serious about it,good things will come around eventualy.Good luck,personaly I think you are better off without the organizational dictatorship.But that is probably because of my own history with them.There are good ones out there but they seem to be rare,I have found one that I like for now.We will see what the future holds.

Tom Hodges

Thanks. I continue training often. It's just not under a shihan. I would like to get back to that some time. Although it may be after I earn my BJJ black belt.

[bushido_man96]

Man, thats quite a journey, ps1. I think it sucks what the shihan did to you with the Karate training, especially after you gave him 20 students. That's real integrity there. Keep at it, though, and I am sure that an opportunity for your Shotokan training will roll around eventually.

Remember, success is where preparation meets opportunity. So stay prepared.

[NightOwl]

Wow PS1! A rough training experience! I'm glad that despite all of that, you have stuck with martial arts despite everything that has happened...

[Adonis]

ps1, that really sucks! Jealousy, hurt feelings, and greed does that to people. Thats how it was with my first BJJ instructor. I am better off that I left.

[ps1]

***Side note***

Shihan Magnuson's (My karate instructor before he died) highest ranking student has returned to town. He has opened the school back up there. I've asked him if he'd be willing to continue my training and he said he would, and even would like me to do a BJJ seminar for his school (looking for some escapes from certain ground situations). The timing is a bit scary though. I tell my story two days ago and, out of nowhere, an old instructor decides to open a school!

[bushido_man96]

***Side note***

Shihan Magnuson's (My karate instructor before he died) highest ranking student has returned to town. He has opened the school back up there. I've asked him if he'd be willing to continue my training and he said he would, and even would like me to do a BJJ seminar for his school (looking for some escapes from certain ground situations). The timing is a bit scary though. I tell my story two days ago and, out of nowhere, an old instructor decides to open a school!

That sounds like a good deal, ps1! It is kind of eerie, though.

[ps1]

***Side note***

Shihan Magnuson's (My karate instructor before he died) highest ranking student has returned to town. He has opened the school back up there. I've asked him if he'd be willing to continue my training and he said he would, and even would like me to do a BJJ seminar for his school (looking for some escapes from certain ground situations). The timing is a bit scary though. I tell my story two days ago and, out of nowhere, an old instructor decides to open a school!

That sounds like a good deal, ps1! It is kind of eerie, though.

I know...I think i can hear the twilight zone music off in the distance.

[NightOwl]

I do what I can