No More Counsel Of Regents!!

[sensei8]

The Shindokan Hombu has done a major restructuring of its Counsel of Regents due to recent severe issues that had attempted to seriously damage the Hombu from within. See the below link...

http://www.karateforums.com/the-attack-of-the-hierarchy-vt42366.html

The Counsel of Regents was the creation of our Soke and Dai-Soke to give a voice addressing any and all important issues concerning the Hombu, student body, and governing. Our Soke wanted the Counsel of Regents to consist of 12 members from the student body who meet specific requirements to sit in these honored positions as a part of the Shindokan Hierarchy.

The requirements were as follows:

1. Counsel of Regent members must possess a Shindokan Karate-do Dan rank no less than Godan.

2. Counsel of Regent members must also posses a Shogo title.

3. Counsel of Regent potential members candidate(s) must be selected by Soke and/or Dai-Soke.

4. Counsel of Regent potential members must be elected into membership by a majority vote of the Shindokan Hombu's Hierarchy.

The NEW requirements are as follows:

1a2b. Counsel of Regents will consist of no more than five (5), and no less than three (3) elected members by an unanimous vote of the Shindokan Hombu's elected Hierarchy.

2a. Counsel of Regent members must possess a Shindokan Karate-do Dan rank no less than Nanadan.

3a. Counsel of Regent members must possess a Shogo title no less than Kyoshi.

4a. Counsel of Regent potential members candidate(s) must be selected by the Hombu's current Kaicho and/or Kancho.

5a. Counsel of Regent potential members must be elected into membership by a majority vote of the Shindokan Hombu's Hierarchy as well as the student body, after the candidates have been approved by the Shindokan Hombu's elected Hierarchy.

6a. The Counsel of Regents are no longer referred to as the "Counsel of Regents", but they shall be referred to as the "Board of Regents", as to confer to its new authority.

The elected Hierarchy are those members from the current Administrative Team, the Executive Team, and the Instructor Team.

Our Legal team is confident that what they've drafted and crafted into our By-Laws will be for the betterment of the Hombu and its student body. Student body here means that EVERY Shindokan student is part of the student body, and not just those students from the Hombu.

All of the candidates have been selected and elected into the NEW Board of Regents. They are as follows, in no particular order:

1) Thomas Stillwater (1960- ) Directing Manager of Curriculum Department, Shindokan Karate-do Saitou-ryu; Hachidan (8th Dan), Hanshi: Thomas began training under Dai-Soke in September 1966. He earned his Karate-do Hachidan (8th Dan) in June 2004, and he earned his Kobudo Nanadan (7th Dan) in July 2007. His Hanshi was awarded to him in July 2006. Before assuming his current Hombu duties, he had been a Counsel of Regents member before; 15 years.

2) Jonathan Plouge (1960- ) General Affairs Director, Shindokan Karate-do Saitou-ryu; Hachidan (8th Dan), Kyoshi: Jonathan began training under Dai-Soke in April 1967. He earned his Karate-do Hachidan (8th Dan) in June 2004, and he earned his Kobudo Nanadan (7th Dan) in July 2005. His Kyoshi was awarded to him in July 2006. Jonathan is the ranking member of the Counsel of Regents based on ranks/title. Jonathan’s been a Counsel of Regents member before; 15 years.

3) Ben Stevenson (1960- ) Directing Manager of Technical Department, Shindokan Karate-do Saitou-ryu; Nanadan (7th Dan), Kyoshi: Ben began training under Dai-Soke in March 1968. He earned his Karate-do Nanadan (7th Dan) in June 2005, and he earned his Kobudo Rokudan (6th Dan) in July 2007. His Kyoshi was awarded to him in July 2007. Ben’s been a Counsel of Regents member before; 14 years.

4) Giichi Tanaka (1961- ) Director PR Department, Shindokan Karate-do Saitou-ryu; Nanadan (7th Dan), Kyoshi: Giichi began training under Dai-Soke in August 1968. He earned his Karate-do Nanadan (7th Dan) in July 2006, and he earned his Kobudo Rokudan (6th Dan) in June 2007. His Kyoshi was awarded to him in July 2008. Giichi has been a Counsel of Regents member before; 12 years.

5) Yoshikazu Tanaka (1961- ) Qualifications Department, Shindokan Karate-do Saitou-ryu; Nanadan (7th Dan), Kyoshi: Yoshikazu is Giichi’s brother; they’re twins! Yoshikazu began training under Dai-Soke in August 1968. He earned his Karate-do Nanadan (7th Dan) in July 2006, and he earned his Kobudo Rokudan (6th Dan) in June 2007. His Kyoshi was awarded to him in July 2008. Yoshikazu has been a Counsel of Regents member before; 12 years.

There you go; there's the 5 newly elected Board of Regents. Kaicho and Kancho were not permitted to be selected as a Board of Regents because it would taint the validity of this newly elected board. Greg and I freely decided to not be included in this process except to aide them with our faithful support.

Edited August 5, 2013 by sensei8

[ps1]

How many potential people are there that meet the requirements you've set? Seems like a pretty exclusive group. Also, since you're running your art like a business, it may be prudent to require knowledge other than martial when electing the board (business and accounting degrees).

Since they are to represent the student body, have you considered having a junior yudansha as a member of the board? A sandan or nidan would certainly be more in touch with the needs and esprit decorp of your student body.

I guess my last word would be one of caution. You have a great love of what you do and for your student body. That's evident. But don't get so caught up in creating laws and regulations designed to protect them that you lose sight of the needs of real people. It's a fine line and easily crossed. Afterall, you've said it yourself, "it's just martial arts."

Good luck Bob. Keep us posted.

[DWx]

I know you've been through a tough time with everything Bob (what was said in your earlier post) but I do agree somewhat with ps1. Seems to me to be turning into an oligarchy and although you want what's best for the student body, they seem to be under represented. Not that there's anything wrong with having rules to make sure that only those who deserve to be are elected but if the coup you experienced last time came about because people were dissatisfied, you'd probably do well to ensure you remain in touch with those at the bottom of the pile.

It's not my place to interfere but I think requirements such as a nanadan and a shogo title might mean you're pulling your council members from a small pool of people? A lot of boards (inside and outside MAs) have junior members/non-high ranking members on the board just so that the student body is firmly connected to what goes on at the top. For example my board of studies at university has all the professors and research staff on the board but we always have one student elected representative to represent our views and to relay any decisions back to us. Even in business most boards will have some sort of union representation.

In any case good luck and I hope it works out for you and Shindokan

[sensei8]

How many potential people are there that meet the requirements you've set? Seems like a pretty exclusive group. Also, since you're running your art like a business, it may be prudent to require knowledge other than martial when electing the board (business and accounting degrees).

Not many, and that's the purpose. Yes, it's exclusive, again for a purpose. Shindokan is NOT my art, and we run the Hombu like a Hombu. Yes, some of the By-Laws have been amended, but over 90 percent still remain, and that 90 percent is the voice of Soke and Dai-Soke, not anybody else. The Hombu is ALSO a business, nothing wrong with that, but Shindokan is its primary purpose.

Since they are to represent the student body, have you considered having a junior yudansha as a member of the board? A sandan or nidan would certainly be more in touch with the needs and esprit decorp of your student body.

No. That's not what our Soke and Dai-Soke had written in the original By-Laws...any member must possess a Dan rank no less than Godan. Therefore, a junior yudansha wouldn't qualify.

I guess my last word would be one of caution. You have a great love of what you do and for your student body. That's evident. But don't get so caught up in creating laws and regulations designed to protect them that you lose sight of the needs of real people. It's a fine line and easily crossed. Afterall, you've said it yourself, "it's just martial arts."

Yes, it's just the martial arts but ONLY when I compare it to true NEEDS, like food or rent or utilities or medical needs or other important needs. I can't compare the martial arts against vital needs, I just can't. I love the MA, always have and always will, but against the needs of my family; family first, MA second, in my book.

I'm only concerned and involved with all of the rules and regulations on the tail of an attempted "take-over", to ensure other legal mechanisms are in place for the betterment of the entire student body, after all, I'm Kaicho as it's part of my duties and responsibilities, and I'm a student too.