New Dojo in town.

We could combine schools! The only thing deadlier than a single ninja, is two ninjas duck taped together into ONE really BIG ninja!

[image=http://www.nootrope.net/blog/noninja.jpg]

 

Well that is a good story. As a kid I took some Goju-ryu and was intrigued. But it was "for profit" and I didnt like the huge classes after some time. I enjoyed the concepts of Okinawan karate and then took to Isshinryu in college. The classes were free and run by black belts who came up through the same sensei who taught at the university. The club was university sponsored hence the "free" part. The main sensei was a hard a$$ Vietnam vet. A grade-A jerk, not the type of person I wanted to hang around with. But exactly the type of person one would want to learn karate from. After 7 yrs of college I finally got to Ni-Dan/San-Dan and started teaching the same club I started with. That is how the process maintained itself, students teaching other students over the years. You didnt get paid, you gave back what the style gave to you.

Our katas were done in the same fashion as the master had done them. We have tapes from the 60s of the master doing all the katas at a shiai. We didnt do tournaments since that basically ruins your real-life sparring abilities (I found that out the hard way too) and focuses too much on flashy katas that mean nothing. We learned ippons that actually meant something. We did inhouse shiais with local affiliated schools/black belts only. Kids in our system couldnt be promoted to black belt. The thinking is if a bigger white belt could beat up on a kid with a black belt, that meant squat. Black belts for kids were frowned upon since that is usually just a money-making venture. You had to wait until you were 18 to become a black belt. It was a very traditional dojo mentality wise.

I believe there is a difference between a traditional style school "for profit" (TKD, whatever) and a traditional training school. IMO mixed martial arts guys are typically masters of nothing, they are promoted by self-proclaimed masters of karate "gumbo". I am sure they are good at whatever they teach, but it is not what I was after. I myself had to know where my lineage of training came from, which I can draw on paper and see how many generations from the master I am. I wasnt really interested in training from some American dude who is a 10th degree in some style I've never heard of. LOL. (BTW in traditional styles only blood relatives of the master can attain 10th Dan. So that should tell you something right there! Non-blood relatives can reach 9th Dan and become Renshi if promoted by a blood relative.)

On the other hand I also experienced some of what you speak of. The sensei I had didnt like other styles coming to class and gloating or saying anything. You mentioned you were a TKD guy, well that is your lucky day cause you get to fight the sensei! Usually scared them off right quick. But I've seen that same behavior throughout different schools. They dont like outsiders coming in.

The one thing that was undeniable in my training is that one was relatively proficient after only 5 promotions. That is, at a green belt level a typical person would know how to kick the crap out of an untrained person (my sensei always told me a story of how he was a TKD blackbelt and was readily beaten by an green belt in Isshinryu - hence why he changed styles. Who knew if it were true). Fact is that you didnt have to be super talented, super flexible, or physically superior for the style, you just had to work hard. I think I failed 3 white belt tests and a green belt test when I first started. Most McDojo people would of quit then (we had some of those). But its really the type of dojo where you dig deep and figure out what the heck you really want.

I havent found another dojo locally that even comes remotely close. They are all for profit "fun" centers. I could tell you about the one dojo I went to that played dodge ball at the end of the session! Needless to say that was the last time I went there.

I've always told myself when my sons are old enough I plan to get a small dojo going to teach them and some others the way I learned. IMO that is what it's all about. S

 

Interesting story. I can see where some of your ideals come from. I have always said its about the instructor and the student and not the style that matters most. Of course their are some exceptions to that. I have seen very good style with half a$$ students and the reverse. This being my third time around the best advice I give is that - kinda like dating, youll know if that instructor is right for you very early on. Like with most things,trust your feelings and instincts. If that doesntt work and you are still unsure do a lot of research.

 

[image=http://i17.photobucket.com/albums/b96/miramira09/ninja_killed.jpg]

 

So... Does the Ninja's bit mean "Ninja is killed my family.." or does the "killed my family" belong to the ninja?

Probably bad to critique the sign guys grammer... huh?

 

yeah, feel good about yourself for making fun of a bum who can't use proper punctuation.

 

hey this is the other birrer brother(the guy in the Navy with a different last name) I too was in the "McDojo" aka AKKA karate USA i was doing very well i probably would have done better if my parents wouldn't have kept not letting me go cause my grades were not up to par. but i did learn some stuff i liked the kata and techniques and when i got up in the belts they let me teach the little kids in our classes so that was fun and it was fun sparring cause i would have 4 or 5 kids sparring me at the same time. i had a great time until the aerobics and crap took over then it went downhill and i lost interest. I do like one then i assmilated my teachers leadership styles and it is helping me be a better teacher/leader to the new guys who come aboard my ship.




( yes i did get beat up by josh...i think i ran from Rachel(i don't like hitting women) and mac and zac are scary when they come running full speed after you (STAMPEDE!!!) )

 

I think he means he doesnt like getting hit by women.

 

why i got hit by you plenty of times?

 

Women are worse. I am terrified of any sub-5-foot-tall Latina chick I know, including my grandmother. Granted, Rachel is neither, but still. A brute the size of Mac/Zac, yeah -- I'd have some reservations about losing a tooth or something, but it's better than losing an eye. Even a ninja wouldn't think twice about attacking a 5-foot-tall Mayan priestess -- that's why the Europeans had to resort to biological warfare and bad teeth.