OK...just posted a new article to the web site...Credibility of Distance Learning in the Martial Arts.
Please check it out at SierraMartial Arts & Fitness. Go to the site, click on the Articles page on the left hand side, click on the article inside the page. Please take the time to read it and let me know what you think.
Until next time,
Sensei Tim
Well...after months of studying for and finally taking the test, I just received word that I have passed my certification in Senior Fitness through the International Fitness Association! This means I can now legally beat up on old people! OK...you know I'm just kidding. I believe that the Senior population of our society is going to be a huge market in the area of fitness...and even though it already is, I believe it will be even bigger since the baby boomer generation, of which I am one, is coming of age. I have had WAY too many of my friends die before their time due to "old age" getting the better of them. I just had one of my closest friends die from an overdose of medication due to problems with osteo-arthritis. He was 50 years old. Pretty sad.
Anyway, I feel pretty good about this certification and am currently in the stages of developing a Senior Fitness program that I am going to teach in the adult mobile home parks in my area. My friend Don Bauer and I have been tossing the idea back and forth for some time now and as the saying goes, no time like the present...especially with this new certification! I want to help as many older people as I can realize that they can live their lives in a more healthy and fulfilling fashion and that it can be accomplished with just a little effort 2-3 times a week.
Also, would like to encourage everyone I know and even those of you I don't, to check out the AKPKF...American Kick-Punch Karate Federation. I really like what this organization stands for. No pretenses, no selling their credibility in the form of trophies, awards and accolades...just a bunch of volunteers dedicated to advancing the martial arts for the betterment of practitioners world wide through honor and integrity. Sensei Danny Hill has just accepted the position of President of the AKPKF World Congress from 2008-2012. This is a man of very high honor and integrity. Aside from being a martial artist, he is also a Colonel in the US Army, and has just returned from his 2nd tour of duty in Iraq. God Bless him and welcome him back home to his family and friends.
Alreet...long weekend. Lots of sparring in preparation of my friend competing in the NorCal Pacific 5 Star TKD Championships in 2 weeks on November 17th in El Dorado Hills, CA. She is more than ready and I can't wait to see her "take it to them"! Stay tuned for a full report after the tournament!
Until next time,
Sensei Tim
Just finished reading an e-mail that was sent to me about my ranking of 4th Dan in the AKPKF, the American Karate Federation, and it is apparent to me that the person who wrote to me about it, doesn't like the way I received it nor am I deserving of such a ranking, that I don't have the knowledge to keep the rank. I say that's crap and this coming from someone who was just promoted 2 ranks above what he was by someone he barely even knows and who hardly knows him, something he stated was wrong with organizations like the AKPKF.
His point was that this type of ranking is bastardizing the Dan Ranking system and how holy the ranking system is, as if I didn't know that. My contention was that what is the difference between organizations doing this or a school that promotes students just because they pay their dues every month who don't even know the material for the rank they are testing for, yet they are passed anyway.
I have inquired about testing and advancement and am awaiting a response to this. Everyone else I have spoken to about this is very happy for me, everyone except this certain person who thinks he has the market cornered on integrity in the arts. That speaks to me of ego.
This is also the same person who admonished me for helping to promote a self-defense system that he is developing, and told me I was over-stepping my boundaries, after he had asked me or invited me to be a part of it and to help promote the new system as one of it's first International Black Belt Instructors. It was almost like I was stealing his thunder and he didn't like it when all I was doing was trying to help get this off the ground as was asked of me. Nothing was ever done without his consent or without considering this person as Soke of this system.
In all of this I say take what is given to you and then do the rank proud by learning and continuing to learn all you can about the arts. Study daily and become a better martial artist so that you can help to keep the integrity of the arts alive by learning the material and training with all your heart. Follow the tenets of the Martial Arts ie: Honor, Integrity, Discipline, Indomitable Spirit, Perseverance, etc. and pass these qualities along to others who follow in your footsteps so that the Martial Arts can keep advancing.
Sorry if this sounds a bit angry...it isn't meant to be. I just am tired of the egos I encounter in the arts on a daily basis. If this person was truly a student of the arts or a teacher of the arts, he would be more receptive to encouraging his student to move forward with this and help him build on the accomplishment...not discourage the act.
Until next time,
Sensei Tim
