Five years and five hours later...

[Schmidty]

I'm wishing you well, and I think you're awesome.

I need to try that stuff again. The only thing I'm good at now is being annoying and playing basketball.

[Izulde]

Congrats, FM!

throwing my hat in the martial arts discussion, I took kyukido off and on for a few years which is a mixture of Taekwondo, Judo, and Hapkido, with some weapons work thrown in when you get high enough level (which I didn't).

Nice way to get in shape and take stress off, though there were never enough competitions for me (maybe two a year), which is why I dropped it. I loved the two weapons lessons our instructor gave us though in my time of doing it.

First one was with a stick that resembled escrima sticks and the second was more how to defend yourself against weapons.

I rocked the house on the escrima lesson as I was able to use my fencing during it (which I really miss). Defending self against weapons... not so much.

[daedalus]

'grats!

[Neon_Chaos]

Good luck FM!

If you get stuck, just channel Miyagi!

[FrogMan]

I never got back to thank you guys for the good words so, thanks.

More has happened since I last posted so it's time for a quick update.

Even though classes will not start until the end of the month, last Saturday was the grand opening of the new dojo and grand it was. Plenty of people, some local politicians, some people from other dojos, many from our own school, people I take class with. I was officially introduced as a member of the teaching staff, a very proud moment.

Funny thing is up until then, I had no clue how many classes I would give, you know, how often, or when, or even if I'd do kids or adult classes. As people had mostly all gone, I asked the owner of the dojo if he'd thought about some schedule and he showed me the grid he had in mind and wow. I didn't really have a clue what to expect, maybe thinking I'd give an hour here or there but oh no, he seems to have me in high esteem. As things stand now, I'll be giving two hours of kids classes on both Tuesday and Thursday nights, one hour to beginners and the other to intermediate students. The other two nights of the week will be for boxing classes.

He completely trusts me to take over that side of things, the children side, and also asked me to see and tell him if I have any time available on other nights of the week to give classes in his second dojo, maybe 20 minutes away, that he will be opening later on this month.

This whole thing has me amazingly psyched. It's good to embark in such a great new adventure with somebody who trusts you and is passionate about the whole thing. It was also great to talk with both my senseis and here tell me that they both think I can do great with this.

I'll get an early try out next Saturday as I was asked if I could replace one of the instructors at the main dojo for next Saturday morning. After that, we'll have a couple of weekends of open door days (August 16/17 & 23/24) at the new dojo where people will be able to visit the dojo and sign up for classes. Very excited about how the whole thing is shaping up.

FM

[Coffee Warlord]

I was just thinking about this again, and was curious for an update on how teaching was going.

[hoosierdude]

Exactly. I would also like to know how the son is doing on his progress!

[FrogMan]

Originally Posted by Coffee Warlord

I was just thinking about this again, and was curious for an update on how teaching was going.

wow, that's out of the blue, but thanks for caring.

Teaching went really well. At one point, I was giving 7 hours of class a week but as with many martial arts class, it starts big, then dwindles a bit as the year goes on and I was cut to 5 hours in March, then to 4 in April and finally to none very late in May.

As I said, it's fairly typical, especially with martial arts. Parents come with their kids and think that karate will make their kids into a well behaved kid with super concentration that can achieve anything. Some kids strive in that, but some just don't like it and only do one session. With the bulk of new students coming at the open house dates, the number of students usually goes down as the year goes on.

I didn't mind the break though. As I said, it went great, but it is not always easy. Again, some kids a trouble makers that their parents want to see disciplined. I can to some extent, but there are limits to what I could do, heh.

I had some kids who were simply wonderful to see, their growth making up for the lack in some others. Just as I saw my son grow over the last 7 years or so, it was simply great to see these kids and how far they went in some 10 months. To meet them at a competition and have them come to me and asked to have a picture taken with me, with them holding on dearly to their 1st place trophy was pure gold.

Said I didn't mind the break cause, well, aside from teaching, I kept on taking classes myself. Been a pretty big year. At one point I was practicing/teaching karate 6 days a week, on top of my regular job. My learning is going very well and I could be testing for a second dan in maybe a year to 14 months.

Funny how I said in the first post that my son was maybe 12 to 18 months from testing for his black belt. That was back in March 2008 and well, he'll be up to test for his junior black belt on August 29. They call it junior black belt since he's only 12. They will give him the official rank of Shodan (1st degree black belt, or 1st dan) if he's still practicing when he turns 14.

He took a 2 weeks karate day camp this Summer. It was for kids 8 to 13 and they had themed it around Kung Fu Panda and they played it that they were looking for the Dragon Warrior. He had fun but more important, he and a friend put together a duo/synchro bo form that was quite impressive. Our chief instructor, who had not really seen him do bo in a while was so impressed that they are now asking him if he'll be competing this Fall. He received tons of praise for his solo and that duo form. I'll try to put it on youtube someday...

I'm wondering, CW, did you happen to think of that cause you started taking some MA classes, or maybe are looking into it?

FM

[FrogMan]

Originally Posted by hoosierdude

Exactly. I would also like to know how the son is doing on his progress!

see my reply just above. Was typing it when you posted.

FM

[FrogMan]

dola, thought I'd mentioned but I also got great comments from the Dojo owner whenever we had a belt test for kids. He was giving class to adults while I was giving class to kids at the same time in a different room so the only time he'd see the kids in action was during belt tests. More than one time he's told me how impressed he was of how they delivered whatever they were asked for. Always felt good to hear.

FM

[Coffee Warlord]

Originally Posted by FrogMan

I'm wondering, CW, did you happen to think of that cause you started taking some MA classes, or maybe are looking into it?

I'm actually looking into it...again.

[FrogMan]

Originally Posted by Coffee Warlord

I'm actually looking into it...again.

come on man, do it! NOW!

FM

[Coffee Warlord]

Originally Posted by FrogMan

come on man, do it! NOW!

FM

Heh!

Looking back when this was originally posted, I can quite easily say I know why I never followed through on it last year. Was in the middle of house hunting, with a deadline looming rapidly on my apartment lease. Yeah, was just a tad pre-occupied.

[FrogMan]

Originally Posted by Coffee Warlord

Heh!

Looking back when this was originally posted, I can quite easily say I know why I never followed through on it last year. Was in the middle of house hunting, with a deadline looming rapidly on my apartment lease. Yeah, was just a tad pre-occupied.

yeah, can see why. I did take a 6 month break when our second son was born.

He's now five and was preparing him to start taking classes when my hour with the 5-6 year old got cut. He so wanted to do karate with me that I decided to hold him off, have him take another swimming class and we'll start him in karate this Fall. He was so amazed by his brother with the bo at the camp show that he told us he REALLY wanted to take karate classes this Fall.

FM

[FrogMan]

here's my son's open bo form, filmed about 3 weeks ago:


he put together most of the sequence, based off a kata our instructor had done for us about 2-3 years ago. At one point, we had the same open bo form but I stopped practicing about 18 months ago and he continued. He added to our kata and came up with this one.

The little lady you see high fiving him at the end is our master instructor. She's a 6th degree black belt. She doesn't look like much, but she is insanely fast and you would not want to mess with her.

And then, here's the duo/synchro form they put together in a day and a half, practiced for a bit under two weeks and presented on the last day of karate camp:


It's the first time he's performed anything with music. He's always done all his forms without music. Mommy and daddy were incredibly proud of him.

FM

[FrogMan]

and as of today, we now have a second black belt in our family. Andrew tested for his black belt this afternoon and was give the degree of junior black belt. I'm immensely proud of him. I was choking back tears when I saw him walk from the back to the front of the room when they gave him his belt.

Way to go son, you made daddy, and mommy, VERY proud today.

and in other karate news, his younger brother, our youngest son Matthew 5yo, started taking karate classes last Monday. He's been loving it so far.

FM

[JonInMiddleGA]

Always an impressive accomplishment, he (and his parents, and his instructors) should indeed be quite proud.

[thealmighty]

Note to self: Never, ever ever make any Pintendre jokes on FOFC.

[Schmidty]

Great news my friend!! Congratulation to him!!

My daughter is still plugging along and is a purple belt now. They're doing a lot of mma stuff too though. Jiu jitsu, Muay Thai, etc.

I'm also thinking of going for it. It just seems like such a positive thing, even though I have no fighting or tournament aspirations.

[FrogMan]

Originally Posted by JonInMiddleGA

Always an impressive accomplishment, he (and his parents, and his instructors) should indeed be quite proud.

as I said, I'm very proud. When our head insctructor was making her speech about how it was an achievement and a real proof of their dedication that they made it to the coveted black belt, I couldn't help but well up and looked at my wife who was filming the whole thing and she was all teary eyed. Then came the official handshakes and congrats as every new black belt were congratulated by all of us who're already black belt and when my son came to me, I couldn't help but simply grab him in a tight bear hug which he gave back right at me. My sons have given me plenty of reasons to be proud as a father, but this has been one of the most intense experience of my life.

FM

[FrogMan]

Originally Posted by Schmidty

Great news my friend!! Congratulation to him!!

My daughter is still plugging along and is a purple belt now. They're doing a lot of mma stuff too though. Jiu jitsu, Muay Thai, etc.

I'm also thinking of going for it. It just seems like such a positive thing, even though I have no fighting or tournament aspirations.

Thanks.

I don't remember which style your daughter is practicing but it seems like a pretty intense one. I'm taking some Jiu jitsu classes on Thursday nights this Fall, a new thing offered by my school, but it's nowhere to the point of really doing it MMA style, but more in a sense of control, the way policemen have to use it. Very interesting, and the kid (he's a 21yo second degree black belt) who's giving the classes shows the use and limitations of each and every techniques.

As for you, I can relate with the not wanting to really fight or do tournaments. Always depends on the style or the type of school. But there's definitely tons of positives to simply taking some classes.

FM

[FrogMan]

well, two more years after that black belt test of mine and I'm facing yet another test. March 20th is the day that's been set for me to test for my rank of Nidan, or 2nd degree Black Belt (or in other terms, 2nd Dan).

It had been in the air for a little while now but the date was confirmed tonight. Two big week and a half is not a lot of time, but I have been taking classes steady for those last two years.

I know what I have to work on in those last two weeks and I will put in the hours to make sure I perform well. Wish me luck.

FM

[Flasch186]

Georges St-Pierre is going to kick your ass!

Good Luck

[FrogMan]

Originally Posted by Flasch186

Georges St-Pierre is going to kick your ass!

Good Luck

oh, I know he would, but he does that for a living. I'd like to see him whip an excel spreadsheet around though...

We've actually done a bit of MMA, minus the actual real punching, so mostly grappling stuff and it's damn tough and very demanding.

FM

[BYU 14]

Best of luck and congratulations for sticking with this, it takes a lot of discipline.

[albionmoonlight]

First, they take the hockey gold medal. Then, they turn FrogMan and his son into ninja assassins.

I don't know what Canada is planning, but I think that we should probably all start panicking.

[albionmoonlight]

dola:

Oh, and good luck, FM

[FrogMan]

Originally Posted by BYU 14

Best of luck and congratulations for sticking with this, it takes a lot of discipline.

thanks and yes, it does take discipline to stick with it. Not that I find it hard or anything, but of our group of 11 who passed Shodan at the same time, only 4 remain active. A fifth was still practicing up until Christmas but has not been seen since. Of these 4, I'd expect probably only 2 of us will be ready for testing for Nidan.

I will be a test for many dan levels though. One graduating from 3rd to 4th dan, another from second to 3rd and 4-5 of us going from 1st to 2nd dan. Being at the bottom of the black belt ladder will be nothing to take off the stress I'll be feeling during that test.

As I said, I know what still needs to be worked on, now I need to convince myself that it's impossible for me to deliver a form as convincingly as how a 3rd or 4th dan would. But that's only me talking to myself at that point...

FM

[FrogMan]

dola, and if I can add to that, I'm also happy and impressed that my 12yo son is still practicing withouth me having to force him in any way. Almost all kids who get to the black belt end up stopping almost right after getting their black belt.

FM

[FrogMan]

Originally Posted by albionmoonlight

First, they take the hockey gold medal. Then, they turn FrogMan and his son into ninja assassins.

I don't know what Canada is planning, but I think that we should probably all start panicking.

you don't want to see a hockey wielding ninja assassin, I'll tell you that. Think Marty McSorley, but you can't really see him coming...

FM

[terpkristin]

Damn, that's great, FM!
Best of luck!!

/tk

[FrogMan]

didn't remember posting a date in here, well that March 20th test never happened. Some change in the date due to an 8th dan who couldn't be there on that day and a new date was set. That new date is tomorrow, at 3 pm.

We learned maybe a couple of weeks before March 20 that the test was being delayed and it bummed me big time at the time cause I had bee training real hard and had really started cranking up the intensity and all. Took me a good couple weeks to cool off, not that I stopped training or anything but I didn't have the same passion. Now that we're finally getting to it, I'm really ready and I'm getting anxious to get it over with. For the last few nights, I've been waking up at odd hours in the night. Last night, my wife told me it felt to her as if I was doing karate under the sheets, moving sharply my legs.

Tomorrow's the big day, wish me luck.

FM

[JonInMiddleGA]

Break a leg Froggie ... erm, well, you know what I mean

[FrogMan]

Originally Posted by JonInMiddleGA

Break a leg Froggie ... erm, well, you know what I mean

specifically in that case, it'd be "break someone's leg"

or as somebody is bound to say in 3, 2, 1... "sweep the leg"

Thanks Jon.

FM

[k0ruptr]

Originally Posted by FrogMan

my wife told me it felt to her as if I was doing karate under the sheets

thats what you call it these days hmm...?

[Icy]

Good luck Frogman!

I also practiced Karate for 6 years when i was younger, and i wish i never stopped, as i loved it. I just left it because our karate school had to close on bankrupt when the local government opened a public school that was way cheaper, and i felt too loyal to my old teacher to join that new school.

I have been thinking about starting again now, 15 years later, but most of martial art schools in my city are more into kick boxing etc, i guess because the MMA trend, and i enjoyed more the slow paced and more mental Karate that i practiced (Goju Ryu style). I never joined any fighting competition in the past, only kata ones (and i was so proud of finishing 3rd once in a kata couples state competition when i was 13 years old).

[FrogMan]

Originally Posted by Icy

Good luck Frogman!

I also practiced Karate for 6 years when i was younger, and i wish i never stopped, as i loved it. I just left it because our karate school had to close on bankrupt when the local government opened a public school that was way cheaper, and i felt too loyal to my old teacher to join that new school.

I have been thinking about starting again now, 15 years later, but most of martial art schools in my city are more into kick boxing etc, i guess because the MMA trend, and i enjoyed more the slow paced and more mental Karate that i practiced (Goju Ryu style). I never joined any fighting competition in the past, only kata ones (and i was so proud of finishing 3rd once in a kata couples state competition when i was 13 years old).

that is very cool Icy. Yeah, there are many schools that turn toward MMA style teaching. Some are interesting in the brazilian jiu-jitsu stuff but other are simply killing machine factories. Goju Ryu is a very traditional style, kudos to you for practicing it. Hopefully for you, you'll be able to find a school you like someday. It's never too late to start again, I started practicing when I was 32. Had never done any martial arts before.

Thanks for the good luck.

FM

[FrogMan]

well, it only last some two and a half or three hours this time around but it was frigging intense, both physically and mentally but I did it, I'm now officially a second degree black belt, i.e. Nidan.

My body's only a bit stiff today, not as stiff as I expected it to be to be honest. Maybe a testament to how much I trained in the weeks leading up to the test.

Here's a picture of me with my two sons after the test:


My oldest son came to me and hugged me so hard I thought he was going to crunch one of my ribs. I had the feeling he understood what it meant, maybe after seeing me train so hard in the last few weeks. He's also a black belt, and I'm sure he can relate to it as he could be up to test for the same degree in maybe two years.

FM

[Icy]

Awesome, big congrats!

[terpkristin]

Great job, Steve!!!

/tk

[JonInMiddleGA]

Great job, congrats

[FrogMan]

thanks guys. Just got back from the dojo and how gratifying was that. I usually take a class on Mondays but due to some circumstances, I was asked to replace as a teacher for three consecutive Mondays, starting last week. Felt pretty good having many people come to me to congratulate me, ask me how it was to perform in front of an 8th dan and so on. Not that you do it to be congratulated, but it is a big deal to most everyone who practice martial arts and I still don't realize it, just like I didn't realize I was a black belt the very next day I got my Shodan. Having people come to you like that sort of helps it sink in, if that makes any sense...

FM

[FrogMan]

I my nearly annual visit, I will piggyback on this thread instead of starting a new one but I need to talk about this somewhere. I was offered something crazy last night: to own and run my own dojo...

Long story short our main school opened a second dojo maybe 10-12 minutes from the main dojo last Fall. From its opening, I've been teaching one evening of class there every week with an increasing number of hours added on at the main dojo as the weeks went on.

City being split the way it is, people in that part of town (Eastern part) often don't really go to the main dojo, even though they have full access to all the classes given at both dojo. I'm being told that with the fixed cost at that dojo, it was profitable from the get-go in last August but that it went in the red around January. 50 students is about their breaking point although I've not seen any hard numbers yet.

What makes this offer quite interesting is that I'd be given the keys to the place with every bit of equipment that's in place and everything that's been put into the place to make it a nice dojo. This means pads, mats, mirrors, even a cheapo laptop PC. This includes maybe 10k of improvement and equipment. Two dates could work for the transfer: May 1st or September 1st. With a may 1st transfer of control, I'd have to assume the likely losses for the Summer months, assummed to be around 7-8000$. For a transfer at about the start of September, I'm told that while I wouldn't have to assume those losses, then they'd have to put a price on the value of the dojo. Also to keep in mind is the fact that registrations are usually done around the end of August, so not being in charge by then could hinder the signing on rate.

I currently give (or assist in) about 6-8 hours of class a week and I'm at either of the dojo 6 days out of 7. Yeah, one of these days is for me to take a boxing class with my son, but still, I spend a lot of my evenings there, mostly giving classes. I would not be training as much if I were to involve myself in managing a dojo and that's one drawback but I could build on something like a new dojo like that. My oldest son will turn 14 in a couple weeks and is already a junior black belt. He'll be eligible to receive his Shodan with his 14th birthday. He's already helping me on some of my classes and I'm sure he'd be ecstatic to come and help me run the school. After watching him teach, I know he will be good at this as he matures a little. He's already amazing with a bo staff in his hand and would be an asset for me to have as a bo staff instructor.

The two owners of my school (husband and wife in real life) have been at this for 15 years now, even though they're only in their mid/late 30's and have started many smaller dojo over the years. The dojo is their sole source of income although I must say they also run a succesful partnership program with the local high school in which they teach karate to 25-30 highschoolers four afternoons a week. They say it takes 4-5 years to bring a new dojo to maturity, i.e. for it to see its first black belt graduate. They have a pretty well established structure from which I could build upon. I'm thinking if I could grind it out for the next few years and build something good, we (as a family) could have something real nice together. My youngest son is only 7 and has been practicing for a year and a half now. In maybe 5-6 years, he could get his black belt and start helping us out too.

Anyway, not sure I'm so much looking for tips, hints or advices about if I should do it or not. Probably just needed to put it into words somewhere but if you have any thoughts/advices/warnings, feel free to share...

FM

[Coffee Warlord]

I guess a few good starter questions...

You have a day job, yes? That you're going to keep? Can you handle the increased load and responsibility of, in affect, having 2 jobs?

Are you financially able to absorb some losses and put some money into it?

Sounds like a really spiffy and fun opportunity. But there's financial and mental headaches there that you really, really need to consider.

[Neon_Chaos]

That sounds awesome.

Can you rename the dojo to Cobra Kai?

[Coffee Warlord]

FEAR DOES NOT EXIST IN THIS DOJO.

[FrogMan]

Originally Posted by Coffee Warlord

I guess a few good starter questions...

You have a day job, yes? That you're going to keep? Can you handle the increased load and responsibility of, in affect, having 2 jobs?

Are you financially able to absorb some losses and put some money into it?

Sounds like a really spiffy and fun opportunity. But there's financial and mental headaches there that you really, really need to consider.

very good questions indeed, and questions I'm still pondering myself. This was offered to me yesterday, right after our instructor class and as I said, no hard numbers were revealed as he was mostly gauging my interest in such an adventure.

Yes, I would keep my day job, at least for quite some time. Not sure if it'd ever get to be good enough for me to leave my current job, at least not while we still have kids in the house. I could see myself taking an early retirement and keeping a dojo like that as a side venture for my old days though.

As for the load, as I said, I've already been either teaching or training most evenings of the week and I spend my Saturdays there from 10 to about 1:30 with both my sons. Sure, I'd expect there to be more administration work and all, but how much remains to be seen. At the most, the school could require me to be there from 6 to maybe 9 every evening but that would be the extreme situation, I'd think. I think I'd be able to hande it and eventually would try to hire some assistant/replacement teachers on an hourly basis for an evening or two a week that could free me up to do the managing...

The financial part is a bit more tricky and again, I'm still pondering it all. I don't have much put aside for dark days, much less for a venture like this but I'm thinking my parents could cover for me by lending me some money to at least get this thing off the ground.

It is indeed a fun opportunity and yes, it involves a bit of financial and mental gymnastics. As I said, the first approach was only done last evening and I'll still ponder it for a week before sitting down with him to talk numbers. I'm pretty much going into this in the same order you set up your questions: 1) impact on me and our family life in the short term, then on the long term and 2) financial impact and risks...

Thanks again for sharing your thoughts...

FM

[Dodgerchick]

wow, very cool

[JonInMiddleGA]

Originally Posted by Dodgerchick

wow, very cool

+1

[terpkristin]

Slick!

Sounds like there are a lot of things to be considered (and sounds like you're considering all the ones I could think of off the top of my head...I'm no expert in business things), but it sounds like a nifty opportunity!

Good luck with the decision-making process...and let us know what happens!

/tk