bydand
Senior Master
I'll admit it, my attitude hasn't been the best of late around here. Been thinking of why I cannot stand to open a thread with To-Shin-Do anywhere in the title, and have came to the conclusion that while I have always been a bit reserved, others are not. I have never been one to shout to the heavens what I am learning, and I think I have come to see those that are that way as having an agenda other than that of training. To those whom I have knocked heads with lately: While I'll not apologize for rep left or posts made because I would have said those same things in person, I will try damn hard to police myself and not be so confrontational in the future.
When it comes to this art, I have a real hard time separating it from who I am. It is almost like somebody is making a fool out of a family member when arguments are being bantered about, that shines less than a positive light on To-Shin-Do. This is the finest forum on the internet in my opinion, and I would like to see us as practitioners be more civil to each other and those who question our art. I'll start by extending the olive branch to those who I might have offended.
I was sitting here today thinking of the long path I have taken from the first day I stepped foot into John Poliquins Discovery arts institute in Presque Isle, ME back in... well let's just not go there,makes me feel old. For those of you who know John, he isn't the largest guy in stature in TSD, and he isn't one who commands attention with a loud voice. He gets attention by his presence and knowledge. I walked in and wasn't expecting much to tell the truth, He and Brett Varnum were the main instructors along with Eric Behlke, and Hahna Patterson. When I walked/limped out, I KNEW I had found what I was looking for all those years. First time I stopped into Dayton, I saw all these different belt colors and actually stepped back outside to read the sign again to see if I was indeed in the right place, I was, and upon returning to Maine I asked John about it and he just smiled and said it was something Stephen was working on developing. Shortly after this, we made the switch to the new system. While I did take time off to start a family, I never really left the art, I kept up with what I knew and it helped that my brother was/is an instructor. So that is the background of why I take such a narrow view of how others act when representing the art I saw born, struggle through the first few shaky years, and now beginning to grow and prosper. It's like a family member to me. Please take care of it's image and reputation when we are online for the world to see and read. Most of the fellow forum members and guests will only have what we write and say to use as a guage of the quality and kind of people our art attracts.
Sorry for the long rant and post, just had to get it off my chest. :asian:
When it comes to this art, I have a real hard time separating it from who I am. It is almost like somebody is making a fool out of a family member when arguments are being bantered about, that shines less than a positive light on To-Shin-Do. This is the finest forum on the internet in my opinion, and I would like to see us as practitioners be more civil to each other and those who question our art. I'll start by extending the olive branch to those who I might have offended.
I was sitting here today thinking of the long path I have taken from the first day I stepped foot into John Poliquins Discovery arts institute in Presque Isle, ME back in... well let's just not go there,makes me feel old. For those of you who know John, he isn't the largest guy in stature in TSD, and he isn't one who commands attention with a loud voice. He gets attention by his presence and knowledge. I walked in and wasn't expecting much to tell the truth, He and Brett Varnum were the main instructors along with Eric Behlke, and Hahna Patterson. When I walked/limped out, I KNEW I had found what I was looking for all those years. First time I stopped into Dayton, I saw all these different belt colors and actually stepped back outside to read the sign again to see if I was indeed in the right place, I was, and upon returning to Maine I asked John about it and he just smiled and said it was something Stephen was working on developing. Shortly after this, we made the switch to the new system. While I did take time off to start a family, I never really left the art, I kept up with what I knew and it helped that my brother was/is an instructor. So that is the background of why I take such a narrow view of how others act when representing the art I saw born, struggle through the first few shaky years, and now beginning to grow and prosper. It's like a family member to me. Please take care of it's image and reputation when we are online for the world to see and read. Most of the fellow forum members and guests will only have what we write and say to use as a guage of the quality and kind of people our art attracts.
Sorry for the long rant and post, just had to get it off my chest. :asian:
