To All Members

[Dod Watt]

I have taken some time today to catch up with some matters of concern about our site, and yes I said our site, as every member when they join is given that right to say it is their's, as without you we haven't one, so please listen.

On looking back on certain topics there have been posts that have got out of hand, and I, as one of the creators of this sight is appalled at the way that we have digressed from a place where we can come to either speak, compare, advise, exchange and even argue in a gentlemanly fashion about something that we are all passionate about and that is Shotokan Karate.

So, form now on, can we please try to have the same attitude as we would have in our respective dojo's, and respect the other members on this forum as we would with our students and training partners.

We are all here to learn, receive and give advice, not to indulge in a battle, we want to promote friendship within our group, and join together and create a living encyclopaedia about our chosen art.

So, please, I'm not taking any sides as I want this to be the best forum for any Shotokan practitioner, regardless of rank and grade, can we start a fresh, and stop this bickering between one another on this site. If you argue with someone and it becomes personal, and you make it public, all posts will be either locked or deleted regarding that given subject, and there is no one that is beyond this rule, even me.

Thank you all for taking time to read this, now lets get posting about our shotokan studies!!!

[fujicolt]

Nice message George Great to see your level of commitment to friends etc

to everyone else - many whom have messaged, e-mailed, phoned, text me etc -

THANK YOU FOR TAKING THE TIME TO CONTACT ME - IT MEANS A LOT!

As you are thus aware and I now make everyone else aware -

My Son has been in and out of hospital following a concussion after a 'Bash on his head' at school. This resulted in a concussion that lead to severe probs. he was admitted to Hospital and has been going through various MRI tests etc since.

Then, I have had the news that my lovely elder sister is in the intensive care ward fighting the last stages of lung disease!

Then, my Adopted Daughter (whom many of you know and have met) yet again fell foul of her chronic illness and had to be hospitalised again.

SO - It has been a 'bit of a time' folks. so i aint been around to liven up the debates etc. But Kensei has been marvellous and very supportive (I think Dod has been too busy to notice so I know you all looked after. See you later. Steve H - Fujicolt

[jimlukelkc]

Could not agree more. Hope all your problems become bad memories very soon. A salutary reminder that family and friends are way more important than karate.

[malk103]

Very sorry to hear of your problems Steve, I hope it all works out better soon.

"To all members"
From the point of view of a recent regular on this forum then it may take a bit of time to get back to normal, from what can be read there has been some disagreements which are only natural on forums.
The outburst and name calling on one of the AB threads needs to be addressed and apologies made, especially by someone who is part of the Admin/mod team.
I Admin on another forum and know how difficult it can be trying to run them and keep everyone happy, but damage has been done as post counts are almost non existent.

I say this as an observation of someone who has been through a few nasty forum "events" and not in anyway having a go at anyone. If left then OSS may recover in time.

[Bob Davis]

Just thought Mal but one of the big reasons the post count is down is that Steve hasn't been posting (I've seen it on other forums who's traffic is way down since he left).

It's basically down the the rest of us to offer up something worth discussing rather than waiting for someone else to initiate.

[plwilloughby]

Best wishes, Steve.

[makoto]

My apologies for comments in a certain thread. I will do what I can to help these forums to move on in a productive way. Again, my apologies. Also my appreciation for the efforts of those running and hosting this site. May we learn and grow.

[kensei]

Oct 31, 2012 10:14:49 GMT makoto said:

My apologies for comments in a certain thread. I will do what I can to help these forums to move on in a productive way. Again, my apologies. Also my appreciation for the efforts of those running and hosting this site. May we learn and grow.

I am finding that being a MOD aint easy, and you have to deal with way more than you thought I would have to! However, its also fun to see the forum subjects roll out about Karate.

One thing I keep in mind when reading, writing and replying to posts is that most of us have actually been around in the Karate forum world for some time. I remember most of the people from the old days of 24 fighting chickens...before I got booted for brining up some questions that Rob did not like. I also remember most of you from the KU and also most of you are on other forums that I visit and read.

I take all those other forum experiences over the last few decades as a learning experience and hope that I can help George/Dod make this forum into something that the others are not....a place of equalization were anyone can come and learn and grow and we know to A) remember that we are in a "Cyber Dojo" (Oh, another forum I have been on), and B)leave the ego at the door...anyone can learn and anyone can share.

We all slip and make mistakes in posts and the true skill is to come back from making a bad post and or decision and move past it..

My promise is that I will fall down a bunch of times and make mistakes, but I will dust myself off and get back up...and hopfully learn from them...we are all in the same boat friend!

[Jo Alexander]

Hi All
i am a 2nd Dan in shotokan karate and think this is a great idea. I have already had some advice
for one query and hope to be able to help others in the same way as in the dojo kun .

[fighterandfitness]

Hi
Just a request to visit my blog fighterandfitness as all of you are karatekas and fighters.

[johnnewman]

Good luck and best wishes Steve.