OSS SITE

[missmykarate]

Just wanted to say that my son, Liam Watt, set up, and grew this site as part of his degree in computer sciences, when he was just a white belt, but he came from a karate family background, brought up with martial art principles, as his dad (Dodwatt) has studied shotokan for 36 years, and his mum (me) joined the "if you can't beat them, join them" fold in the mid 80s, when her son was just a wee boy. I am so proud of Liam, as he has been "best in class" the last 3 years at college, has passed all exams and projects with flying colours, and, although he took up karate later rather than sooner (we never forced our kids to train) is now a brown belt in shotokan, with a great "traditional martial arts, humble attitude" too.
It has been said, and rumoured, elsewhere on the internet, that this great forum is run by another individual, and is only a podium for that persons views, and his followers, which truly could not be further from the truth. It is run to hear all views and opinions, and constructive discussions with regard to our combined common love, SHOTOKAN.
This is a forum which is open to all views and feedback, and we truly hope it can continue as such, as it has been a great gig so far, and even now that that a usual major poster/commenter is no longer a contributor in the group, we hope that the best is still to come. All karate family members, and their individual views and input, are truly welcome on here,
thank you friends, and a big round of applause to my son, who has NEVER taken credit for setting up this group that we all enjoy, whether to read (as I normally do) or say our piece. x

[Paul Bedard]

Thanks for you thoughts Kim, you must be very proud of Liam it sounds like he is doing very well in his studies/courses. I`m sure that he has a bright future ahead of him.
I for one am thankful for having this site & am optimistic in that we will go forward & not let an uncomfortable moment in time stop us from what it is that we love to do & that is share our knowledge & experiences, as we learn from others knowledge & experiences in this martial art called Shotokan Karate.
So, I`m asking my fellow karateka, can we let the justice system handle the other situation & accept what is & go forward treat each other with respect & do what this site was designed to do.
Let`s use this site to make the world a smaller place when it comes to the Shotokan Karate experience.

Yours in budo

Paul B

[malk103]

Well said Kim, I settled hear mainly because of the humble attitude expressed by most people and the excellent answers to my dumb questions.

On a technical point of view I would be happy to help out with the forum, I run a similar forum for Land Rover enthusiasts. One of the things we have done is to create different profiles so we can offer different backgrounds and font sizes etc. The users can select them from their profile settings. If Liam doesn't have the time then I would be happy to help or advise.

There is some excellent info on here and it's always great to get advice about your Karate experiences from other like minded Karateka, most of whom have already gone before on the path.

[Allan Shepherd]

Hello Kim

May the force be with you, George and Liam

The site WILL go from strength to strength, that is as sure as eggs are eggs

Best Regards
Allan

[kensei]

Kim,

I have told Dod many times that while I am across the pond and a proud Canadian boy (not called that in about 20 years mind you) I am here for both of you and you inspire the hell out of me!

Your son is one lucky and smart kid, he has great parrents who have seen is tallents grow.

The forum will serve as an example to other sites that we will continue to bring different non-political views to the table so we can all grow as Karate-ka and we dont need to worry about what organization we belong to for us to share with each other.

Dod is one lucky guy, he has a strong wife and son!

J