Dutch introduction

[Toudiyama]

Hi people,

After 25 post, it's time to introduce myself a bit

My real name is Danny Spits, 41 years old
Living in the Netherlands, where I was born
Halfway the 1970's I started out in Judo, with my dad as the teacher( I liked it because he's technical) later when some-one else took over and the training was more tournament oriented I skipped a lot of trainings
in 78 I started out in Karate at the community centre namely Itosu ryu, which I stopped doing because of an argument with a schoolpal of mine who was also training there(he threatened the most popular teacher at school while being drunk)
I then went back to the school where my dad gave judo instruction to start Karate there which was Wado
About 82 I also started doing Jodo(jap stickfighting) together with my karateteacher, as well as attending trainings from the kyokushinkai interrest group
When I was 1st kyu I already started training for Savateinstructor
doing muay thai on the side for the boxing part
When I was 1st Dan Wado I started doing TKD on the side( I wanted to fill my week with training) but stopped that because I started doing a coarse for recreational sports leader because this was the only way to get a ABO(general basic study for sports instuctors) which I needed to enter the Karate assistent teachers coarse
after I got that diplom I entered the Assistant Teacher followed by the
teachers coarse
During this time I occasionally trained with the jujitsu class as well as doing a Iaido coarse(1years)
During a intermission from teaching at my original club I did Ashihara karate but that stopped because the teacher couldn't rent a dojo anymore
Then returned teaching again and started doing ko bujitsu on the side
A couple of years ag I had to stop everything because my normal job took too much time

Now I'm only training by myself at home combining everything
sometimes inviting a friend to train with me

Have the highest regard of all martial artist as long as they do the same, MAs that put down others instead of telling why their art is good haven't learned much from training
(pitty that with some styles this always happens)

I might take up a different art in the near future(depends on the job) like escrima or Dai Nippon Shorinji Kempo OR if I can find a nice school in the area, MMA, but only to be physicaly busy whereas the others to learn something new

Regards

Danny Spits
Zaandam
Netherlands

[darrianation]

Helo Danny

Hello Danny! Sound like you have been pretty busy. Allot experience in deferent ma. I don’t know how you have so much energy .It will be interesting to hear your stories and opinions.

The only time I studied two ma at the same time was back 81-82 I was taking wado and muay thai. I did wado from 77-82 then just did MT. I went into the military so my training became sporadic but I mostly trained in Mt and shito but not usually at the same time. I did Chinese kenpo and arnis in 93-95 but it was at the same school so I kind of count that as one class, although they were on deferent days.

Like you I mostly train by myself now because I live in a small town and there is but one karate school Uechi I did it for a year but then the instructor moved away. Some of the students took over and all we did was kata from that time forward. Not that I have anything against kata but that’s all we did. No more sparring. No more self defense stuff. We didn’t even break a sweat in class. So I left. I know this shotokan guy who is a black belt and certified instructor through JKA. He was the assistant instructor of the shotokan that was run through the city program. When the head instructor retired do to knee problems the shotokan just stopped. It’s been a couple of years now and he’s interested in starting again but is wishy washy about it. I nag him all the time. He will only commit to 2 days a week. He has a full time job selling real state. I guess thats better than nothing. He’s pretty hard core Loves sparring and seldefens. Also has a very practical approach to karate and making it apply to real life. So we’ll be starting mid april.

Take care i'll be intereted in reading your posts.

[Toudiyama]

Re: Helo Danny

Originally posted by darrianation
Hello Danny! Sound like you have been pretty busy. Allot experience in deferent ma. I don’t know how you have so much energy .It will be interesting to hear your stories and opinions.

The only time I studied two ma at the same time was back 81-82 I was taking wado and muay thai. I did wado from 77-82 then just did MT. I went into the military so my training became sporadic but I mostly trained in Mt and shito but not usually at the same time. I did Chinese kenpo and arnis in 93-95 but it was at the same school so I kind of count that as one class, although they were on deferent days.

Like you I mostly train by myself now because I live in a small town and there is but one karate school Uechi I did it for a year but then the instructor moved away. Some of the students took over and all we did was kata from that time forward. Not that I have anything against kata but that’s all we did. No more sparring. No more self defense stuff. We didn’t even break a sweat in class. So I left. I know this shotokan guy who is a black belt and certified instructor through JKA. He was the assistant instructor of the shotokan that was run through the city program. When the head instructor retired do to knee problems the shotokan just stopped. It’s been a couple of years now and he’s interested in starting again but is wishy washy about it. I nag him all the time. He will only commit to 2 days a week. He has a full time job selling real state. I guess thats better than nothing. He’s pretty hard core Loves sparring and seldefens. Also has a very practical approach to karate and making it apply to real life. So we’ll be starting mid april.

Take care i'll be intereted in reading your posts.

Cool that you also did do Wado to begin with
Don't you find it a perfect base for training in other MA too?

I see you also did Arnis which is related to escrima so you did an art I like to learn (for me that's a year training because I look at the principle of the art)
The city I live in has more than enough MA schools and clubs but for me to train karate at any of the other schools, I don't know
It's nothing new, I know Kyokushin and I know Wado and I don't like Shotokan as it is done nowadays(overly deep rooted stances from which you can not work efficiently)
As for the other MA most of their teachers have half my experience and can't teach me anything, they are not bad just that I have 25 years of experience in MA, it's etched in my brain

Pitty that you had to stop a couple of times because the lack of an instructor in the area

Hope the Shotokan guy will do the trainings and maybe you can teach on one or two of the remaining days of the week
In your case nothing style specific but based on selfdefence
Even though you live in a small town you should be able to get some people to train with you, in my Country I know of small towns still having more than 1 school both having 50+ students
And guess what usually it's the small towns organising the special trainings from high ranked masters (I only attended one training of Suzuki hanshi in Amsterdam, all the others were in smaller towns ( did attend a couple of trainings of Kono hanshi but that was actually a training for a small group of people already training at Schiphol airport )

Regards

Danny

[Szczepankiewicz]

You have a cool name!

Welcome aboard.

Spanky!

[Toudiyama]

Originally posted by Szczepankiewicz
You have a cool name!

Welcome aboard.

Spanky!

My Nick or my real name?

[jcolvin]

I have question. With you starting your 40s how has your overall training changed?

[Toudiyama]

Originally posted by jcolvin
I have question. With you starting your 40s how has your overall training changed?

Well I'm not trainingg much right now but it did chenge in my case but if you're this age and doing MMA actively then it might not
What I did notice is during sparring you waste less energy and see openings and possibilities much better
If I can find a sparringpartner I like to go training during the hottest summerdays and really break a sweat
Heck at 40+ I still like to go to the occasional danceparty and I usually also break a sweat most of the evening/night
I have to push myself to do something but if I do I like to go all out, oh man do I like that adrenaline

[darrianation]

I talked to the shotokan instructor yesterday and he’s putting off starting the classes because he’s pretty busy with work. I have 6 people wanting to start. We’ll see what happens. There is another Guy getting ready to test for his BB. He’s checking with the JKA to see if he can go ahead and start a club before he tests.

I went to Amsterdam once in 91” had a blast cool city I would love to go back. A buddy of mine is going this summer. I won’t be able to go (lack of funds, and prior obligations). He’s been there before, but do have any recommendations of places to go?

Peace!

[Toudiyama]

Originally posted by darrianation
I talked to the shotokan instructor yesterday and he’s putting off starting the classes because he’s pretty busy with work. I have 6 people wanting to start. We’ll see what happens. There is another Guy getting ready to test for his BB. He’s checking with the JKA to see if he can go ahead and start a club before he tests.

I went to Amsterdam once in 91” had a blast cool city I would love to go back. A buddy of mine is going this summer. I won’t be able to go (lack of funds, and prior obligations). He’s been there before, but do have any recommendations of places to go?

Peace!

Why don't you start something yourself?

As for Amsterdam, what are the interrests of your buddy?
Don't want to send him to the wrong places
We can send him to anywere from the sexmuseum and coffeeshops
to the van Gogh museum and Ajax Arena

[darrianation]

I’m looking into it. Wado is the style I have a black belt in but it’s been 20 yrs since I’ve done wado. The closest wado dojo is a 7 hr. drive from me. So even if I was still practicing no one would sponsor me. I did talk to my old sensei about it. AS for as MT I just don’t have the equipment. I do have two heavy bags a double end bag 2 pairs of boxing cloves 1 pair of focus mitts and a pair of Thai pads. If the shotokan doesn’t happen I have a proposal for the city all ready to go, to see if we can do MT in its place. That way I don’t have to rent a place.

The other big problem is work. I do very strange shifts at work never the same week to week. Let me just say we have five people to cover 24 hours a day 7 days a week. Two of us day shifter work 12 hour shifts that often turn into 13-14 hour shifts We also do two 8 hour shifts every other week and rotate week ends. Let’s say for example we did classes (MT) Tuesday, Thursday Saturday. One week I could do Tuesday, And Saturday class but not Thursday. The next week I could do Thursday’s class but not Tuesday’s or Saturday’s. See my dilemma? I just want something for my daughter she wants to take karate real bad.

As for my friend he does medical relief work. He was going to Bulgaria or somewhere. He’s been there before but he was going to stop in Germany to visit friends. He was also going to Amsterdam. Now since the war his contacts there said not to come it was to dangerous for Americans. So since that was his main reason for going he’s just not going at all now.

[Tom Yum]

I too have been to A'dam. I used to work for the wonderful 'netwerk bank' the old green and gold. Its a wonderful city. I stayed fit by walking/biking (met fiets?) and trained at Squash City (near A'dam CS). I imagine now that being American in some areas isn't as safe bc of the Turkish/Moroccan groups, but individually I found them very friendly. This war is making it difficult to travel/live abroad.

I took a liking to Dutch style living. Sayings like "Doe maar" and "Me nemen" (forgive my spelling) say it best. You could be in a crowded sauna with disrobed women who are confident with themselves- quite a cultural shock for most American people (especially vrowen). Plus I like how Dutch people are allways studying (i.e. foreign lang- I ran into a blonde headed blue eyed bomb shell who spoke fluently in Chinese). You work very hard, but maintain balance in your lives - you're boss expects you to have a life outside of work. You party your @sses off on Queens day and then hang out at the Grasshopper. You guys are really into MA, expecially thaiboxing but also traditional jj and karate.

We could learn alot from your culture. Its a shame though that we Americans never take the time to visit foreign lands and see for ourselves what the rest of the world is doing - I hear my fellow Americans talk about foreign lands without having once stepped a foot on another country. Just my 2 cents.

[Toudiyama]

Originally posted by darrianation
I’m looking into it. Wado is the style I have a black belt in but it’s been 20 yrs since I’ve done wado. The closest wado dojo is a 7 hr. drive from me. So even if I was still practicing no one would sponsor me. I did talk to my old sensei about it. AS for as MT I just don’t have the equipment. I do have two heavy bags a double end bag 2 pairs of boxing cloves 1 pair of focus mitts and a pair of Thai pads. If the shotokan doesn’t happen I have a proposal for the city all ready to go, to see if we can do MT in its place. That way I don’t have to rent a place.

The other big problem is work. I do very strange shifts at work never the same week to week. Let me just say we have five people to cover 24 hours a day 7 days a week. Two of us day shifter work 12 hour shifts that often turn into 13-14 hour shifts We also do two 8 hour shifts every other week and rotate week ends. Let’s say for example we did classes (MT) Tuesday, Thursday Saturday. One week I could do Tuesday, And Saturday class but not Thursday. The next week I could do Thursday’s class but not Tuesday’s or Saturday’s. See my dilemma? I just want something for my daughter she wants to take karate real bad.

As for my friend he does medical relief work. He was going to Bulgaria or somewhere. He’s been there before but he was going to stop in Germany to visit friends. He was also going to Amsterdam. Now since the war his contacts there said not to come it was to dangerous for Americans. So since that was his main reason for going he’s just not going at all now.

Your sutuation does make it hard to teach, darn man I do not envy you not in a miljon years would I do 12 hour shifts(isn't allowed as far as I know in Holland)

Thom Rhodes an American that has a TV show here called Kevin Masters can still walk the streets without being bothered, we(dutch in general) do not hate the americans just George W B and Donald R, we can differentiate and know that US people coming here aren't the"we are the center of the world" kinda people
So he could stil go (we were probably meaner against french people when France did nuclear test on Mururoa)

[Toudiyama]

Originally posted by Tom Yum
I too have been to A'dam. I used to work for the wonderful 'netwerk bank' the old green and gold. Its a wonderful city. I stayed fit by walking/biking (met fiets?) and trained at Squash City (near A'dam CS). I imagine now that being American in some areas isn't as safe bc of the Turkish/Moroccan groups, but individually I found them very friendly. This war is making it difficult to travel/live abroad.

I took a liking to Dutch style living. Sayings like "Doe maar" and "Me nemen" (forgive my spelling) say it best. You could be in a crowded sauna with disrobed women who are confident with themselves- quite a cultural shock for most American people (especially vrowen). Plus I like how Dutch people are allways studying (i.e. foreign lang- I ran into a blonde headed blue eyed bomb shell who spoke fluently in Chinese). You work very hard, but maintain balance in your lives - you're boss expects you to have a life outside of work. You party your @sses off on Queens day and then hang out at the Grasshopper. You guys are really into MA, expecially thaiboxing but also traditional jj and karate.

We could learn alot from your culture. Its a shame though that we Americans never take the time to visit foreign lands and see for ourselves what the rest of the world is doing - I hear my fellow Americans talk about foreign lands without having once stepped a foot on another country. Just my 2 cents.

Turkish people no problem here, but marocans can be, but I do not think that the guys who pose a problem go for americans, they are just troublemakers, these guys go to a peace demonstration and at the end start to trow stones at the police and burn an Israelian flag but he they were linked to a group who finds this acceptable use even though it isn't allowed in my country
It's the same pack that terrorised the swimmingpool and the Metro(underground)stations

With all those compliments for dutch culture I almost fell into a trap a feeling proud for something I didn't do myself
I like my country but feeling proud of something which is based on coincedence( I could just as wel have been born in Belgium or of all places France) is something I try not to do
But taken in general we tend to work to be able to live, wereas I see the oposite in some other countries

Queensday is getting Less and less, this year only a few spots may have a open air dance event, none in the center, in the past I used to go to do my anual stomach teasing/strengthening by buying/eating kebab on the street, now even in my own city they are no longer allowed
Ending up in the grasshopper of the bulldog is something not limited to the dutch, heck you do not want to know how much backpacker end up there

MT is big aspesially in Amsterdam, freefight is still having some problems (freefight is our Almost NHB)
Karate mainly the 4 major styles plus kyokushin in full contact and a noncontact version
A lot of different Pentjak Silat schools both ITF and WTF TKD
Almost every city/town has some judo
Kendo isn't too big because theequipment is too expensive for most dutch(that's why soccer is big, very cheap to do)
I must be very dutch because I to like to learn(preferbly something new every day)

A lot of americans visit Europe in less then a month and want to see as much as possible but they would learn more if they would just stay in one or two countries per vacation

Darn my post get longer and longer

Regards

[darrianation]

Originally posted by Toudiyama



Your sutuation does make it hard to teach, darn man I do not envy you not in a miljon years would I do 12 hour shifts(isn't allowed as far as I know in Holland)

Thom Rhodes an American that has a TV show here called Kevin Masters can still walk the streets without being bothered, we(dutch in general) do not hate the americans just George W B and Donald R, we can differentiate and know that US people coming here aren't the"we are the center of the world" kinda people
So he could stil go (we were probably meaner against french people when France did nuclear test on Mururoa)

I’m sorry bro’ I didn’t mean it was dangerous in Holland I meant it was to dangerous were he was suppose to go Bulgaria I Think. That was his main destination. Anyway he loves Amsterdam and was going to visit while he was over there. But he’s now cancelled his trip. Also he’s the coffee house type. He had allot of medical supplies to take over there.

Anyway if thing don’t work out with the karate thing then I can teach MT two days one week and three the next. That’s the best I’ll be able to do.

[darrianation]

Teaching MT

My wife will probably kill me for this!