Dear TDub and fellow Wolfpack peeps, please take a moment to help me out for something that's important to my family. It will take no commitment from you, and only about 2 minutes of your time:

My 7 y.o. son has been in karate for almost 3 years, it's been a huge positive benefit to him and our family. His karate studio needs a larger space and is applying for a $250,000 community grant from Chase/LivingSocial. To be considered for the grant they have to get 250 votes, but they're still about 100 votes shy.

To vote you need to be logged in on Facebook. There is no application to install, you won't get any advertisements or spam, it's just a way to be sure people don't "spoof" the vote system.

Go to the link for Mission Small Business. https://www.missionsmallbusiness.com/

Click "Log In & Support" at the bottom right. Once you're logged in, SEARCH for "Evergreen Tang Soo Do" (located in Seattle WA) and then click "Vote" to support my son's karate studio.

You can also check for favorite businesses in your local area who are trying to get similar grants, and vote for them too. There's no limit on the number of businesses you can support with your votes.

thanks, and let me know if there's ever any kind of thing you need support on, i'll return the favor!

6/7/2012 12:43:39 PM

So is he going to kick my ass if I don't vote?

6/7/2012 12:44:32 PM

no but i will.









[Edited on June 7, 2012 at 12:47 PM. Reason : j/k]

6/7/2012 12:46:16 PM

why do they need a larger space?

ive seen gyms that are over crowded and dont have enough equipment for the athletes

why should we care about this one? do they just want more space for the hell of it?

if there arent enough members that their families and friends cant get 250 votes they probably dont need to expand

[Edited on June 7, 2012 at 12:48 PM. Reason : e]

6/7/2012 12:47:20 PM

it's not some fly-by-night MMA joint. its a family karate studio. a lot of kids, and parents. space is a premium in Seattle, and there's not a lot of alternatives. It's a great studio, the master instructor (4th Dan) is awesome role model for children.

they have about 125 students, many of them from the same families. maybe 40 families total. not everyone is online, they've gotten 150 votes. the studio has to turn away kids because it's full.

all i'm asking is for you to spend two minutes to give a free vote that allows them to apply for a privately funded grant. if you don't want to be bothered, fine. but you know, save your hate for somethign more worth hating on.





[Edited on June 7, 2012 at 12:54 PM. Reason : ]

6/7/2012 12:50:58 PM

Voted via facebook. Much easier.

6/7/2012 12:55:41 PM

Fuck you

You think I'm just talking about mma joints I train everywhere and I know bullshit when I see it

You shouldn't be pandering for him for signatures

125 spread over how many classes?

[Edited on June 7, 2012 at 12:58 PM. Reason : C]

6/7/2012 12:56:57 PM

Quote :

"if there arent enough members that their families and friends cant get 250 votes they probably dont need to expand"

BHS beat me to it

6/7/2012 12:57:36 PM

This guy disses a martial art in defense of his own

Way to go there

I'm just sayin is a lot of these guys and those fly by might gyms you referenced are run by swindlers

They'll get an investor, Kurt a lot of money for expansion or equipment, them knock out a wall buy a few months rent to Ruhr building next door...buy a bag, increase belt fees and six months later they pocket the money and deuce out

[Edited on June 7, 2012 at 1:03 PM. Reason : B]

6/7/2012 12:59:10 PM

god, you guys are bitter. look, we've got plenty of equipment. the space is just too small. can only fit 15 kids per class comfortably, 20 maximum.

counting "tiny tigers" as well as regular kids and adult classes, there are about 20 - 25 different classes per week. it's a full time 6 days-per-week operation. depending on their program, kids attend at least two, sometimes 3 or 4 classes per week as they progress to black belt over a 4 or 5 year period (typical)ly

now you're bitching that they cant' get signature from friends and family, and here i am asking for signatures from my (extended) circle of friends and you still give me grief.

Love you TDUB, you're just as I remembered




[Edited on June 7, 2012 at 1:09 PM. Reason : ]

6/7/2012 1:05:25 PM

If you're up here asking for votes then you need to better explain your situation when asked because as far as I know there are other gyms my friends kids go to that need this money a lot more than your kids gun does

So don't act all high and mighty when someone questions you, come humble

6/7/2012 1:06:07 PM

If you're up here asking for votes then you need to better explain your situation when asked because as far as I know there are other gyms my friends kids go to that need this money a lot more than your kids gun does

So don't act all high and mighty when someone questions you, come humble

I'm sure that's a core tenet your kids learn in class

6/7/2012 1:07:23 PM

@BHS, i'm not dissing MMA, i'm dissing "fly by night" joints, as you describe, run by swindlers. the school we belong to (WTSDA) has been in operation for 30 years, led by Grandmaster Jae Chul Shin the entire time. It's legitimate, and kids have to work for every stripe, every belt. there are no gimme's whatsoever.

I believe i've explained it about as sincerely and humbly as I can. Please let me know if I'm missing something.

and look, this grant program is open to anyone. go to my original link. get your friends gyms to apply for the same grant, and collect 250 votes, you'll be considered just the same. its not a popularity contest, you just need to collect the minimum votes to be considered.




[Edited on June 7, 2012 at 1:13 PM. Reason : ]

6/7/2012 1:11:29 PM

Voted.

6/7/2012 1:12:30 PM

Cheers

6/7/2012 1:12:59 PM

Voted. Poll skews are serious business apparently

6/7/2012 1:14:05 PM

I voted 100 times. Fuck BigHitSunday.

6/7/2012 1:15:11 PM

voted

6/7/2012 1:15:50 PM

Voted.

6/7/2012 1:19:46 PM

Quote :

"To vote you need to be logged in on Facebook."

this is where i stopped

6/7/2012 1:21:38 PM

why dont you put a link on your FB status directly

seems like a solid gym and i hate for guys in the business that long to bow out because of lack of resources

he should also do some public events, maybe demos or something to stand out from the other business that are mindlessly poll skewing.

[Edited on June 7, 2012 at 1:29 PM. Reason : e]

6/7/2012 1:25:58 PM

Quote :

" "To vote you need to be logged in on Facebook." it's just a way to be sure people don't "spoof" the vote system. "

this where BigNumbers stopped




[Edited on June 7, 2012 at 2:16 PM. Reason : 1]

6/7/2012 2:15:03 PM

voted

6/7/2012 2:45:46 PM

Quote :

"voted!"

6/7/2012 2:55:53 PM

i voted

6/7/2012 2:56:54 PM

I love you people

To answer some of your questions:

our master instructor has advertised this program to the families. problem is, it requires a Facebook login, this blocks a number of people and their extended families from participating. many people dont have a FB account or don't ever use it.

we do fundraisers a lot, but they're used to help pay the cost of kids traveling to regional and national tournaments. you can only do so many fundraisers, you certainly cant fund-raise your way to a new studio in a major city like Seattle.

the FB requirement is unfortunate, but it's a pretty secure way to prevent poll skewing. not that anyone here would ever do such a thing.

6/7/2012 4:28:05 PM

up to 164 votes

6/7/2012 4:30:15 PM

?_?

karate is japanese

"tang soo do" is korean

"Jae Chul Shin" is korean

"dan" is a japanese ranking system

"grandmaster" is chinese

6/7/2012 4:34:29 PM

voted twice (once with my alter ego acct)

6/7/2012 4:34:42 PM

voted

6/7/2012 4:35:25 PM

a korean guy can learn a japanese art

lol


[Edited on June 7, 2012 at 4:38 PM. Reason : ;]

6/7/2012 4:37:47 PM

NO

6/7/2012 4:38:45 PM

6/7/2012 4:43:03 PM

@TCHENKU

Tang Soo Do is indeed Korean, with Chinese heritage. "Tang" references the Chinese Tang dynasty. "Soo Do" is literally the exact translation of "Kara te", meaning "open hand with intent to strike". It's easier to just say "karate" because everyone knows what karate means. Tang Soo Do is the ancestor of Tae Kwan Do, which is the modern national sport of Korea.

Dan is a ranking system and the name originated with Japan, but is equally used in Korea.

Grandmaster is a generic term. the Korean term is "Kwang Chang Nim". maybe it originated in China. China is certainly the older culture.

Jae Chul Shin is Korean. He was a master instructor in the Korean Air Force before moving to America in 1968. He came over at the invitation of Chuck Norris who had been his student in Korea. Grandmaster Shin founded the World Tang Soo Do Association in 1983, there are something like 100,000 students worldwide.

6/7/2012 5:03:40 PM

voted

6/7/2012 5:15:01 PM

so what you're saying is, your son is Chuck Norris?

6/7/2012 5:15:17 PM

Quote :

"counting "tiny tigers" as well..."

is this ATA taekwondo?

6/7/2012 5:19:41 PM

^ no, but TSD is the korean ancestor of TKD. i also think "tiny tigers" is a common name for young chiildren's programs in many different martial arts schools.

Quote :

"Bigman: "so what you're saying is, your son is Chuck Norris?""

no, i'm just saying my son had to defeat Chuck Norris in staff combat before he could get his orange belt.



[Edited on June 8, 2012 at 12:14 AM. Reason : ]

6/8/2012 12:13:55 AM