For being here at the Martial Arts Section?

This is encouraging. I have been on Y/A a few years. Found it by accident.

It has given me both a chance to learn from others as well as share some of what I have learned. And yes J, I have changed somewhat from the experience here. I have noticed that you have mellowed a little from when you first came here too.

The TC thing is interesting. There are some TC that are very knowledgeable about the martial arts. The newbies don't always understand that to be a TC does not come from good answers.

It comes from the number of questions you answer in a section. Any nit wit can be a TC in a section if they answer often enough. At the same time you can lose your TC badge if you slack off for a while.

The MA section has allowed me to meet many interesting people. I count many of them as friends, even though I've only met 2 or 3 of them in person. Occasionally I'll get a nasty email from someone.

But they always come from someone with a new account or someone that hides behind anonymity by having no profile info and blocked Q&A. By and large the contact most people send me are friendly and want to say thanks for my contributions here. Being retired give me lots of time to do different things.

I still train and teach. But I also like to be a part of the MA section. There are a lot of good people here that are here to both help others and learn from others.

That makes it worth putting up with the trolls and idiots that are here only to cause trouble. I could say more, but I'll just say thanks for the question. It is nice to have something new here.

EDIT: Several people mentioned that I had been helpful to them. I really appreciate it. Especially right now.

I have been told that I have a serious health problem and will likely have surgery in the near future. It has been and will continue to be my pleasure to contribute on Y/A. I see it as a responsibility to share what I was taught.

If I did not, what good would that be to anyone else..... ....

I've learned a lot from the Y! A's Martial Arts category. Dialogue is a method for learning.

I answer questions to which I feel I have some insight, I ask questions to get other perspectives, and I read other answers for perspective as well. While I've gained a lot of general knowledge by researching things referenced in answers I have also learned a lot of specific knowledge about Japanese styles from Pugpaws2, Shihan J, and Fat Cobra. The concept of Bunkai was something I hadn't contemplated or practiced until I read about it from those sources.

I have found it to be very enriching as a method for exploring and training in my own style, which is a traditional Chinese Kung Fu. We had done "bunkai" as an intuitive and informal process but until I really learned about Bunkai here and approached it in a more methodical way I never really explored our techniques as deep as I do now. For that alone I am grateful.

I've gotten some very good reading suggestions and have read three books from the list of suggestions I got from here. They have been good books and have enriched my Martial Arts experience. I also find this section to be a great source of amusement and entertainment.

I cant really gove you an answer,but what I can give you is a way to a solution, that is you have to find the anglde that you relate to or peaks your interest. A good paper is one that people get drawn into because it reaches them ln some way.As for me WW11 to me, I think of the holocaust and the effect it had on the survivors, their families and those who stood by and did nothing until it was too late.