As you might recall, I decided to work with a private company called Ooshirts for this giveaway. Ooshirts.com specializes in T-shirt printing, and here is the result from the ikigaiway project:

Since receiving the shirts, I have reached out to all three randomly selected winners of the contest. If you didn't hear from me, unfortunately it means you didn't have a lucky draw - but don't worry, there will be more giveaways in the future!

I'd like to take a moment and express my appreciation for the quality of easy process provided by Ooshirts. Their website is very intuitive, and made the design process a snap. I didn't have any issues with file type or size or formatting. Many of the hair pulling elements of working with online design were carefully avoided by Ooshirts.

The company also utilizes a friendly, hands-on customer service method. They provide free review of design by their internal graphic designers, who guide you and alert you to any complications that might arise BEFORE they go about printing.

Check em out, and thanks again to everyone involved.

This is great - I didn't suspect it would grow so large and I'm very thankful it has.

In order to help get us over the hump, I want to do a giveaway. This giveaway is rather special because it is going to feature IkigaiWay T-Shirts. These are the first of their kind as IkigaiWay has never had any personal swag outside of stickers.

A custom printing company called OoShirts has been kind enough to offer three shirts for the giveaway. OoShirts is a private startup out of Berkeley California and I am happy to support them.

The Shirts

Here is a peek at the shirts you'll have a chance to win. I will gather the correct sizes after the winners have been declared and contacted.

The front of the shirt features the unique Ikigaiway tree with mitsu domoe. The site name is featured below the emblem. The back of the shirt displays kanji for the famous saying "Fall down seven, stand up eight". A quote that I feel truly embodies what the martial arts can provide in our lives.

How to Enter

Entering for this contest has two easy steps.

1. spread the word about Ikigaiway.com.

You can do this one of two ways. If you have a blog, you can make a mention of the site and link to it. The context of the mention is totally up to you.

The second is by utilizing the Facebook "share" button. Goto the Ikigaiway facebook page, and locate the share button as shown below:

(click the image to enlarge)

2. Tell me you did it.

Drop a quick comment on this blog post to let me know you shared. Be sure to include your email address when filling our your commenting name so I can reach back out to you.

That's it.

How will I know if you actually shared or not? Because you gave me your word that you did, and you are a martial artist. It's what we do and who we are. You're word is good enough for me.

End of Contest

The contest will end after we crest the 10,000 fan mark. At that time, all the participating names will be put into an electronic hat and three will be drawn randomly. Those winners will be contacted in order to get their proper size and shipping address.

Good luck, and thanks for all your support!

The winner of this contest receives $1,000 in gear from Karate Depot. I'm very proud to be associated with this particular event as it will truly serve to help an instructor who deserves the same kindness that he/she has shown others.

Qualified nominees should exhibit a spirit of going above and beyond the normal call of duty to assist those around them. Examples include teaching at-risk youths, building community in exceptional ways, and teaching special needs students (but that certainly isn't the limit of possibilities).

We chose to do this giveaway now to celebrate the holiday spirit and deliver one deserving teacher a gift they will remember!

UPDATE: Voting has begun (nominations closed) and will end on December 22nd. The winner will be revealed the 24th!

The Facebook contest was built to celebrate that sharing. I'd like to thank karatedepot.com and themmazone.net for their generous participation.The winners below were selected at random, placed in a generator when they met the requirements for each prize. I will be reaching out to the winners in order to get their shipping information, but in case you see your name and do not hear from me, you can contact me at ikigai108 @ gmail.com. Should a winner be unable to collect a prize, I will rerun the randomization program and select an alternate winner.

Here we go...

Prize #1: Bushido Apparel Green Insignia T-Shirt

Winner: Norberto J Torres

Congratulations Norberto! It's great to have you as part of the site.

Prize #2: Rhino Equipment Bag and Gym Mat

Winner: Paul McKenzie

Great to see your name pop up Paul. No doubt your consistent participation gave you an edge.

Prize #3: Everlast Reflex Bag

Winner: Marshall Smith

I hope this helps in your training Marshall! Stay passionate about your martial pursuits.

Special Prize: ProForce Thunder Heavy Bag

Winner: Ariel (http://martialartspassion.blogspot.com/)

Thanks for all your support Ariel over on the Martial Arts Passion website. I have no doubt you'll put this heavy bag through it's paces.

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I hope everyone enjoyed the contest, and if you didn't win this time don't worry, there will be more to come. I hope you hang around and continue making IkigaiWay a positive martial arts destination.

To peruse the full breakdown of how the tournament played out, check out the bracket here.

This result should not be particularly shocking to anyone as Enter the Dragon is one of the most famous martial arts movies of all time. Now some of you Indie crowd out there might have been hoping for a less high profile winner, but let's face it - Enter the Dragon deserves what it got.

It was good to see Seven Samurai making it as far as it did. That movie is by no means a quick, mile-a-minute watch, so I think it says a lot about the voter's commitment to quality.

Thanks to everyone who participated, and be sure to let me know if you enjoyed this whole tournament experience.

And now, taking it's victory lap, Enter the Dragon:

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I am inviting you to place your votes for the greatest martial arts movies of all time. This will not be a simple vote of one amongst many. No, instead it will be a four round event. The breakdown is as such:

Round 1: An Artist Faces Himself. Each superstar will be pitted against himself as you are made to choose the best movie from each actor's repertoire. Remember, only the winning movie gets to move forward.

Rounds 2&3: An Artist Faces His Enemy. In these rounds the artists will be pitted against one another from nearby divisions.

Round 4: An Artist Faces His Greatest Challenge. The two surviving artists will face off against each other for title of Greatest Movie.

Without further delay, let the voting begin and the decisions be made. Each round will only last 2-3 days, so check back frequently.

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View Round 2 Here

Anyway - a milestone is approaching that I thought would be perfect for some prizes. The Ikigaiway Facebook Fanpage is rapidly approaching 5,000 fans. Honestly I didn't think we would reach that mark for quite awhile yet, and I am very grateful to everyone who has shared ikigaway with friends and family. The Facebook page was created as an extension of the website so as to expand community potential and give everyone a chance to interact. My goal was to create a positive environment for martial artists of all backgrounds and the active members there have certainly helped in guiding that mission.

So, this particular contest will run between now and the time 5,000 is reached. To become eligible simply leave comments either here on the website or on the facebook page. Every comment you leave will get you an entrance vote into the contest. Every vote will be placed into a big randomization generator and the winners will be selected. Keep in mind the sooner 5,000 is reached the smaller the pool of contestants is likely to be (meaning a better chance for you to win).

BONUS: Help spread the love to qualify for the special prize. Use Facebook's 'suggest to friend' button, blog about ikigaiway, or do something else to help get the word out and let me know about it!

Cool? Alright, here are the prizes you'll be gunning for:

Prize #1: Bushido Apparel Green Insignia T-Shirt

Bushido Apparel is a small, privately owned company that is making some top-notch products. The style and design of their T-shirts stand out amongst typical martial arts designs. The Green Insignia T Shirt is a fine mix of style and subtlety.

Prize #2: Rhino Equipment Bag and Gym Mat

This is a tough Rhino gym bag constructed out of silver vinyl. It features a large main compartment and mesh side compartments for dirty or wet gym clothes. The great thing about this bag is that it comes with a foldout gym mat that can be unrolled at a moment's notice. (In the picture above there isn't an actual smaller bag, that is just a different angle to see the size of the gym mat). Courtesy of Karatedepot.com.

Prize #3: Everlast Reflex Bag

This is a really cool training device, the Reflex Bag. To use this bag effectively you need a combination of quick hands, great footwork, and a strong sense of timing. In short it trains a lot of very important martial art elements at once. Here is a quick video of how the reflex bag looks in use. Courtesy of Karatedepot.com.

Special Prize: ProForce Thunder Heavy Bag

The Thunder Heavy Bag is an outstanding model that provides a fine balance of resistance and comfort. The vinyl surface can take abuse and the weight (70lbs) is perfect for martial artists of all shapes and sizes. This bag comes with an assembly chain and hook as well as beginner bag gloves. Courtesy of TheMMAZone.net.

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Get started right away! Click through the link below and become fan, leave some comments, and suggest the page to your friends.

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Let's pretend, just for a moment, that you've found yourself on the wrong side of the law. You're a troublemaker, a scoundrel, and it's finally caught up to you. Now you find yourself standing in front of the judge as he is about to drop the gavel on you.

For your bad behavior, he has sentenced you to a cruel and unusual five part punishment. But, in a rare twist of kindness, he is letting you make some choices regarding your own fate. Here are your tasks:

1. Choose one, and only one empty hand kata to practice for the rest of your life.

2. Choose one, and only one martial arts movie to watch for the rest of your life.

3. Choose one, and only one weapon to study for the rest of your life.

4. Choose one, and only one martial arts book to read for the rest of your life.

And, just when you thought you had enough, the judge pushes you into a time machine and states:

5. Choose one, and only one martial artist throughout history that you'd like to study with for a year!

Fate has been cruel, but record your answers in the comments below!

Lurkers (people who read blog posts but tend not to comment), this is a good chance for you to make an appearance. Let me know your thoughts! And you commenters who I haven't seen in awhile, get back in here. You're going to make me squeeze out a single tear if you stay M.I.A. for much longer. Also if you are a fellow blogger, feel free to use this concept if you need a little something for your blog today.