Privacy Policy

Seishin-Kan Privacy Information

We value the trust you place in the Seishin-Kan, so we have developed this written Privacy Policy to help you better understand the safeguards we provide for any information you furnish us during your visit, as well as the privacy risks you may be taking when you use our website. Please take a few moments to read this Privacy Policy statement in its entirety. Afterward, if you have any questions, concerns, or comments, please e-mail us so that we can answer them for you.  Below are shortcuts to the major contents of this policy:

n Overview
n General Privacy Information
n Information We Collect
n Our Use of Information About You
n Our Disclosure of Information About You
n Your Use of Information About Others
n Reviewing and Changing Information About You
n Security of Information About You
n Miscellaneous

Overview

We realize that our visitors are either members of the Seishin-Kan or prospective members, so we care about your privacy and strongly desire to maintain your trust. The members' area of our  website serves in large part as a community, giving you the opportunity to interact with other martial artists through our message boards, discussion forums, and online Learning Center. The messages you leave can therefore be viewed by all other members, and while we have made reasonable efforts to reduce the risk of unscrupulous viewers misusing the information you post in the message boards, that risk does still exist.

For members and non-members alike, we offer opportunities for you to purchase products, submit news and events for public posting, or apply for Seishin-Kan membership on this site, so we have also taken certain precautions to protect the privacy of the information you submit while making purchases or applying for membership.

We believe that understanding both our precautions and the limitations of those precautions will help you to exercise sound judgment in the protection of your privacy. Therefore, in this document we provide a thorough description of our privacy measures and practices to help you understand how to best protect yourself. In the best traditions of martial arts and self-defense, you should carefully read this Privacy Policy.

This Policy applies only to services provided and information collected on this Seishin-Kan website. It does not apply to the policies and practices of any other sites or vendors to which we link from this site, or whose services we may use in providing services to you.

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General Privacy Information

Our Core Principles. We do not sell or rent any information collected on this site to anyone for any purpose. We are a martial arts organization; not an e-commerce site. The limited selection of products we sell are made available as a convenience and service to our members and visitors, and are only incidental to our primary purpose of keeping our members and prospective members informed about the activities of the Seishin-Kan and the organizations with which are are affiliated (the Jikishin-Kai, etc.). We do not maintain mailing lists of visitors or purchasers for purposes of solicitation, nor do we make unsolicited contacts with our visitors or purchasers. We only call, write, or e-mail those who have specifically requested that we do so, or who have purchased or requested a service requiring that we do so. Similarly, we post in public areas of this site only that information that the visitor, purchaser, or member has specifically authorized us in writing to post -- such as discussion posts, news events, etc.   We do maintain a mailing list of our members, and we periodically communicate news, events, and special offers to those members, but these are communications they have expressly authorized by applying for membership.

Special Note About Children. While we encourage children to visit our site for the purpose of learning about traditional Japanese martial arts, we do not want minors (under the age of 18) applying for membership or making purchases without the specific knowledge and consent of their parents or legal guardians. We specifically ask that minors not submit ANY personal information to us, such as contact addresses or phone numbers, when posting in our message boards and discussion forums. We urge minors to exercise extreme caution when posting information in this or any other Internet site. If you are a minor, please obtain the prior approval of your parents or guardians for all activities you undertake on this site -- which is nothing more than the courtesy and respect that is befitting a martial artist. Parent, please understand that we do not have the means to determine if your children have obtained your permission to use our website or to make purchases with your credit cards, so we cannot be held responsible for minors who use their parents credit cards make postings on our website without without their parents' knowledge or consent.

Unregistered Guests. Although access to the Learning Center and discussion boards is limited to "members only", you must bear in mind that people do not always protect their login and password information as they should.  Furthermore, hackers have proven themselves capable of accessing even highly secure government websites, let alone our website which maintains only moderate levels of security.  This means that it is impossible to prevent all unwanted access to the members' area of this site -- especially by those who might visit with criminal intent. We therefore advise all users to exercise caution when posting personal information. Think of it this way: do not post any information on this or any other web site that you would not want a burglar or child molester to know. For your own protection, you should assume that criminals will visit this and any other publicly accessible web site for the purpose of gathering information about potential victims. We therefore urge you strongly not to post information about your address, vacation schedule, daily habits, or other information a criminal could use to victimize you.

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Information We Collect

Membership Information. If you apply for membership, we will collect information about you and your martial arts experiences using an online registration form. This form is transmitted to us through our online store, which is a secure (SSL) service, so the information will be as secure as any other online store. The vendor that provides our online "shopping cart" service does NOT submit your credit card information to us with your application.  This was a deliberate choice on our part to ensure that no one in our organization will ever have direct access to your credit card information.   Furthermore, we never request your social security or driver's license information as part of our membership or purchasing applications. These practices are a vital part of our effort to maintain the security of your personal information.

Cookies and IP Addresses. We do not use cookies or capture the IP addresses of our visitors -- at least not in a way that is accessible to Seishin-Kan people. It is possible that our hosting service uses co0kies or your IP address in their management of our site, but if they do the information is not provided to us.  On our message boards and discussion forums, we have deliberately disabled these features in order to safeguard your privacy. As our site grows in complexity and sophistication, we might find it helpful -- even necessary -- to use cookies to store information to help visitors navigate the site. If this occurs, we will clearly describe such use here in the Privacy Policy. Similarly, if and when we develop "members only" sections of the site, it may be necessary to incorporate the use of cookies and/or capturing IP addresses to facilitate the use of passwords for access to restricted areas. Those members to whom this will apply will be notified before any such use occurs.

Purchases, Sales and Other Services. We do not store any of the information gathered from you during purchases or membership application on the web server.  Membership and shipping information is stored only on an offline computer, so that it cannot be access through the website.  

Referral Information. We do not use any electronic means to track how you were referred to our site from another web site or search engine, nor do we track any websites you visit prior or subsequent to visiting the Seishin-Kan. If we decide we would like this information to help determine our search engine popularity or link popularity, we will ask you for it in some form of survey, so that you can decide if you are willing to let us have this information -- and if you do provide it to us it will be strictly voluntarily. It is possible, however, that the company that provides our hosting service (Hostmonster) does track this type of information to help manage the traffic of the many websites they host.  If you are concerned about this, we encourage you to contact Hostmonster directly about it.

Our Use of Information About You

Our Services. We use any information you provide us solely to facilitate services you specifically request or shipment of products you purchase. We may also use this information to track shipments you have requested, and to follow-up to confirm delivery and/or your satisfaction with those products or services. Once a particular transaction is complete, we make no further use of this information. Unless you are a member of the Seishin-Kan, we do not use your purchase information to solicit additional purchases, or place you on any mailing lists -- even our own -- without your specific consent.

Future Services. We may use your information to improve our marketing and promotional efforts, to statistically analyze site usage, to improve our content and product offerings, or to improve and enhance our site's content, layout, features, and services. All such use, however, will be strictly within the Seishin-Kan. We will not divulge any personal information about you to any third party assisting us with web design or web development without your prior expressed consent. We will restrict such information only to generalized statistical or demographic information about our customers, visitors, and/or members as a whole and not reveal individual information.

Marketing. We do not use your information to notify you of new products, features, or events, unless you specifically request or authorize us to do so, or unless you are a Seishin-Kan member -- in which case you gave us this authorization when applying for membership.

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Our Disclosure of Information About You

Purchasers. If you participate in a purchase or membership transaction, you will receive a third party's invoice, and you may receive follow-up or confirmation information from the Seishin-Kan. If you apply for membership, you will be assigned a membership number and/or User ID for use in all communication related to your membership. You will receive additional communication from us regarding all membership privileges, events, and opportunities, as well as notifications regarding expiration and/or renewal of your membership.

Postings to Message Boards, Etc.  All other Seishin-Kan members, as well as anyone who obtains access to a member's login information can view information you post in any of our guest books, message boards, discussion forums, or the online Learning Center -- including your name and your email address if you post them. For this reason, posting your name, e-mail address, or other personal information is strictly optional in all of the visitor and member messaging sections of our website. You do not have to post any personal information in order to use these services.  In fact, our message boards permit you to use avatars to protect your identity if you we.  We recommend that your exercise good judgment and caution in posting personal information in order to prevent unscrupulous visitors from misusing such information, and we especially recommend that all minors using our website use avatars and refrain from posting any information that might allow someone to locate them.

Investigations. We will disclose any information in our records about you to law enforcement, other government officials, or third parties only upon service of a legally binding warrant, subpoena, or other due process of law that requires us to do so. We will not disclose any such information unless legally required to do so, or unless you specifically direct or authorize us to do so.

Contractors and Third Party Service Providers. As previously explained, we use third-party vendors to assist us in providing certain services to members and purchasers. Only that information that is specifically required in order for them to provide services you have authorized, requested, or purchased will be divulged to any of these vendors. Usually these vendors will enter into an agreement that places restrictive provisions on their use and disclosure of all information they obtain through the relationship. We also use third party service providers to help with certain aspects of our operations that may require disclosure of your personal information to them. Most of these service providers, like billing services, the U.S. Postal Service, or transportation companies are prohibited from selling or disclosing your personally identifiable information to others.

The Corporate Family. We have no parent company, per se. We are affiliated with the Jikishin-Kai International (JKI), the Nippon Karate-dō Kai, the Dai Nippon Butoku-Kai, and the Kokusai Okinawa Kobujutsu Renmei, but we will share with them only that information about you that you authorize in writing.  Seishin-Kan members, for example, are usually also members of one or more of these associations for whom we act as their local or regional representative.

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Your Use of Information About Others

Discussion Forums and Message Boards. You are not permitted to use or sell any information about other visitors that you view on this web site. You are not to solicit from visitors to this site, either on this site or by private communication, nor are you permitted to sell information about other users and visitors.  Violation of this provision could not only result in your being banned from the site and/or having your membership canceled without refund, but also in legal action being taken against you by any aggrieved parties.

Spam. We and our users do not tolerate spam. Therefore, without limiting the foregoing, you are not permitted to add any user to any mailing list (email or physical mail) without their expressed consent after adequate disclosure.

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Reviewing and Changing Information About You

Personal Information.  We allow you to review and change the personal information you provide to us in connection with membership or any purchase you make. You have the ability to choose whether you wish to receive subsequent promotional communication from us. You agree to keep your information as current as possible and agree not to provide us with falsified or fraudulent information.

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Security of Information About You

Data and Server Security. We make reasonable efforts and follow industry best practices to safeguard the confidentiality of each user's personal information. We use third party billing services to ensure that all credit card information you submit is encrypted through secure server software (SSL).  This information is never divulged to us by those third parties.  We also use only vendors whom we believe to be reliable.  When you conduct a transaction on our site, we request only the information needed to complete the transaction you are requesting through unencrypted means. Despite our best precautions, however, "absolute 100%" security does not exist on the Internet and cannot be guaranteed. Therefore you should not expect that your information will never be accidentally disclosed or wrongfully accessed by criminals.

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Miscellaneous

Your Use of E-mail. We provide you with many opportunities to contact us via e-mail. Certain information in our online forms are also submitted to us by e-mail using a link that activates the e-mail software on your computer. If you use these services, your name and e-mail address will be submitted to us in the e-mail. We do not store in an easily-retrievable way the e-mail addresses of people who contact us or submit orders and membership applications. As a protection for you, this information is not stored on our web site, nor on the server that hosts our web site. Nevertheless, you should not assume that e-mails or forms sent through these features are totally inaccessible. Unencrypted e-mails can be intercepted by unscrupulous individuals who possess the necessary software, and certain government agencies do routinely scan e-mail for evidence of illegal activities.

Other Information. You may provide us and we may receive other personally identifiable information that is not contemplated in this Policy. For example, we may receive information from a vendor or another website user regarding you. As you would expect, we will treat that information under the same principles as this Policy, and make reasonable efforts to safeguard your privacy to the same extent as if you had submitted the information to us yourself.

Limits on Our Abilities. While it is our desire and intention to run our service perfectly to ensure your satisfaction, neither people nor technology are ever perfect. We may make inadvertent uses and disclosures of your information in ways not described in this Policy. For example, if our site is infected with a virus, your personal information could be displayed or e-mailed to others without our knowledge. As our website grows and as we develop new services for our members and visitors, we may also make uses of your information in ways we had not contemplated previously, nor described in this Policy statement. We will, however, always do our best to maintain your privacy and promptly correct any errors we make. Your sole remedy in case of our error is to have us try to fix the problem as soon as we possibly can and/or to remove your personal information from our site.

Password and Identity Control. Except as specifically permitted by this Section, you may not disclose your membership number, or any password or authenticating information to any third parties nor share it with any third parties. If you lose control over your membership number or password, you may lose substantial control over your personally identifiable information and may be subject to legally binding actions taken on your behalf by those in possession of this information. In addition, those in possession of your login information could use that information to illicitly access information about other users of this website.  Therefore, if your identifying information has been compromised in any way or for any reason, you should immediately contact us and request that it be changed.

Third Party Collection. Except as otherwise expressly discussed in this Policy, this document only addresses the use and disclosure of information the Seishin-Kan itself collects from you. To the extent that you disclose your information to other parties in the course of making transactions with us, different rules may apply to the use or disclosure of the personal information you disclose to those third parties. Since we do not control the privacy policies of third parties, you are subject to the privacy customs and policies they establish. We strongly encourage you to ask questions of all such third parties before you disclose your personal information to them.


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Privacy Questions?

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If this did not answer your questions or concerns about our privacy policy and the types of information we may collect about you, please be sure to email us and we will promptly address your concerns.

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