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The Rams vs Bears was another back and forth game. That last TD for the Bears was the Rams secondary to force the PAT for going to OT. Rams get the coin toss but turn over on downs. Then the Bears drive but their red-zone failed. Rams drive to get to FG range and Mevis, the Rams place kicker, who wears number 92, a number usually reserved for linemen, known as The Thicker Kicker, biggest place kicker I’ve ever seen splits the uprights for the win!! With Nix out, I don’t see the Broncos beating the Patriots. As far as the Seahawks vs Rams, I just don’t want to see my friends Seahawks go to the SB, let alone win the SB. So I’m supporting the Rams in that one just like I did today because my friend, Dwight, didn’t want his Seahawks to meet the Rams. I always call his Seahawks, the buzzards, and Dwight always calls my Cowboys, Cowgirls. I told him that if the buzzards make it to the SB, I’ll not call the Seahawks buzzards for 1 year. But if the buzzards win the SB, I’ll not call the Seahawks buzzards for 2 years…I’ll call them the Seahawks!! I see Patriots vs Rams in SB LX with the Rams winning SB LX. Of course I don’t care for any of those teams anyway because I’m a Cowboys fan, which means I’ve lost my mind.

It was snowing in New England and snowing harder in Chicago, so we get two snow football games today! The Rams and Bears are at halftime, tied at 10. This game looks like it could go down to the wire. It is 18 degrees in Chicago, so the weather could play a factor late in the game. Edit: The Rams and Bears are in overtime. You have to see this to believe it. Second edit: The Rams have won 20-17 in overtime and will visit Seattle on Sunday. The Bears scored a TD with 18 seconds left in regulation to get to overtime, but the same Caleb Williams who made an amazing play to get the late TD throws a pick in OT and the Rams go down the field to win it. The NFL final four is set. Patriots at Broncos - 3pm EST on CBS Rams at Seahawks - 6:30pm EST on FOX

For sure. The Patriots defense destroyed CJ Stroud and Justin Herbert. The Broncos will be starting Jarrett Stidham, a former Patriot who was backing up Tom Brady. Broncos can win this game with defense and not turning the ball over on offense.

I thought for sure that this game would’ve been closer than it was. Patriots win over the Texans 28-16. Patriots advance to the AFC Championship game against the hosting Broncos. With Nix out, the Broncos will have an uphill battle!!

It's snowing in New England, and the Houston offense is struggling. Four first half turnovers for the Texans and the Patriots lead 21-10 at the half. The Texans defense has been able to keep them in the game, but they better stop throwing interceptions of they have no chance to win. Edit: I don't know if you want to call it great defense or sloppy offense, but the Patriots and Texans combined for eight turnovers, five by Houston, and the Patriots win the game 28-16. They now will visit Denver next Sunday. Patriots are in their 16th AFC Championship Game, while the Texans remain the only active NFL franchise to never play in a conference title game, and the four teams that have never played in the Super Bowl (Texans, Jaguars, Browns, Lions) will not play in it this year either. Rams and Bears kicking off in a few minutes!

I just yell, “DIE!” Multi syllable utterances just don’t make sense, plus there’s also the psychological impact.

I had been doing Shotokan for five years when I joined the Army and got stationed to a karate desert in Colorado. The only thing nearby was the on-post karate school taught by a Special Forces guy (Skip Ettinger) who spent five years in Viet Nam and then became a live-in student at the Seibukan dojo in Okinawa for five years (and even married Chotoku Kyan’s granddaughter). Seibukan is strange compared to almost every other style I have ever seen: deep square stances, high cat stances, few front stances, weird knife-hands where both hands move in the same direction, and the first kata you learn is Seisan (Hangetsu) which is probably the 10th kata you’d learn in Shotokan. Even until today it still kinda weirds me out that was a part of something so eccentric. But, it was easy to adapt to and I learned to enjoy it, eventually. The class entered several local competitions and we always did extremely well. I still cannot understand why. It’s rather hard and slow hard to move in square stances. In kata, it’s fine, but I was expecting the other students to get absolutely crushed in kumite, but they always excelled to my astonishment. The first tournament I participated in, I completely left out a huge section of the kata by accident and still won first place. I think other students may have tested, but after a couple of months, the instructor just tossed me a green belt in class, then about four or five months later in class he tossed me a brown belt. Skip was quiet but charismatic. He could really hold a club together. Almost every weekend, practically the whole class would go out dancing and partying together. Never saw anything like it.

Well, some Divisional NFL games today, January 18, 2025… The 14-3 Patriots host the 12-5 Texans for the AFC Divisional Playoff, kickoff at 12:00 noon pacific time on ABC. It appears that both teams are an equal across the board with the Patriots are slightly favored to win: Patriots 50.9% and Texans 49.1%. Should be a barn burner of a game. The 11-6 Bears host the 12-5 Rams for the NFC Divisional Playoff, kickoff at 3:30pm pacific time on NBC. This game has the Rams as the heavy favorite to win. Rams 61.3% and Bears 38.7%. Might be a lopsided game; like the 49ers and Seahawks game was. One never really knows the outcome of any predictions because predictions are just that…an educated guess. On another note…How will the Broncos fair in their upcoming AFC Divisional Championship game with QB Nix out with a broken ankle on the second to last play in OT in a QB sweep to the left that ended up being a 2 yard loss. Nix will have surgery this Tuesday.

Looks like you are in a Shotokan desert, too. Heck, I’d be happy to find ANY kind of just plain old decent traditional Japanese or Okinawan karate in my area. Looks like you are in the same boat.

The Raiders are my wife’s problem and the Cowboys are mine…makes me sick. I agree!! That Toronto game was a great win from the comeback; 3 goals in the 3rd quarter was nice…so was the OT win!! GO KNIGHTS!! Knights update: Knights defeated the Predators for their 7th straight win. Predators were favored for the win by 52%. Knights will host the Flyers this Monday; puck drop at 5pm. Even though the Knights have won 7 games straight, let’s see what happens after the All-Star break.

Quite a fantastic post; I always enjoy reading your posts!! You sure don’t need to apologize for not posting in awhile because real life has priority. Your thoughtfulness is always appreciated. Zach going into high school is quite exciting for sure. My high school days are far behind me but my high school days weren’t always fun. My kids, who are all grown up with their own families was great all the way around. Our son Nathan was a star in high school and our daughter Krystal loved playing the flute in high school. We lived in Oklahoma back then and that’s why I hate snow. Glad that Zach and you are still training in the martial arts. Good luck with you Sandan Testing Cycle in May!! You both are turning out to be effective MAists across the board. Your other travels and your blade smithing are exciting to read about. I’ve never been to a NHL game and I’m all thumbs whenever it comes to things like gardening or carpentry or things like that because I can’t draw a straight line at all. I’m sure Zach will understand when you miss his scouting class/events. Just remember, 7 times down, 8 times up; that’s the MA way!!

Yes…The Broncos vs Bills was one fight to the very end!! Poor Broncos lost their starting QB Bo Nix for the playoffs because he broke his ankle…OUCH!! 49ers vs Seahawks was a BLOWOUT from the start with the Seahawks winning 41-6. Seahawks face the winner of the Rams vs Bears next Sunday for the NFC Championship Title. Isn’t football fun!?!

A wild game in Denver to kick off the weekend. The Bills lead the Broncos 27-23 late in the 4th, but the Broncos scored a TD with 0:55 seconds left to take a 30-27 lead. However, the 55 seconds was enough time for Josh Allen to get the team down into FG range, and a 50-yard FG with seconds left to tie it at 30 and send the game to overtime. In overtime Josh Allen throws a pick, one of five Buffalo turnovers, and the Broncos get the ball, a couple of penalties go their way, and kick a FG to win it 33-30. The Broncos are onto the AFC Championship Game for the first time in a decade, and do it winning yet another close game, something they have done all year. For Josh Allen, the Bills, and their fans, the 2025 season ends with yet another brutal, devastation, and heartbreaking postseason loss. Edit: Once again, I look like a fool trying to predict NFL games. I guessed both #1 seeds would lose today, and they both won. The second game was not close; the Seahawks flushed the 49ers 41-6 ending San Fran's hope of hosting a home SB game, at least for this year. Just a quick piece of sports trivia, two teams have hosted the SB in their home stadium, the Bucs and the Rams, and both won. They were SB 55 and 56, so for 54 years no team had one it, then it happened two years in a row. Anyway... Two more games on Sunday to decide the NFL final four.

Well @sensei8 the Raiders had a terrible season, but your Golden Knights are playing well right now. They are in first place in their division and have a six-game winning streak steak going.

It has been a ... little while since I last posted in here. Life has been pretty darned hectic, trying to keep up with family life, work life, martial arts life, and posting in here. Fortunately, the martial arts life hasn't suffered, but keeping up with this thread sadly has. I have continued to train in Uechi-Ryu and kobudo as often as my other commitments allow, and I have also continued to teach almost every week. Zach is preparing to enter high school, so it seems that there's always some new event associated with that to go to. Last night it was an introduction to the different classes and "pathways" he can take at his high school. Fortunately, the high school is less than a mile from our house, so unless the weather is absolutely awful, we shouldn't ever have to drive him to/from school. Here in Colorado, we have a "choice of school" system, where you have the school you are zoned for, but you can actually select any school within the school district. We have several excellent schools that are options (including the one he picked), so unfortunately some of his friends may be going to a different school. Fortunately, many of them are going to the same school At the beginning of this year, I made several resolutions. The first one is to be more consistent in my training - not just in martial arts, but also getting into better shape overall. As I get older, I find that if I take any significant time off (more than a week), it takes a REALLY long time to get back to where I was. This kicks in especially hard if I spend any time at sea level. Back in October I took a trip to see the St Louis Blues (ice hockey team) play their home opener. We got a hotel within walking distance of the arena, and I had the opportunity to show Tracy and Zach some of the places I really enjoyed growing up. The pre-game festivities were a lot of fun, and I got a couple autographs from some of the Blues' alumni. Unfortunately the Blues just flat out got blown away in the game, but everything else was fun. Well, while I was there, I went to visit a Uechi-Ryu Kenyukai (different organization) dojo and both Zach and I had the opportunity to train with them for a day. I got some very good and pointed feedback on my rank kata. Some of the feedback was specific to the Kenyukai organization, but I found all of it quite valuable and insightful. I've had a couple promotions in Kobudo, and most of all I'm finding my technique improving substantially. The key improvement I think I've found is that I'm more able to activate my hips when wielding the tonkua, and that is helping me with the other weapons - bo and sai mainly. I'm also finding that there are lessons from kobudo that translate directly to Uechi-Ryu - after all, karate and kobudo were developed alongside each other, so the lessons in one often apply to the other. I've also continued to progress in my bladesmithing/weaponsmithing. Over the holidays I took a class for a kitchen knife (they're a LOT harder than they look) which turned out amazing, and last week I made an arming sword. The kitchen knife class was very well-run and I am delighted with the result. The arming sword class taught me a LOT about consistency, both with the forging and the grinding. I still have some work to finish out on the arming sword, but once I get that finished, I'll be posting the pictures here. Lastly, I just got the news that I'll be testing for sandan this May, and (assuming I pass), I should also receive my Shidoin license. Just in the past few months I've started to feel pretty confident in my Kanchin kata (required for 3rd degree) enough to ask for help in fine-tuning it. So I'll need to make a point in getting to the advanced adult class more often. This will also mean skipping some of Zach's Scout activities, but that's why we have a 2 parent team here. I promise the next update won't be NEARLY as far off as this one was...

I hope you’re right because it sure didn’t work out to good for the iconic Pete Carroll.

I consider ukemi to be one of the absolutely most important lessons I ever learned in martial arts. It literally saved my life once. About 15 years ago, I was visiting family near Aspen, CO. I was carrying a large box in both hands on an icy patch of ground. My feet slipped out from underneath me, and I went from vertical to horizontal in an instant. If I had not known instinctively to land flat on my back with my chin tucked firmly to my chest, I would likely not be here today.

I’m not all way to familiar with it, Real American Freestyle, other than what I’ve read about it, like, it was founded in August 2025, and one of the founders was Hulk Hogan. It might catch one depending on how it’s marketed.

This came up once and our instructor said that he teaches his students everything he knows, rank appropriate of course. He said "any instructor that does not teach their students everything they know is cheating both the students, and the art." Not saying I agree or disagree, but that was his take on it.

What are your thoughts on RAF? There are a lot more eyes on it recently since some UFC fighters have been competing. I do not know anything about wrestling; I guess this is a different style than college wrestling.

At the risk of making a fool of myself, I am going to post some predictions for this weekend. I predict that the Rams will beat the Bears. I hope the Bears win, but the Rams have been my pick to win it all since August, so I am sticking with them as long as they are still in it. I do like Matt Stafford though and would be fine with him winning another ring, so either way it's OK. Then I am going to predict that the Bills go into Denver and beat the Broncos. Denver has won a lot of close games this year, and I question just how good the team really is. One of the things that makes the NFL so tough to predict is the lack of games. In a 17-game season, teams that are pretenders can look a lot better than they are. Is Denver that team? Also, don't get too focused on them having a bye week. There are many examples of teams over the years who get that first round bye then come out flat and lose on their home field, such as the Lions last season. This will be the Broncos toughest test yet. I know the Broncos have been great on defense. I know the Bills are banged up. I am going with the Bills. Then I am picking the 49ers to win in Seattle. This is the pick I have the least amount of confidence in, but I am just going with my gut. I am picking both #1 seeds to lose. The 49ers are banged up, and probably should not win this game in Seattle, but again, I am going with my gut. The only home team I am picking this week is the Patriots over the Texans. The Patriots defense last week was impressive, and so was Drake Maye. Good news for the Patriots is the Diggs hearing has been pushed back to after the Super Bowl. It's divisional round weekend, one of the best sports weekends of the year. Hope you enjoy it.

Harbaugh is now the new head coach of the New York Giants. A smart hire by the Giants, maybe he can turn that struggling franchise around. Giants have had three losing seasons in a row, and a combined 7 wins the last two years. Their last division title was in 2011. Harbaugh was arguably the most accomplished coach on the market this season. He won a SB with the Ravens in 2012, and his teams were often in the thick of if it, getting into the playoffs including a few AFC Championship Game appetences.

Our CI thinks of the curriculum as a menu. You present the whole menu to your students, and then they can pick and choose what items off the menu really speak to them. However, as an instructor, it is his (and my) responsibility to present the entire menu to his students. The official, tested curriculum has changed very little in the 8 years that I have been training. There are a few small items that have been added that were in response to COVID (set sparring combinations to give students a primer when we couldn't actually touch our opponents). Also some small items have changed in terms of execution. However, the on-paper requirements are the same. I will say that things have evolved a bit here and there. Every so often, our CI will visit Okinawa or a seminar, and find out that the grandmasters of the various organizations have changed something. For example, at one point one of our drills was performed with the flat fist (seiken-tsuki). Then suddenly it changed to a leopard-fist (hiraken-tsuki). No explanation as to why, but it was just different. These changes are sometimes specific to one organization within Uechi-Ryu, and sometimes they are across all organizations. In any case, our karate slowly evolves over time.

While my Cowboys aren’t in search for a new HC, they’re seriously looking for a new DC coach. Here’s what’s going on to fill that coaching position per Yahoo Sports… The Cowboys have requested permission to interview Minnesota defensive pass game coordinator Daronte Jones, Denver assistant HC/pass game coordinator Jim Leonhard and Browns safeties coach Ephraim Banda. Dallas was denied permission to speak to Jeff Ulbrich for the DC position by Atlanta as he remains under contract to the team for now. The first round of interviews will begin on Friday as Dallas is set to speak with Daronte Jones and Ephraim Band. They reportedly will speak with Jim Leonhard on Saturday. The Cowboys are set to interview defensive line coach Aaron Whitecotton. Dallas will reportedly interview former Cardinals head coach Jonathan Gannon as well as former Ravens defensive coordinator Zach Orr. Nick Harris listed Chuck Pagano (former Colts head coach) and Jonathan Cooley (Panthers passing game coordinator) as names to watch. Dallas is reportedly requesting permission to interview Eagles defensive backs coach and passing-game coordinator Christian Parker. The Cowboys have reportedly requested an interview with Charlie Bullen, the Giants outside linebackers coach who served as their interim defensive coordinator down the stretch after they fired Shane Bowen. Jonathan Gannon (fired by the Cardinals), Jeff Ulbrich (former Falcons coordinator and Raheem Morris was fired there), and Mike Rutenberg (was also a part of Atlanta's staff). Brian Flores (finished the season as the Vikings defensive coordinator but was in the final year of his contract) was noted as someone to watch. Imho, it’s true that coaches jobs are a dime a dozen, so it seems, but while the blame for a questionable season lies on the shoulders of the coaching staff, the players themselves must share the burden because they have to execute the plays no matter how good or bad the play call might be. GO COWBOYS!!

Thanks for this information, I will probably get some as well.