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Congrats!

All true, would be a massive risk. If Dak was on mid tier money then fair enough they could likely balance it out (that in essence is the whole point of a salary cap after all). But (i think) he gets top tier money and i don't think he is on that level personally so i think they are overpaying for him. In my head the top tier is Mahomes, Allen, Jackson and Burrow and he shouldn't be on what they are on. While i know the QB is always highly paid due to the job he just isn't that level and i think he has been in the league long enough to know how good he is. He actually reminds me a little of Romo in that way: a good QB but not quite great enough to win a SB without a lot of help, and Dak takes enough money that it is hard to get a strong enough supporting cast around him to provide that help

Congrats @wagnerk!

@DarthPenguin, the other problem is evaluating what a rookie QB might or might not be. If you let someone like Dak go, who's shown that he can compete in the league, to take a chance on a QB that has never played in the league before, it's a pretty big risk. Especially when a coach might not get 2 years to prove he can put a winning team on the field. The issue with tanking is I think the NFL has some rules in place to prohibit that. Besides, look at a team like the Jets that has spent a number of years at the bottom of the league, and had a number of early first round QBs drafted, all for naught. I also think that Cowboys have enough draft capital that they wouldn't necessarily have to tank in order to move up and get a QB if there was one they liked.

I got a chuckle out of moring news just the other morning when it was reported that the Raiders are now out of the playoff hunt. What do they mean ‘now’?? Raiders, imho, had been out of the playoff hunt for sometimes now. It gets worse for the Raiders as they now have to host the Broncos. Then they go in the road to face the Eagles, followed by the Texans. Then they return home to end the season with the Giants followed by the Chiefs; to me, that’s nothing but bad news for the Raiders!! My Cowboys are still in the hunt for making it to the playoffs. Whooping big deal!! As long as Dak remains as the starting QB, the Cowboys will always be a one-out in the playoffs, if they ever make it to the playoffs. Cowboys remaining schedule has the Cowboys on the road to face the Lions. Then they return home to host the Vikings, then the Rams. Then the Cowboys go on the road to close out the season against the Commanders, then the Giants. Not an easy task for my Cowboys. Cowboys maybe in the hunt but that’s about it. History has an ugly way of repeating itself!! GO COWBOYS!!

4th time!! That’s not an accident!! Wagnerk’s contributions are undeniable at KF. Congrats @wagnerk; well deserved!!

I got through half of it on Netflix last night. I'm seeing a lot of echoes of the original and the Cobra Kai series, which is to be expected. A bit of a stretch to work in Jackie Chan, but I'll look forward to surprises in what seems like a predictable story line when I finish it up.

If you haven't voted yet, please do! Thanks.

Hello, Thank you for visiting KarateForums.com. We recognize one member every month as the KarateForums.com Member of the Month for their positive contributions to this community. Our honoree this time is... @wagnerk (for the 4th time)! Thank you for being a part of this community for so long, Ken! 2026 will mark your 20th year here, which is just incredible. Patrick

All valid points, though in my mind it is similar to the Bucs letting Dungy go and picking up Gruden to get them over the hump for the superbowl. Or the Packers transitioning from Favre to Rodgers (Favre was still a quality QB), the 49ers from Montana (who was still good at the Chiefs) to Steve Young etc. Having a decent but not great QB in Dak means the Cowboys can draft a decent QB (not the np.1 pick obviously) with a tonne of upside and coach them in their system for a year or two and then give them the keys. Ideally like Jordan Love at the Packers. Or if they get crazy lucky they get someone like Purdy (or Brady back in the day) who is drafted low, doesn't cost much, but is good enough to play and then lets them spend money on the other parts of the team. Could also make the argument that sometimes (in North American sports - it doesn't really apply to European sports without salary caps) a rebuild is what is needed to improve the team. Consistently finishing with a decent record and mid to late round draft pics means the foundations don't really improve. A rebuild where they tank for a year or two and draft some top talent has been proven to work in Basebell (and the NBA to an extent). It is a risk but it gives the potential of a top tier talent, plus the Cowboys are such a big name and Jones is usually a willing spender to worst case they can always get in a decent free agent or two if worried! I do agree that jettisoning Dak is a big risk but i personally think it is the only way the Cowboys will win the SB in the near future (this is going to come back to haunt me i know!)

Ok, then, what's the solution? I hear lots of people say these kinds of things, but what's the solution? Only one team a year wins the Super Bowl. Do you let a guy like Dak go and take a chance on a rookie? Or go get another veteran that also hasn't won a Super Bowl? Only 2 QBs have won a Super Bowl in the last 5 years. Go get one of those guys? Nope, they're already signed. So now you look at the next tier. Josh Allen? He's won as many as Dak has, but can the Cowboys get him? Doubt it, he's signed for the long-term, too. Joe Burrow? Signed up to be in Cincy. Matthew Stafford? Looks like he could play til he's 40...with the Rams. Lamar Jackson? Not available. You see what I mean? Easy to say, hard to do. Those resources are limited. So, I ask again, should Dallas cut Dak and try to find the next best thing?

I think it would be an interesting criteria to add to an existing testing to see what the student can do, how it would differ, what the focus would be, etc. If they asked for something like that to replace the testing, I would say no. To do it as a supplement to the same test, sure. Seeing how students grow and evolve is the fun part of teaching.

12/1/2025 Heavy Bag Workout: 8 rounds, 1:20/1:00. 2 rounds orthodox boxing. 2 rounds southpaw boxing. 2 rounds kicking focus. 2 rounds speed bag. PNF stretching in The Rack. My last round of southpaw came after the last round of kicking focus. I thought I got the two rounds done, but I saw I still had an odd number of rounds left. I must have left it out, so did it after the kicking rounds were done.

Thank you @wagnerk!

That's interesting that your hands are in the guard position in your katas prior to striking, yet you use the pulling hand in the two-person drills. I do think the applications make more sense in the two-person drills, and if you are constantly grabbing and pulling on someone, the need to explain it is kind of moot. But to not see it replicated in the forms is interesting.

This got me thinking quite a bit -- we don't frequently pull hikite in Uechi-Ryu. For example, our kata generally start with the hands in a guard position, we chamber the strike, execute the strike, and then return to the guard position. We do pull hikite in some of our two-person drills, when we execute a sequence of strikes. However, it's sufficiently uncommon that we don't explain the "why"; we just do it. However, in thinking about the reasons you posted, several of them come to mind -- specifically the grabbing and pulling your opponent, and also activating the hips. IMO these both go hand in hand for us. We are taught that when we receive a strike, we should grab it, pull it (to disrupt the opponent), and this also activates the hips to prime the counterstrike.

Congrats on the 6th Kyu, and good luck for 5th

I don't find the question bizarre, it's very intriguing and thought provoking. At first impression, I thought maybe this student has an ego trip going on, and is looking for an opportunity to show off a bit. I may be generalizing, but I think a lot of martial arts teaching and ranking is about "practice-this-and-this", then there's a test where they tell you, "do this and this." How often does a student, even an advanced practitioner, get asked, "OK, let's see what you've got. Show me something, freestyle it, draw on what you know, in the moment". I have to wonder, how many would struggle to think of something?

Why would a student want to do that in the first place?? Especially a student with 20 years MA experience?!? Offensive?? No. Students initiative?? Depends. Waste of time?? Not exactly. Count for rank?? No. Insulting Student Body?? No. Students, imho, should never assume a position that they don’t possess. Said student came to me for training; I didn’t come to that student. The proof is on the floor. If a student has 20 years experience in the MA, that student won’t have to suggest anything to me because I’ll know it quite clearly. Proof is on the floor, and the floor reveals everything. If warranted, I’d consider said rank that I believe would be most appropriate for that student. After that, I do not bargain any Testing Cycle because no student is greater than the floor and the floor is where the Testing Cycle starts and ends.

I've had it with Dan Campbell and this stupid 4th down garbage. Kick the field goal.

Hi to all, bizzare question here. How would you look or feel about a student wanting to offer a specific presentation of their skills based on what you taught them and their own interpretation of it. Student has very good understanding of Martial Arts and combat with over 20 years of experience in various arts. Not the curriculum stuff that is to be regurgitated for basically confirming one can copy paste what they were shown. Would you consider this offensive? Would you appreciate the initiative? Would you find it a waste of time? Would you make it count towards actual ranking? Would you find it insulting towards the other students that do follow curriculum by the book? As ultimately a test is to confirm that the student has understood the material. Now if we want them to teach exactly how we teach I would see that it is important they stick to curriculum. If the goal is to pass on knowledge for them to live with then their adaptation and understanding would be preffered. I post here as it relates to testing but it does relate to Karate as the situation is in a Karate context. Thank you

All true but usually when it is one of the teams winning with a worse QB (eg some of the Ravens teams, the Gruden Bucs) the gameplan relies on something else such as a dominant running game and/or defence. For the Cowboys they seem to place a lot on his shoulders and he, in my view, isn't good enough to deal with the required level of play to win a championship in that structure. I do agree that if he had been on the 49ers superbowl team etc. then yeah he might have won!

The problem is, there are only so many "tip tier" QBs out there, and they're all signed. Dak is good enough to lead a franchise for 10+ years, which he is doing. If you can get a QB like that, then you have to and you have to run with him. I think the ownership is more of the problem than the QB. Worse QBs than Dak have won championships.

Turkey Day football kicks off in less than 24 hours. Here are the matchups for this year. Green Bay at Detroit - 1pm eastern on FOX Kansas City at Dallas -4:30pm eastern on CBS and Paramount + Baltimore at Cincinnati - 5:20pm eastern on NBC Happy Thanksgiving! Gobble Gobble

Will just make reaching the milestones all the more valuable!