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Don't know why it seems like I just saw this, but hey, that's ok. I've found the more I roll in BJJ class that principles are a better way to look at things as opposed to "this or that technique." Principles will apply to techniques, and this is the better way to train. Of course, having a base of techniques to reference is also helpful.

4/10/2026 Strength Training Squats: 45x5x2, 95x5, 135x3, 155x1, 175x3, 195x3, 205x3, 215x3. Bench Press: 45x5x2, 95x5, 115x5, 135x3, 155x1, 180x5, 180x5, 180x5. Power Cleans: 75x3, 95x3, 115x3, 125x3. Deadlifts: 135x3, 185x2, 225x1, 245x3, 245x3. Full body workout in today. Sets of 3 on squats and deadlifts are making a difference in my head not exploding. When I sat down rep 3 on the deadlift, I thought about going for the 4th rep, but as I took in the breath, I felt the pressure in my head start to build. I took that as a sign to let it set and hit another set of 3 after a rest. The last set went well. Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu: 6:45 - 8:15 pm. Three warmup rounds, about 3 minutes each. I've decided to focus on a different approach to the warmup rounds; I'm just going to focus on working on position; maintaining good positions or improving position. And when I get better, I'll work on transitioning from one advantageous position to another. Not going to be trying to submit, but will try to see and recognize the opportunities, maybe even briefly attack and then stop and move on. Focus tonight was on leg entanglements. We started with games focused on starting in and holding the position, and they progressed from there. Keeping the knee line. We progressed to top player starting standing and seated player working on getting the leg entanglement from seated and tripping, then holding position. We started seated and got into the entangled position, then went from there. We finished by working on ankle locks and heel hooks. I got a couple of rounds of free rolling in. I ended up submitting to knee on belly position. I was stuck there too long and it just overwhelmed me and couldn't breath. Some time ago I mentioned in one of these posts after a Taekwondo class that a couple of college athletes came in to use the TKD floor to do some grappling, and I stopped and chatted with them for a bit. Good kids. I told them about the Jiu-Jitsu school. Well, they made it in tonight. It was cool to have them in there, but in a way it wasn't, because they just kicked my butt. Younger, athletic, and of course taller than me. But such good kids. It was cool to see them make it in, and hopefully I get to train with them some more in the future as their schedule (and mine) allows.

That's probably a good idea. Throwing Mendoza right into the fire won't be super beneficial, and he'll get a chance to see how a pro prepares for a game. He could learn quite a bit from watching Cousins for the first 4 or so weeks of the season.

4/9/2026 Aikido: 8:45 - 9:45 am. Morning Class. Loosened up and then got into technique work. Katatetori sankyo, omote and ura: I struggled with ura. I have to focus on driving uke's elbow to their hip with the step and turn that is required of the ura variation. I struggled with the entry, too. Maybe overthinking it.

Is Karate in this Olympics?

I don't currently use any fixed blades for work, just a folder. I think I'd like to have a bit longer blade; I think it's only about 3". I've seen some blades that are referred to as "last ditch knives," and they are shaped like a karambit. Something fairly slim that wouldn't take up a lot of space on the belt or on the vest with a comfortable grip and possibly a thumb hole. I'm not sure I'm much help.

4/8/2026 Strength Training Press: 45x5x2, 75x5, 95x3, 127.5x5, 127.5x5, 127.5x5. Lat Pull-downs: 122.5x10, 122.5x10, 122.5x10.

4/6/2026 Strength Training Squats: 45x5x2, 95x5, 115x5, 135x3, 155x3, 175x3. Had a long break before the last set. Too long. Next time I won't get distracted for so long.

I learned about structure very early on, and preach it often when I teach classes, especially in stances. When striking, I teach that power comes from the ground, up through the body, and without proper structure, strikes are moot. In Aikido I find structure to be just as important, and am learning it in a different manner, and I see that when my techniques don't seem to be working quite right, I can trace the root of the problem back to structure. I wonder if these schools that you are seeing this problem from stems from the possibility that they don't hit anything? Hitting a makiwara is one thing; hit that with bad structure and you'll soon realize it. But even striking heavy bags, kicking shields, and focus mitts can help to see the leaks in a weak structure. That kind of immediate feedback should help students with these issues to realize their issues.

4/3/2026 Strength Training Bench Press: 45x5x2, 95x5, 115x3, 135x1, 175x5, 175x5, 175x5. Barbell Curls: 55x15, 55x15, 55x15. Triceps Push-downs: 65x15, 65x15, 65x15.

Boy howdy, I hope it's not the tumor. Keep up the fight! I'll keep praying.

4/2/2026 Aikido: 8:45 - 9:45 am. Morning Class. Loosened up, then jumped right into technique work. In these morning classes we finish a lot of the techniques in a stretch until we are feeling warmed up enough to take ukemi. Technique work was 5th kyu focused. Munestski kotegashi: It felt like I was getting up high doing it on the right side, especially on the entry. I wasn't blending as well. Shomenuchi kotegashi: I need to blend better here, too. Kaitenange: Several versions. I've got a testing date set for May 12th. I'm excited for it, but there is a lot of material in this testing. I'm going to be reviewing more video to get prepared. Aikido: 3:30 - 4:30 pm. Club Class. Mostly technique work. Shomenuchi iriminage: Did ok here. Shomenuchi iriminage omote: Struggled with this one. The tenkan and turn, and keeping uke close enough was a task. My entry here needs work. I did do some falling, but switched it up and finished in stretches as well. My back was still pretty sore.

My wife, Linda, and I just finished with my doctor appointment. The news is good and bad!! The good news is that my cancer didn’t return; I’m still in complete remission. The bad news is that I might have a brain tumor the size of an egg. That will require a biopsy and PETScan of my brain in order to determine if it’s a tumor or old blood clot. Appointments and test forthcoming.

No worries, Bob. Just wanted to make sure it was clear. Thanks.

Hello, everyone, As some of you may know, in addition to being a martial artist, I am also a bladesmith, so I am constantly thinking about knife designs, their uses, and their pros/cons. That said, I don't have much formal knife training, in a martial arts sense. I'm curious to get your input on the knife designs you like best for your martial arts--not necessarily specific brands and models, but design features. What length of blade do you like best? What blade shape? What handle shape? What tang style? Etc.

Unfortunately, kobudo weapon makers are hard to come by, in general, and many only make some of the weapons, not all of them, so it is going to depend on exactly what weapon you're looking for. It will probably be easier to find a bo maker than a sai maker, for example.

Haisai, everyone, Lately, I've been seeing a lot of videos on social media from various different martial arts schools from around the world where intermediate (and even some advanced) students lack basic structure and alignment. Obviously, different styles will do things differently, but there are still some fundamentals that are pretty much universal, since there are only so many ways to use the human body to effectively combat another human body. For example, when punching, I very often see these students with their wrists cocked back in the natural gripping position, rather than having their knuckles aligned with their forearm. When in front stances, I often see front knees buckling inward instead of being positioned above the foot. I also notice that many end up with their torso leaning backward in a variety of different stances. I had to correct all of these fundamenals within the first 3 belt ranks, and would never have been allowed to progress beyond those beginner ranks with the form I have been seeing. Within Okinawan karate, the concept of chinkuchi (muscle/sinew and bone) is a very important structural focus, and while I realize that not all karate styles know what chinkuchi is, I would think that the idea of proper structure and alignment would be something all instructors understood the importance of. I am curious as to your experiences with this sort of thing. Did you have to learn these fundamentals early on, or were you allowed to progress into intermediate or advanced ranks without them being corrected. If you were allowed to progress without them, do you know why?

That looks like an excellent session! Several finals and medal matches - i am jealous!

Vegas took their first loss under Tortz, but it was a SO loss, so they still got standings point. The Utah Mammoth have clinched their first playoff spot in their third season after moving from Arizona.

In the NCAA Frozen Four, Denver defeated the #1 team in the country, Michigan, 4-3 in double overtime. It was a heck of a game! Denver will face Wisconsin, who upset the #2 team in the country, North Dakota, 2-1. The Championship game is on Saturday in Las Vegas, so you have to be there to see it live. Of course you can watch it on TV also. It starts at 5pm on ESPN if you are interested. Denver and Wisconsin, two underdogs playing for the national title.

Yes. I’m just 5 hours north of Los Angeles. I’ve plans to attend as much as I can of Judo and TKD events. Will try to see Track and Field, Diving, Fencing, Swimming, and Equestrian. If able to, I’ll see what else I can!! Bad thing is that my wife and I can only attend the weekend events due to my wife’s work schedule as a school teacher. One thing I’ll be looking for is to eat at Cupid Hot Dogs, a staple of my youth and a must as an adult, in the San Fernando Valley which is north of Los Angeles just over the Santa Monica Mountains.

Well, I’ve got egg all over my face!! Sorry that I took it literal, and forgetting, if even for a split second, that this was an April Fool’s Day joke. As I said before, this years April Fool’s Day joke was very well played, and I honestly got a kick out of it. Sometimes my MA background gets in the way a great joke!!

A big win for my Knights. The Knights wi. 4th straight by beating the Canucks 2-1. More importantly, 2 losses for the the other teams vying for first place in the Pacific. Edmington lost in OT, so they get a point, but the Ducks flat out have been terrible. They’ve lost 6 in a row…they got shut out. So now the VJC are tied for first place again. Vancouver with their throwback uniforms got on the board first, but my Knughts quickly tied it at one. Brayden McNabb with only his 5th goal of the season, and it was from far back, as one can see. But that’s usually where the defensemen shoot it from in the 3rd. Cole Smith scored what would be the game winner winning 2-1. My Knights sweep the Canucks this season, 3 games to none. Canucks by far the team in the entire league. For the immediate future, my Knights’ next 2 road games will be harder though. Seattle tomorrow night and Colorado on Saturday night. Which one’s the bigger town?? Colorado!! They’re the best team in the entire league with the highest amount of points and the Knights are playing in Denver. I believe that that will be a true test. GO KNIGHTS!!

Hey all, I know it is so far out (July 2028) that it is kind of silly to think about, but just thought I'd start a thread in case anyone ends up going to the Summer Olympics in 2028! I'm local to Los Angeles (well, I am as I wrote this in 2026, anyway), so we picked up tickets to a couple of events during the locals presale, including the JUD10 Judo Mixed Final, which will include: Women's -70kg Repechage Contests Women's -70kg Semifinal Contests Men's -90kg Repechage Contests Men's -90kg Semifinal Contests Women's -70kg Bronze Contests Women's -70kg Final Men's -90kg Bronze Contests Men's -90kg Final Seemed like a fun idea! Maybe some other community members will make it out. Patrick

Thanks Bob and Ken. I'm glad you enjoyed it.