tallgeese

Welcome to KF!

Welcome aboard!

Brian, Working pads like that is an awesome way to build spontaneous response. Nice work, keep posting!

4/2 Segues forms review. Live blade. 4/3 Drilled rolling knee bar and kimura from turtle. 60 min free roll.

Congrats!

4/1 Drilled recovery to full guard from turtle. Finish with old school armor. 40 min free roll. PTK- catch and release seguides form. Application. Bridging review. Flow.

3/30 Drilled Back Mount defense with Head Roll Sweep and transition to Half Guard. 35 min free roll. PTK: Seguides form 7. Bridging breakdown.

Thanks, Bob! We appreciate it! As to the camera it's not too hard these days. I use a simple Flip camera that's actually several years old now but works pretty well. My only real complaint is the audio capture. Which we could do better if we mic-ed up. It's a bit more effort than we want to go to right now. I've been looking at switching to GO Pro for video. A friend uses it and I think it'd be pretty beneficial with the ease of controls. Still, I haven't make the jump. All of the editing stuff is done via computer, which, for me, where you can make a bigger difference than with the camera. I just jumped from PC to Mac (and I'll NEVER go back- but that's a different subject and I find that we've just barely scratched the surface of that. For instance, the new software I have lets me easily insert title slides, etc. Something that I struggled with on PC's moviemaker due to formatting issues. You can see the difference in a couple of different videos. Here's a common video format for us that we've run with most of the time: Note, no intro, no info beyond what we say on the video. Not bad, good content, but I'd always wanted to do better. Here was my first effort with the PC movie maker software (free with office): Now, I get an intro but notice in the transition I lose a lot of the field of view and the actual video content (the major thing I'm trying to get out) is smaller. So it's a less effective (in my opinion) tutorial. Nor to I get enough easy info out to everyone on the slide (which I felt was a total pain to format, save, and get into the file) I really hated the outcome of this one so I never did another one. Now, here's our latest evolution: I'm a much bigger fan of this. It was pretty easy to construct, has some built in visuals that really make it better even just with the base templates in the system. Again, this is free software that comes on the computer. It doesn't have to be expensive. That said, expect to sit infant of some software tutorials to sort it out. It's time, like Patrick said earlier. But, I'm much happier with this out come. It still needs work. I need to play with formatting a logo and some on screen commentary tips. I think it would add a bit. So, for me it's still an ongoing project. Again, thanks for the vote of confidence, Bob.

3/27 Drilled lasso sweep from bottom half and inverted movement to omo plata. 45 min free roll. 3/28 Worked on facing hips into the guard pass and connection during open guard. Review with the blue belts running our Women's Only day the lesson plan material. 3/29 PTK knife forms.

Lol! Yeah, it's pretty funny. As to the counter, as always, there's plenty of options depending on where the mechanics fall. You can weave an arm thru the legs on the knee blocking portion and use that to make the knee cross the centerline. Then crush the leg down and pass. Conversely, you can crush the structure and keep up with the hip shrimp to prevent the elevation. Lastly, you can work balance and backstop out of the momentum. All of these work to a degree and, as always, there are counters to these counters. Part of the beauty of BJJ!

This week we worked bottom half guard offense. This particular tactic highlights the potential mobility and adaptability of the half guard without placing undue complication on the position. It's a high percentage tactic that utilizes a lot of the body mechanics needed for many other half guard options: Let the discussion begin!

Thank you, Patrick! Coming from someone like you in the industry I consider that high praise. It's been a major learning curve, but one that I think has been worth it. It's something that I also feel like I still have a lot to learn about to really optimize it. We're always playing with things and formats to sharpen things up. For instance, I just switched software for video editing so we're looking at making some (slightly) more interesting stuff there. For schools looking to expand their public image I really can't say enough about just jumping in. I'm consistently amazed about the capabilities that are available for anyone out there right now. Having taught commercially at a small school in the mid-90s and now opening Alpha, I can really say that technology has VASTLY increased small dojo's marking options. For little front end investment. Again, thank you for the vote of confidence, Patrick!

We run a website and blog, social media (both FB and Instagram) and print. We also run a YouTube page that we run in conjunction with the rest of the media. We've gotten leads from all of them. But really our biggest hit has been the social media. We're on it constantly posting pics of classes, announcements, etc. We get a lot of feedback from this and it's consistently the leader in bringing in prospects. The biggest print success we had was an article in the local paper we were able to get lined up. We got several prospects that we were able to convert off this. If you can manage it, it's worth taking the time to do. We also offer incentives for bringing in people for those already members. If you get someone to sign up, it's a free private.

3/26 Body weight routine. Yup, it's time for our yearly physical again.

The film "Groundhog Day" was shot in the town I live in. Trust me, no one here will let anyone forget that fact....ever.

Awesome job, ps1! Another great example of not just count but great content! Congrats!

3/24 Body weight conditioning routine. 3/25 Drilled bottom half guard sweeps. half butterfly configuration. Postured up version, and vs. pressure. 35 min free roll. PTK: Seguides form review. Full night of flow and technical sparring.

Thanks! Yes, you can work the pass from the backstop. I'll also look at a transition to the ankle lock when the opponent triangles their feet.

3/23 Drilled bottom half guard to back and kimura. Spent time focusing on maintaining distance. 40 min free roll. PTK. Segues number 6. Application. Flow, restriction of area.

Shows the different methodologies and ideologies. You teach it at the beginner level, whereas, we don't until the intermediate level. I suppose what I'm referring to is the what you speak towards in your last sentence. I suppose also that Soke had no trust in teaching this to beginners; Shindokan just might behind the 8-ball on this one!! Not necessarily, it's a different focus. We get to solely focus on one area. That lets us accelerate certain things. If you're looking at a traditional art that has forms, striking, one step sparring, etc. it takes more time to get across all those dominos. We can focus exclusively on those matters of the ground. By extension, my PTK doesn't advance as fast as those who commit to it full time. I'm only doing it 2-3 times per week. I have to split time between my BJJ and driving my kali forward. Hence, it's slower for me to move forward in my weapons work. That's okay, it's just where I spend the bulk of maytime is the ground. So, if you're looking at the plethora of skills your teaching in a traditional art, and adding ground, then you're going to move at a slower pace on some things. This isn't a bad thing, it's a choice of focus. That's all. And it will be different for each art and individual practitioner. Heck I see so many karate people who haven't even scratched the real capabilities of grappling that I think it's great when it gets taught at any point.

Thanks, guys! I really enjoy the last variant as well. Bob, the choke as it's taught from directly behind the partner is pretty common at beginning levels. The application from counters to the side and then the lapel are generally used by more experienced students. With the focus of BJJ, chokes are very common at beginning levels.

This week we spent our time doing offense from the back mount. Specifically, we really dug into chokes. Here, we look at the Wing Choke and follow it through several variations across related positions. Take a look and discuss!

3/20 Drilled wing choke and pull choke with lapel variations. 40 min free roll 3/21 Weekly review. 60 min free roll.

3/17 Drilled Circular 2 from. 3/18 Variant mack mount hold, followed by two lapel chokes. 40 min free roll. PTK: Reviewed Sequides forms 1-4. Worked Circular 2 form. Application, distance sparring.

The focus has to been on pinching the knees together on the back step. That's what maintains the position without locking in the leg. You have to learn to trust the movement and start to understand what you can and can't do with the physiology and feeling that during the roll. Brain, yes, the triangle post movement is important. That will additionally set up some follow up attacks when your partner blocks the knee bar.