DarthPenguin

Wednesday 1st October BJJ Session Really good session. Was working submission chains from side control using the far side lapel. Initial submission was a lapel americana. Then worked transitioning to a paper cutter / cross choke style choke if they pulled their arm out. Then transition to armbar if they defend the choke by framing. Really liked the chain and can see it being something i will actively try to develop. Couple of rounds sparring. Went well. managed several guard passes using the two passes i wanted to work on (over under with collar hand deep and lots of pressure and double under pass with pressure). Pulled guard to start everytime and managed to work a sweep too which i was pleased with. Only got one submission but managed to take top control and move in it smoothly which is what i was mainly working on. Overall really pleased! Now to prepare for getting absolutely smashed next session as that is usually how it goes!!

Tuesday 30th September Lifting Session Back squat 20kg x 5 40kg x 3 60kg x 2 80kg x 1 90kg x 3 90kg x 3 90kg x 3 Barbell Bench Press 20kg x 5 40kg x 3 60kg x 2 83kg x 3 83kg x 3 83kg x 3 Barbell sumo deadlift 90kg x 5 Biceps cable curl (tri set with one hand cable rows and triceps pushdowns) 26kg x 7 26kg x 7 26kg x 7 Triceps straight bar pushdown 26kg x 13 26kg x 13 26kg x 13 One Hand Cable Row (standing) 26kg x 10 reps (per hand) 26kg x 10 reps (per hand) 26kg x 10 reps (per hand) Tried these standing and actually felt tougher than last time. Will try again next time and decide after a few goes. Is less hassle to set up too which is good! Captain of Crush grippers identical work done for left and right hands. Same reps and strength for each. Trainer (60lb) x 10 Sport (80lb) x 6 0.5 (120lb) x 2 1 (140lb) x 5 1 (140lb) x 4 1 (140lb) x 4 1 (140lb) x 4 1 (140lb) x 4 Trainer (60lb) x 51

Monday 29 September Was a public holiday so no karate. Decided to do a little cardio on the indoor cycle. did 5.4km in 13min. Intent was gentle pace and managed that

Sunday 28 September Lifting Session Back squat 20kg x 5 40kg x 3 60kg x 2 80kg x 5 80kg x 5 80kg x 5 80kg x 5 Barbell Bench Press 20kg x 5 40kg x 3 60kg x 2 74kg x 5 74kg x 5 74kg x 5 74kg x 5 Barbell sumo deadlift 80kg x 5 Thought i would switch to these for a while as they will help with strengthening hips. Added in cable rows to cover row pattern Biceps cable curl (tri set with one hand cable rows and triceps pushdowns) 26kg x 6 26kg x 6 26kg x 6 Triceps straight bar pushdown 26kg x 12 26kg x 12 26kg x 12 One Hand Cable Row (seated) 26kg x 10 reps (per hand) 26kg x 10 reps (per hand) 26kg x 10 reps (per hand)

The thing is over here gambling has always been allowed and sports gambling is a huge deal - multiple bookmakers on every high street etc; several football clubs are sponsored directly by Bookmakers (they wear the bookmakers name on the front of their jersey) : i support Glasgow Rangers personally and they have "Unibet" as a jersey sponsor etc. So i don't think it is necessarily gambling companies that are the issue with the prices, just seems to be a shift in mindset over time: tbh not going to go into much more detail here as i have my own thoughts on that and it would likely get too political for on here!

It really is just pure greed!

Tbh as someone abroad i have always thought you guys get the short end of the stick with charges for sports. UFC and boxing are an easy example: if i decide to pay for a boxing PPV here (and it is normally only the biggest high profile fights that are a PPV) it is about £20/25 usually - i was shocked to see it is $99 in the USA and covers a lot of the fights. Similarly my subscription to TNT sports (formerly ESPN etc in the UK) includes almost all UFC events - i only pay for the biggest ones that are a PPV and sometimes i object on principle to paying when i already have a subscription! You guys definitely get ripped off - I also saw the head of TKO openly saying that WWE prices needed to change as they were stupidly priced to allow families to attend and it was leaving potential profits on the table! Sheer greed - if families can't attend then they are costing themselves potential future customers!

That is true but not what i meant: i meant that someone who has not trained against resistance is materially different to someone who has done so. So if someone has never sparred/done kumite/randori and is a black belt then it is probably not as important when they enter some competition in another style that is related as someone who has performed it against resisting opponent. eg ask me if i want to fight someone who has done Muay Thai for 10years, never fought and only done bagwork or someone who has done it for 2years but spars weekly and had a couple of fights : i will pick the first person every single time

Thursday 25 September Judo Session First session for ages and felt it! was good to get back on the judo mats. Standard warm up which slaughtered me lol and then practiced throws of the day. Gradually felt smoother as the reps went on. Newaza went well and we didn't do any Tachiwaza. All in all a good first session back

Wednesday 24 September Power interval on ski-erg 258m 246m 235m 216m 236m For the power interval it was 5 intervals, 1min max effort then 3min rest. Will try to gradually build up to 2min effort over time Reverse Barbell curl 16kg x 10 16kg x 10 16kg x 10 Got a new rackable curl bar and wanted to test it

Tuesday 23 September Lifting Session Back squat 20kg x 5 40kg x 3 60kg x 2 80kg x 5 80kg x 5 80kg x 5 80kg x 5 Biceps cable curl (superset with squats) 26kg x 6 26kg x 6 26kg x 6 26kg x 6 Barbell Bench Press 20kg x 5 40kg x 3 60kg x 2 74kg x 5 74kg x 5 74kg x 5 74kg x 5 Barbell Bent over row 74kg x 5 74kg x 5 74kg x 5 74kg x 5 Triceps straight bar pushdown 26kg x 11 26kg x 11 26kg x 11 26kg x 11 Captain of Crush grippers identical work done for left and right hands. Same reps and strength for each. Trainer (60lb) x 10 Sport (80lb) x 6 0.5 (120lb) x 2 1 (140lb) x 4 1 (140lb) x 4 1 (140lb) x 4 1 (140lb) x 4 1 (140lb) x 4 Trainer (60lb) x 50

Not quite sure i get what you mean here? on the face of it yes a punch is a punch etc. but i think you have to also factor in the constraints under which the techniques were learnt / practiced. Someone who has done a sparring/fighting heavy style such as Muay Thai, Kyokushin, Enshin, TKD will be more likely to apply a punch effectively in competition than someone who learnt it in something like Tai Chi and has never actually punched anyone or anything. The original rise of Judo sorta proved that when Kano added randori and practising techniques against resistance then his Judo Ryu beat the other schools that did older Japanese Jiu Jitsu without resisting partners.

Yeah i would say the sensible course of action is to talk to the tournament organiser and ask them. What style they do/have done is also relevant Eg. if the student is a BB in Kyokushin/Ashihara etc. and entering a TKD sparring competition then they likely should be above the green belt division. If they are a bb in one of the styles of karate that has almost no actual kumite then maybe the Green belt division in TKD is appropriate. Definitely should be disclosed in a respectful manner and let the organisers make the call

Not quite sure how the black belt in judo would have any impact on TKD tbh (other that maybe comfort in a competitive setting) so don't see why it would need to be disclosed. I have always liked the BJJ way of dealing with other grappling arts tbh: it is convention over here that if someone is judo BB and enters a BJJ tournament they enter as a Blue Belt as a minimum due to experience. Karate, kickboxing etc. grades don't matter as it is a totally different fighting style. I try to do the same when it is a related style: when i came back to karate a couple of years ago i told the instructors my prior experiences in other styles and whenever i was sparring with someone new i would let them know (often the instructor did too) that i had prior experience in other striking styles (including karate) and whilst i was wearing a white or low kyu belt they could spar harder. I did the same at my judo club before any newaza. But didn't bother mentioning any striking experience as it didn't seem relevant. For me the rule of thumb would be: is the competition using a similar skillset to one you have acquired elsewhere and have been assessed to a higher level of competency that in the style you are competing in? If yes then needs declared to the comp organisers and let them decide how to deal with it. If no then it's irrelevant and if in doubt then check.

As a Bills fan anything that can impact the Ravens playoffs seeding is fine by me! Have always had a soft spot for the Ravens too since the Ray Lewis days but they are one of the biggest threats to the Bills finally winning a superbowl so every close loss they can rack up is a win for the Bills!

Monday 22 September Karate Session Usual warm ups. Much smaller class tonight with the only adults being myself and one black belt with the rest of the class being younger kids. Repped through a few more techniques and showed the kids a couple of kata then mainly games / running etc. for the kids. Not a huge amount of different techniques worked on but since we were doing lots of reps of punches i took the opportunity to really focus on punching with a very relaxed arm and tensing at the end of the strike. Punching felt good actually - is something i was wanting to make sure i focus on more to improve speed and kime

Sunday 21 September Strength Endurance Circuit Worked through all exercises as a circuit. No rest between exercises inb circuit but 3min rest between circuits. Will work at reducing this down over time then gradually adding in more reps of the circuit and then increasing weights Circuit Barbell power clean 25kg x 10 standing overhead press 25kg x 10 Fat Bar floor press 25kg x 10 Fat bar bent over row 25kg x 10 KB swing 24kg x 10 flat leg raise x 10 reps Ran through circuit 3 times. Once done i decided to do a high rep drop set of triceps pushdowns for some endurance etc 25kg x 15 20kg x 15 15kg x 12 10kg x 18 5kg x 50

Friday 19th September main lifts day 2 wk 1 Back extension 11 reps 8 reps Back squat 20kg x 5 40kg x 3 60kg x 2 75kg x 5 75kg x 5 75kg x 5 75kg x 5 Biceps cable curl (superset with squats) 25kg x 5 25kg x 5 25kg x 5 25kg x 5 Barbell Bench Press 20kg x 5 40kg x 3 60kg x 2 69kg x 5 69kg x 5 69kg x 5 69kg x 5 Barbell Bent over row 69kg x 5 69kg x 5 69kg x 5 69kg x 5 Triceps straight bar pushdown 25kg x 10 25kg x 10 25kg x 10 25kg x 10 Captain of Crush grippers identical work done for left and right hands. Same reps and strength for each. Trainer (60lb) x 10 Sport (80lb) x 6 0.5 (120lb) x 2 1 (140lb) x 4 1 (140lb) x 4 1 (140lb) x 4 1 (140lb) x 4 1 (140lb) x 3 Trainer (60lb) x 41 When i get up to 60 reps for the high rep set i will shift to the 80lb gripper for it. Once i can get 5 x 5 on the 140lb i may look into buying and trying the 1.5 (167.5lb) gripper. Want to see if i can work up to eventually managing a few reps with the 2 or maybe 2.5 if it goes really well

Thursday 18th September Conditioning session Tried some 'Fobbit' Intervals using my ski erg. Interval was 2min ski-ing at a gentle pace then 10 reps KB swings, then 2min skiing then 10 reps double kb push press then repeat for a total of 20min. Will gradually work to improve time to 30min then work on improving skiing pace and weights used skining : total distance covered 2.176km KB swings: 28kg x 10 reos x 4 sets Double KB push press 2 x 14kg KB x 10 reps x 4 sets

Tuesday 16 September Day 1 of wk 1 of 2dpw Tactical Barbell fighter routine Back extension (BW) on hyoer extension bench 10 reps 10 reps 10 reps Have started trying to add either these or QL raises into every session as i had tweaked my back a while ago and these seemed to help! Back squat 20kg x 5 40kg x 3 60kg x 2 75kg x 5 75kg x 5 75kg x 5 75kg x 5 Lifts all felt smooth and pretty easy which is good! Biceps cable curl (superset with squats) 25kg x 5 25kg x 5 25kg x 5 25kg x 5 Barbell Bench Press 20kg x 5 40kg x 3 60kg x 2 69kg x 5 69kg x 5 69kg x 5 69kg x 5 Slightly odd numbers but i went and got some more change plates since i decided if i was going to follow percentage based programmes i should do it properly and minimise the rounding where possible. Barbell Bent over row 69kg x 5 69kg x 5 69kg x 5 69kg x 5 Trying to do same weight for bench and row Triceps straight bar pushdown 25kg x 8 25kg x 8 25kg x 8 25kg x 8 Captain of Crush grippers identical work done for left and right hands. Same reps and strength for each. Trainer (60lb) x 10 Sport (80lb) x 6 0.5 (120lb) x 2 1 (140lb) x 4 1 (140lb) x 4 1 (140lb) x 4 1 (140lb) x 4 1 (140lb) x 2 Trainer (60lb) x 40 Want to gradually get better at this again to improve grip strength when grappling. Added in high rep set at the end too

Monday 15th September Karate Session Started class with usual warm ups and Kihon etc. Realised i have not been 'active' enough in recovering my kicks so they have been slower than needed, focused a lot on actively pulling my kick back using the relevant muscles and noticed an instant improvement. Lots of kumite drills in this class. Worked quite a bit of jiyu ippon kumite and also some jiyu kumite. Working on stuff for when i sit Shodan in March (injuries etc permitting!)

I have been atrocious in updating this recently, will try and do better! Loads on in the last while with work, kids, illness injuries etc. Have decided to shift lifting routine to follow the tactical barbell protocol so i will see how that goes. I started the 2dpw routine last week (did a month of the 3dpw) so am going to update my log based on the start of the 2dpw onwards

Glad to see you getting back into it Also, if you want another option have you looked into Tactical Barbell? I relatively recently switched to following one of those routines as i have kept getting injured / ill etc this year and i wondered if it might work better. Is a similar idea to 531 et al of using sub maximal sets to increase strength, with them usually being a lower rep range. What made it interesting to me was it also has a conditioning protocol that can be integrated and it has a lot of stuff based on incorporating it into routines for people who already do martial arts / a very physical 'tactical' job etc Replying here has also reminded me how remiss i have been in updating my own log!

Congrats to those who passed Only thought i had was i have rarely come across a demotion like that. Typically if there are issues with behaviour i have seen people getting banned / suspended for a period of time. One issue i would have with demotion is if the person went to some training at another school etc. and no one knew their "real level" someone could get hurt in sparring etc - i know that the person could tell people they were a higher grade but relying on someone with an acknowledged behavioural issue to disclose it is likely not ideal (or they may even keep it quiet out of embarassment). Is demotion rather than a suspension typical in your school or does it vary on a case by case basis? (just curious!)

yeah i watched it and tbh thought it was a good ending to his story. Didn't watch Original Sin as saw it was cancelled before i could start to watch it