DarthPenguin

Is an interesting idea but it does depend on the purpose of the testing. I could see how it might work well for more skilled practitioners who are attempting to demonstrate 'mastery' of some skills. If there were some constraints set such as : need to perform a combination of a minimum of X strikes of which Y need to be kicks etc. and have a few similar constraints then it might be an interesting idea. Could run alongside the usual testing of perform this kata etc. Sorta reminds me of a style i did in the past where for grading you were also required to perform a prior grades pattern/kata but with free direction, which meant you had to change the directions and could adjust the techniques a little (eg make a kick a jumping variant or more complex one - so could replace a roundhouse with a 360 roundhouse but still had to move into the next technique smoothly). Was good for really bedding down the patterns in your muscle memory i thought

As a Bills fan i must admit i would like to see the Chiefs eliminated! Remove any chance of "playoff Mahomes" causing an issue!

Yeah thats true - i hadn't factored in senior grades! Yeah i think it is a personal choice. Originally i had graded under Kawazoe Sensei but i had left karate 25+ years ago (though have trained in other styles in the interim). I thought it was appropriate to return as a white belt since in my view it would take multiple years to regain skills to an appropriate level to match belt, so why not get regraded instead over that time period then would be no doubt i was at whatever my current belt level was skill wise: am now grading under Sensei F Brennan so am pretty sure that one will hold up in most places too - back to 1st kyu now and hoping to sit Shodan under him early next year

This one shocked me when i saw it - do they genuinely think that a 4yrs retired Rivers is better than anyone else available? Apparently his familiarity in the system as he worked in that offence for years is part of the reason behind it

Is an interesting one, as i can see both of your points. My view is that if you are in the same style, from a valid school then you keep your belt e.g. i am under the kugb in the UK, if i moved to JKA, JSKA, JKS etc. i would expect to be exactly the same rank as they are all Shotokan. Every person i know who has done this has kept their belt - the potentially giving up rank in the same style seems to be a USA thing (i say this as someone who did actually give up their rank in Shotokan and start again from white belt as i had been away from it for an extremely long time!). With rank in another style with transferable skills then you are still a white belt in the new style, though i found it bad form not to tell people you had previous training (it is usually pretty obvious to everyone anyway). I have trained in a few styles over the years and when i was in that situation i usually just told someone i am Rank X in this style which has crossover of Y and then i learnt the syllabus as a white belt but usually did any kumite/sparring with the more experienced people. Competition was fair game as tbh nowadays a lot of people have cross training anyway! For BJJ at my school Judo BB start at white too and they usually take a year or so to grade to Blue (obviously varies depending on the individual). Everyone knows who they are and people just roll with them mroe normally than they would with a fresh white belt. Conversely when i started to add in judo i told them i train BJJ (albeit i am not the best!) and it means that for Newaza i typically go with the Brown / Black belts and for Tachiwaza i stay with grade or the higher ranks are gentle. If i was to enter competition i would enter at my judo rank. I had a judo friend who was a bit put out as at the time he was a Judo Brown and only needed 10pts or so for Shodan and when he entered a BJJ comp he had to enter at White - i also remember a Judo 6th Dan several years ago who was made to enter at Blue!

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

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!)

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!

Will just make reaching the milestones all the more valuable!

Yeah i think that Dak is a large part of the problem tbh. I have always thought he is massively overrated. Was interesting that one of the studio guys came out and said that on the UK NFL coverage the other day (he was a former Giant DL) and the other posts really had a go at him for it, talking about how great Dak is. I've never seen it tbh. He is decent but not a top tier QB

Actually it is the same here - can bet on almost anything: time for first yellow card, player who gets it, number of throw ins, time for throw in's etc. etc.

Strength endurance session Did this using ABF press protocal using 2 x 16kg KB. For this is did total of 60 reps of OH press in 2/3/5/10 style. Minimal rest Assisted pull ups -58kg x 11 -58kg x 11 -58kg x 11 Cable neck extension 5kg x 20 5kg x 20 5kg x 20

Monday 17th November Karate Session Standard session. Just worked on grading required kihon and through all of the kata from Heian Shodan to Bassai Dai (in grading i need to do Bassai Dai plus one Heian of examiners choice). Also a few rounds of kumite

Friday 14th November Lifting Session Back squat 20kg x 5 40kg x 3 60kg x 2 79kg x 5 79kg x 5 79kg x 5 79kg x 5 Barbell Bench Press 20kg x 5 40kg x 3 60kg x 2 71kg x 5 71kg x 5 71kg x 5 71kg x 5 Sumo Deadlift 79kg x 5 Assisted pull ups -58kg x 10 -58kg x 10 -58kg x 10 Cable front raise (weight is per hand and did same for both hands) 7kg x 8 7kg x 8 7kg x 8 this made it clear that proportionately my shoulders are much weaker than the rest so i need to work on them!! Cable Face Pull 11.5kg x 12 11.5kg x 12 11.5kg x 12

Tuesday 11 November Simple conditioning session did a gentle 7.8kb in 21min on the indoor cycle followed by 2 sets of 15kg cable pullovers as i wanted to see what they were like to do

Monday 10th November Lifting Session Back squat 20kg x 5 40kg x 3 60kg x 2 79kg x 5 79kg x 5 79kg x 5 79kg x 5 Barbell Bench Press 20kg x 5 40kg x 3 60kg x 2 71kg x 5 71kg x 5 71kg x 5 71kg x 5 Assisted pull ups -43kg x 5 -58kg x 10 -58kg x 10 -58kg x 10 Got some more bands and decided i should start adding these in. Plan is to do higher hep sets and when i get to 15 per set reduce the banding down gradually until eventually none is needed Triceps overhead single arm cable extension (weight is per hand and did same for left and right) 7kg x 15 7kg x 15

Saturday 8th November BJJ Session We were working de la riva into seated guard. Working simple tripod sweep and also worked a worm guard style one. Also did several rounds of rolling which went ok (apart from getting effortlessly smashed by one of the black belts!)

Friday 7th November 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 90kg x 3 Barbell Bench Press 20kg x 5 40kg x 3 60kg x 2 83kg x 3 83kg x 3 83kg x 3 83kg x 3 Close grip bench 40kg x 10 40kg x 10 40kg x 10 cable chest fly (weight is per hand) 15kg x 12 15kg x 12 15kg x 12 Triceps overhead single arm cable extension (weight is per hand and did same for left and right) 7kg x 10 7kg x 10 One Hand Cable Row (standing) - with "gi grip" 27kg x 3 reps (per hand) 27kg x 3 reps (per hand) 27kg x 3 reps (per hand) Weighted bridge (used 2 x 14kg kb) 28kg x 5 28kg x 5 28kg x 5 Captain of Crush grippers identical work done for left and right hands. Same reps and strength for each. Trainer (60lb) x 50 Trainer (60lb) x 50 Trainer (60lb) x 50

you guys still training nogi? You might find that gi suits you more - i prefer it since you can take grips etc and slow things down a little: less reliant on athleticism than nogi (i find anyway). One suggestion would be to work out one or two moves you would like to implement when in mount (or any position) and try to focus on getting them step by step. Can also see if there is a top level instructor with youtube instructionals etc that is similar build / size to yourself that you think you could copy. Then work on small wins. Using your example above: if you find you are good at pinning a wrist consistently then excellent, work on things from there. Maybe you could then move it up to an Americana etc. So next step is to get it in right place; get second arm in etc. So even if you don't get it on someone you leave training saying "i got my grips, got it in position and they freed their arm", better than last week when couldn't get the grips etc. Also gives you something specific to work on: you can say to your coach "i get them into this position but they escape, what am i doing wrong to leave them the space?" etc.

What is strange to me is there is a lot of gambling advertising / sponsorship etc. around football / soccer here in the UK, but typically there are not that many scandals around it. You get the odd one come to light occasionally, the player gets banned / jailed and thats it. I wonder what it is that causes these things to be worse in the US. Is puzzling tbh

Good luck! I didn't try for tickets for the London 2012 games (which is a fair distance but doable) and i had friends who went and said it was great. If you can manage it it would definitely be something to do i think, a once in a lifetime experience. Especially if your mini people will be old enough to take in the experience

It is basically greed. I don't disagree with people being able to make a fair amount of extra profit etc. but it gets crazy. When a £100 ticket changes hands for £600 etc. then that is simply unreasonable. I liken it to the crazy air fares we get here around holiday time. The govt pass silly rules here around kids not being able to be out of school during the academic year for holidays (regardless of how well they are doing) so airlines blatantly exploit this. As an example i looked at flights for my family of 4, 2 adults 2 kids, last summer to a nearby European destination. Before school hol fares were c.£2k as soon as holidays start they were c.£4k-£6k! I can't see how this is not unfair monopolistic behaviour etc. but it is allowed. Myself i think they should be capped at the median yearly price +10%. That would allow them to make more profit from the increased demand but make it fair. I would like to see something similar for ticket resales tbh

Tuesday 4th November Strength Endurance session KB double overhead press (2 x 14kg kb) Did this in ABF style with minimal rest. sets of 2/3/5/20 reps. Rests were touch down between 2/3/5 then go again, 45 sec between 5 and 10 and 1min 10 sec after 10 rep set. Ran through 4 times for 80 total reps Followed with a tri-set: Bulgarian split squat (weight is per leg) 28kg x 7 28kg x 7 28kg x 7 Lat pulldown underhand 54kg x 8 54kg x 8 54kg x 8 E-Z bar curl 30kg x 5 30kg x 5 30kg x 5 Full session was done in 24min (including putting away all equipment and stretching a little at the beginning plus some isometric stretching at the end)

Monday 3rd November Karate Session Small class but it was good for me to work on things. Ran through, in detail, everything i will need to do for Shodan grading in March. Pretty much managed to get 1-2-1 attention throughout which was great. Multiple rounds of kumite too which was also good with the 2nd dan who was there. Then just ran through all the Heian katas back to back followed by Tekki Shodan and Bassai Dai myself just to get some more practice in

Sunday 2nd November 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 90kg x 3 Barbell Bench Press 20kg x 5 40kg x 3 60kg x 2 83kg x 3 83kg x 3 83kg x 3 83kg x 3 Barbell sumo deadlift 90kg x 3 Biceps E-Z bar curl (tri set with one hand cable rows and triceps pushdowns) 30kg x 5 30kg x 5 30kg x 5 Triceps straight bar pushdown 27kg x 8 27kg x 8 27kg x 8 One Hand Cable Row (standing) - with "gi grip" 27kg x 3 reps (per hand) 27kg x 3 reps (per hand) 27kg x 3 reps (per hand) Weighted bridge (used 2 x 14kg kb) 28kg x 5 28kg x 5 28kg x 5 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 6 1 (140lb) x 5 1 (140lb) x 5 1 (140lb) x 5 1 (140lb) x 5 Trainer (60lb) x 56