DarthPenguin

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

Saturday 1st November BJJ session This session was a combination of working on escapes from pins and also working on transitioning pins. Did a series of games: initially the bottom person had to work on getting to their side; then work on side and getting an underhook; then added on the top person had to keep transitioning pins (So working side>kesa>north south> kesa other side> side > knee on belly etc After this did a couple of rounds rolling. First one went well but then began to gas a bit and got handled in the 3rd one pretty easily - forgot how to pass an open guard pretty much lol - took my grips and just hung about like an idiot!

Tuesday 28th October 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 Biceps E-Z bar curl (tri set with one hand cable rows and triceps pushdowns) 28kg x 6 28kg x 6 28kg x 6 Triceps straight bar pushdown 26kg x 11 26kg x 11 26kg x 11 One Hand Cable Row (standing) - with "gi grip" 26kg x 6 reps (per hand) 26kg x 6 reps (per hand) 26kg x 6 reps (per hand) Bulgarian Split Squats (weight is per leg) - identical done with left and right 28kg (2 x 14kg KB) x 6 28kg (2 x 14kg KB) x 6 28kg (2 x 14kg KB) x 6 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 5 1 (140lb) x 5 1 (140lb) x 5 1 (140lb) x 5 Trainer (60lb) x 55

Sunday 26 October Strength Endurance session ABC with 2 x 14kg kb 21 sets : classic reps done EMOM Underhand lat pulldown 52kg x 9 52kg x 9 52kg x 9 Barbell REverse E-Z bar curl 17kg x 10 17kg x 10 17kg x 10

Friday 24th October 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 Biceps E-Z bar curl (tri set with one hand cable rows and triceps pushdowns) 28kg x 6 28kg x 6 28kg x 6 Triceps straight bar pushdown 26kg x 11 26kg x 11 26kg x 11 One Hand Cable Row (standing) - with "gi grip" 26kg x 6 reps (per hand) 26kg x 6 reps (per hand) 26kg x 6 reps (per hand) Bulgarian Split Squats (weight is per leg) - identical done with left and right 28kg (2 x 14kg KB) x 6 28kg (2 x 14kg KB) x 6 28kg (2 x 14kg KB) x 6 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 5 1 (140lb) x 5 1 (140lb) x 5 1 (140lb) x 4 Trainer (60lb) x 54

Axel Foley is an excellent choice! Myself i didn't dress up by my kids did: my daughter went as a Disney Princess and my son as Goku

As a Mariners fan, if my team can't win i like the best team to win (never been one who roots for underdogs as i believe skill and ability should decide who wins rather than luck) so i was pleased to see the Dodgers win as i think they are the best team in baseball by a decent margin. Reminds me of the all conquering Yankees dynasty 20 years ago but with a better pitching staff. Plus is nice to see the player that i think is the clear GOAT in Ohtani get more rings. Only thing left for him to do now is put together a good enough pitching season to win a CY Young. That would instantly become a record that would never be broken i think : CY Young, MVP as a hitter, 50/50 club etc.. Think it could end up being the only record harder to break than CY Youngs wins record. I wonder if he will fall foul of the same issue Michael Jordan did where he should, in my opinion, have 10-11 MVPs but they gave it to other players such as Karl Malone etc. even though MJ was superior as they had very good years. Ohtani's WAR total is untouchable due to being both one of the absolute best hitters plus a top tier pitcher - so by definition he pretty much has to be MVP every year

yeah very true, as a non US resident (with tonnes of family all over the US) i find it quite sad the way things have changed over time. Being apolitical (as i think both sides exploit this) the issues started when the change in media requirements in the late 80s came in (the one where the obligation to be factual / truthful was adjusted). That plus the unwillingness for bipartisan co-operation just leads to lots of problems. We have similar coming into force here where different sides are becoming increasingly polarised. Doesn't seem to happen as much in countries which follow proportional representation as some kind of consensus is required to govern (though there are other weaknesses to that system). Either way the prices are completely nuts! Brings things into perspective when i was annoyed at the cost the other day when i bought 3 decent tickets for one of the medal nights at the 2026 Commonwealth Games Judo (it is being held in my home city), a large international competition, and it cost me £100!

How can anyone possibly think that is a sensible and fair price??? Whats next : for a ticket you need to sign us over the deed to your property, minimum value 500k

Thanks for the detailed response! I think i will try adding in the concentration kicks for definite (i think i used to do these in the past but haven't done them in years so a good idea). Partner PNF stretching is a good idea too but might be a little harder to implement as not sure if i can easily access someone when in the house etc to help! The strength point is a good one too - i was thinking that part of the issue might be that the outer hip muscles / my glutes may be weaker than they used to be so i have been trying to do a little more for them. I have tried to add in some sets of sumo deadlifts as i find i always feel them in the outer hip area (i used to do them years ago too), starting light and will eventually build it up - i can already feel it in that specific area when i do the lift. Also been adding in bulgarian split squats as i know they are good for the glute area; good for knee stability too and inner thing part of leg. Found a better way to set up to start them so feeling more comfortable doing them: currently been using 2 x kbs but going to try them soon with a barbell on my back and see how i do! Will definitely try some of your suggestions though and will let you know how it works out over time

Hi all, I have recently been trying to work more on increasing my kicking height and thought asking on here might be a good idea and give me some useful suggestions/ advice! Currently my kicking height is awful! Mostly waist height for side kicks etc, little bit higher for mawashi geri but not much - sometimes looks more when i am sparring as i am quite tall. Not a structural issue as when i was younger i could comfortably mawash geri above my head; side kick similar etc. so i dont think there is a hip issue or anything preventing me accessing that range of motion. Granted i am older now (soon to be 46) but cant see any reason other than flexibility / mobility why i can't get it back. Is my own fault as ceased to actively work on my flexibility as much when i stopped striking arts years ago and focused on grappling and then got injured etc. I dug out my copy of Stretching Scientifically by Kurz, gave it a read, and have been working on it daily for the last few weeks. Current plan i have put together and have been following has been as follows : Twice Daily (morning and night) : dynamic stretches: 3 sets of 10 for the following stretches front straight leg raises / swings sideways leg raises / swings backwards leg raises / swings twice a week ( carried out after lifting session) isometric / weighted stretching using the following exercises for 2 sets of 15 seconds jefferson curl (using a kb) side splits (though i am a decent way off it!) using body weight and actively tensing my inner thighs to pull myself in then in the stretch front splits (2 sets each for left and right leg forwards) with a kb in each hand horse stance (kb in middle) butterfly stretch (using kb in each hand on top of knees) For each of these the second set i try to increase the stretch a little I know it is a little early to see proper benefits but feels like it is improving a bit. Wanted to see if there is anything else that people would add/remove from the above or if they would change it then what they would recommend! Thanks!

Tuesday 21 October Lifting session / strength endurance focus Ran through 20 sets of the double kb ABC. Managed them in 14min so was quite pleased - used a pair of 14kb kbs as was trying to push the conditioning element rather than the strength one. Will try to work it back up to 30 sets in less than 30min etc and then increase weight. Plan is to do one of these sessions a week ideally Lat pulldown (underhand grip) 52kg x 8 52kg x 8 52kg x 8 EZ Bar curl 28kg x 6 28kg x 6 28kg x 6 Added in these other exercises as areas i think i need to improve and had a little time left

Sunday 19th October Lifting Session Back squat 20kg x 5 40kg x 3 60kg x 2 75kg x 5 75kg x 5 75kg x 5 75kg x 5 Barbell Bench Press 20kg x 5 40kg x 3 69kg x 5 69kg x 5 69kg x 5 69kg x 5 Barbell sumo deadlift 75kg x 5 Biceps cable curl (tri set with one hand cable rows and triceps pushdowns) 28kg x 5 28kg x 5 28kg x 5 Triceps straight bar pushdown 26kg x 11 26kg x 11 26kg x 11 One Hand Cable Row (standing) - with "gi grip" 26kg x 5 reps (per hand) 26kg x 5 reps (per hand) 26kg x 5 reps (per hand) Got hold of some scramble grip trainers and thought i would use them to. They let me take a "gi grip" when doing the row which i definitely felt in my grip! Bulgarian Split Squats (weight is per leg) - identical done with left and right 28kg (2 x 14kg KB) x 5 28kg (2 x 14kg KB) x 5 28kg (2 x 14kg KB) 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 5 1 (140lb) x 5 1 (140lb) x 5 1 (140lb) x 4 1 (140lb) x 4 Trainer (60lb) x 53

Saturday 18th October BJJ session Good session this one, we were working on escapes from side control, using ecological drilling style approach. Initial goal was to get on your side; then get on side and get an underhook; then get out into turtle or dogfight etc' then do this but also add a sweep or throw or something to end up on top. Was useful session i thought - plenty to work on ( i was bridging too gently when trying to escape my hips with underhook but on the flip side i was please with my half guard recovery and found myself naturally working some sweeps from there to get on top that i had been wanting to practice. Rolling went well too - managed to pull off a couple of guard passes i have been wanting to work on

As someone who is also not in their 20s anymore i can empathise about going against the young massively athletic kid (though remember you are always free to decline to roll with someone if don't feel safe!). Also, remember you are allowed to adapt techniques to your own body type a little and also can focus on what works for you: isn't like karate or tkd where there is a syllabus you need to work on for each grade, you can find what works for you. For me, our head coach is small and incredibly flexible - his stuff will never work for me (though he is amazingly knowledgeable etc and a great teacher) but one of the other coaches teaches a much more methodical pressure based game which suits me a lot more. Some advice i was given years ago is pick a technique or two to work on and gradually improve it: eg if you can only get the initial grip then work on getting that consistently when you want it; then work on layering on the next step and consistently getting to that point. If you lose it then who cares you have already improved and work in this manner until you can reliably pull off the technique / escape etc that you are trying then rinse and repeat for more techniques. You don't need 100000000 escapes from side control; you need a few that you can reliably execute and ability to survive etc.

Either way it is still progression!

that is likely the difference then - a national governing body for you likely covers the same kind of scope as an international body for us due to the sheer size of the USA. Always curious how things work in different locations!

Wednesday 15 October Karate Session Quite a small class tonight which was good for picking up little issues i need to work on! Good session though. Ran through the expected Kihon i will need for Shodan grading and also through katas. Several good rounds of kumite with one of the 2nd dans - we were both encouraged (strongly!) to go in pretty hard and if the opponent didn't block a strike it's their fault, they get hit then! Enjoyed it quite a bit!

Tuesday 14 October Lifting Session Back squat 20kg x 5 40kg x 3 60kg x 2 75kg x 5 75kg x 5 75kg x 5 75kg x 5 Barbell Bench Press 20kg x 5 40kg x 3 69kg x 5 69kg x 5 69kg x 5 69kg x 5 Barbell sumo deadlift 75kg x 5 Biceps cable curl (tri set with one hand cable rows and triceps pushdowns) 28kg x 5 28kg x 5 28kg x 5 Triceps straight bar pushdown 26kg x 10 26kg x 10 26kg x 10 One Hand Cable Row (standing) - with "gi grip" 26kg x 5 reps (per hand) 26kg x 5 reps (per hand) 26kg x 5 reps (per hand) Got hold of some scramble grip trainers and thought i would use them to. They let me take a "gi grip" when doing the row which i definitely felt in my grip! Bulgarian Split Squats (weight is per leg) - identical done with left and right 28kg (2 x 14kg KB) x 5 28kg (2 x 14kg KB) x 5 28kg (2 x 14kg KB) 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 5 1 (140lb) x 5 1 (140lb) x 4 1 (140lb) x 4 1 (140lb) x 4 Trainer (60lb) x 52

True but you are also rolling with competitive wrestlers so that is going to happen! Plus i think you said you mainly train nogi - that massively benefits the younger, more athletic grappler. The gi helps a lot once older to grab on and slow them down!

Think it varies tbh. For my karate club we are under one of the main karate bodies (the KUGB) and gradings are arranged to have one of the KUGB technical committee (5 8th Dan's) come and conduct the grading so the grades are awarded by the HQ itself in essence. For judo, the first few kyu are awarded by the club instructors and sent off but after a few then they are sat at central gradings which are arranged by the governing body (in my case Judo Scotland) so the grades are awarded by HQ. The relative size of the USA and Scotland / the rest of the UK may factor into it though. Is your HQ a multi state body or for your home state only?

As a longstanding Mariners fan i hope you are totally wrong! Though as i have followed both the Bills and Mariners for years (think i am unusual over here as being a foreign fan who doesn't support the 'reigning champions' lol) i have my fingers crossed that this year ends up being an awesome title laden year! Also, Raleigh for MVP!

that happens to everyone! is a progression: when new you get smashed by everyone and basically suffer for a year or two > some people you can smash and everyone else smashes you > can smash more people but those who smashed you before often still smash you etc. The smashing never ends unless you were a teen / child prodigy and end up Mica Galvao!