DarthPenguin

I've never watched it but it has always struck me as needlessly dangerous tbh. The fact you can't defend yourself and just take the blow will just lead to injury. I recently saw another similar 'sport' involving leg kicks which also struck me as crazy but at least it doesn't have the same concussion potential!

Congratulations! Well done. How frequently do you guys test? Thats you on the road now anyway

Yeah, if he can back up his attitude with his play on the field then they will work with him. They will have known what to expect prior to drafting him tbh. Being fair to him, there is probably an adjustment factor involved in no longer having his dad as his head coach for the first time in several years with that leading to quite a difference in what he can get away with.

7 hours ago, BrandonH45 said:

I like that idea. Make it a milestone rather than an official rank. It could also be used to show other instructors and students how far an individual is in that particular part of the curriculum and tell them what the student needs to work on most.

In my head it almost seems like something more akin to BJJ stripes, which are often more informal, with you having the discretion to award 1 or more as you see fit. Different students will learn at different rates so i could see one student being ready for 2 stripes after the 10hr segment and another ready for 1 etc.. Making it more informal makes it easier for you to apply instructors discretion i think

4 hours ago, KarateKen said:

Looks like the big media story in the NFL offseason continues to be Browns QB Shedeur Sanders.  He has been pulled over twice for speeding, going over 100mph in a 60mph zone, and now he missed the team's rookie outing, the only rookie on the Browns to do so.  The word "entitled" comes to my mind when I see the behavior of Sanders. 

QB news for the Browns does not get much better, their big gamble on Deshawn Watson continues to haunt the team.  His 2024 injury is likely to keep him out of most of the 2025 season, possibly all of it.  Looks like the Browns are going to be stuck with that huge contract because they won't be able to trade a guy who has a major injury, off the field problems, and has underperformed on the field.  Nobody is going to take on all that money so even if they can trade him the Browns will have to eat most, if not all, of the contract.  One of the dumbest trades and contracts in NFL history.  

Yeah Sanders is behaving like he is already his all-time great dad rather than a rookie selected low in the draft. I wonder what else he needs to do to be cut?

On 6/5/2025 at 7:31 PM, bushido_man96 said:

That would probably work well.  I'd say keep the punts in the game, because playing defense is a strategy all it's own, and the way the rules are laid out in the NFL with offense being favored, short fields like that would be a huge disadvantage.  I say just let the quarter play out in it's entirety.

Is an interesting idea. Personally i have always thought that the current rules for OT are similar to the football / soccer rules for Golden Goal that got trialled and binned years ago. I would much prefer another quarter (even a shorter one) be played with the team winning at the end getting the win. If still tied could maybe go for something skill based eg stand on the 35yrd line and the qb has to throw the ball off the post. 5 attempts and winning team is highest score. If tied then sudden death and move back a yard etc. (just coming up with ideas to replace the penalty shootout idea!).

 

17 hours ago, Zaine said:

I didn't really read any Forgotten Realms stuff. Not sure why Dragonlance was on my radar as a kid but FR wasn't.

Dragonlance was a lot more 'focused'. It had the original 2 trilogies then branched off series with some of the characters and the backstory. Realms was a totally different thing with authors writing about totally different unconnected areas / characters often. Was probably harder to just pick up and get into.

Currently i am reading the Bladeborn saga, on book 6 at the minute and have been enjoying it. Once done i will read the latest book in the Bound and the Broken series - the series so far was fantastic

On 6/6/2025 at 3:01 PM, Zaine said:

I've been in a reading slump, but I picked up Dragonlance Chronicles to reread. Dragonlance is the series that got me into fantasy. It's been a blast reading them again. I can't seem to put the books down.

That is going back a while! I used to have pretty much all the dragonlance novels (though no idea where they are now) - stopped collecting them when they got into the newest generation and they became hard to find. Think they relaunched a while ago too - saw one in a bookshop relatively recently!

Did you ever read any of the Forgotten Realms stuff? Some of that was good (at the same era)

Excellent - glad to hear you are able to get back into it

On 6/6/2025 at 9:07 PM, KarateKen said:

Harrison made the weight cut.

Do you like Kevin Holland? 

I like him but he will never be champ. Always a fun watch though.

Harrison vs Nunes will be interesting, i'm leaning towards Harrison personally, you?

Merab vs O'Malley went as i thought i would though i was surprised with how improved Merab's striking was. Very impressive

Tuesday 3 June

Lifting session

Needed to be quite a quick session as had stuff to do with the kids plus my foot was playing up

 

Squat

20kg x 5

40kg x 5

55kg x 10

55kg x 10

55kg x 10

55kg x 10

55kg x 15

 

KB Double overhead press

16kg kb x 2 x 55 reps total in ABF press style

 

CAble neck extension

7kg x 14

7kg x 14

7kg x 14

 

Cable neck flexion

7kg x 14

7kg x 14

7kg x 14

Congratulations!

I have also always enjoyed the time i have spent on here. One thing i think that is done particularly well (especially for a martial arts site) is you have managed to avoid any hint of 'my style is superior to your style' slipping in which can often happen on sites where the martial arts is discussed. Everyone is generally respectful of each others style/s and seems to be willing to enter into open discussions with the purpose of learning from others which is appreciated and often far too rare nowadays 

Monday 2nd June

Karate session

 

Warm up as per usual then moved onto grade required kihon. After this we did one round of Bassai Dai and then some kumite drills. Once these were done we worked through all the Heian Katas and then Bassai dai again to finish the class.

Good session!

Friday 30 May

 

Bench Press

20kg x 5

40kg x 5

52.5kg x 10

52.5kg x 10

52.5kg x 10

52.5kg x 10

52.5kg x 12

 

ABC complex with 2 x 16kb

15 rounds EMOM

 

Cable Neck Extension (tri set with cable neck flexion anda single arm cable row)

7kg x 13

7kg x 13

7kg x 13

 

Cable neck flexion

7kg x 13

7kg x 13

7kg x 13

 

Single arm cable row (reps = total of L + R)

20kg x 20

20kg x 20

20kg x 20

 

For these i started in a 'fighting stance' with non working hand forwards. Reached forward with rear hand and rowed it back with twisting trunk. Wanted to try this way to add in some rotational strength too.

Just got back from a trip to Toronto last week so not too much to report - managed a couple of sessions in the hotel gym though.

Starting next 'proper' programme now. Will be doing the Juggernaut 2dpw option again with ABF stuff added in as assistance and some neck work too plus whatever i think should be added at the time

Deadlift 

60kg x 5

72.5kg x 10

72.5kg x 10

72.5kg x 10

72.5kg x 10

72.5kg x 12

Back to doing conventional deadlift for this programme as want to see if it has more carry over than trap bar deadlift

 

KB double overhead press

14kg kb x 2 x 55 reps total. Have ordered a second 16kg so will  be using two of them from here on out

 

Cable neck extension (superset with neck flexion)

7kg x 12

7kg x 12

7kg x 12

 

Cable neck flexion

7kg x 12

7kg x 12

7kg x 12

 

On 5/24/2025 at 6:50 AM, KarateKen said:

I'm more interested in this card than anything the UFC has offered in a while.  I hope Harrison beats Pena. 

Can't see how Pena can beat Harrison with anything other than a lucky strike. Harrison's hardest opponent is the weight cut

Saturday 10th MAy

BJJ session

This session was focuing on back control / excaping back control and was mainly ecological drills. Worked a lot of defending the choking arm with one / two hands and then getting free. Variety of drills around that then some rolling. Managed to pull off first bow and arrow choke in ages. Realised after i felt more energetic so i think the kettlebell work has helped with my conditioning. Will try to implement this alongside more pure strength work going forwards

Thursday 8 May

This was the 100 rep session for the press part of the ABF.

Managed all 20 sets with double 14kg KB's. Could probably press a little more but not sure about how easily i could swing the weight to get it into position with the clean so will likely step up to 2 x 16 next etc

After the presses :

Incline Cable flye (weight is total of L + R)

20kg x 5

32kg x 5

32kg x 8

32kg x 8

32kg x 8

Tried these as a new exercise to see how they went. Was going to try presses rather than flyes but the width of the cable led to flyes being easier. tbh unlikely to keep in programme as was a faff

 

Triceps straight bar pushdown

25kg x 8

25kg x 8

25kg x 8

 

Lat pulldown

50kg x 8

50kg x 8

50kg x 8

 

Cable neck extension

6kg x 16

6kg x 16

6kg x 16

 

Cable neck flexion

6kg x 16

6kg x 16

6kg x 16

 

On 3/25/2025 at 2:35 AM, bushido_man96 said:

After all that, the other student in the class, who said he'd had other experience in striking styles, specifically mentioned Shotokan, talked through his frustrations.  He talked about how he had trouble seeing "the way forward."  He felt he could defend well, but had trouble seeing what "winning," like successfully gaining a position, was like.  We talked about our thoughts for a while, and I likened it to having the "empty cup" approach.  I think he struggles with the ecological approach, especially coming from styles where we stand up and learn techniques in the air before moving to application, and perhaps from a more pliant partner experience.

I think he'd rather do a more static approach to training, where we talk through a technique like an armbar applied when in mount, or drilling the triangle choke from guard.  I think it would help him see "the way forward" better, even though when we start rolling all those steps get pretty jumbled and thrown out the window.  I offered that it might be beneficial to start with a static drill like that, and then move into the games using that as the image to fall back on.  Coach was really open to listening, and he may change up his approach some.  Personally, I haven't minded the approach he's used thus far; it's very different to what I'm used to, but that's what I like about it.  It's taking me out of my comfort zone and really showing me my weaknesses.

I find this quite interesting as i have always had a similar thought that the ecological approach is good but not really for new people. We use it a lot at my class too, and i find it useful, but someone totally new would have issues i think. For example, last week we were working on retaining open guard and destabilising / sweeping opponent. Worked well for me as i worked retaining de la riva, adjusting to another open guard if needed etc. and it helped me realise an issue i have had before was due to my not 'pulling' enough with my de la riva hook - fixed that and started hitting some de la riva sweeps in the drills and when rolling afterwards :). But for someone new, while the principle of "get your feet on your opponent and keep them there" is valid it must be tough  when you don't know the technique.

My personal preference would be to for the instructor to teach a couple of techniques (in my example a couple of basic de la riva sweeps), drill them a few times and then do the ecological drill with the same constraints and instructions. Would give people something to work with, or even if they didn't try that they may have an aha moment about off balancing someone and try something else that works for them.

Hopefully the procedure went well and you see the expected benefits

I always find that a little time off and thinking about technique when off can work wonders when you are back - it can fix those silly little errors you don't realise you are making

16 hours ago, Wastelander said:

Statistically, the vast majority of male-on-male violence is made up of punches to the head, and I have seen many Kyokushin fighters struggle with defending head punches because of the emphasis on punching the body in their competitions, even though knees and kicks to the head are allowed. I expect this ruleset would have the same result.

Wholeheartedly agree - it would be similar to a lot of modern judoka struggling with takedowns that involve leg grabs as they have never learned them since the rule changes. One of the main points of training is to build muscle memory so you respond faster / on instinct. This type of training would lead to know muscle memory being built to defend head strikes. Even if the fighter was able to 'manually' try to respond to such strikes they would inevitably be slower than one who defended it on instinct.

1 hour ago, KarateKen said:

It's been a full year now without a drink.  

I promise this is the final update 

Congratulations!!

 

Also, doesn't need to be final update 

Monday 5th May

KB over head press

double 14kg kb 85 total reps in 2/3/5/10 fashion until hit 85

 

Back squat

20kg x 5

40kg x 5

60kg x 5

not squatted in ages so wanted to do a little to get back into it and will ramp it up soon

 

Cable seated row

55kg x 11

55kg x 11

55kg x 11

 

Triceps pushdown with straight bar

20kg x 15

20kg x 15

20kg x 20

this felt pretty easy so increased reps on the last set to get to 50 rep total

 

Neck extension cable

6kg x 15

6kg x 15

6kg x 15

 

Neck flexion cable

6kg x 15

6kg x 15

6kg x 15

Saturday  3rd May

BJJ Session

This session was working on retaining open guard and some simple sweeps etc from there. Really enjoyed it and managed to find some issues in my de la riva and sort them that i could feel an improvement almost instantly (i was lazily not pulling with my de la riva hook so it wasn't creating any pussh & pull pressure). Managed to pull of a couple of de la riva sweeps in rolling at the end so was pleased. Also managed a couple of chokes too which is always good  Felt more comfortable than i have for a while!

Friday 2nd May

This was the 30 sets EMOM armor building complex day. Managed that part in 27min so was pleased

ABC with 2 x 14kg KB x 30 sets

Bench press

20kg x 5

40kg x 5

60kg x 3

80kg x 1

90kg x 1

Tested this as an experiment as not been lifting as much. Was surprised how quickly this flew up. Going to try to add in a few sets of 1 rep at 100kg and gradually build it up i think

 

Cable flye (weight is total of L + R)

20kg x 11

20kg x 11

20kg x 11

 

Cable reverser flye (weight it total of L + R)

11kg x 10

11kg x 10

11kg x 10

 

Neck Extension

5kg x 22

5kg x 22

5kg x 22

 

Neck flexion

5kg x 22

5kg x 22

5kg x 22