DarthPenguin

Tuesday 19 May

Lifting Session

Squat

20kg x 5

40kg x 3

60kg x 2

80kg x 1

105kg x 2

105kg x 2

105kg x 2

 

Bench press

20kg x 5

40kg x 3

60kg x 2

70kg x 1

88kg x 2

88kg x 2

88kg x 2

 

Assisted Pullups

-25kg x 2

-25kg x 2

-25kg x 2

-25kg x 2

-25kg x 2

Sunday 17 May

Lifting Session

Squat

20kg x 5

40kg x 3

60kg x 2

80kg x 1

105kg x 2

105kg x 2

105kg x 2

 

Bench press

20kg x 5

40kg x 3

60kg x 2

70kg x 1

88kg x 2

88kg x 2

88kg x 2

 

Assisted Pullups

-25kg x 2

-25kg x 2

-25kg x 2

 

Saturday 16th May

Karate Session

Second seminar day, this time the all-grades seminar with Kawasaki Shihan. Once again really good with the focus still on hip opening / closing but this time it was more focused on transition between stances and correct stances. One again it was really good and a lot of good learning. We then spent quite a bit of time working on correct usage of the hips in Heian Shodan

Friday 15th May

Karate Session

We had a special seminar for Brown and Black belts with a visiting sensei, Norio Kawasaki Shihan. Fantastic seminar with lots of great details on the correct usage of the hips in techniques with particular focus on expansion and contraction. Also tried Hangetsu for the first time!

Thursday 14 May

Lifting Session

Squat

20kg x 5

40kg x 3

60kg x 2

80kg x 1

94kg x 5

94kg x 5

94kg x 5

 

Bench press

20kg x 5

40kg x 3

60kg x 2

79kg x 5

79kg x 5

79kg x 5

 

E-Z Bar curl

36kg x 5

36kg x 5

36kg x 5

Sunday 10 May

Lifting Session

Squat

20kg x 5

40kg x 3

60kg x 2

80kg x 1

94kg x 5

94kg x 5

94kg x 5

 

Bench press

20kg x 5

40kg x 3

60kg x 2

79kg x 5

79kg x 5

79kg x 5

 

Assisted Pullups

-40kg x 6

-40kg x 6

-40kg x 6

-40kg x 6

-40kg x 6

 

 

Thursday 7 May

Lifting Session

Squat

20kg x 5

40kg x 3

60kg x 2

80kg x 1

94kg x 5

94kg x 5

94kg x 5

 

Bench press

20kg x 5

40kg x 3

60kg x 2

79kg x 5

79kg x 5

79kg x 5

 

Assisted Pullups

-40kg x 6

-40kg x 6

-40kg x 6

-40kg x 6

-40kg x 6

 

E-Z Bar curl

36kg x 5

36kg x 5

36kg x 5

Tuesday 5th May

Lifting Session

 

Squat

20kg x 5

40kg x 3

60kg x 2

83kg x 5

83kg x 5

83kg x 5

 

Bench press

20kg x 5

40kg x 3

60kg x 2

69kg x 5

69kg x 5

69kg x 5

 

Deadlift

60kg x 3

80kg x 2

90kg x 5

90kg x 5

90kg x 5

On 5/5/2026 at 6:27 PM, Furinkazan said:

In my observation (mostly on the internet), it's mostly karateka that appear to be fixated on McDojos.  I don't see it happening anywhere near as much in BJJ discussions,, unless the context is them referring to all places in which TMA is taught as "McDojos."

 

 

it does crop up in BJJ discussions - it is one reason why people often put their lineage to avoid any issues. People pass around comments on schools that are known to be McDojos and just hand out belts - there is one in my city that is pretty well known and tbh it is a laughing stock in every other academy nearby. You do feel sorry for the students though as it was part of a well known affiliation and the head coach comes across as being legit but then folk would turn up at other schools with advanced belts and be properly humbled. A lot then end up leaving and moving to the other academies

 

On 5/5/2026 at 6:27 PM, Furinkazan said:

If this is happening in the US (I'm not aware of it), I don't know what the profit margin is.  If you look at the maximum number of students that the square footage of the floor in most dojos can fit, I'm not sure the tuition is even covering the rent, much less the reinvestment into the physical dojo via the purchase and replacement of training equipment and the like.

What i meant was in the USA martial arts academies are more likely to be someones job/livelihood than they are over here. Here it is typically a hobby or a way to make extra cash. For someone who makes their living from teaching martial arts then McDojos that make martial arts look bad may mean less interested students > less income or they may feel pressure to do the same to be competitive / make a living. Either thing being an overall negative

Monday 4 May

Karate Session

Another good double session. First session we worked through the Heian kata and also some kihon, lots of good details. For the second session it was dedicated to Jiyu Ippon kumite and again it was good - lots of useful pointers for everyone

Sunday 3 May

Lifting Session

Squat

20kg x 5

40kg x 3

60kg x 2

83kg x 5

83kg x 5

83kg x 5

 

Bench press

20kg x 5

40kg x 3

60kg x 2

69kg x 5

69kg x 5

69kg x 5

 

Assisted Pullups

-40kg x 6

-40kg x 6

-40kg x 6

-40kg x 6

-40kg x 6

Thursday 30 April

Lifting Session

Squat

20kg x 5

40kg x 3

60kg x 2

83kg x 5

83kg x 5

83kg x 5

 

Bench press

20kg x 5

40kg x 3

60kg x 2

69kg x 5

69kg x 5

69kg x 5

 

Assisted Pullups

-40kg x 6

-40kg x 6

-40kg x 6

-40kg x 6

-40kg x 6

Tuesday 28 April

Lifting Session

Squat

20kg x 5

40kg x 3

60kg x 2

80kg x 1

99kg x 3

99kg x 3

99kg x 3

 

Bench press

20kg x 5

40kg x 3

60kg x 2

83kg x 3

83kg x 3

83kg x 3

 

Deadlift (conventional)

60kg x 3

80kg x 2

108kg x 3

108kg x 3

108kg x 3

Monday 27 April

Karate Session

Really good double session. In the first session we worked a lot on bunkai from Heian Yondan which was useful and got some really good pointers on minute adjustments to stances / which leg muscles to tense more etc. Second class we worked a bit more kihon which was also good. Lots of details and was really useful

Saturday 23 April

Lifting Session

Squat

20kg x 5

40kg x 3

60kg x 2

80kg x 1

99kg x 3

99kg x 3

99kg x 3

 

Bench press

20kg x 5

40kg x 3

60kg x 2

83kg x 3

83kg x 3

83kg x 3

 

Assisted Pullups

-32.5kg x 3

-32.5kg x 3

-32.5kg x 3

-32.5kg x 3

-32.5kg x 3

Thursday 23 April

Lifting Session

Squat

20kg x 5

40kg x 3

60kg x 2

80kg x 1

99kg x 3

99kg x 3

99kg x 3

 

Bench press

20kg x 5

40kg x 3

60kg x 2

83kg x 3

83kg x 3

83kg x 3

 

Assisted Pullups

-32.5kg x 3

-32.5kg x 3

-32.5kg x 3

-32.5kg x 3

-32.5kg x 3

2 hours ago, KarateKen said:

Yes, she is planning to sue for a lot of money, not sure how much.  If she does win the lawsuit, the taxpayers will get stuck with the bill.  I doubt there will be any repercussions by the Fargo police against the detectives, so far it looks like nobody has been fired or demoted. The Fargo Police Chief is retiring and has declined to answer questions about the situation, according to what I read. Repletely turning down on camera interviews and when asked about it at a press conference his answer was "we are not here to talk about that today."  So....the police screw up, the lady loses her job and her house, plus five months of her life that was spent behind bars, the taxpayers pay out if/when she wins the lawsuit, and nobody from the police who created this mess are being held accountable.  I don't know what it is like where you are, but nothing seems to make sense in America anymore! 

I must admit i reread it and i have some more questions! I work using AI a lot in my work life and it is standard to be checked but that isn't what raises the questions:

I can understand that the individual may have matched an AI visual image, which i assume is similar to what would occur with an image generated by a sketch artist? If so i assume there is some kind of physical identification required too? This might be overly swayed by watching tv shows but wouldn't there then be some kind of line up performed? I also doubt that Uber Eats receipts would be sufficient unless there is evidence of location on the device ordering it etc. For example is it not possible for me to order something in a location where i am not currently present, pay for it and get the receipt but i was never there?

Thats not saying there may not have been some improper actions from the police force, i don't know enough to comment on that but it does raise some questions.

As an outsider it does always appear that there are two distinct sides in the USA: one side who criticises the police no matter what they have done and the other who supports them no matter what they have done! I won't ask which side you lean towards since i don't think that is appropriate for this forum, nor will i share my thoughts on the underlying systemic things i believe are different in the USA and contribute to these issues that i don't think we (currently) have in Scotland / the UK!

12 hours ago, bushido_man96 said:

That would be a fun time!

 

depends if i get my head taken off sparring though lol!

23 hours ago, bushido_man96 said:

It sounds kinda like what we refer to as the outrigger position.  Or am I off?

tbh i am not sure what the outrigger position is so no idea!

To my mind it is because people see these mcdojo's and then they lower their opinion of the traditional arts accordingly. This then has a knock on impact of lower numbers of people showing interest and declining student numbers. In the UK this is less relevant as most clubs are run in the evenings as more of a hobby so the instructor is not using it to make a living, as long as they cover their costs then it is fine. For somewhere like the USA where there are more people who make it their livelihood then that has a massive impact.

22 hours ago, bushido_man96 said:

This was not done by all police, but by this particular department.  Not every department is doing this.  It's not a blanket approach to law enforcement.

Yeah, i assume that every dept. will be different. Plus i assume in such an apparently egregious case she has room to sue? As an outsider the USA does always appear to be a very litigious society so if she is not sueing then it does raise some red flags tbh

On 4/23/2026 at 2:38 AM, bushido_man96 said:

What is the "headquarters" position?

It is a position that is useful for passing guard. As a quick description opponent is on their back, i am 'sitting' on their right leg with it folded up (kinda like a chambered mae geri position. Balanced weight so dont get shifted forwards or backwards and have plenty of passing options from there. Probably not the best description but i hope it makes sense!

Monday 20 April

Karate Session

Warm ups then we split out and did some kihon. Lots of focus on both the hip rotation from angled to square for certain combinations, plus on remaining rooted in your stance. We then worked a little on kicks, focusing on the 'snap back' and also on making sure everyones toes were properly retracted for mae geri.

After this we worked on kata : running through Heian Yondan, Heian Godan, Tekki Shodan and then Bassai Dai

Saturday 18 April

BJJ Session

This session was all about passing from the headquarters position. Was a really good class. We worked either a smash pass to the right, if your opponent stopped that then a knee slide to the left or if feeling fast a backstep variant. Really good session and a lot of good concepts that i will attempt to keep using!

That decision in the olympic final when the ko'd fighter got the gold pretty much did it for olympic karate tbh. Most people watching olympic sports have a passing interest in the sport they are watching, and for most of those people to see someone get knocked out and be presented with the winners medal just looked wrong.

If they want it to succeed then they either need to move towards a full contact rule set or at the least the more old fashioned shobu ippon rules i think. You can't have someone getting hit and winning if they want to stay in it.

I must admit i was surprised to see flag football in the games though - it is hardly the biggest sport! BJJ gets rejected for the games even though it has a huge participation base now since the talent is basically split across USA and Brazil and they dont like that for olympic sports. While i like the NFL, Gridiron football is only played in the USA with a variant in Canada. That isn't really enough for Olympic inclusion i think, plus flag football isn't a big name anywhere!