DarthPenguin

Congratulations! Enjoy the fancy belt icon for the month

Yeah you are definitely correct, For issues with modern instructors just look into a few of the scandals about some prominent BJJ instructors in the last few years (won't go into more detail than that!). One comment i would make though with regards to students voting with their wallets is that sometimes people put up with a lot due to the skill level / prestige of the instructor that they wouldn't otherwise. There are also some cultural differences too : i recall a former Asian instructor of mine who thought nothing was odd about asking his students to come and do work around his house/help him move etc. for free due to his position, whereas such things are a lot different in Western culture.

Yeah is an interesting take on things - reminds me of the idea of making it yours and it being 'your' karate. Seems to flow naturally from that, so you 'make' your interpretation of how to execute a Mae-Geri etc.

I have mixed feelings on O'Malley. There are things I like about him but also he can be annoying. I understand when people don't like his attitude. 300 is definitely a stacked card, though I feel Dana oversold the main event a little bit. It will be a good fight though. Edit: I'd like to add Curtis Blaydes, Maycee Barber (though I could go either way on this one), and Rafael Dos Anjos to fighters I would like to see win on Saturday. Yeah true enough. While i really like watching Pereira i think him vs Hill is more of a co-main tbh. Good win for O'Malley though. They really are pushing him to be a big star. Can't see him getting past Merab though

Yeah should be interesting - i am more looking forward to UFC300 as the card is stacked top to bottom (though the main event is slightly underwhelming but still a good fight). Wouldn't object to any of those winners tbh - though i do find it hard to root for O'Malley at all as i can't stand his attitude!

So, I was reluctant to post a link to their site but, hey, if they are legit, they will appreciate my due diligence. If they are bogus, then I won't train there anyway. So, here is the website to their school (is it OK to post that?): http://clerouxkaratedojo.com/HOME.html You will see that the first parts of the site are in French. Please persist "an English version follows". The "patriarch" is Hanshi Cleroux. He is purportedly a 10th Dan. The head instructor is also a 10th Dan while another instructor is a 9th Dan. This dojo seems heavily intertwined with the "Canadian Karate Association" which has a facebook page but no website that I could find. The dojo and the Association seem to be very closely related. I can find no reference to either of these entities other than through the other. So, only the Cleroux dojo seems to mention the Canadian Karate Association and only the Cleroux dojo seems to mention the Canadian Karate Association. Anyway, I am eager to hear what those with more knowledge than I seem to think about this. If it is legit, I am indeed fortunate to live so close to them and to potentially benefit from their instruction. Well, provided his bio on the website is true, he was ranked legitimately to 9th Dan in Chito-Ryu, although some of his intermediate dan ranks were done a bit oddly--sort of a break in his lineage. It also looks like his 10th Dan was an honorary thing from the government, which is weird. I can't speak to the politics involved, because it's certainly possible there was some pay-to-play or quid-pro-quo going on, but there's no evidence to say one way or the other. It is definitely unusual for a single dojo to have two 10th Dans and a 9th Dan, unless it is the headquarters dojo of a major organization/style. For example, the Shorinkan on Okinawa has two 10th Dans, and a few 9th Dans, I believe, but it's also the largest Shorin-Ryu organization in the world. Yeah i thought similar - looked like legitimate ranking to 9th Dan and he also freely posted details of individuals etc. involved, which happens less often with people who are being 'creative'. I also had a look at some of the named individuals and he was mentioned there (eg there is info on Sensei Tsuruoka online that references them both). What i did find odd though was there is no similar background of the 'other' 10th Dan involved. He is mentioned in the 'instructors' tab, but i would have assumed that he would have had an equally as prominent background. I had a look at his club page too and it lists his dates for each dan grade but not the examiner, with the exception of Sensei Tsuruoka grading him for Kyoshi in 2012. His own site also lists him as a 9th Dan rather than a 10th dan which is also odd! I must admit that it seems quite confusing! Both of the most senior individuals seen to have been graded by a legitimate authority in Sensei Tsuruoka, but it still seems weird to have them both plus another 9th Dan teaching across 3 venues (Sensei Fleming seems to actually teach in his own school and is the President of the schools in question here). I also find it quite strange that two such senior instructors could be teaching together without it being a famous location such as the Shorinkan that Wastelander referenced. Since the OP has trained before maybe it is worth popping along and seeing what it is like on the chance that they are legit! If so, then it would be an astonishingly high level of tuition to have available. Also would answer the question of legitimacy quite quickly - maybe pop along with some friends who hold higher dan rank and see what they think too

Wednesday 6 March Karate Session Usual warm ups then ran through grading required kihon. Ran through all the Heian Kata and Bassai Dai several times. Got a couple of useful minor pointers to work on which helped - they were things i was deliberately doing and the CI suggested to do them slightly differently. He also suggested a slight change to my rhythm for a sequence in Bassai Dai and it seems a lot better already with that change! Did several rounds of kumite: initial ones being 3 unannounced attacks to be countered and then a couple of rounds of jiyu kumite. Was a good session as we went a little harder with quite a bit more contact Overall all good (i hope!) and just putting finishing touches to things pre grading

Thanks!

Nice to (virtually) meet you

Tuesday 5 March Lifting Session Bench Press 20kg x 5 40kg x 5 50kg x 3 60kg x 5 67.5kg x 5 75kg x 5 These felt smoother than usual which is good! No pain from my irritated shoulder either which also helps! Machine Standing Horizontal row plate loaded (reps = L+R) weight is per hand 50kg x 10 50kg x 10 50kg x 10 KB standing one hand oh press (reps = L+R) 24kg x 8 24kg x 8 24kg x 8 Face pulls 20kg x 25 20kg x 25 20kg x 25 One hand cable biceps curl (reps = L+R) 20kg x 16 20kg x 16 20kg x 16 Triceps rope pushdown 45kg x 8 45kg x 8 45kg x 8 didn't have much time for session so had to squeeze in what i could. Didn't get time to use ski erg unfortunately

Welcome, nice to (virtually) meet you! Whereabouts are you located? We have a fair mix of people here from all over. Myself i am in Scotland

yeah i saw that. Next season is shaping up already to be another interesting one! Am interested to see who the Bills draft this year. Not sure if there are any good rb's coming out this time but we really need a good one. Either that or another WR and we are so close!

At least it is not just me! On a separate (though still tv related note) we just got done watching the first 3 seasons of Upload. I'd never even heard of it but we decided to give it a chance and it was actually really good. Reminded me a lot of the Good Place. Was a totally original concept too which is rare nowadays!

Congrats to Kenneth! Sounds like he is doing really well Out of curiosity what age range is 'freshman' - i know of it as first year of university but not sure how it translates to school (we have a totally different system here). He is doing great to hold his own with older boys. They will have plenty of age related advantages. If he keeps this up he will be a monster when older!

Surely if someone is forfeiting ALL their matches they should be made to withdraw from the event? I can see the point if someone gets hurt in their first match etc. and has to pull out, but going to an event and choosing not to compete should be a withdrawl. Sounds like the ultimate default medal!

Congrats to him on his BB, it is a massive achievement for anyone and a dream of the far off future for me lol Interesting to hear your comment on Blue belts leading classes. Would be really surprised to see that anywhere now really: certainly in the USA where there are a lot more bjj practitioners. Years ago you would occasionally see it in Scotland (when i originally started there were only 2-3 black belts in all of Scotland), but now, while it is still not a common sight, there are plenty more and lots of Brown/Purple belts so most clubs would be run by a brown belt at minimum, though some individual classes would be taken by others. I was chatting to someone about it the other day how it used to be very rare to see a purple belt 'in the wild' taking part in classes, brown belts were almost unheard of and Black Belts were like mythical creatures, but nowadays you see all of them regularly in class and not just teaching!

I read the book years ago and it was really good (from what i remember anyway!) so will definitely give it a try!

Thanks, i will do!

Thursday 29 February Lifting session Trap bar deadlift 70kg x 5 80kg x 5 90kg x 3 100kg x 5 112.5kg x 3 125kg x 8 These felt good though i need to work on my grip more! last few reps my grip was beginning to give out. could have possibly managed more reps if not for that Cable flyes (weight is per hand) 25kg x 6 25kg x 6 25kg x 6 25kg x 6 One hand triceps pushdown (reps are L+R) 25kg x 12 25kg x 12 25kg x 12 25kg x 12 One hand cable preacher curl (reps are L+R) 25kg x 12 25kg x 12 25kg x 12 25kg x 12 Overall pleased with session. Have had a sore shoulder recently but didn't play up!

Wednesday 28 February Karate Session Good class, did warmups then grading required kihon as usual. Did a lot of kumite practice, rotating partners. First three unannounced jodan attacks each, then three any level, then jiyu kimute. Then worked through all katas from Kihon kata to Bassai Dai. Also good news that the CI told me he would like me to grade for 1st kyu in a fortnight!

Welcome, nice to have you here Is a friendly bunch of people. There is also an 'introduce yourself' spot if you feel like saying hi and sharing a little info (though it is by no means mandatory!!)

That’s a tough one for me because they were collectively funny!! Separately, I think Kramer was the funniest of them all, imho. Kramer was the Iggy from Taxi of the Seinfeld show to me. They both are hysterical and brilliantly played. I can't imagine their could ever be a better actor for either role. Though I do wonder how someone like Jim Carrey would do as Kramer, him and Richards both have a gift for physical humor. This is likely nigh on blasphemy but i never really watched Seinfeld! Has it aged well? I really liked the lady who went on to be Selina Meyer in Veep and i know she is a major character so it has got me tempted to give it another shot a few times!

Yeah that is what i recall too - at the time though most people would have agreed with Belichick as conventional wisdom was that he would be done very very shortly. Guys like Brady, Brees, Rodgers etc have changed that a little now i think but then when they start to lose it it seems sudden (i always think of Manning and Brady basically falling off a cliff at the end!)

Yeah i will definitely be watching it. Not sure if i would agree that he is one of the most popular guys, would say he is one of the most polarising guys. Most people i know can't stand him. Personally i don't mind him winning at the weekend as i would quite like to see Merab crush him! I do like Burns and Holland too so should be a fun card!

Yeah, they may also get into the same territory that the patriots got into (if not there already) where players take a pay cut to join them later in career for a good shot at getting that ring. Once you get into that tier it can really help with sustaining a dynasty. Mahomes now does seem to have a decent shot at getting close to Brady's 7 rings. For the niners i think next year will be huge - last year of the huge discount on Purdy and they will have some very difficult choices coming up soon. As for my Bills? If Derrick Henry is still a free agent (haven't checked recently) then we should get him!! When thinking about it we want to have a line built for a large strong powerful back rather than an agile back as it will protect Allen more when he runs too!