DarthPenguin

I'd be careful here. I'm not sure a coaching change is what would push them over the hump. I don't know that there was anything happening in that game coaching wise that made think anyone's job should be in jeopardy. I feel like in the world of athletics today people are way too eager to see a coach fired. It's really hard to win games in the NFL, and even harder in the playoffs. They could fire the coach, sure, but then who knows what kind of coach the next one will be? Who would it be? And the Bill's coach has had great success. This year was a great coaching job, after starting out on the lam, and then ending up winning their division like they did. I think it's a case of the devil you know vs the devil you don't. Making a coaching change would be a huge mistake, I think. It's a weird one - i wholeheartedly agree that the coach has done a great job, the team is consistently good and always ranked amongst the top few in the nfl in several metrics. The other side of me though thinks that the teams has probably 1-2 more years left in the current window and i just can't see him getting us past Andy Reid's Chiefs. When it gets to the playoffs the fact that so much of our offence comes through Josh Allen begins to hinder us. Cook was a big improvement this year on prior years RBs but we need someone who can (if needed) carry the team a bit and let us grind out the clock without getting Allen too banged up. Personally with the coaches available this year i would take the gamble on a new one for the last year or two of this window and see if they can get over the hump. I just keep being reminded of Dungy at the Buccaneers or even Bill Cowher at the Steelers (who was a great coach) with them suddenly improving once Tomlin took over. It might not work out at all if they change coach and it would be harsh on him but it does seem to be the same every year. We have one of (in my opinion) the top 2 QBs in the league (i think it's him and Mahomes at the top), with a historically unique skill set (best running QB ever i think with a top tier arm too) and we just keep missing out. If we had reached a superbowl then i would give him a little more slack

Very good points - public perception makes a massive difference. Plus, just because one/small number of individuals misapply a technique that doesn't mean that everyone would. By the same logic any other means of defence that an officer has should be removed if someone once uses it incorrectly (guns in the USA; batons/tasers etc in the UK etc.) which obviously doesn't happen. The public perception angle has also directly contributed towards things being more dangerous i think. As an example: one of my fathers friends (he is in his late 70s now i think) used to be a police officer in Glasgow and, as he is a big guy, he was in the special squad that had a job of (literally!) beating up troublemaking youths! They were meant to pull them down an alley and give them a bit of a kicking and tell them to stop bothering people etc. It actually worked quite well as most of them (in that era) were self aware enough to accept it as a cost of doing business and if they couldn't handle it they bothered people less! Then things changed with people saying these things shouldn't happen as they had rights! This directly led into a change in behaviours. From another personal example : when i was in my early 20s myself and a training partners got jumped in the city centre by a gang of 18-20yr olds (As a guess) with bottles etc. Without going into too much detail we fought them off, tried to find the police while keeping fighting them off and when we eventually did manage to find the police and asked them how they went about charging them were told that they couldn't since the folk attacking us had several injuries and needed a hospital visit. As they had enough witnesses that saw them attempting to cut us with bottles etc. they were willing to let us go but if we pressed charges we would get stronger ones for doing more damage protecting ourselves. That would never have happened in the past - i have some views of the societal changes that have led to this but that would be a complete tangent!! Personally i don't envy you guys as it must be a constant tightrope you are walking balancing your (and the people around you including your colleagues safety) against the outcry if something goes wrong!

Now the Bills are out i am going to have to root for the Lions - would be amusing to have them win the Superbowl only a few years after being historically awful!

As a Bills fan, the latest defeat has me wondering if we are now in the same situation as the Tony Dungey Buccaneers from years ago, who got so close but needed to change coach to Jon Gruden to get over the hump and win a SuperBowl. The head coach has done an amazing job but i wonder if the players need a new voice (not sure who would be a good choice but i think the team is good enough that they would have a LOT of interest!)

Thanks for posting - was a very informative read! I have noticed that a lot of police officers train bjj over here (in my current academy and also my old one) and have wondered about it before. When thinking about it i thought that (out of the styles i am aware of) it is probably the best suited to a police officer due to it being what i would term 'analogue in nature' rather than most other arts which i would term as 'digital'. What i mean by this is in a 'digital' art (which i would describe most striking styles as) then someone is either hit or not hit, with that hit either being hard enough to be effective or not being. If you are trying to restrain an individual then if you are mainly trained in a striking art then you either put them down or you don't. In the UK this would likely result in action being taken against the police officer. Judo and Sambo were styles i initially found hard to caregorise but i decided i would lump them in with the striking arts since the techniques they are most known for (the throws) are similar in that aspect to strikes - someone is either thrown or they are not! Then if they are thrown there is a good chance of someone being injured. While both styles do contain groundwork, it is not their major focus and if that is what you are looking for then i (personally) think you would pick up the necessary ground skills faster at bjj since that would be the main focus of the class. For an analogue style you can choose the level of force applied in the technique with a wide range being possible. As an example you can restrain someone in a chokehold and immobilise them whilst choosing how hard the choke is. It could go from immobilising and not really choking all the way up to choking someone out quickly, with the officer able to decide how hard to go. Bjj takes a very very long time to rank up and 'master' but a lot of that time is spent learning how to beat other people who also train bjj. Someone can pick up enough to be able to apply simpler techniques to an untrained individual a lot faster. The other style i thought that would potentially be useful/applicable and i would class as analogue for this purpose is Aikido. I admit i don't know much about it but i think from what i have seen the techniques would allow the selective application of force. The reason i don't think it would be as applicable as bjj (though this may just be my ignorance) is from what i have always heard it takes an extremely long time to become good enough at Aikido to apply it in a fight to a resisting individual. This time period is why i don't think it would suit. Anyway, i hope i haven't taken your thread off in a tangent! Even as a non police officer i have always thought it is quite an interesting topic!

Yeah glad to hear you are getting back into the swing of things. Unfortunately there is not much else that you can do sometimes, no matter how difficult it may be. When my father passed, he had been ill for a long time so it was not unexpected (which helps a little) but no one can ever be totally ready for it. Glad to hear that things are gradually returning to a sense of normality though - that can help with dealing with things (i think so anyway)

yeah is a shame on the cross training though tbh it's not really cross training since it is some of his old students and they will be covering his style (plus some goju). Maybe it's the same style that is more of an issue to the CI- i can think of former instructors of mine that were fine with you going for extra training at classes run by their seniors (indeed it was encouraged at more senior grades) but were a little less keen about going to classes run by their juniors

interestingly i noticed this morning that a uni in Sacramento has just agreed a combat sports tie up with Urijah Faber's Team Alpha Male. Not a degree but they are saying that there is a possibility of future scholarships for the students. Thought it was quite interesting!

this times 1million!! It is a fundamental life skill i think

yeah should be a good one - i am more hopeful than i have been for prior matchups. The addition of Cook at RB has made a massive difference; having someone other than Allen able to run just gives him a slight breather

Thursday 18 January Lifting session Seated overhead press 20kg x 5 25kg x 5 30kg x 3 37.5kg x 5 42.5kg x 3 47.5kg x 7 Lat pulldown 70kg x 10 70kg x 10 70kg x 10 face pulls 20kg x 20 20kg x 20 20kg x 20 triceps rope pushdown 40kg x 10 40kg x 10 40kg x 10 40kg x 10 biceps cable curls 40kg x 10 40kg x 10 40kg x 10 40kg x 10 ski erg 1km

Tuesday 16 January Lifting session Squat 20kg x 5 40kg x 5 60kg x 3 70kg x 3 80kg x 5 90kg x 3 100kg x 2 managed these but felt tough. Think i need to work on my quad strength and knee stability more. Going to lower the weight a little for next training cycle and try to get more reps in - also will try to add in front squats Cable flyes 15kg x 12 15kg x 12 15kg x 12 15kg x 12 15kg x 12 Triceps rope pushdown 40kg x 12 40kg x 12 40kg x 12 Biceps cable curl 40kg x 12 40kg x 12 40kg x 12 ski erg 1km

In wrestling, this is referred to as "chain wrestling," using one move to set up the next, or to a more appropriate response if the opponent does something different. It's really the next level stuff. Yeah it is what i need to work on next. I've made a start on trying it from in guard - i have some preferred grips and some chains i try to work from when there. Then need to start getting that smoother and working on the same from other positions.

I've always thought of learning how to fall as a foundational life skill. It's one reason that i had my son start judo as soon as he turned 4 (the minimum age here). I had always said he would start judo or gymnastics to learn to fall safely. His younger sister is 4 in May and she will be doing the same! Even if they don't enjoy it and don't stay with it for the longer term, the ability to fall safely will stand them in good stead all their life i think

Actually i have a feeling that Belichick will end up at the Cowboys or the Chargers. He will have his pick of teams. I would lean slightly towards the Chargers due to the QB (i really really don't rate Prescott at all) but i could see it going either way. More importantly (for me) the Bills won!! Now they get to welcome the Chiefs. Hopefully home field makes the difference. Josh Allen playing like he did last night is a force of nature. That 52yd run was something else. Josh Allen playing with his head screwed on and not forcing it and throwing crazy picks is so hard to stop. I think i saw a stat that when he throws 0 interceptions the Bills have won their last 17 straight!! This is the most optimistic i have been about a Bills team since i was young and watched the Marv Levy teams in the playoffs

Yeah i have to agree with Luther here. From what i see here it has definitely dropped off a lot - also you notice the demographic of people training is different - it's mainly kids or people who are 40's+. The 'fitter' or 'younger' crowd seem to train in muay thai, mma or bjj more here. It might just be an issue with traditional arts in general. I've been trying to find adult judo classes again as i would like to get back into that to help my bjj but it is really hard - most classes are kids only here. People are naturally drawn towards what they see/hear about. The media is generally focused on mma and then by extension you get a lot of exposure for bjj and thai boxing. You also don't seem to get quite as many martial arts movies making it big, which used to be a good source of interest in traditional arts. It's likely different everywhere though. Over here, martial arts training has always been more niche, with most instructors teaching on a non profit basis (which i know is totally different to the USA model)

As a Bills fan i am pleased that they made it through after a rocky patch. Looked some weeks like the best team in the league - in others they looked like they had never met each other before. I'm hoping that the good run they have been on leads them to a good run through the playoffs. If they don't win a SB this year then i see it getting tougher for them as time goes on; it very much looks like their window is beginning to close. I'd like to see Josh Allen get a superbowl ring since he has consistently been one of the top 2-3 qb's in the league for a while now and i think he deserves one. The packers are looking quite scary now too. Such a young team, playing so well and they can only improve really. Jordan Love came on massively over the course of the season. Wonder if the rumours of Belichick to the Cowboys will come true?

Sounds like it is all getting sorted. If you daughter prefers to stay in the current club then that removes any issues with training at another school for you before they even materialise

Saturday 13 January BJJ Session Session was mainly working on avoiding being flattened out in a knee shield half guard and then escaping out onto knees in dogfight position. Working a lot on using a frame with the same side arm as the knee shield into opponents throat area to create space. Worked on that and then drilled it with resistance a lot then several round of sparring. Managed to pull off several cross collar chokes which was good as i am trying to really work on using them from my back. Also managed one bow and arrow choke which i was pleased with as it used to be one of my favourites. main focuses going forwards will be to continue to work on active gripping and on having a clear system of progression from one technique to the next depending on opponents responses (so less 'seeing what is available')

Friday 12th January Lifting session abridged session as could only manage to fit in 30min today at lunch, but something is better than nothing! Bench press 20kg x 5 40kg x 5 57.5kg x 5 65kg x 3 72.5kg x 5 lat pulldown (superset these with bench press) 70kg x 8 70kg x 8 70kg x 8 70kg x 8 70kg x 8 Triceps rope pushdown 40kg x 12 40kg x 12 40kg x 12 these felt a little tougher on the final reps of each set so will likely stick at this weight for a while biceps cable curls 40kg x 12 40kg x 12 40kg x 12 cable flyes 15kg x 12 15kg x 12 15kg x 12 ski erg : 1k

Thanks! Pretty much over it now though been left with a bit of a chest infection. Yeah i am quite liking the ski erg machine. It is one of the few conditioning devices i could find that had a heavy upper body emphasis. I thought that working on some upper body endurance would help a lot, plus it does still work the aerobic system. I walk a lot already so it made sense to me. Came down to a choice between this and an assault bike but pleased with the choice i made so far!

What style does the new club teach in? Will you be picking up an additional style too or is it one of the existing ones you practice? More training is a good thing though!

Could make the argument that those who train when something is less obviously popular may be more likely to stay the course as they aren't actively seeking the next big thing. People who are only training due to popularity may be more likely to train for a while and then leave. To echo what sensei8 said on teaching in Japan - from anything i have heard before from people in multiple styles it would be hard to do so successfully unless you are already world renowned in that style. For example if Teddy Riner or Neil Adams decided to open a full time judo school in Japan i am sure they would get members, but generic international competitor (even though they would be amazing) i think would find it a lot harder.

Congrats!

Monday 8th January Lifting Session Trap bar deadlift 70kg x 5 80kg x 5 95kg x 5 107.5kg x 3 122.5kg x 10 Was pleased with this, probably could have tried to force out one more rep but though that would have negative impact on rest of session so didn't Incline bench press (tri-set with following two exercises) 50kg x 7 50kg x 7 50kg x 7 Lat pulldown (part of tri set) 65kg x 10 65kg x 10 65kg x 10 Face pulls (part of tri set) 25kg x 8 25kg x 8 25kg x 8 Could probably have done more here but i had programmed in 8 reps and didn't want to accidentally impact the remainder of workout Triceps rope pushdowns (superset with biceps curls) 40kg x 10 40kg x 10 40kg x 10 Cable biceps curls (part of superset) 40kg x 10 40kg x 10 40kg x 10 ski erg : did 1k