DarthPenguin

Multiple red flags popping up there! Even ignoring the oddity of there being two 10th Dans and 9th Dan teaching together in a random location which is so unlikely as to be almost impossible to quantify (plus to be a legit 10th Dan in shotokan you would need to be an absolute minimum of 70yrs old, with 3rd dan at 21 and then minimum possible times in Grade). For me, not knowing what a Kyu grade is is actually a bigger red flag as it's the standard term in karate for a pre-black belt grade! To not know that they are almost certainly not legitimate so i would stay clear!

Yeah the cap is going to be a hurdle but if i was being brutal i think that there would be other cb's available who would be less of a drop off from Snead than DL from Jones. He reminded me of Aaron Donald this season in his ability to totally wreck an offence almost singlehandedly. To me he looks like at the end of his career he will be a clear first ballot HoF so if i had to pick one of the two it would be him!

Saturday 10 February BJJ Session Good session. focused on passing knee shield half guard. First pass involved flattening legs together, deep collar grip with outside arm, head into shoulder, sprawl down then free leg, walk round and come to side. Also drilled knee slide and shin cut pass from same starting position. Practiced several reps of the cradle pass too which i liked. Did some positional sparring and then several rounds of rolling. Rolling was good though got completely schooled by a purple belt! Was useful though and gave me plenty of stuff to work on

Saturday 8th February Lifting Session Squat 20kg x 5 40kg x 5 57.5kg x 5 67.5kg x 5 77.5kg x 9 Cable flyes 20kg x 10 20kg x 10 20kg x 10 20kg x 10 20kg x 10 Triceps rope pushdown 45kg x 9 45kg x 9 45kg x 9 Biceps cable curl 45kg x 9 45kg x 9 45kg x 9 Ski erg 1km in 5min

Excellent game, finished 4am for me but didn't regret staying up for it! That first half was the most dominant 10-3 i have seen in ages from the niners. Just felt like they were on top and i said to my brother in law at the half that i had a feeling they had blown it by not scoring more when on top. Chris Jones made some play at the end to keep the niners to a FG in overtime. Superb game though. Felt really sorry for Greenlaw blowing out his achilles running onto the field. When they showed it at first i thought they were winding him up about tripping on way onto the field then it became apparent that he was actually hurt.

For me the superbowl is usually on from approx 11pm - 3am so that restricts foods etc. (Especially since the kids and my other half will be in bed asleep!). It is typically the night when i will have the most sweets/cakes in the year though! Usually will get a bottle of Irn-Bru (the most awesome soft drink known to man!), a couple of chocolate bars, some crisps (potato chips) and maybe a small cake and work my way through them during the game. Hardest part is usually keeping awake at half time! I have very little interest in music so i usually watch a programme on Netflix on my phone while it is on in the background!

It probably varies a lot from country to country. From what i have observed, the USA typically has more people that run a karate school as a business/primary source of income whilst in the UK it is typically a hobby/means of giving back to the art. As a result what is fair to charge is wildly different. If you are running a school alongside others who do it as their livelihood it isn't the nicest really to offer free classes etc for something that is primarily a hobby for you. In the UK you can see the difference with BJJ/MMA/Thai boxing schools. These are more likely to be run as businesses and the main source of income for the teacher. These almost always cost more and i would be amazed to find a decent place that taught for free.

The thought of arcade games brings back memories! Didn't really have many games arcades here (at least not like the US ones) but there were usually a few in sports centres, the university students union etc. and they were always a good laugh. I remember spending far too much money on the streetfighter 2 arcade machine back in the day and being very excited when a special joystick was released for the Amiga that let you replicate all the buttons for the home version!

Agreed, having an animal on set can be challenging. Looks like the new series is taking a break, there have not been any new episodes since Dec. 14, and I guess season 1 is maybe a wrap? I don't see anything saying the show is over and Kelsey Grammer has said he hopes it goes on for years, so more to come, I hope. Yeah i think it was a much shorter season with the 'special appearance' in the final episode meant to potentially lead into more in the next season. It got better as it went along in my opinion but still not as good as the original!

Congratulations

Monday 5 February Lifting Session Seated Barbell OVerhead press 20kg x 5 25kg x 5 30kg x 5 35kg x 5 40kg x 5 45kg x 10 One hand standing cable row 30kg x 8 (per hand) 30kg x 8 30kg x 8 30kg x 8 Cable hammer curl with rope 30kg x 10 30kg x 10 30kg x 10 30kg x 10 Triceps rope pushdown 45kg x 8 45kg x 8 45kg x 8 Biceps two hand high cable curl 30kg x 8 30kg x 8 30kg x 8 ski erg 1.82km in 9min 18 sec Gradually trying to increase the distance for this and is going well

Saturday 3rd February Lifting Session Trap Bar Deadlift 70kg x 5 85kg x 5 100kg x 5 112.5kg x 13 Incline Barbell Bench Press 50kg x 8 50kg x 8 50kg x 8 Lat Pulldown 70kg x 10 70kg x 10 70kg x 10 Triceps overhead rope extension 40kg x 9 40kg x 9 40kg x 9 Biceps high single arm cable curl 15kg x 10 (per arm) 15kg x 10 15kg x 10 Ski erg 1.624km in 8min 22 sec

BJJ promotions vary a lot from school to school tbh. You are very much ranked under someone and as such you are an X belt under Professor Y. As a result most schools (that i am aware of - with some exceptions) have a tendency to hold off on promoting until someone is very clearly at a certain level as your ability reflects on the academy's reputation to an extent. Some schools have a set list of criteria that you need to achieve to reach the next rank, some it is down to the instructors judgement. As such you can get people ranking in wildly differing times, though when you dig into it you usually see a strong correlation between mat hours / prior grappling training and faster progression. When it comes to rolling i would say it is common for someone to start from their first class and i have (touch wood) never observed an issue with it. Part of the reason why i think it is important is everyone gets shown the techniques and drills them and they seem to be working smoothly but as soon as you start adding more resistance into the drills you start to see where the technique isn't working (not tight enough; not enough pressure in certain parts etc). I personally find that a lot of the time there is a large feel element to the techniques that you can't replicate other than against an opponent. I had a significant amount of time off the mats due to injuries and that was the thing i found that took the longest time to get back: i could feel someones weight and where it was but the feel of this is the time to do X took a while to return. One of the differences is that (for me at least) it is very difficult to perform the techniques against a resisting opponent when you are/were new. We joke about it that you basically spend a year pinned on your back being crushed. After a year you get pinned less and can wriggle out more before you get submitted but can now pin some newer people etc lol. I was always told to aim for small wins: eg if trying to perform an armbar from guard can you get the first sleeve grip consistently? If so then that is a win. Next try to add the next part in etc etc until eventually you can perform the technique.

sounds like he is doing very well. He good enough to wrestle at college? (just asking as i know the USA college wrestling is a very high standard)

Watched it for a while but for some reason just stopped. You have just reminded me it was on my list to continue with!

Personally i have it as a 3pt game with the winner flip flopping in my head all the time! If asked to make a call i would go 31-28 Niners. McCaffrey to win MVP with 2 TDs and 170 combined yards! Purdy to be solid, and Mahomes to have one more giveaway which ends up costing them in the end

His Super Bowl resume is outstanding. His draft pick rating over the course of the past few years has not been impressive. I don't think there are many teams that have done a decent job identifying and drafting talent over the past few years want to give up that aspect of control, and that is part of the control that Bilicheck wants. I saw a new story the other day that I don't think has any credence to it at all in which the author stated he thinks there's a high probability that Reid retires after this year and Bilicheck takes over as KC's new head coach. I don't think there is any way that happens, because Brett Veach has done a fantastic job of signing and drafting players. I also don't think Reid retires after this year. I think he has a few more years in him. Yeah Belichick is/was a fantastic HC but is really a lousy GM. That will be being a major issue i think with his hiring. Only thing that would get over it would be if an already very built team falls into his lap and he accepts the job without drafting control to try and get the 2 rings he needs to leapfrog Brady! If something like the Bills, Chiefs or Eagles opened up i could see him seriously considering it! As for Andy Reid i doubt very much that he will retire anytime soon. He knows he has the golden Ticket in Mahomes and can use it to really improve his HoF plaque! He is now adding the SB wins to go with all the regular season achievements to start moving him up the all time rankings!

I don't have one personally but one of my training partners does and likes it. I asked him about it last time i got a gi (though i ended up getting a Hirota one). He has quite a few though including Hirota, Tokkaido and Shureido ones also and i doubt he would say it was decent if it wasn't. I have also only ever read good things about them online when i looked into it myself. If you do go for it then i would be interested in hearing what you think of it once you get it if you can be bothered to post a review!

Sounds great. Do you have some opening thoughts? Taking a stab at this : 1) unannounced attack the smaller guy is getting hurt tbh. I remember a quote from the boxer David Haye when he moved up from Cruiserweight to Heavyweight and he said that any male above 200lb can hit with enough force to ko someone purely due to their mass. Someone 230lb coming up behind someone much smaller and with a unnoticed attack is going to badly hurt the recipient 2) 'Where they can see them coming is a bit harder as it also depends on the style etc. If it is someone who has trained in a style heavy on contact etc then they will likely win as they will probably piece up the opponent and hurt the bigger guy. Something where they are not used to contact may be different i think. Less likely that they will hit hard enough to hold off the larger opponent and when they are grabbed they will be in a lot more trouble

Sounds great. Do you have some opening thoughts? I liked what someone posted earlier in the thread about how even though they were younger and larger than their grandmasters they know they have no chance. I think that was Montana.I'd like to take that thought back to whether he meant to beat them in a fight, or survive long enough to get away from them. thats a good point! Another point is is it a fight within the rules of their style or outwith it? eg my much smaller grandmaster i trained under years ago would utterly destroy me in any fight under his rules (as expected) and likely in any other fight too but i would give myself a slightly higher chance if i could go outwith the striking ruleset and grapple with him. If there isn't the range to throw a proper strike with force then it becomes a little easier to smother someone/tie them up etc. Though you would likely get pieced up getting into that range!

As long as this is done correctly, because this being done incorrectly is one the main reason I quit my last dojo and moved on to another. My last dojo had an hours requirement for eligibility to test. And they made it a point to spread everything - especially katas - over all of the hours, instead of giving them to you up front and then you polish it up from there. That said, when I had classes that were focused on things that were not testable, I was livid. We were doing that "extra" stuff, when we didn't have everything we needed for the test. Eventually that, along with other things, is why I packed up and moved on to another dojo. I think this is one of those areas where everyone has a difference preference tbh. I would personally be with Aurik on this one, where i like some new stuff every so often for fun (extra sparring focused stuff / more random pad drills etc). I suppose one benefit we have is that we have a very clearly delineated syllabus which i can look up online if needed and i know i will be tested to by the chief examiner. I also always make a point of learning my new kata in advance of first session post grading (the moves anyway) to make a running start.

This is the same thing as considering yourself handsome because your mother said so (independent dojo owner giving you a dan certificate), but then denying the reality that manifests when women repeatedly reject you because they're repulsed by your appearance (affiliated dojos not recognizing it). I'm with bushido_man here. Taking his example even further i am currently in the process of regrading in Shotokan since i had not trained in it for years. I gave up my prior Dan rank (was only shodan so nothing special!!) and decided to start from white belt again since i wanted to be black belt level when i wore the belt, not just wearing a 'legacy belt'. I personally view belts as important for safety purposes when sparring etc and as a useful marker when techniques are being taught as to peoples likely skill level. Other than that they are just a bit of material around your waist. You train to get more skilled/fitter/better able to defend yourself etc. and the belt is just a by-product of that. Skill levels are subjective, though measuring them against set criteria can alleviate that partially. So it is not entirely irrational for a school to say that they are having you start again as you cant be marked against their criteria. I've always found though that people are usually sensible - generally people will openly mention that they have trained before or it is readily apparent. Those who don't are usually just there for an ego boost (i have found) and want everyone to look at them as the freakishly skilled newbie. I would be interested though in how long it took bushido_man to get the TKD BB with the second org? Did they expedite it a little (double promotions / more regular gradings etc.) ?

All of the cons listed are the kancho's concerns, not the students'. The students want what they've earned to be recognized and have meaning anywhere in the world they go, not just the 1500 sq feet surrounded by four walls and a roof in the middle of Smalltown, USA. I saw somewhere else (either in another forum or on Reddit), a guy who earned 4th Dan in an independent TSD dojang, being told he'd have to start from white belt in a WTSDA dojang. IMO, owners of independent dojos should be required to warn prospective students of this. Otherwise, being independent and not disclosing this is pure selfishness. I don't entirely agree. The cons are the kancho's concerns in the sense that they are responsible for how the organization is run, but they are absolutely concerns for the students the moment they begin to affect the students--the only difference is that the students have no power to correct it, and simply have to suffer with whatever the kancho decides. For example, the political machinations and scheming can result in, as happened to me, being denied a rank exam simply for wanting your school to be independent while you personally remain in the organization. Friends trading ranks can result in the students of those people being harassed about their instructors being frauds. Locking down an exact curriculum stifles creativity and the evolution of the art, which impacts everyone training in it. High costs can result in students dropping out and putting both the organization and its individual schools at risk of shutting down, and then we could lose a great deal of knowledge. I agree with Wastelander here, and have personally been on the receiving end of silly organisational politics too. In my case it was my decision to start cross training in bjj (which i told my CI about directly) as the organisational head didn't like cross training even if something he didn't cover. I was privately told that he was going to wait for me to attend my next dan grading and ban me there (though was still going to let me pay the £150+ for the grading!) to make a point. Regarding the selfishness point i don't see how this stacks up. If i tell you that i will teach you Style A and am not a member of any other body, but present my validated credentials, then i am not being underhanded about anything. I can have no effect on if other organisations will or will not accept the grades i issue nor on if they will sensibly test the student if they look to move organisations to accurately place them in the new organisation rank structure. From the new org. point of view and considering your 4th dan example: the applicant could be amazingly skilled and have been undergraded by their old school and you may want to give them a high rank to reflect this (Sato Ishii starting bjj as a brown belt comes to mind, since you can hardly grade an olympic gold medallist judoka as a white belt!) or alternatively their old school could have been a total mcdojo and their 4th dan is no better than a 5th or 6th kyu in the receiving organisation. Note i am not saying the individual you referenced was not mistreated but it is possible that there is more nuance than disclosed.

Can understand that. They have never been the same since they got rid of Jimmy Johnson - that was pure ego from Jones. Dak is massively overpaid for his level. He is good but not top tier. McCarthy is a good coach i think but seems to have run his race in Dallas. Am honestly surprised that Belichick hasn't been offered the job.

Yeah the Bills one is always a funny one. Have seen them rated quite highly in the best teams ever lists since the achievement of getting to 4 straight superbowls was so tough to do - almost harder than winning one! (though i would have preferred a win!)