DarthPenguin

Congratulations! You have dedicated a huge amount of time and effort to this site - it definitely wouldn't be the same without you!

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 What if they were wearing plot armor? All jokes aside, getting hit unexpectedly is a bit like 'riding the lightening.' There's a sudden flash of light, Israel Adesanya crosses your mind, and the rest is up to God. Good point - even more so if the plot armour is Batman's !

that part is exactly what they miss out when it is drilled as 'self defence'. The person who is attacking typically just holds you in a bear hug and squeezes you, they don't do what they would really do and use it for a takedown (i think it's a 'mat return' but my knowledge of wrestling terms is almost as bad as my actual wrestling!). A Bas Rutten style 'heel to the balls' would be more effective! (i have just remembered how much i loved the old Bas Rutten self defense vids - i'm going to go round the house shouting ' looky, looky' now!)

Well done to him - for getting a win at state and for also showing good bottle! Even from afar i am aware that US state wrestling comps are a really good standard so you must be very proud. It is interesting seeing your kids compete: my son was in a judo comp on Sunday too (he is 7 so it was all other 7/8 year olds). Had 4 fights and drew every one lol (though he advance on judges decisions due to aggression etc. I said to him after that in every bout he had his opponent properly loaded into a very deep o-goshi but just didn't bend his knees enough to get the throw - a good learning moment though. He had asked me to video all his fights and actually watched them back and pointed out things he was noticing he could improve himself! Hopefully a good sign Anyway enough of a tangent, well done again to Kenneth! At this rate he might even get a uni scholarship and save you a tonne of money!!

That bear hug escape sounds very similar to one i was shown before as a 'Gracie Self Defense' move in my old bjj school (if that helps looking it up online). Personally i wasn't a huge fan of it as it really only seemed to work reliably when i was a lot bigger or when you know the opponent is just in practice. I have seen a couple of variants of it: one where you base out wide and then straighten one leg and try to take them over it in a throw (pretty like a tai-otoshi), but tbh i doubted this would ever work. Other variant, you step one leg behind the opponent, grab round their waist and lift them, either dropping them on their side or back in an ura-nage type motion. Again i didn't think it was terribly practical as i doubt you could easily step behind the opponent in reality (plus it needed a fair amount of strength in reality to pull off)

Saturday 23 March BJJ Session Good session. Initially went over the Torreando pass then worked on retaining guard when being passed using that: going towards the overall philosophy of get something in the way! Then worked some open guard, transitioning between some guards while opponent was working to pass. Did some positional sparring too : top person working to pass, bottom to retain guard or if possible sweep. Did several rounds which were good

Thursday 21 March Lifting Session Bench press 20kg x 5 40kg x 5 52.5kg x 5 60kg x 5 70kg x 10 Band Assisted wide grip pull ups (used 20kg band) 3 reps 3 reps 3 reps Was please with these as i am crap at pull ups and did every rep from full hang. Want to get these up! Zercher squat (superset with the pull ups) 50kg x 6 50kg x 6 50kg x 6 50kg x 6 These feel good. Think i can start to go up in weight now: was taking a while to get used to the form first Single arm cable preacher curl (reps = l+R) 25kg x 16 25kg x 16 25kg x 16 pleased with these too as 25kg per arm for reps is more than i would have thought i could do a while ago! Triceps rope pushdown (superset with the above) 45kg x 10 45kg x 10 45kg x 10

Wednesday 20 March Karate session First session back post not being able to grade due to my foot. Was a good session. Lots of kata emphasis. Also began to work on the kihon that will be required when i go for my shodan grading (which will be after i pass the next one!) Ran through all the katas from kihon kata to Bassai Dai (inclusive) several times.

Tuesday 19 March Lifting Session Trap Bar deadlift 70kg x 5 80kg x 5 90kg x 5 102.5kg x 5 117.5kg x 13 Was pleased with this one Incline Bench Press (done as a tri set with next two exercises) 40kg x 10 40kg x 10 40kg x 10 Seated machine row (one hand) - reps are L+R 50kg x 20 50kg x 20 50kg x 20 Straight arm pulldown 40kg x 10 40kg x 10 40kg x 10 Triceps overhead cable extension 45kg x 10 45kg x 10 Biceps cable curl 45kg x 10 45kg x 10

Thursday 7th March Lifting Session Seated Overhead Press 20kg x 5 30kg x 5 35kg x 3 40kg x 5 45kg x 3 50kg x 8 Zercher Squat 50kg x 3 50kg x 5 50kg x 5 One hand cable row (reps are total L+R) 35kg x 20 35kg x 20 35kg x 20 Hip Adductor cable exercise (reps are total L+R) 5kg x 20 5kg x 20 5kg x 20 Hip Adductor cable exercise (reps are total L+R) 5kg x 20 5kg x 20 5kg x 20 Single arm preacher cable curl (reps are total L+R) 20kg x 20 20kg x 20 20kg x 20 20kg x 20 20kg x 20 Triceps Pushdown w straight bar 45kg x 10 45kg x 10 45kg x 10 45kg x 10 45kg x 10 Added in the hip exercises as i was thinking strengthening that area may help me increase kick height again. Have also been doing some dynamic stretches every day and will see how they work out

There are several BJJ schools in my city. That will be why the purple belt's class is quiet then! Unless they are a big name competitive bjj guy / mma fighter, if there are other schools then most people will gravitate to the more senior ones

It's a weird one. Just have a sneaky feeling Tyson will do it. For me it will come down to his chin. Reminds me a little of George Foreman when he made his comeback: nowhere near the fighter he was but still had a great chin and power. I can see Jake Paul's youth allowing him to take charge a fair amount but if Tyson can weather that (and his chin holds out) i fancy him to hit Paul a couple of times at least. Then it comes down to how good Paul's chin is and if he can take a shot from Tyson. Power is the last thing to go, but maybe late 50s is when it will have vanished. I'm edging slightly 55 / 45 Tyson Ko versus Jake Paul decision personally

I likely collect far too many things! I have literally hundreds of Funko pop figures (though have gotten less in last few years due to nowhere to put them!); collect Star wars lego; started to collect some Pokemon Cards when my son started to get into them as he liked us both collecting them; collect lots of fantasy/science fiction books too (and likely more things i have forgotten!)

Thanks - should be ok (touch wood!). Hasn't flared up for a couple of years until now. Think i just got a little lax on my preventative things like not eating sugar, exercise 5 times a week, drink several litres or water a day etc. (they all work for me!) so it's my own fault!. On the plus side i will be extra prepared for the next one. CI has started me on the 1st kyu syllabus for going for shodan anyway (started it last night) and informed me that i had better not miss June (so in the grand scheme of things won't make much of a difference tbh)

It would depend on the area tbh. When i first started BJJ black belts were semi mythical beasts so a purple belt would definitely teach in that situation. Nowadays, while Black belts are not common there are enough of them that most academies here will be run by a black belt or at the very least a brown belt (there is the odd exception such as credentialed mma fighters who are a purple belt still etc.). Compared to the average person a purple belt is still significantly skilled enough to be able to handle them easily and teach them with no problems though. Not sure if there are more bjj academies in your area?

Definitely, has to be Merab for title next. Poirier is in a weird situation (as is often the case): i doubt he would ever bear Makhachev (or probably Oliveria) so i don't think he will get the belt but he is still one of the top couple of fighters. I can see him being almost like a final barrier now before a title shot for a true worthy contender

Quick update on grading : unfortunately my Gout flared up really badly in my right foot the day before the grading (it is a legacy of an old injury) so i couldn't sit it as i couldn't put any weight on my foot! Will sit it in June instead but that just means i will be even more prepared!

Anyone else been watching the Halo tv series? We stumbled upon it by accident (i have never played the halo games) and it is surprisingly good. Reminds me quite a lot of the Expanse actually. If you haven't seen it i would definitely recommend it

Yeah i imagine the Jets weren't too happy with that one as the campaign trail may have an impact on his rehab / training camp! Disappointed to see Henry sign for the Ravens (where i think he will do great) and not for the Bills though!

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