DarthPenguin

Can probably do 1 or 2 at a guesstimate (that is my usual amount most of the time). Hard to test as i don't have a pull up bar high enough for me to use it! If i mount one in the doorframe then i start from kneeling on the floor and not got enough strength to pull from that type of dead hang. Rack chins were a good solution as i can put the bar on top part of squat rack and a bench in front with feet on it which makes me 'shorter'. I have long limbs to go with my height so it can be awkward! In the process of arranging an extension for the house, part of which will be a dedicated workout space that should have high enough ceilings for me to get a proper height pull up bar!

I've definitely seen them myself. What i have observed was (using your categories) Flowing without considering the feasibility of transition Whenever u have been shown joint locks at karate (or other striking arts) this has very much been the case and i think it comes down to the lack of resistance in the drill. In bjj (and judo) you are taught to apply the submission/technique and then the flow comes in with other techniques you perform if it is defended. Typically i find that when we drill this we usually have the opponent resist in some way which then leads to the other technique as a counter. My instructor also teaches that if they don't resist sufficiently then finish the technique rather than go through the flow (my karate instructor is similar in kumite drills, if the attacker gets too close without attacking or doing nothing, feel free to just punch them first as uke!). In the karate drills it is often a case of take limb of fully compliant partner and do X then move compliant limb into position B and do Y. Not as much of apply arm bar properly (though gently) and then when defended apply Y Flowing without considering the opponent As you mentioned i think this very closely meshes with the first point. Is something that a lot of karate people do well with striking but not as well with joint locks. Probably a legacy of how it is taught as opposed to striking. At karate we do a lot of defences to uncalled attacks but nothing similar lock wise Training to be good at the drill Again i notice the difference between this at bjj and karate. You are totally right, people do this a lot. The difference is at bjj we usually then drill it with resistance which makes the difference. Either, start in position X and apply the technique we were just shown or more usually start in position X with goal of sweeping/submitting/escaping/passing guard etc and see if you can do it. Edit : re-reading through my post it seems that my comments can be summed up with "training against resistance makes the difference" - a lot more succinct!

Wednesday 3 May Lifting Session Crazily busy week today so tried to get in a quick lunchtime session Seated Overhead Press 20kg x 5 25kg x 5 32.5kg x 5 37.5kg x 5 42.5kg x 5 32.5kg x 5 Truncated this a little as was short on time Gorilla Row (total reps = L + R) 24kg x 16 24kg x 16 24kg x 16 These still feel good though the handle on my kb's are really thick. Thinking of picking up some 28's but ideally with a narrower handle Goblet Squat 20kg x 10 20kg x 10 20kg x 10 These felt smooth and really easy (which is good!) Band assisted rack chins 5reps 5reps 6reps all with purple band which is between 18-30kg of tension. Didnt ever stretch it anywhere near the max so was a minimal help at bottom of rep which was good. Also did a few reps of pull up grip (5) to see if that was the same Want to add this exercise in a lot more going forwards as need to do more vertical pulling like chins. Saw this setup idea online and managed it (just) in my squat rack: bar on top peg, me hanging from it with band, legs lifted up onto bench. Need to do that of i would be on the floor for a lot of the rep otherwise, the legs on bench thing reduces the height needed a lot!

The Presses are looking good still - really nice weight! Out of curiosity, for the iso lateral bench press, is it on a machine or is it a single arm dumbell press? How are you finding it?

Sounds like it taught a useful lesson (maybe that was the instructors point!) which will stand you in good stead going forwards. I've always been taught that in any kumite you should expect someone to hit you with anything and be ready to defend yourself as someone might misjudge something slightly and you could get hard. At my shotokan gradings we are told to strike to hit - if the opponent misses their block/evasion and you don't hit them (with control) then it is a mark against you! The one that really brought it all together for me was years ago when i was a white belt in a taekwondo offshoot i trained it, at my first grading i stepped in with a backfist and the guy just walked forward and i ended up breaking his nose! I was seriously worried as i didn't want to hurt someone plus i thought i would get in trouble. The grading examiner just said "the technique was fine, you had judged the distance properly, he just blindly walked forward into it with no defense and got hit. His fault not yours". Made it clear to me how much you are responsible for your own safety!

Personally i find i use them a lot more when grappling. For me it seems to fit more easily "flowing" from one technique into another to work on movements as i will then drill them separately with resistance to make sure the techniques work - the flow drill being used to work on smoothness of movement or transitions. For me (completely personal view here) the issue with flow drills in a striking based art is i have always found it hard to do the second part - the train against resistance aspect. As an example i am thinking of the common drills which go like : block strike X, trap arm, perform strike to elbow joint/knee joint, then do .. These can be hard to practice 'hard' i think so you run the risk of training light movements with no finish. I think this risk gets partially alleviated though the more experienced/skilled the practitioner gets as then you are better able to know that you would 'kick through the knee' etc when going for it as you are much more in control of your striking

If there is any issue with the second manager part let me know - not sure if it is something that i need to update as league admin. You have just reminded me though that i need to take a proper look at my roster again - been busy with professional exams the last few weeks so has been a very cursory look!

Totally agree with this! The art itself hasn't really changed but the practitioners interpretation of it has. One thing i have noticed from returning to karate is that things are a lot 'gentler' than they used to be. The training isn't as hard but they are also almost being too nice sometimes - simple example from my own experience : I remember when i has 7 years old and training under a jka school sitting my 4th kyu grading alone in a large sports centre with a very stern and senior japanese examiner and failing. I obviously wasn't up to the required standard so i failed, fair enough. Nowadays the kids (and some adults too) seem to get a weird thing called a 'temporary pass' instead where they were not quite of the required standard. This lets them wear the new belt and train on the new syllabus, so i am never quite sure of the point of it. Difference does come in at 1st kyu where they have to retake the grading until a 'full pass'. I very much doubt that these things would have happened in the past

Monday 1st May Karate Session Warm ups Same as per usual Kihon Ran through grading required kihon. Lots of emphasis placed today on proper hikite and using kime on every technique. Kicks are slowly feeling more fluid, hips seem to be loosening up again which is good! Kata Few run throughs of Tekki Shodan with a couple of minor points (lower my 'cup and saucer hands' by about an inch or so). then a few run throughs of Bassai Dai again Overall a good class

Yep fine with me. Don't see anything wrong with stepping in to rectify an obvious mistake. As long as everything is kept transparent i don't see a problem with that. In the interests of fairness to everyone maybe give it a day or so for the others to object if they aren't happy and then go ahead?

Saturday 29 April Lifting Session Trap Bar Deadlift 70kg x 5 77.5kg x 5 92.5kg x 5 105kg x 5 120kg x 5 92.5kg x 5 92.5kg x 5 92.5kg x 5 Incline Bench Press 47.5kg x 10 47.5kg x 10 47.5kg x 10 47.5kg x 10 47.5kg x 10 47.5kg x 10 47.5kg x 10 47.5kg x 10 Single Arm Triceps extension 8kg x 24 8kg x 24 8kg x 24 Total poundage lifted : 8088.5 time taken : 37min density : 218.6 kg/min

I don't think i have picked any of them up - i will take a look though and if i have i will drop them. No need to take advantage of genuine mistakes!

Sounds like a really interesting project - is it something you would feel comfortable giving us a view of once done? If not totally understand as i am sure it will be a lot of work!

Wednesday 26 April Karate Session Warm ups Standard warm ups though we did also add in some laps of the hall which we don't usually do Kihon Usual grade kihon. As is now becoming common i performed mine and also then the grade up too. Is good practice Kata Multiple rounds of Tekki Shodan. Good practice again. Couple of minor points to work on but was told that it is good currently (or at least tolerable i think) which is good Kumite We did a reasonable amount of kumite practice this session. Mainly in trios; 1 in the middle and two either side working jiyu ippon kumite. Stated attacks first then majority unstated Overall a good class

Glad to hear that you are back at it. Look at the positive - stamina etc being way down proves that they were higher before so no reason that they can't be again as you managed it before!

Tuesday 25 April Lifting Session Bench Press 20kg x 5 40kg x 5 50kg x 5 57.5kg x 5 65kg x 5 50kg x 5 50kg x 5 50kg x 5 50kg x 5 50kg x 5 These were smooth and easy. I have widened my grip again as i realised that i have inadvertantly been close grip benching all the time really. Weight feels light but that is good as am building up volume and reducing rest periods. Doing as a superset with 60sec between each paired set KB Swing 24kg x 11 24kg x 11 24kg x 11 24kg x 11 24kg x 11 KB Gorilla Row (L + R = total) 24kg x 14 24kg x 14 24kg x 14 24kg x 14 24kg x 14 Front squat 40kg x 6 40kg x 6 40kg x 6 these are gradually feeling smoother. will keep gradually building them up a rep a week until i get to 5 x 10 E-Z bar curl 32.5kg x 6 32.5kg x 6 32.5kg x 6 total poundage lifted : 6717.5 kg time taken : 34 min density : 197.6 kg/min

Monday 24 April Karate Session Warm Ups Same as per usual Kihon Grade kihon and also a particular focus on kicks. We were working combinations that should be useful for kumite mainly too Kata Ran through Bassai-Dai again. Don't need to know it yet for grading but the sensei is taking me through it regularly now which is a good starter for when i need to start doing it in anger Did several more run throughs of Tekki Shodan too - seems to be of a tolerable standard at least! working hard at my hip positioning in stances and also my front foot in zenkutsu dachi. i think i have been sometimes allowing my knee to collapse inwards slightly by putting too much weight on inner part of foot. Working hard at adjusting it a little

I decided to look on the positive side - i was actively trying to sit back more in my squat and i must have managed it!

Maybe it is worth having a quiet word with your instructor about laying out what techniques are legal etc at each level. They might have thought you would all be aware. There are likely other people who are unsure and that kind of difference could lead to someone potentially getting hurt

Saturday 22 April Lifting Session Squats 20kg x 5 40kg x 5 62.5kg x 5 72.5kg x 5 80kg x 5 62.5kg x 5 62.5kg x 5 62.5kg x 5 62.5kg x 5 62.5kg x 5 Amusingly i tore the back of my tracksuit bottoms on second set of squats - thankfully i lift in the garage so i wa able to continue but was mildly amusing and slightly offputting and i could feel it get worse with every set! Standing one arm kb press 20kg x 10 20kg x 10 20kg x 10 20kg x 10 20kg x 10 KB Swing 24kg x 10 24kg x 10 24kg x 10 24kg x 10 24kg x 10 KB Rear Delt Flies (weight is per hand weight) 4kg x 10 4kg x 10 4kg x 10 Uses KB for the additional forearm work of holding it out straight Hip flexor lifts 8kg x 12 (6 per leg) This felt uncomfortable as could barely fit the end of my shoe into the kb handle. I have been considering getting some bands and this might be a good reason to do so. Trying to work hard on strengthening my hip flexors to aid with kick height Total poundage : 5473.5kg time taken : 35min density : 156.4 kg/min

Wednesday 20 April Karate Session Warm ups Same warmups as usual Kihon Performed grade required kihon as per usual. Hip movement for the kicks is gradually feeling a lot smoother - is a slightly different way to the way i had been taught it in prior styles so has been taking a little work to adapt eg ushiro-geri : the way i was taught to throw a back kick before was more like what Shotokan would call a spinning side kick Kata Ran through every kata from kihon kata to Tekki Shodan once at least with Tekki Shodan performed a few times. Working on ironing out minor details now Kumite We did quite a few kumite drills. Initially starting in freestyle stance and then attacking with a Jodan strike and opponent has to block and counter, announced attack. Then moved to a new drill : both in freestyle and opponent attacked with whatever strike they like unannounced, with defender to block/avoid and counter. Enjoyed this one quite a bit tbh. Was paired up in a group of 3 with a 3rd dan and another black belt. Got interesting feedback that i should try to avoid a little more rather than block and counter - something i need to work on, though in my defence i am a genuine heavyweight so not as naturally light on my feet as some of the smaller folk. Plus side though i managed to not get hit at all!

Not a weird question : i have trained under people in the past for whom it would definitely matter, people who would tell you to remove the label regardless (as sensei_8 does), and people who couldn't care less. Best approach (as is often the case!) is just to ask your instructor if it is something they care about. No need to risk offending/annoying someone inadvertently which just doing it and trying to slide it by them might do (plus you would be out the cost of the Belt too!)

Definitely, i thought it was quite useful - removes the 'autopilot' that people often get into when performing a kata and forced more active thought.

Monday 17 April Karate Session Warm ups Slightly different to usual, with walking light mae-geris rather than on the spot Kihon Worked through grading kihon. I was really trying to focus on angling my hips for blocks, there was a reflective window in front of me so i could see it looked like i wasn't doing quite enough, felt a different with a small amount more so worked hard on that all evening. Was pleased with my yoko geri kekomi, hips felt a lot smoother in their various movements. The additional hip strengthening work i have been doing seems to be working Kata Worked through Heian Nidan a lot as a couple of the brown belts couldn't remember it well! Lots of reps of that and then got asked to try a mirror version at the end. First time i have tried that but was told it was actually quite good! Class ended before any kumite, but on the whole was a productive class

Valid point! Personally i would just keep it as it is - unless there is a good/valid reason for moving from the status quo then don't think we would need to. Though i am aware that this is running at a tangent to the original purpose of the thread! Sorry!