DarthPenguin

For me it depends on the individual and the style a lot. e.g. i relatively recently changed my bjj academy. My old one was an excellent school but was pretty hard and i eventually decided that i am in my early 40s, work a professional job and have kids so i wanted something a little less hardcode. Changed schools to another excellent one but this one has more 'hobbyists' (though still has an excellent competition team) and i feel more comfortable there. For karate i went back as taking my son. What was important to me here was the standard is decent and we can both go. he has been going for 16/17mths and still hasn't graded as he hasn't got his kata down yet - i am totally onboard with this as it shows they have standards! As an adult who has looked for new schools relatively recently i would say that what i like most is someone approachable, who i can easily view straightforward details on on their website, and who i can contact. The ability to come along to a trial class and take part properly is important too. I then look at the other students and make my own judgement on the quality of the tuition and how i think i would fit in personality wise. Looking at it the other way round what would put me off would be : - no website for the school or a very very basic one. I want to see some details - lack of detail on the instructors. I don't want a life story but i do want to see 'gained Sandan in 2009 under the (association name here) etc. Just saying has a black belt in .. is not enough - clearly call out the style. There are a lot of karate schools that i have looked at their site and it doesn't state explicitly their style. I would either be looking for a particular style or if not i would wonder why it was hidden. If they hide something so basic, then what else will they hide - not being allowed to attend a trial class/es without a very very good reason. - the attitude of other students in the class being one i don't think i would fit with - a blanket policy of watching a class rather than trying first time. I have experience in a few styles so i am confident i can survive a basic first lesson. IF there is a genuine safety reason why i can't then please spell it out. Otherwise i wonder what is being hidden Hopefully i didn't go too off on a tangent there, I thought it would be useful to have some info on what not to do also (in my opinion)

Wednesday 1st February Karate Session Warm ups Worked typical warm ups as per usual Kihon We worked usual grade kihon with a few extras. A lot of work on proper execution of uraken and did some partner drills for this too. Was good practice as i worked out that i need to aim my jodan one slightly higher - had subconsciously adjusted it when i was told to lower my jodan punch from nose to chin level Kata Multiple run throughs of Heian Godan. Feel like it is quite smooth (relatively speaking) now and most comments are rhythm/presentation based which is good. Working on implementing them. Ran through all the other Heian katas once also wasn't really any time for kumite left at end of class but was a good session and several good technical pointers to work on

Interesting thoughts! For myself i always found that front squats had a quick impact on my abdominal strength and i noticed i could perform more ab-work in class when doing them. Back squats though strengthened my legs more and i think led to more powerful kicks / other leg techniques. It possibly also comes down to how you perform your back squat. I typically do quite a high bar back squat with a lot of knee flexion as i prefer it that way. For someone with a really low bar squat the answer is likely different.

Yeah, i have also observed the above - the very first throw my son learnt at judo was osoto-gari (he was 4 at the time). They were taught it in the same manner as others have mentioned (working the entry, the off-balancing etc mainly, lots of reps of these). When i learnt it at adult judo classes it was taught the same way : we worked about one completed osoto to the mat to about 10 uchikomi reps. What i would say though is that if kids (indeed anyone) is going to be taught/practicing throws then they should be taught the appropriate breakfalls first. I don't think it is reasonable to revert to a potentially more impactful method for the takedown without making sure that the uke can safely receive it first. The response to your raised concerns seems a little sketchy though. I can't think of many instructors who would have responded with (in essence) "yeah but they do X and Y wrong too". Maybe they would say yes they do these parts wrong too but we are going to work on improving X first, then Y, then Z etc etc until it is right I do agree with your side kick analogy here but i would say here it would be more like : if they can't do an osoto gari don't show them uchimata. Plus the trip if executed wrongly can sometimes lead to a knee injury for tori

For some reason i am thinking this would make a great part of a chuck norris joke : something like have his face with "Go Train" printed inside the gi and you never do anything else again other than train! Just think how seriously good you would have to be though to carry off a gi with your own face printed inside it at training!

Monday 30th January BJJ Session Did some slight warmups at the beginning (which is unusual for our class!) Did a few repetitions of starting in 90/90 position and then moving leg behind, raising up hips, back down then 90/90 other side then a couple of rolls as they tied into the planned techniques. We were working wrestling up into a single leg today. Starting in reverse de la riva, push off opponent slightly and then sit up into them with de la riva hook dropping to floor curling around their foot in a rough 90/90 position with fother foot behind me, pushing forward a little. then reach outside hand round hip and under leg taking grip on bottom of lapel or belt, then stand up and take other leg for a single. Was a good drill as i am a terrible wrestler! lot of emphasis placed on proper head position when coming up. drilling partner was instructed to guillotine you or push your head (gently!!) down into the mat if you didn't!. Then worked some drills of keeping the leg while opponent tried to free it. Worked next drill of shooting grip hand straight into an underhook if opponent gets foot to the floor. Worked on some pummelling drills and then some fighting for double underhooks from over/under position standing. Worked another drill where you get the underhook, overhook it tightly and turn opponent with it towards floor which led nicely into a throw when practising it. Finished with a few round of rolling. Went ok though my grappling conditioning is still poor! Positives : - my guard passing is still doing ok from knees. Managed to pass guard of some less out of practice blue belts when sparring which is always good! - doing well at breaking balance for sweeps - recovering back to guard well once passed. managed this several times which i was pleased with Things to work on : - really need to work on finishing sweeps better though i think it is partially conditioning related - need to work on holding top side better (which always used to be a strength). Was struggling to hold it when i passed which was leading to me having to repass again several times. Got an interesting comment from one of the guys i rolled with that made me realise what i was doing wrong - he pointed out that i have a wide base and with the length of my legs could do some good pressure in tripod position. Realised i used to post feet further out in side a lot more and a lot less on knees. will try next time - need to work on my submissions! though i think the side control point is more important for now! Overall though really good session and was pleased

I don't mind the look of the Faded Black Gi. All it makes me think is that you have trained for a fair while in it it came like that. Yeah fair point. It's one of these things that is purely personal taste i think, no real right or wrong answer to that one

Personally i prefer a plain white Gi tbh. Have used black gi's for striking styles in the past and i just found that they faded really quickly and needed replaced more often as they quickly looked a little silly (in my opinion anyway). Heavier grappling type gi's seem to hold the colour better though. I have a blue one that i like a lot but i have an odd personal rule that i cannot wear a black gi to bjj until i am a minimum of a purple belt. Not a school rule but for some reason i just think the coloured gi's look better on more senior students!

Right there, is what I always say...Not all black belts can teach, nor should they. That CI has NO integrity whatsoever. Yep that is what i thought. Not long after i left a lot of other people did too and his style has gradually begun to die, only a few clubs left now. Is a shame. He was an excellent martial artist (though not as good as he liked to pretend he was - i have met others as capable, though not many!) and technically a good teacher. Unfortunately he could also be rather difficult! Won't go into all the details but he was far eastern asian and struggled to integrate that with Scottish cultural mores sometimes - he was used to a certain level of deference and nigh on servitude when not at training which was always jarring. He deserved respect but that doesn't equate to him being able to demand his students do things for him in his personal life!

Saturday 28th January Lifting Session Squat 20kg x 5 40kg x 5 67.5kg x 5 77.5kg x 5 87.5kg x 5 67.5kg x 5 67.5kg x 5 67.5kg x 5 67.5kg x 5 67.5kg x 5 These went well. Beforehand the back of both of my knees were feeling really tight (due to mawashi geri drills i think a couple of days prior). Was unsure how these would go but knees actually felt better afterwards! Single arm KB overhead press 16kg x 12 16kg x 12 16kg x 12 16kg x 12 16kg x 12 Standing KB Hold for time 48kg x 65sec Time : 36min Total Poundage: 5072kg Density : 140.8 kg/min

How are people seeing this one? My head keeps saying Makhachev since he is a machine and has shown almost no weaknesses so far (he did get ko'd by a great shot in one fight but tbh everyone can be ko by a perfect punch) but then i keep thinking of how surprising Volkanovski always is. I keep remembering that he used to be a good standard rugby player too at 215lb or so, so he can handle being physical with larger men and won't be shocked by the strength. Myself i am leaning 60/40 in favour of Makhachev but wouldn't be massively surprised by the upset. What does everyone else think?

Only thing i would say to that is that sometimes the calling out can be better done privately / in person with the individual. Some people respond very negatively to being called out in public - though the CI obviously knows Zach so i assume that this was factored in. I do totally agree though that it is good for the CI to bring it up and let him know he needs to sort it! Reminds me of the other thread on here about the planned failure. This is a much much more productive way of dealing with things - don't put them out there to fail them, let them know they won't even get out there until they reach the standard expected

Wednesday 25th January Karate Session Warm ups Performed usual warm ups then a little more which was good and interesting. We did some light kick only sparring drills to warm up more and then did some mawashi geri drills - holding wall, lifting leg into correct position then performing multiple kicks. I've done the drill before but not at this angle and it (while sore) seemed to loosen my hips up a little just from doing it. Will keep practicing it at home i think. We then moved onto some pad drills, kicking target with mawashi geri with lots of emphasis on form over power etc Kihon We did this a bit differently too. Plenty of mawashi geri up and down the hall, really focusing on technique. Firstly just standard rear leg; then front leg followed by rear leg, then rear leg followed by some hand techniques Kata Ran through grading kata several times as well as Heian Nidan - Yondan and Kihon Kata. We then came out in pairs and performed our grading kata which allowed the instructor to scrutinise it more closely. Got a couple of good rhythm tips to implement. Some more kicking pad drills to finish the class

You're killing it, Zaine! Way to go man! 1/25/2023 Strength Training Deadlifts: 135x5, 185x5, 255x3, 325x1, 360x5. Press: 45x5x2, 65x5, 95x3, 125x5, 125x5, 125x5. Triceps Push-downs: 65x14, 65x14, 65x8. Loaded the weight for deadlift that I should have done last week, and nailed it. Rep three was the only one I really had any issues with. Reps 1 and 2 went smooth, 3 floated away, and 4 and 5 were the typical grind. While deadlifting, I kind of had a realization; even though it felt heavy, I knew that I was going to get it done. So on that last rep, it was kind of relief, knowing that even though I knew it was going to feel like garbage, I was still going to complete the rep. I tend to get squat and deadlift anxiety when they get heavy, so hopefully this will help me with that. I had to leave the gym earlier than expected, so I didn't get to finish my sets of triceps push-downs. I got the two main lifts done, though, so no real loss. TKD Class: 6:30 - 7:30 pm. T-Shirt Class. This class has kind of turned into my solo workout class. I did forms in sets of two: Choong Jang-Chon Ji, Choong Jang-Dan Gun. Next did review of Do-Kang 6; getting closer to getting it down. Lastly, went through all colored belt one-steps, and then the first 6 three-steps. Choong Jang hyung count: 29 Total hyung count: 60 The deadlifts are progressing well! You'll be up to 440lbs before you know it! Knowing you can get it while grinding is good too - means you can probably manage even more! One question (out of curiosity) - for the lighter sets you jump up quite a bit in weight between each set and the final set pre heavy one is a lot closer : does this work a lot better for you with experience? Just curious as maybe the penultimate set being so close is affecting the final one? Am just always curious about how people programme these things - personally i build a spreadsheet with the percentages i plan and future progressions and just follow the spreadsheet: removes all personal judgement but am aware that it might not be the best approach!

Awesome, looks like you are going to blast through your target with ease!

Tuesday 24th January Lifting Session Seated Overhead Press 20kg x 5 25kg x 5 32.5kg x 5 35kg x 5 40kg x 5 32.5kg x 5 32.5kg x 5 32.5kg x 5 32.5kg x 5 32.5kg x 5 KB Swings 20kg x 10 20kg x 10 20kg x 10 20kg x 10 20kg x 10 KB Gorilla Rows 24kg x 14 24kg x 14 24kg x 14 24kg x 14 24kg x 14 Cable Biceps ciurls 20kg x 13 20kg x 13 20kg x 13 KB Side Bends 20kg x 22 20kg x 22 20kg x 22 Time : 33min Total poundage : 5085kg Density ; 154.1 kg/min

to be fair they are older PR's, not lifting close to that at the moment but i will get back there (other than the BB row and bench which were last year). interesting tip on the pressing volume- i can't make use of it at the moment but will file it away for future! Am looking to get an extension built to my house and my other half is fine with my adding a garage extension with a high ceiling to use as a gym. Having that at home will mean i can more easily add in some sets of presses and pull ups more often - currently i lift in my mothers garage as her house is nearby but that isn't as easy as it being downstairs!

Saturday 21 January Lifting Session Trap bar deadlift 70kg x 5 80kg x 5 92.5kg x 5 105kg x 5 120kg x 5 92.5kg x 5 92.5kg x 5 92.5kg x 5 92.5kg x 5 92.5kg x 5 E-Z Bar curls 20kg x 13 20kg x 13 20kg x 13 20kg x 13 20kg x 13 Triceps pushdowns with straight bar 20kg x 13 20kg x 13 20kg x 13 20kg x 13 20kg x 13 Single arm standing kb press (total reps = L+R) 16kg x 18 16kg x 18 16kg x 18 16kg x 18 Was pleased with this one as i totally could not be bothered to go and lift! The deadlift volume is accumulating but feels good. Is going to be a tough workout once the majority of sets are above 100kg but it will do me good. I used to do high rep deadlifts and it always worked well for me Total time : 41min Total poundage lifted : 8402kg density: 204.9kg/min

Thats an impressive press! Looks like it is trending the right way My presses have always been by far my weakest lift. my lifetime PRs were 200kg x 5 DL (not too bad as was a little more than 2 x bw); 150kg x 5 squat, 100kg bench, 102.5kg x 3 BB row and 60kg press! Have never been able to get above this! If i could ever get to an 80kg press i would be ecstatic! People are generally built to pull or push and i'm definitely built to pull!

Thursday 19 January Lifting session my partner was ill so i needed to stay around the house to pick up mini people from nursery etc so didn't go into office. This meant i missed lunchtime bjj as i need to be in the office to get to it! Did a lifting session instead. Bench press 20kg x 5 40kg x 5 50kg x 5 57.5kg x 5 62.5kg x 5 50kg x 5 50kg x 5 50kg x 5 50kg x 5 50kg x 5 gorilla row (total reps here = L + R) 24kg x 12 24kg x 12 24kg x 12 24kg x 12 24kg x 12 24kg x 12 24kg x 12 24kg x 12 24kg x 12 24kg x 12 was short on time to squeeze a session in with the other half being ill and my right knee was feeling a little cranky so i thought it would just superset gorilla rows with the main lift. Can never get too much rowing!! Grippers T x 12 T x 12 T x 12 time : 31min total poundage : 5280kg density : 170.3 kg/min

Wednesday 18th January Karate session The other 3rd dan instructor taught class tonight as the CI had something come up. Both are 3rd dan so not a massive difference in experience and is always good to get a different perspective! Warm ups similar to usual though slightly more stretching (which is good!) Kihon Performed usual grading kihon, though more reps up and down as not many people at class. Got a couple of useful pointers that are slightly different to usual instructor but very helpful Kata Worked through from Kihon kata up to Heian Godan in sequence. Went through Heian Godan slowly with instructor working on details and then ran through it in my own time multiple times post that. Got good feedback (which is always good!) and a couple of minor things to work on - my back foot in back stance sometimes points slightly back (rather than 90 degrees it is about 105 degrees) spent a lot of time on kata tonight so class was finished with no kumite portion. Good class though and very useful points made

solid weights there! Sounds like the heels cue is helping too. I find sometimes that on a heavy deadlift, the ones that feel the smoothest/lightest it almost feels like my toes are about to lift up off the ground. Good weights on the press too! Have you set targets / goals for them or do you just plan to keep progressing them as much as you can?

I personally find that internal reflection / thought on techniques is exceptionally important. I try to think through what i have done / been doing both pre and post training sessions and evaluate it. Am also a strong believer in visualisation. Empirically, i mentioned in my log that i identified i wasn't gripping actively enough as bjj and have started to rectify it. I came to this realisation on a train when i reached up and grabbed the luggage rack above me while sitting down to explain a point to my son - made me realise the difference between active and passive gripping. For a martial artists development i personally feel that the ability to internally reflect on your technique is massively important and is a point along the path to improving your skills (meaning that as you improve you become capable of doing it)

Yeah not passing on that a student had passed when they didn't is also pretty sketchy. I can think of several issues with that tbh. If the student is an active competitor and there are below black belt competitions then someone could get hurt by an individual that shouldn't ever be there. It also shows a lack of respect for the GM and the testing panel in my view. I would have expected the CI to be formally censured for that personally. Seems straightforward to me tbh, if the CI was concerned about the attitude you either just don't let them grade (and tell them why) or have a stern talking to with them about their attitude. Attitude issues can lead to serious consequences and need actioned. Of course these things are often easier said than done. From personal experience i recall when i was training in a striking style in the past ,and had started to grapple alongside it at a separate club, that i was told by my instructor (who was also the deputy GM) that the GM was planning to ban me for cross training at my upcoming dan grading. He was going to let me pay the £100+ fee etc and then call me to the front and ban me. Needless to say i withdrew from it (though i continued to train with the deputy GM for a while longer as i really rated him). Left quite soon afterwards though. What was particularly galling was i had openly said i am looking to do this as you don't cover this skillset and was told it was fine!

Yeah i agree too. If not, and assuming that people could improve indefinitely then Lennox Lewis would still be world heavyweight champ and GSP would still be UFC WW champ (he still trains like a machine!). If there was no ceiling or limit then in most sports that have a masters division they would be viewed as the real champ!