DarthPenguin

Monday 2nd September Karate Session warm ups as per usual though a little more leg stretching which is good! lots more kids that adults tonight so the class got split into the 3 adults (one black belt and 2 1st kyu's - including myself) and the kids with another instructor. Lots of work on kata which was really good. Due to the smaller numbers we performed the katas individually which meant it was a lot easier for the instructor to drill down to little points. Got several useful comments and we worked quite a bit on drilling our individual comments. Did some kumite drills next: worked on punching a wall with glove on, with the goal being to just touch and no more, then tested our distance by removing the gloves. Was pleasantly surprised with how non beat up my knuckles were from doing it afterwards which is a good sign! Worked a few footwork drills after too. I am really awful at the stereotypical "bouncing" shotokan footwork, i use much more kickboxing style footwork i think which works better for me (not sure how best to articulate it but less bouncing!). The instructor was adamant that should be bouncing though which was a little sore on my ankles - i will try to adapt over time and see if i can have it as an option when needed going forwards. Really good session though

Tuesday 3 September Lifting Session Seated overhead barbell press 20kg x 5 35kg x 5 45kg x 3 50kg x 2 55kg x 1 55kg x 10 Trap bar deadlift 70kg x 5 80kg x 5 90kg x 3 105kg x 5 120kg x 3 135kg x 5 These felt good - think i could do more if needed which is good but will stick to the planned progression Bulgarian Split squat (superset with cable lateral raises. For both total reps = L + R) 16kg x 12 16kg x 12 16kg x 12 Cable lateral raise 15kg x 23 15kg x 23 had to call it there as needed to take my son to his athletics class

Friday 30 August Lifting Session Bench Press 20kg x 5 40kg x 5 55kg x 3 60kg x 3 65kg x 8 65kg x 8 65kg x 10 Squat 20kg x 5 40kg x 5 60kg x 3 67.5kg x 3 77.5kg x 3 87.5kg x 5 Cable chest fly (weight is per hand) 20kg x 13 20kg x 13 20kg x 13 Cable lateral raise (reps are total of L + R) 15kg x 24 15kg x 24

That sounds intriguing, i didn't realise there was a Sherlock themed one out there - i might just take a look for it next time i am in a bookshop / comic store (usually most weekends!)

sounds like a lot of fun! Also good to be at a bjj class that uses some stand up - too many totally ignore it!

Yeah am curious too! Am gradually beginning to get into it - read the first volume of Berserk the other day which was interesting!

Great, hope it goes well What kind of group classes or do they vary by the session?

Monday 26 August Lifting Session Trap bar deadlift 70kg x 5 85kg x 3 100kg x 3 110kg x 3 120kg x 8 120kg x 8 120kg x 10 Seated overhead press 20kg x 5 30kg x 5 42.5kg x 3 47.5kg x 3 52.5kg x 5 Cable chest fly (superset with bulgarian split squat) - weight is per hand 20kg x 12 20kg x 12 20kg x 12 Bulgarian split squat (reps = toal of L + R) 16kg x 10 16kg x 10 16kg x 10 these are feeling smoother and smoother every week Cable lateral shoulder raise (reps = total of l + r) 15kg x 16 15kg x 16 15kg x 16 Triceps overhead extension 30kg x 16 30kg x 16 30kg x 16

Wednesday 21 August Karate Session Warm ups as per usual though we are doing a little more dynamic leg stretching which is good (my flexibility is crap and hopefully this will help!!). Worked through a moderately long combination that involved quite a few techniques: kizami tzuki, oi tzuki, gyaku tzuki, step forward age uke, gyaku tzuki, gedan berai, gyaku tzuki, soto uke, reverse uchi uke, double punch, uch uke, reverse uchi uke, uraken, gyaku tzuji, shuto uki, mae geri (front leg), nukite, front arm shuto uke again with no forward step (jsut adjust footing) then haito. Was a good sequence to work on hip rotation and footwork so enjoyed it. Moved onto some kata then plenty of kumite drills. Again did drill of someone against wall and opponents attacking with single unannounced attack then counter with gyaku tzuki. I messed up first time and reflexively countered with a kizami tzuki. After the joking comments stopped i remembered to counter with the right technique thereafter! Then some more kata and class finished

that sounds intriguing! Myself i have constantly toyed with the ides of learning Japanese - mainly because i visited it before and loved it but noticed how little English people spoke there. My son loves Anime etc and would be great to take the family there on holiday but would be much better if at least one of us spoke some of the language!

That sounds like a lot of fun but i can't get over the cost for a usual game!! I knew it was a lot but not that much! They do really exploit you guys: as an example i have been to a few of the NFL London games, sat in Wembley (which is also a very fancy stadium) in the fancy padded club seats and paid £100 for a ticket (decided to spend a lot on them as it's not a common occurrence). Is similar to the boxing and UFC ppv values: here i pay my satellite tv provider £20 usually for the big boxing ppv's and most of the UFC ones are included in my TV subscription, with rare ones costing £20. Then i see that they charge their US customers $99 for the same! Sounds like an excellent experience though and hopefully it manages to become a yearly occurrence

I had to read that twice - a 1st dan at TKD (which is usually very rigid in the respect portion etc.) told a 4th dan their technique is incorrect like that? That seems like quite an ego! Ignoring the fact that the advice you were given in pretty much the opposite of any style i can think of (ignoring differences like power comes from the fee / from the hips etc.) they are usually all "more than just your arm". I would have thought if she had a question that she would have phrased it like "interesting, you perform that strike differently than i am used to, my sensei teaches it like (her way), i am curious as to the difference".

Regarding the group thing have you looked into anything like Crossfit boxes? I know that the quality can vary a bit (and i am not entering the discussion here about alleged form issues) but i have friends that prefer to work out with people and they go there and find it works well for them. Plenty of strength work, power work etc but within a supportive group. Also, many gyms run kettlebell classes etc. so might be able to find one of those you could do? Can't offer too much here as i am totally at the other end of the spectrum to you and much prefer to work out myself! It is one of the reasons i use a home gym: i can make a workout plan, with the exercises and rest times sequenced and follow it exactly - dont have to make sudden adjustments due to equipment availablity in a public facility etc!

Monday 19 August Lifting Session Squat 20kg x 5 40kg x 5 60kg x 3 70kg x 3 80kg x 3 85kg x 8 85kg x 8 85kg x 10 Bench press 20kg x 5 40kg x 5 62.5kg x 3 70kg x 3 80kg x 4 Sumo deadlift fat bar (tri set with fave pulls and lying leg curls) 50kg x 5 50kg x 5 50kg x 5 Lying hamstring curls 20kg x 10 20kg x 10 20kg x 10 Cable face pulls 25kg x 11 25kg x 11 25kg x 1 Triceps rope pushdowns (superst with cable lateral raises) 30kg x 15 30kg x 15 30kg x 15 LAteral raise (reps = total of L + R) 15kg x 12 15kg x 12 15kg x 12

The old misload. How do those little plates sneak on there, anyway??? i had used it for the set before and taken it off the bar and thought i had put it on one of the weight horns but i think i absent mindedly put it back on the bar. At least it wasn't a 10kg plate or something - that might have been an issue!!

Friday 16 August Lifting Session Seated overhead barbell press 20kg x 5 30kg x 5 45kg x 3 50kg x 3 50kg x 8 50kg x 8 50kg x 10 On the first 50kg set it felt a little odd but when done i noticed i had accidently loaded another 2.5kg plate on that side - on the plus side i managed it fine lol Trap Bar deadlift 70kg x 5 80kg x 5 90kg x 3 100kg x 3 112.5kg x 3 127.5kg x 4 Lateral cable raise (superset with bulgarian split squats: reps = total of L + R ) 10kg x 24 10kg x 24 10kg x 24 bulgarian split squat (reps = total of L: + R) 12kg x 14 12kg x 14 12kg x 14 Cable wrist roller 5kg x 3 5kg x 3 new exercise here - tried using my ironmind wrist roller on the cable machine. felt good but sore!

It's a delicate balance though as you do want some aggression to succeed at the top level (look at Ray Lewis Ravens or James Harrison Steelers as prime examples). Belichick will either be fascinating or sound bitter, i want to hear him though and decide! He could easily go either way i think!

Interestingly, while I generally have a lack of motivation to do weight lifting, I am easily motivated to do work with hojo undo equipment such as the Chi Ishi and the like. I think that it's because I connect to the hojo undo work more directly to karate. I understand that doing squats with a weight rack can be easily traced to improvement in kicking power, but doing it with hojo undo equipment makes me feel like I'm improving my karate more, somehow. Makes perfect sense to me - you are still performing resistance training but just varying the equipment based on personal preference!

All good points from Nidan_melbourne there - tbh as an exercise scientist by trade his opinion is likely a very good one to listen to! I do hear you on the online coaches too, i don't use one but was just thinking of ideas outside the local PT. Personally i like to read up on things and if i am unsure of benefits etc. i run stuff by my brother in law (he is a CSCS, a professional strength coach for a sports team and has degrees in exercise science) but am aware not everyone has that as a sounding off board! The health points are all very very good ones too - need to be fit to train! Totally hear you on the music bit too - i have certain songs i unconsciously time for certain lifts (hadn't realised it until i just thought about it after your message!). The filming point is also a good one - on top of filming what you want to see an improvement on it might be worth filming your exercise technique too and looking over that

Same here, they usually all have to be removed. The closest to allowing it to be kept on i have ever seen is for people who really couldn't remove it i have seen them be allowed to tape it over a lot but this is not often and can cause issues sparring etc. Where i have trained even stud earrings wouldn't be allowed though those usually would be permitted to cover with tape.

Very good points from Zaine: we have both looked at different points on the decision tree (As it were). My comments are based on "given you are going to lift weights what would help with doing so", his are based on the even more fundamental step of "should you lift weights yes or no" I totally agree with him though. Weight training is very beneficial (in my opinion) but not essential. What i would say though is i personally have always found it to be beneficial to martial arts and additionally there is a lot of research linking strength / muscle training level to greater quality of life in later years. There is also a lot based on using grip strength as a predictor of longevity. These don't have to be achieved by weight training though: a strenuous calisthenics routine can achieve a lot of these goals (just look at gymnasts) or other activities such as climbing. For those that say there is no need to strength train in martial arts i would refer them to pictures of some of the old time guys: they are usually built like the side of a barn! Even slightly more modern: look at the Karateka Terry O'Neill (i am a member of a KUGB club so he comes to mind straight away) in his youth. Also look at the Hojo Undo equipment used in the past and the equivalents used in China too. Body conditioning and strengthening used to be viewed as important parts of training and it is only relatively recently i think that this has waned (whether the waning of this and the rise of McDojos ran by people who look massively out of shape is a coincidence isn't for me to say!)

I will answer from a slightly different answer with things that i find work for me (multiple options) - firstly work out if it is lifting you hate or certain lifts: eg i never liked bench press and biceps curls much, so in the past i neglected them and focused more on deadlifts etc which was a mistake! (due to my build i am much more suited to pulling than pressing exercises). Now i consciously make an effort to plan in those exercices (and maybe have erred slightly too far in that direction!). - make a plan in advance and stick to it. I don't even mean a session by session plan. My current routine was planned out for 6mths in advance: it has key lifts that need done and then i am allowed to fiddle with the accesories based on feel. - write down / enter into an app the workout before you start it so you aren't just going by feel. - i am very very sceptical of personal trainers. I know a couple of decent ones but , from what i have observed, most are useless. Look into their credentials a lot if you decide to pay them. Tbh for what a lot of them charge i would personally use one of the highly rated online coaches as i at least know they are good in their field. - give yourself a metric to evaluate performance using. This is based on lifting to benefit another sport (eg a martial art!). Lift for a bit and see if your flexibility has improved; kick has gotten harder; throw X has gotten more explosive etc. - take a look at the modality you are following. Eg some may love kettlebells and hate barbells and hence progress better; some might find weighted bodyweight exercises like push ups work better for them; some olympic lifts etc etc. Anyway they are just some thoughts, hopefully of some use to you!

Thanks

Great news! You have put so much hard work into it (and into the current site!) that can only say thanks for all the effort you put in, and have done over the years

McGregor is denying this and saying he wants December. Chandler sounds quite resigned now though that the fight is unlikely to take place. I do hope they sort Chandler out with something decent. McGregor has basically taken 2 years of Chandler's career away from him messing his around. Seems like he just wants to keep his name in the limelight but doesn't want to fight anymore. I'm reminded about the old boxing quotes about how hard it is to go for a 4am run when you have just slept in silk sheets with a silk dressing gown when you wake (i'm paraphrasing i know!)