DarthPenguin

Friday 14 April Lifting Session Trap Bar Deadlift 70kg x 5 75kg x 5 85kg x 5 100kg x 5 112.5kg x 5 85kg x 5 85kg x 5 85kg x 5 Incline Bench Press (slight incline) 45kg x 10 45kg x 10 45kg x 10 45kg x 10 45kg x 10 Not done these for ages but felt good Triceps rope pushdowns 20kg x 10 20kg x 10 20kg x 10 Hang Power Clean 30kg x 10 Bulgarian Split squat (L + R = Total Reps) 8kg x 20 Had to stop there as got a call i needed to deal with. The power cleans and split squat were a superset. Got main lifts in though Total poundage : 6197.5kg time taken : 37min density : 167.5 kg/min

So here's what I've seen. My dojo is ISKF, and we don't do the Taikyokus. We start immediately with Heian Shodan. My understanding is that this is also the case with SKIF, and JKA only has Taikyoku Shodan. The Shorin-ryu dojo that I left has five Taikyokus (I hear some places have more), though, my understanding is that beyond Nidan, the Taikyoku katas are totally different between associations. Personally? I think Taikyokus are a waste. Everything in the Taikyoku series is captured in the Pinan/Heian series. With the exception of the hammer fist (which is easy to learn) all moves in Heian Shodan are part of white belt kihon in Shotokan, so I don't see the point in Taikyokus. For myself, in our shotokan classes we do Kihon Kata first (i think it is one of the Taikyoku ones but not 100% on that). I think it is quite useful actually as it is very straightforward and gets the students used to learning a sequence of moves and moving in a particular manner. Then when they learn Heian Shodan they are taught it as being similar with differences of X. This i think is also useful as when they progress through the Heian's they get used to their being similarities and it helps it all join together in their mind. It also keeps it 'neat' with a new kata being required at every grading until 2nd kyu when you keep doing Bassai Dai with one of the Heian's. Personally it is probably quite hard to come up with an 'overall' karate kihon kata list due to the different lineages and origins. Might be possible to do it for those from a Naha-te origin and a separate list for those of a Shuri-te origin. I quite like it that there isn't one single list otherwise (in my opinion) it would sort of devalue all of the different styles. If you learnt the same katas etc. at each then all you would really be learning is a different means of application or ruleset at each one. With everything staying different it is distinct. I like the fact that if i was to go to Shorin-Rtu; Goju-ryu; Uechi-Ryu etc. i would be learning things that were totally different.

I'm relatively new here but is always good to see people being active and posting - the more people doing so the better!

Wednesday 12 April Karate Session Warm ups usual warm ups performed Kihon Worked through usual grade kihon with an emphasis on shoulder turn and hip movement for blocks / punches. We also added in some more practice on kicks, breaking them down into a lot of detail. I am going to have to fight against some muscle memory as the striking action for the mae-geri is actually slightly different to the way i was always taught in in prior styles and i will need to work on it. I was taught to pull toes back and also pull foot back so you come up and hit with the ball of foot that way. We were told last night to point foot out when striking with toes back and hit with ball of foot that way. Kata Lots of run throughs of Tekki Shodan. Firstly breaking it down slowly to the count and then running through at my own pace. Got good comments on it (which is always nice) and a couple of small points to work on (also always nice) Spent a lot of time on the kata so that ran until the end of the class

Yes, I've seen these things before, and in the book, he even demonstrates going through Sanchin with chishi. I see this as an issue of holding onto the past for way too long, and not embracing more modern ideas. For example, I think something similar could be achieved using dumbbells instead of trying to make old stone mallets. Another issue I have altogether is that too many people try to make their strength training look like their sport/activity, in order to make it more "functional." The problem with this approach is that it completely fails to understand what strength training is. Strength training is a general physical adaptation. Lots of people like to think they can get "baseball strong" or "football strong" or "karate strong" by trying to make their "strength" training look like the moves they do in their sport/activity, when they would be better off training for overall strength the right way, using good programming and progressive overload to make the entire body strong, which will then transition into athletic performance. Hence, like I mentioned earlier, no taking strength training advise from Martial Arts instructors. Ok, rant over. there is some really good stuff by Martin Rooney (he used to train a lot of UFC fighters for S&C - not sure if he still does or doesn't) on how silly this approach can be. Jim Wendler goes over it a lot too. I have always agreed that if you train to improve your strength or power as much as possible in the most efficient way possible then the martial arts training then seeks to apply that strength and power to your techniques. As a personal example, the one exercise i noticed that had the single largest impact on my martial art training in the past was the hang power snatch. I almost immediately could feel greater hip explosion when grappling or kicking. Close second was the front squat for core strength.

Tuesday 11 April Lifting Session Was taking a look back through my logs and i (through illness and other things) have been letting the volume slide a little so made a point of making sure it is added back in. Also slightly tweaked sessions to try and make sure that there is one push, one pull, one squatting movement and one hip hinge movement in all sessions - hopefully that works out well Bench Press 20kg x 5 30kg x 5 45kg x 5 52.5kg x 5 60kg x 5 45kg x 5 45kg x 5 45kg x 5 45kg x 5 45kg x 5 Widened my grip here. I was thinking about my bench and realised i have been basically close grip benching for ages without fully realising it Gorilla rows (L + R = Total Reps) 24kg x 12 24kg x 12 24kg x 12 24kg x 12 24kg x 12 KB Swings 20kg x 11 20kg x 11 20kg x 11 20kg x 11 20kg x 11 Front Squats 40kg x 5 40kg x 5 40kg x 5 40kg x 5 Haven't done these for ages so took it easy to work on form. Felt smoother set by set E-Z Bar Curls 32.5kg x 5 32.5kg x 5 32.5kg x 5 32.5kg x 5 total poundage : 6152.5kg time taken : 35min density : 175.8 kg/min

Congratulations!

As bushido_man says, i think that the professionalism aspect is vitally important here. Can't have the instructor just hitting on anyone they find attractive; is inappropriate and creates a negative atmosphere in the class. However, people can (and do) meet people with similar interests and naturally get together. One of these err on the side of caution and be sensible things i think (don't act like Danny McBride's character in "the Foot Fist Way" )

Captains of Crush grippers are excellent so i'm sure you will get a benefit! Interested to see how high frequency on it works for you. They recommend using them similar to any weighted exercise so a few days per week (which is what i usually do) but am curious if a lot more will have benefits. They can be quite humbling though - i have several at home and when i went to try the ones i used to use most often i could barely budge it at all - grip has gotten a lot weaker obviously over the last few years without my realising it!

Congrats to Zach on his successful test - well done!

Glad to hear you are back at it Aurik. All the best to Zach for his test too!

Week in Review 10th April (posted on 11th!) Thats the first full week in the books and the Fartknockers are surging into the lead on the strength of an excellent pitching staff, dominating the K's, ERA and WHIP and in second for Saves and Wins. (considering bushido_man has some questions on how to set up his pitching staff going forwards, that is frankly slightly scary!) The placeholder team is brining up the rear still which does provide some hope that humans actively managing a team can do well - maybe we should let Chat GPT manage it and see the AI crush all!

You're doing pretty well regardless!! In order though : You can adjust your lineups daily and this can be set in advance. For starts there are a certain maximum number of starts per week i think (can remember the number) so you would typically leave the starters in place and they start on their rotated days. Obviously if there are any injuries then you take them out. Exception to this is Ohtani (who i have). He needs rostered as a pitcher to count his pitching stats and as a hitter to count those. Can't accumulate both in same day (i already missed out on a start as they moved the day and i didn't see it!) Relief pitchers just play when they are played, so don't need to be too active i think (unless team has a lot of days off etc. or they go a lot of innings and won't be used for a while)

Couple of other books i was meaning to do the same for - feel free to chime in with some reviews too everyone!

Monday 10th April Bjj session Bjj on easter monday, a nice way to spend a public holiday! Session was based on closed guard mainly. Initially we worked on breaking opponents posture and getting to an overhook. Followed this by moving to an arm drag from the overhook and reaching over the opponents back to a grip in back of armpit ready for a backtake or just more control. Finished sequence by then moving into a pendulum sweep from there which i liked. Still not fully recovered so i was sucking wind heavily when it came to the rolling! Was pleased with myself afterwards though that i managed to get several rounds in - managed to get surgically dissected by a purple belt which is always a good learning experience! Was thinking afterwards (again) that i really need to work on my positive grip fighting and fighting for my grips early on. I was thinking a lot about this and i think that part of my issue may be that i don't have a clear plan at the start and try to see what is available. I'm going to sit down and write myself a flowchart of techniques from positions and see if that helps. Have seen it recommended in a lot of places and it might make it easier to take a dominant grip first, since i have already decided what to do!

Definitely agree. While i said that i think it is best tailored towards someone with some experience to make the full use of it, the concepts would obviously help everyone.

Saturday 8th April Still full of this bug so felt session quite a bit in the lungs - ended up in several coughing fits but got the main lifts done! Lifting Session Squat 20kg x 5 40kg x 3 60kg x 3 72.5kg x 5 80kg x 5 90kg x 5 72.5kg x 5 60kg x 5 Standing KG overhead press (L + R = total reps) 16kg x 20 16kg x 20 16kg x 20 16kg x 20 16kg x 20 16kg x 20 total time : 35min total poundage : 4195kg density : 119.9 kg/min Overall was pleased with session as still feeling ill. Missed at least one scheduled squat session this block so will repeat the weights from this block again

Thanks! Was the type of thing i thought might be useful for people to start including and thought no reason why i couldn't start it off myself!

Hi, I just picked up a copy of 'the Black Belt Blueprint' by Nicolas Gregoriades and thought it might be of interest to some people to write a short review. I know that for myself i often look for reviews of martial arts books etc prior to purchase so i thought it might be useful. I have a few other bjj books in the house that i would be happy to include a short write up on if anyone is interested Review The book is quite short but i think it is a good one. What it most definitely is NOT is a book full of techniques ala Jiu Jitsu University by Saulo Ribeiro or the Guard series of books by Joe Moreira & Ed Benneville. What it IS is a book covering general concepts for bjj and suggested methods for learning and absorption of techniques. Personally i think it is best aimed at people with at least a year or two of experience in bjj to get benefits from it. There is a really nice section covering suggested methods for drilling to retain new technqiues and make them a reflex. A lot of the information due to the length of the book is quite high level but i think it is enough (personally) to give some ideas of areas to develop in and i think it will likely be quite helpful. On the negative side there are a number of errors in the book, typos, mislabelled diagrams etc that do takeaway a little from the professionalism of the book. It is quite obvious that it is self published and it could have done with a higher level of proof reading (as an example there is one picture in my copy that shows someone performing an achilles lock to illustrate a point but the accompanying text discusses an armbar). Personally i don't find these errors too bothersome as the meaning of all of the sections is still clear but some people might. Overall i would recommend it though.

Makes sense though cheap doesn't always means 'looks cheap' I suppose it comes down to if the issue is with appearance (ie not looking smart enough) which i can understand given your background (and tbh i would usually expect people to be presentable) or quality which is slightly different. If someone wants to use a cheap quality (but presentable looking) gi that just doesn't last as long until they have to replace it then i don't see the harm. Might also be the bjj in me though! I remember training under an individual in a former style who was mega picky, if you had stubble you couldn't train etc as he said grooming and appearance was important (though mysteriously this rule got waived when he decided to grow his own beard..). I remember when i trained there is i was late due to transport issues getting to the class and turning arounf and going home if i was 5-10min late as there was no guarantee i would be able to take part and i might even get banned for a month! Was totally different when i began bjj - i remember automatically going to do the same and the coach noticed me turning round and asked what on earth i was doing? He told me that in his book the important thing was getting in as much training as possible. As long as your gi is clean etc and hygiene measures have been followed then he didn't care really

I had exactly the same thought - other than active management moves (trades etc) the team has been drafted under the same criteria as every other one so it is a fair team for someone to pick up If someone wants it i will have a look at how to go about transferring it to them

Not wanting to be confrontational here but can i ask why? The quality of someone's gi (in my opinion at least) has no bearing at all upon their skills. Martial arts is an expensive activity so i don't see why you would want to price people out by almost making them use a pricey gi? I know that wherever i have trained they would much rather you turned up and trained in an old gi than didn't train at all - for me the decision to pay the greater fees for training more often vs an expensive gi is a no brainer. I am probably being slightly hypocritical here as i just ordered myself a new Hirota karate gi which wasn't cheap and i use quite expensive bjj gi's too but i have never really looked at someone else's gi other than wondering what one they had as it looked a decent fit and they look the same size as me etc! Can i ask what would be wrong with the black belt being in a cheap gi? Doesn't the colour of the belt show their dedication and commitment to the art? Again i hope this doesn't come across as confrontational, i am genuinely curious as it is an opinion that i haven't heard before and it might be a line of thought i am oblivious too and a gap in my own knowledge!

IF I ever get into BJJ, it won't be until after I get my karate black belt, but I do intend to start judo by the end of this summer. I think it would be easier for me to disregard belts if I've already got a black belt (or two) from elsewhere. Best of luck then! Judo is a lot of fun but i have had to put it on the backburner for now. two young mini people means not much time to train, so i do bjj at work lunchtimes and karate is in evening. Judo is pretty hard on the body though so factor that in when deciding what to start when!

Tuesday 4th April Sporadic updates from me - have been feeling really fluey / full of a very heavy cold for the best part of a couple of weeks which has cut down on my training. Have been trying to do some kihon training myself at home most days as can moderate the intensity and working on some hip strengthening exercises every day - can already see an improvement in these : have been starting with a straight leg out in a sidekick position and doing reps of lifting leg up, working towards lifting to the step above. Started both legs on third step up, lifting to fourth and now on fourth lifting to 5th. Doing these grease the groove style, so multiple sets a day spaced out. managed a brief lifting session today though as per below : Lifting Session Seated overhead press 20kg x 5 25kg x 5 32.5kg x 5 37.5kg x 5 42.5kg x 5 bulgarian split squat with kb (total reps = L + R) 8kg x 16 8kg x 16 8kg x 16 8kg x 16 8kg x 16 These felt good. Need to start adding in more single leg stuff i think for general strength and working on stabilisers etc. Movement felt smoother with every set single arm triceps rope pushdowns (total reps = L + R) 10kg x 10 10kg x 10 10kg x 10 tried these as a new exercise as thought single arms might be a good idea and the lower load might work better with feeling ill! total poundage lifted : 1727.5 time = 26min density = 66.44 kg/min this is lowest density for a long time but as i was feeling ill i am just pleased i got the workout in!

Weekly Update Monday 3/4/23 Thats the season up and running with the first few days in the books. The Fartknockers are in the lead though there are 4 teams within a span of 2.5pts at the top of the standings so a very even start so far! Encouragingly the placeholder team is bringing up the rear of the standings - will be quite disturbing if the non actively managed team flies up the rankings though! the auto drafts seem to have been interesting and given most teams multiple players in the same positions so there could be some interesting trades at the beginning of the season while people try to even out their rosters. Short one this week, roll on the next week of the season