DarthPenguin

Wednesday 15th February Karate Session Warm ups Usual warm ups performed at beginning of class though slightly different order for the stretching Kihon Performed usual grade kihon. There was a slight variation to the sequences to check everyone was actually doing them as asked and not just on autopilot (which i liked) Kata Several run through's of heian godan. Good feedback and just working on improving things further Kumite Decent amount of kumite tonight. Lots of rounds. Doing a mix of leg only sparring, hands only and free sparring. Really enjoyed it!

Tuesday 14th February Lifting Session Seated overhead press 20kg x 5 25kg x 5 30kg x 5 32.5kg x 5 37.5kg x 5 30kg x 5 30kg x 5 30kg x 5 30kg x 5 30kg x 5 KB Swing 20kg x 10 20kg x 10 20kg x 10 20kg x 10 20kg x 10 20kg x 10 20kg x 10 20kg x 10 20kg x 10 20kg x 10 E-Z Bar curl 30kg x 5 30kg x 5 30kg x 5 KB side bends 24kg x 10 24kg x 10 24kg x 10 Total poundage : 4645kg Time : 28min density : 165.9 kg/min

Mon day 13th February Bjj Session Working on open guard passing. Started with a 'skywalker' pass to someone in seated guard which involved a step through with right leg to beside their right side, foot close to hip and then down to knee on belly. Had to start from a really low 'wrestling shot' style position. Seemed ok but not a technique i think i will ever use. Then worked on torrendo pass. Got a couple of different details that made it work much better.. Turning hands a little to turn opponents hips away from passing direction. Worked a lot better. Have never liked this pass but this made it a lot better. Then several rounds of rolling. Was really pleased as i had looked up a baseball bat choke set up on youtube the day before and i managed to pull it off in rolling with another blue belt Overall a really good session. Was especially pleased as had been ill all last week

Interesting. Regarding the knee pain, a few years ago i started to get some really bad knee pain in my left knee and on the outside of my thigh just above it. This was when i was training hard at a TKD offshoot over here. I spoke to a friend of mine who in a physio and he took a look at my mobility etc and he said that the issue was likely cause by all the jumping kicks, with my doing lots of very shallow partial squats (in essence) as part of the jumps and that it was leading to an imbalance in my leg muscles, combined with the landing impacts. What he recommended at the time was to work on strengthening the inner parts of my things and my hip muscles and i went on a regime of lots of sumo stance deadlifts which cleared it up. I was thinking about this the other day as i think i am going to find a spot in my routing for sumo deadlifts too as i think the hip pain i am getting with some kicks is due to a weakness in that area that i need to strengthen. Anyway I might have just been rambling (and this might be no use) but thought it worth mentioning in case it was something that might help!

very interesting, i've never come across these types of rankings anywhere i have trained here in the UK. We appear to be very vanilla over here for most styles that i have encountered: a variety of coloured belt grades and then dan grades going in single steps up to a maximum of 10 (is possible i have just not encountered any of the more esoteric ones) One thing i have noticed on here is that there seems to be a lot more variety / flexibility in the USA. Might simply be a function of the sheer size of the nation since it is (in my mind at least) pretty much 50 country sized entities in a collective. When i view it that way, then things being a little different in New York say when compared to Oregon is like things being different in the UK and the middle east, which wouldn't be a surprise!

yeah. Tbh i can't see anyone at LW beating Makhachev. Only one i can see having even a slight chance is Chandler since he hits like a truck - always a chance of a one hit ko - though unlikely

Congrats! Enjoy the month of having the shiny belt

That makes a little more sense now - i wasn't aware that ITF and WTF were so different : sounds more like learning a new style of karate so starting again from white makes total sense! For the knee pain, could the squatting same day have anything to do with it? (or does it happen on non squatting days too?). Killing it on the press though! I'm always envious of heavy presses lol

What i noticed was the 'rip stop' style ones i have seemed to have decent movement but the heavier cotton one didn't. Though is probably best to just use a karate gi at karate and a bjj gi at bjj!

There can also be positives from the mixed age classes (providing there are enough people to keep the sparring etc separate). Having skilled adults there can give the kids a clear target/view of where they can get to with dedication and training. That can be a useful source of inspiration for them

Nice to (virtually) meet you!

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. The downfall of front squats is that they ultimately can't be loaded as heavy as a back squat, and are thus more limited.I've got terrible knees, and front squats just hurt too much. A well down, technically sound, low bar back squat is a hip dominant movement, and thus doesn't impact the knees like a front squat or a high bag squat does. Yeah i think the Back squat is more flexible : you can empathise hip dominance (as you do) with a low bar or quad dominance (as i do) with a higher bar, whereas a front squat is more restricted. One way i used to like to use them was do heavier sets as back squat and then shift to lighter sets for higher reps with front squat. As you say, it can't be loaded as heavily, so don't even try to progress in that way

Interesting observation and likely also depend on the bjj gi brand. My Atama ones probably have similar levels of movement to my karate ones but my shoyoroll ones maybe a little less.

Am curious here - is there such a large difference between IFT and WTF taekwondo that a 3rd Degree BB needs to start again? I had (incorrectly i think) always assumed it was mainly a ruleset difference so the grades would be very transferable. I pity the lower ranks that match up against her in competitions/gradings etc!!

Saturday 4th February Lifting Session Wasn't able to get my Tuesday session in earlier in the week due to illness in the house so i decided to combine the two main lifts tonight so that they didn't get missed. Trap Bar Deadlift 70kg x 5 75kg x 5 82.5kg x 5 85kg x 5 107.5kg x 5 82.5kg x 5 82.5kg x 5 82.5kg x 5 82.5kg x 5 82.5kg x 5 Bench Press 20kg x 5 30kg x 5 45kg x 5 52.5kg x 5 57.5kg x 5 45kg x 5 45kg x 5 45kg x 5 45kg x 5 45kg x 5 These felt light (which they were) but letting me gradually build up the volume, Focused a lot on technique and can really feel my use of leg drive beginning to improve with every session Standing single arm KB press (reps = L+R) 20kg x 10 20kg x 10 20kg x 10 20kg x 10 These went smoothly, no grinders at all. Should be able to keep progressing these smoothly Total poundage : 7162.5kg time : 38min density : 188.5kg/min

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