DarthPenguin

Wednesday 11th January Karate Session Warm ups Usual warm ups done Kihon All the usual kihon techniques though we have been doing them slightly differently recently. Rather than doing 3 x Age-Uke etc we have been chaining together the grade required kihons as a sequence and doing that multiple times : eg age-uke, gyaku-zuki, gedan barai, soto-uke, empi-uchi, uraken, gyaku-zuki etc. I've been quite liking that tbh got some useful points on ushiro geri that i was able to implement quite quickly. Was told i am still doing it more like a prior style i trained in, where you rotate most of the way round then do the kick (so more like a spinning side kick) and should have my rear facing the target more when kicking kata several run throughs of grading kata, seemed to go smoothly, am now working on rhythm mainly Kumite Multiple rounds of required grading kumite for next grade. Then added in some jiyu ippon kumite which will be required at future grades. combinations / kihon At end of class we worked on some more combinations that will be required for future gradings then got called out in pairs to perform them in front of class as if at a grading. Was useful practice

Was just wondering : are you mainly restricting the lifting workouts to 2-3 lifts per day or is there stuff you are not recording? Was just curious as if the former maybe a couple more lighter accessory exercises might help with some of the stability things etc? I know that they can help for me quite a bit - indeed you had pointed out to me that i wasn't doing enough single leg work really ages ago and i have been trying to add some in and it seems to help regardless, they are solid sessions. Is a good solid block of training

Tuesday 10th January Took a couple of days off due to the ankle issue i mentioned in another post but it was fine now so back to it. Also, my other half has realised it is easier for her to put both the kids to bed together rather than us doing one each and staggering it! She said she would prefer me to exercise at that time which suits me fine as it might let me get back to judo also in next few months Lifting Session Trap Bar Deadlift 70kg x 5 75kg x 5 85kg x 5 97.5kg x 5 110kg x 5 85kg x 5 85kg x 5 85kg x 5 85kg x 5 85kg x 5 Tried to do these more as a touch and go which felt a little harder. Usually i do a quick reset after every rep so felt good to do a little differently. E-Z Bar curl 20kg x 12 20kg x 12 20kg x 12 20kg x 12 20kg x 12 These are light and easy but that is the point. am using them for some gentle volume. once i have done a few run throughs of this krypteia template i will likely add in a heavier exercise to accompany the deadlifts but erring on the side of caution for now Triceps straight bar pushdowns 20kg x 12 20kg x 12 20kg x 12 20kg x 12 20kg x 12 Standing one arm kb press (reps are total reps L + R) 16kg x 16 16kg x 16 16kg x 16 16kg x 16 Grippers T x 11 T x 11 T x 11 Total poundage lifted : 7736.5lg time : 44min density : 175.83kg/min

Art, how we do art, is our art. But, does it demonstrate our enlightenment, or does the act of creating art enlighten us further? Perhaps both can be true? And the second sentence seems pretty straightforward: creating art liberates us. It helps us grow, and become more free in the process. Free from restraint, free from all the rules at times, I guess? Personally i would probably say a little of both. Creating art (in this context performing martial arts) can lead to enlightenment in the sense of "ah wait a minute i could do X now or ahhh i can see why we do Y now" equally it could lead to demonstrating it by other people seeing that you have picked up X or learned how to make Y useful. I'm picturing one of those 'lightbulb moments' that people have intermittently. Also, i should say that i have never read the book! Maybe i should!

Definitely. I had a former instructor (he was a police officer who worked in some shady areas here), who taught some interesting stuff too for self defence. He used to teach a lot of improvised weapons stuff - some of which was quite interesting and would never have thought of (eg the 'correct' way to hold an ash tray if hitting someone with it so it breaks into their face rather than your hand). He had a view that when it came down to it it is much better to be in a police station having defenced yourself too roughly than in a hospital bed recovering from a stab wound! Personally i think it is a lot more nuanced than that but i didn't disagree with the base sentiment of self defence being about defending yourself first. He did have some odd things that were required as part of the training, which if i am honest were quite effective but won't go into detail here! He was also totally mental so i stopped training with him after a few years! your point above is also one reason why i am not a fan of generic 'self defence' courses either. People practice a few techniques in a controlled environment for one or a few weeks and then believe that they can safely defend themselves. Takes a lot longer than that to build the muscle memory and that is ignoring the mental aspects of the situation

Thanks, i'll give it a try. Issue seems to be solely the ankle flexing that way - it is fine in the forward / backward plane (the same way as for a calf raise). I have flexible toes (can pick up a tennis ball with them!) so i might try this and see if it helps. I can see how the toe cue could add stability to the structure.

Thanks, this makes sense. I'll try the position again gradually and see if my heel is not forward enough, that might be something to do with it. If not it is a good thing to be able to rule out!

Yeah that makes sense. In previous styles i have always been allowed the freedom to choose. Some instructors preferred either way but ultimately it was down to me and they were more concerned with it being either a correctly executed kick with the heel or the blade rather than picking one or the other. Up til now on my working back through the karate grades it hasn't even been mentioned so i thought there was no issue at all, but my instructor mentioned it the other day as something our grading examiner is particularly keen on being bladed, hence the trying to do it!

Thanks, that makes sense and is something to try. I was thinking on it and wondering why it was only my right ankle since i did the same amount with both legs and mu left one was fine, so maybe it is something i should get looked at. I have a dim memory of wearing an ankle support on that leg years ago when training (am talking 10+ years ago), so maybe there is a small issue that i just haven't tweaked again that needs fixed!

Just saw this thread and it looks intriguing, i will need to go catch up on the others. I'd take the interpretation that bushido_man has for this one too, no use thinking about something irrelevant. i'd also say it is relevant to competition etc as you shouldn't be thinking about your upcoming (or already occurred) kata performance before fighting/sparring etc. I'd also think it encompasses not getting too far ahead in your thinking. For example someone thinking : i will parry that strike, then step in with an elbow, then a footsweep, then a punch, then an armbar etc etc. Be clear in your thought and focus on the now. So in this example, protect yourself from the strike, then redirect all focus to the next part based on the current situation etc. So don't waste mental energy on something that might not come to pass

Hi All, Quick question. I have always personally preferred to land a side kick using my heel but i have been told by my karate instructor that the correct form at my class is to use bladed foot (not going to get into the debate with him or here as to which is superior!). I was practicing the position myself at home the other day for with both feet: started with just raising foot and taking bladed position with foot then progressed to chambering a kick and slowly extending it with foot in bladed position. The next day i found i could barely walk on my right ankle, with it taking a couple of days to abate! As it was lessening i could feel it was mainly pain in exactly where i was turning my foot to blade it. Obviously i don't want this to recur so i thought i would ask on here for suggestions. I can see two possibilities: 1) my form was incorrect and i was shaping my foot using the wrong muscles / in the wrong way and this is what led to the pain 2) the muscles in that part of my ankle are just week and need strengthened (could be bit of both) If anyone has any advice/thoughts they could post on those it would be much appreciated. I'm going to ask my instructor about the form part but i think if was doing it the way he said, so tbh not too hopeful that it will lead to an epiphany!

That is usually my response. I trained under someone really good in the past who would show those things but when you got to know him a bit better he would admit it was due to organisational grading requirements etc. and if it was up to him there would be less focus on them. Otherwise he was really good, large focus on sparring etc and on things being 'practical' What always worries me is the people who do this stuff and then believe they genuinely can 'fight'. I've always thought that they were at risk of being hurt as instead of sensibly giving in (or running away) they stand longer than needed in a risky situation because they falsely believe they can fight their way out of it.

Thanks, that's definitely a first for me! Is an interesting topic i think i think and one which comes up moderately often in grappling styles (and i would imagine full contact striking ones too). Using BJJ as an example people regularly talk about being able to perform a technique versus apply it against a resisting opponent (ie to Execute it). Leads into other interesting conversations and hypotheticals such as the worth of a senior grade who can demonstrate a technique with apparent technical perfection against a compliant opponent, spot flaws in others execution and clearly articulate the details when teaching but who cannot apply the technique in sparring for whatever reason (could simply be too slow, not strong or flexible enough etc). From a personal standpoint i am reminded of a former instructor who used to teach intricate self defense combinations that might involve catching a punch in a certain manner, with a precise grip on a specific point, to then transition into a wristlock etc. then keep going. I always was quite sceptical about how applicable that is to reality as you need a phenomenal amount of skill and speed to perform that against a live punch (there will be people who are good enough to do so, but i find no shame in saying i am not one of them!). I contrast that to performing a block/parry/redirection and then another appropriate technique which seems much more reasonable. The former 'precise grab' technique can be 'performed' for demos etc. but i doubt it would be possible to execute it in practice for most people.

Thursday 5th January Lifting session My right knee was feeling a bit funny all day when i went up and down any stairs so i decided to amend the session and replace the lower body work with gorilla rows. Didn't want to chance a knee injury and more rows are always good! Bench press 20kg x 5 40kg x 5 47.5kg x 5 52.5kg x 5 60kg x 5 47.5kg x 5 47.5kg x 5 47.5kg x 5 47.5kg x 5 47.5kg x 5 Gorilla Row 24kg x 10 24kg x 10 24kg x 10 24kg x 10 24kg x 10 Biceps cable curls 20kg x 12 20kg x 12 20kg x 12 triceps straight bar pushdowns 20kg x 12 20kg x 12 20kg x 12 Grippers T x 10 T x 10 T x 10 total poundage lifted : 5327.5 time : 34min density : 156.7 kg/min

For me, personally, the difference is in terms of effectiveness and purpose. I can 'perform' a kick, and to my mind it just means carrying out the kick, eg i might perform a jumping side kick. The important parts here being that i carry out the correct technique and that it 'looks good', whilst when i execute something i think of it being effective and having a purpose: so i wouldn't be just doing a flying side kick, i would be executing a flying side kick to break suspended board A etc. For the same reason i always think of anything grappling related in terms of execution and never think of it as performed. I don't think i would ever say i performed an osoto gari or i performed a triangle choke etc. But i could see myself saying i executed an osoto gari or a triangle choke. To my mind the difference is similar to that between speed and velocity, where speed is solely a magnitude with velocity adding a directional component. so to use my analogy of an osoto gari: i could see carrying out some uchikomi in the air as performing an osoto gari but then once you carry it out on an opponent and throw them then you have executed it. Have a feeling it is one of those things that will mean something different to everyone and there is likely no 'right' answer, but an interesting question

Completely agree here! I would also go further and ask how you would know your arteries were clogged anyway without having consulted a doctor? If it is purely from a preventative point of view then there is plenty of best practice advice out there as Zaine mentioned, but if it is a genuine issue then asking the same doctor who diagnosed it would likely be best

Wednesday 4th January Karate Session Good turn out tonight for the first class of 2023 Warm ups Usual warm ups and stretches carried out Kihon Performed slightly less different techniques that usual for kihon but more reps of each. More reps of the basic kicks from freestyle kamae too. I do need to work more on my side kick! The chambering is fine, both out and on return but my foot position isn't great. Have a tendency to sometimes have my foot totally flat rather than bladed. On positive side i do it better for ushiro geri for some unknown reason! Kata ran through Heian Godan multiple times. Have it all memorised fine now and working on details / rhythm. I prefer the stance transitions in this one to last couple of katas, for some reason they feel more natural to me (could just be getting more used to stance transitions in kata). Then paired off with one other person with the second instructor to the side to run through all the Heian katas in sequence. This was useful as i know that when i manage to get to brown belt i have to perform them again at gradings so it is worth giving them more focus again (we often don't focus as much on prior grade katas in class - they are left for home). Managed to get in multiple more runs of Heian Godan too Class time ran out after the kata but it was a good session

@Zaine, Is the kata total a monthly one then? Are you just picking a single kata for the month and then planning to rotate them monthly or are you breaking down the '10000 reps to mastery' approach?

Ghost of Tsushima is amazing, the expansion is good too. Still to try the online bit but the rest is fantastic. Not heard of Hogwarts Legacy - what type of game is it?

Tuesday 3rd January Lifting Session Slightly more lifting sessions that usual this week as due to all the strikes here it is hard for me to get to my bjj class this week so using the time as gym sessions instead! Squat 20kg x 5 40kg x 5 57.5kg x 5 67.5kg x 5 77.5kg x 5 57.5kg x 5 57.5kg x 5 57.5kg x 5 57.5kg x 5 57.5kg x 5 Pushups 10 12 7 7 15 One arm KB row 20kg x 20 (L+R reps) 20kg x 20 20kg x 20 20kg x 20 20kg x 20 Biceps cable curl 20kg x 11 20kg x 11 20kg x 11 Grippers T x 9 T x 9 T x 9 These are beginning to get harder now so may need to increase rest periods or change the sets/reps to keep progressing total poundage lifted : 5461 time taken : 43min workout density : 127 kg/min the poundage above is solely based on any weights used with pushups counting as a weight of 1 x reps (so i don't need to fiddle about with my spreadsheet overmuch). this also means i don't need to recalculate as bodyweight fluctuates / changes

Thanks! All i can control is the effort and dedication i put in and then the results will be based on that - so hopefully it will be

Happy new year everyone. Hopefully everyone and their families have an excellent 2023 and everyone attains all their training goals too!

Sunday 1st January Weights session First session of 2023!! Seated overhead shoulder press 20kg x 5 25kg x 5 27.5kg x 5 32.5kg x 5 35kg x 5 27.5kg x 5 27.5kg x 5 27.5kg x 5 27.5kg x 5 27.5kg x 5 Kg swing 16KG X 11 16KG X 11 16KG X 11 16KG x 11 16KG x 11 kB clean 16kg x 14 16kg x 14 16kg x 14 16kg x 14 16kg x 14 kB side bend 20kg x 16 20kg x 16 20kg x 16 Grippers T x 8 T x 8 T x 8

That’s true. If I was to ever use it practically it would be at waist or knee level anyway. I’ve just always liked the idea of having a range of motion much more than needed so you are never pushing it to its max in a stressful situation You’re really right though!

Friday 30 December Weights Session Trap Bar deadlift 70kg x 5 75kg x 5 80kg x 5 92.5kg x 5 105kg x 5 80kg x 5 80kg x 5 80kg x 5 80kg x 5 80kg x 5 E-Z bar curls 20kg x 10 20kg x 10 20kg x 10 20kg x 10 20kg x 10 Triceps straight bar pushdown 20kg x 10 20kg x 10 20kg x 10 20kg x 10 20kg x 10 Single arm kb standing press 16kg x 14 16kg x 14 16kg x 14 16kg x 14 16kg x 14 reps are total reps L + R KB gorilla row 24kg x 10 24kg x 10 24kg x 10 24kg x 10 24kg x 10 Grippers T x 7 T x 7 T x 7