DarthPenguin

Thanks both! I was thinking the other day that i have never been a fan of those belt display boards but i might just do one when i (eventually) grade back up to black belt - a board of the belts up to black, then starting at white again might look quite smart (and unusual!). Am finding i enjoy the katas more as they progress which is a good thing. The best part of the grading is that i get to practice my side kicks from a freestyle stance now rather than kiba-dachi! They make us cross step with the stepping foot in front and i find that restricts my kick a lot more than stepping behind, so i am pleased i don't need to do it often anymore!

that sounds like the best result for a scan possible!

Wednesday 21 December Karate Session First session since grading with shiny new purple belt Small class, just myself, 3rd Dan, 1st Dan and my 6yr old! Warm ups done as per usual Technique work This was done a bit differently. Sensei worked on teaching us a quite involved black belt combination which was fun. Worked on it for about 30min, had 25 moves to it. Worked up to the full sequence and then did it starting from the other side. Was fun Kata Worked through Heian Godan multiple times. Sensei said i have learnt the techniques fine already (was pleased at this) and started working on the rhythm and details (i had my hands horizontal for the crossed wrist block rather than upright etc) Quite like the kata already tbh so will be good to work on it.

Sorry for the belated update - sat grading and passed fine (though someone might have tripped over one of my lungs!). Covid away fine but left me with an annoying chest infection while has curtailed my exercise routing annoyingly. On the plus side thats me got my 5th Kyu (purple belt) again, so my working back through the grades is progressing smoothly still. Got some nice comments from the grading examiner. The course beforehand was really good too : there is one comment he always makes and he never made it clear what he meant but he covered it in the course so now i know! Learnt Heian Godan already so now just need to work on it being less poor and work towards passable!

How you getting on with the PS5 so far then? I really liked mine when i got it - everything just seemed to work a little more smoothly. I also thought that the headphones are superb - i'm not much into music or audio type stuff but even i could tell the headphones were really good. Having young children in the house they are a must have for being able to play when they are in bed!

Thanks for the good wishes! Haven't posted many updates here in last week or two as the whole family came down with covid unfortunately so not been able to do much! Checked with my instructor and he still wants me to grade on Saturday so will give it my best! Hopefully manage to power through any fatigue!

The GM point may make everything else moot so that might be worth exploring first as no sense wasting mental energy on something that couldn't come to pass regardless. The other points are tough ones. Most people would agree that ego has no place in the martial arts, but in the real world, with real people, it can raise it's head sometimes and it can make a difference. In styles where you need to reach a certain level to 'unlock' competition levels etc and then rank becomes irrelevant (eg Judo where once you are at black belt level it doesn't matter what dan you are for competition, same with bjj) it's common to have more skilled people at a lower rank and no one really cares. In other styles there is always a perception of the more skilled person being the senior rank (whether true or not) and i always find it looks a little odd when you see more junior people at a lower rank without an obvious reason like age - though you are a 4th dan so no one can really think of that as junior! From the way you have phrased the messages it does seem that not grading may affect your mindset a little going forwards, and as a result have an impact on your training. You have obviously dedicated years to your style so that would be a shame. Am sure you will make the right decision for you though

I know, Bob. It strikes me this way, too. I don't know why, but I feel that if the new owner/instructor gets higher ranked than me...I don't know. All the ceremonious bowing to one with a "higher rank," but lacking so much in experience, turns my stomach a bit. He is currently a 4th dan, same "rank" as I am. Like I mention, it's a weird spot I find myself in, and I don't like it. My other major concern is the sheer cost of the next test, which is ridiculous. In order to stave some of the cost, I had the previous CI start an escrow account for me, basically adding $5 or $10 (I don't remember which) extra out of my monthly dues to put towards the next testing. With that in mind, I should probably go ahead and follow through with it. Like I said, it is a weird position for me, and I'm not necessarily proud of the way I'm approaching it. I've got to get my mind right and test for me, and not anyone else. I would generally agree that chasing rank for ranks sake is unnecessary but i would also wonder what would be the impact on you if you do/don't go for a promotion. If you don't go for it and the CI does, will this affect your training (other than having to acknowledge their higher status) or not? If it would on a personal level make you uncomfortable and feel the need to leave the school then you should also factor this into the decision. Looking at it from a totally different perspective, that of the other students at the school, who is the better teacher out of yourself and the CI? Would the other students actually gain more from your being the senior (or at least equal) grade? If you already have the money saved up for the exam then that could be a totally valid reason to go for it tbh - to benefit the school itself

I have noticed that (from my personal experience) the more skilled the martial artist the less they seem to care about the 'trappings' of rank and they more endure them : simple example, when my old bjj school first got affiliated with Rickson Gracie (i think most people would accept he can be classed as a master!) he made a point of shaking everyones hands, was very friendly, went out of his way to help students : if he could tell they were being too shy to ask him a question he would gently work it out of them etc. I compare that to another 'Master" level instructor i had that once almost banned me for the crime of studying all day and then coming to class and having a small crease appear in my sleeve from my uni books! I lost a lot of respect for him straight away tbh. Back to the main topic of the thread, sounds like you have made a brave (and from the information presented correct) decision Zaine. I would also second the idea of some remote link up with more infrequent face to face training. Most of the more senior martial artists i have met have had to do this at some point as the people they could learn from were such a small group. Indeed, when i first got into bjj there must have been only 1-2 BB in all of Scotland so most of the senior guys had to do the same and it hasn't hurt them longer term. Your Shodan should equip you with enough skill to be able to remotely work on what your longer distance instructor has suggested and you could always use the online options when needed too. Another consideration for me would be the intent behind your new school. Is it a means to give back to your art and develop yourself or is it an intended new career / business venture? IF the former then the higher ranking doesn't really matter, if the latter then unfortunately it may do. For a business i would assume that student numbers are important and a lot of people may just look for whichever instructor nearby has the highest dan, without reading more into it

I hope your tournament went well! Please update us! 12/8/2022 Strength Training Safety Squats: 60x5x2, 110x5, 165x3, 200x1. And then I had to stop. Health issues are really starting to cause my problems. My head wasn't feeling quite right (Meniere's disease acting up) and as I was doing my warmup sets, I had to stop and rest after each set. The Valsalva maneuver was causing me to get lightheaded, and at one point, the room started spinning. I just couldn't continue, and it's so frustrating. Hopefully you manage to get the health issues sorted! The valsalva can be funny for some people - i'm sure i have read about it causing blood pressure issues (though i may be misremembering). Anyway hope you are feeling better soon! Can quasi-relate, our entire house (myself, partner and the two kids) are all laid up with Covid at the moment which is affecting my training ability too. I know i am going to be tired for the grading on Sat but i will give it my best effort.

Pegboards sound like quite a grip / forearm workout then!

I'm curious to hear how it is - it might be a case of a good game that has had too high expectations. The Avengers game on PS5 was similar - i actually really enjoyed it but it was slated everywhere!

Excellent post - i've never used battle ropes but they have always looked interesting. You did mention one exercise i wasn't familiar with that has piqued my curiosity : what is / are pegboards in this context?

Thanks very much

Wednesday 30 November Karate Session Warm ups These were a little more than usual which is always good though a little less stretching. I was quite early for class though so had already had a chance to loosen up a little beforehand which helped Kihon We went through grading Kihon and also some additional Kihon at speed. Kata Multiple run throughs of grading kata. I think i have got the pacing down a lot better. Not getting picked up on the same things (which either means they are less bad or irrecoverably so!). Main comment was that my back foot in back stance on the final technique was pointing slightly backwards so i need to fix that - but i can live with that as an improvement! Kihon We ran through the required grading Kihon multiple times Got confirmation that i will be grading in 2 weeks - had been told this was likely to be the case but was confirmed (which is always good!). This time will be a bit different: there is usually a brown/black belt course run prior to the grading exam, but this time we are all being expected to attend the course and then grade. Will be a little more tiring but always good to get a session from such a senior instructor so i am looking forward to it

Good point, i hadn't noticed that. Congrats for that also Aurik

Congrats Aurik and Zaine, well deserved

I've heard of people playing it co-op (and seen videos too) but not sure if it is a hassle or not. Probably worth a google tbh For myself it seems a bit more of a single player game due to the story etc, though it is really good. Co-op can help you get past a really tough boss i think, but depends if you are wanting a mega challenge or not

Tuesday 29th November Lifting Session 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 KB Split Squat (reps total and split equally between l and r) 8kg x 16 8kg x 16 8kg x 16 8kg x 16 8kg x 16 Have not done this exercise for years but thought it would be a good one to add back in to work on increasing single leg strength and stability. Started off light so i can get the form down KB swings 16kg x 12 16kg x 12 16kg x 12 16kg x 12 16kg x 12 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 S x 18 S x 18 S x 18 Total poundage : 4720kg time : 35min density : 134.9 kg/min

Metal Gear Solid Phantom Pain was a great game! I played that loads on my PS4. Would be great if they released a native PS5 version : Kojima is a genius at taking advantage of a systems capabilities. Have you been an Xbox gamer for long? This is the first generation where i almost switched. Game Pass is very tempting. Am considering getting my boy a Series S as a way of 'dipping a toe' into the Xbox world

Sounds like a good session. How are you finding squatting every session? I used to do it and it is a tiring session but works well with limited time. Myself i used to use back squats as the heavy lift to push and front squats on the other days as my quads have always been proportionately weaker than my hamstrings. Do you find that the safety squat bar makes a big difference? I've never tried one before, but my brother in law has one and i think he likes it too. Saw video a while ago of someone doing bulgarian split squats with one as it made it easier to load. Hope the holiday week was good

Sounds like it might be a good investment - i'll add it to my list

Awesome! I managed to get one a while ago and it is a night and day improvement. Games wise i never used to be really into 3rd person action adventure games but there are a few really good ones : Horizon Forbidden West was fantastic as was Miles Morales. If you haven't played Ghost of Tsushima i would heartily recommend that too! Currently i am playing Elden Ring which is good though frustrating. Does have an unusual multiplayer mechanic though which you might enjoy.

Congrats

Thursday 24th November Lifting Session Squat 20kg x 5 40kg x 5 62.5kg x 5 72.5kg x 5 82.5kg x 5 62.5kg x 5 62.5kg x 5 62.5kg x 5 62.5kg x 5 62.5kg x 5 Push ups 12 12 8 8 16 One Hand KB row (total reps - equally split L and R) 20kg x 22 20kg x 22 20kg x 22 20kg x 22 20kg x 22 Biceps cable curls 20kg x 12 20kg x 12 20kg x 12 Grippers s x 17 s x 17 s x 17