DarthPenguin

Surely a scabbard of some sort would be more 'karate' than a holster? Could use it for Kobudo! This will likely sounds silly but for the keys / wallet point couldn't you just bring a training bag? I always bring a training bag with water, gloves, gumshield etc in it and just put my wallet in that! Granted the weather here is often miserable too so i usually have a jacket with my keys in the pocket for that. During most sessions i would assume people will not need access to pockets. Only times i can see it needed are: students needing mouthguards or possibly a tissue and for the insturctor / coach they may have some kind of lesson plan they wish to examine. Can't think of much else that would need to be on someone during a class tbh

i think some traditional arts have done a reasonable job of being proven to work in modern combat sports (kyokushin has done well, shotokan too plus judo, with some people not realising the gojo ryu and uechi stylists) but i would generally agree. Unfortunately nowadays people want to see something in action before committing. So when it comes to martial arts if they have seen something on tv etc then they instantly assign legitimacy to that style. Some of the nonsense you see online from some traditional styles doesn't help either: some of the nonsense demos you see from Seagal and others come straight to mind! Is a difficult problem to solve tbh. Something traditional that doesn't mesh well with combat sports but which is effective is hard to demonstrate to people in a such a way that they will take it up. Krav Maga comes to mind here: it is used by soldiers in a military who regularly see combat (the Israeli military) so it must be effective but when you see a lot of the demos from it it looks laughable (i have done some sparring in the past with some krav people who really didn't impress me). Really not sure what the best solution is!

definitely. They filmed seasons two and three back to back also so it shouldn't be too long for it to come out. Will be interesting to see what they do to finish the story

Congrats!

am following a specific programme and just starting my second run through of it (it took multiple months the first time) as i was very happy with the outcomes. It's the juggernaut method 2.0 with 531 also used : as a result i do two compound exercises per session with various other accessory lift that i think are useful. The lifts are a relatively low percentage of my 1rm though hence the volume, It starts by working out a TM at the beginning based on a calculated 1rm (or tested 1rm) and then builds from that. First cycle through it uses sets of 10, then goes to 8, then , then 3 with the weights being heavier at the lower rep numbers. Weights lifted are currently quite a bit below my 1rm (eg for the trap bar deadlift session i was doing higher rep sets at 95kg but i recently did 170kg fine). Hopefully that answer the question always happy to get comments / suggestions!

Thursday 9th January Judo session First judo session for a while and really enjoyed it (though the warm ups are so much more intensive than bjj!!!). Did the warm ups then some forward rolling ukemi drilling. We then paired up and worked on Osoto-Otoshi for quite a while with partners (initial pairing with someone of similar size), then had to change partners for someone a different size to work on how grips adjust. Then drilled finishing the throw with a pin, mune gatame in this case. Following this we drilled a couple of escapes from mune gatame then did a few rounds of newaza. I ended up getting pretty annoyed as one of the brown belts tried to break several of my digits!! i had mounted them and was working for a cross collar choke when they literally started to bend single digits back and then my thumb - to say i was furious was an understatement! Ended up applying the most brutal Ezekiel variation i know to make a point (rather than blading hand use fist and drive knuckle into sensitive parts of throat). Got pretty annoyed as when i got up i openly said that he is not allowed to try to snap my digits and no-one did anything - had to keep rolling with him (while he literally started pounding the mat and snarling!) so settled for just holding in the most painful pin i could manage for the remainder of the 5min round. Was genuinely angry about it - spoke to a few people after the class and they said the guy is apparently autistic and has to be told off for being too aggressive quite often. Think this will serve as a lesson and if i have to roll with this person in future i am just going to disengage and kneel at the side of the mat first time he tries something dangerous.

It is definitely an interesting topic, how to preserve a style. I was actually talking about exactly this a couple of weeks ago with some friends i used to train with in another style. It is a TKD offshoot and for a while had gotten pretty big, plenty of clubs in Scotland, some in England, some in a few other countries but gradually that has reduced back down to a very small number of clubs in Scotland. What is a shame is most of the people i know of who left (including myself) did so for easily sortable reasons such as the GM forbidding any cross training - i had the choice between adding grappling to my training and leaving or staying there but nothing else. For myself i chose to leave! What makes it more of a shame is several people who left performed pretty well on a scottish or UK wide level in varying kickboxing orgs and MMA orgs, so permitting cross training would have allowed them to leverage these people's success into attracting more students. My view on it was that unless the style manages to allow cross training and gets lucky with someone becoming a reasonably decorated fighter (thereby getting more people in) that the style will die out. A lot of people nowadays don't like the old fashioned rules such as only train here (i personally found it quite amusing as the GM used to mention his Black Belts in multiple styles as well as his Masters grade in TKD etc). Unfortunately not all styles teach a syllabus that is well suited to utilisation in combat sports so it might not be a valid way of building up interest in them again which is a shame. Not sure what the solution is there tbh - i am not a fan of online teaching assessment but, using @Wastelander style of KishimotoDi as an example is it similar enough to another style of karate/ another martial art whereby someone could learn it as variations to their technique once they had achieved a certain level (eg when someone is X dan in Style Y, the similarities are such that they could learn a lot of the material as adjustments to what they know and are already skilled enough to be shown it online?). Would be a real shame though if good styles vanish simply due to lack of awareness of their existence!

Tuesday 7th January Lifting Session Seated Overhead Press 20kg x 5 30kg x 5 40kg x 10 40kg x 10 40kg x 10 40kg x 10 40kg x 15 Trap bar deadlift 70kg x 5 80kg x 3 90kg x 3 102.5kg x 5 117.5kg x 5 132.5kg x 6 Cable chest flye (weight is per hand) 25kg x 13 25kg x 13 25kg x 13 Triceps rope pushdown (superset with cable biceps curls) 35kg x 10 35kg x 10 35kg x 10 Biceps cable curls 35kg x 10 35kg x 10 35kg x 10 seated cable row (superset with lateral raises) 75kg x 15 75kg x 15 75kg x 15 cable lateral raises (reps = total of L + R) 10kg x 20 10kg x 20 10kg x 20 adjusted the position of the cable for these to a little lower than usual and felt heavier but in a good way so will stick with this spot cable neck extension (superset with neck flexion) 5kg x 10 5kg x 10 5kg x 10 cable neck flexion 5kg x 10 5kg x 10 5kg x 10 Cable neck side bend (reps = total of L + R) 5kg x 20 5kg x 20 5kg x 20 Neck work is coming along nicely; not feeling any aches or pains from it which is good. Since the stack has minimum increments of 5kg i am planning to work up to sets of 20 reps then increase the weight and see how that works.

Monday 6th January Karate Session Warm ups as per usual to start the class (though we also had a little stretching added in at the end which was new!) followed by grade required Kihon which we ran through each option once. Majority of the class was kata. Ran through every kata from Heian Shodan -> Bassai Dai (including Tekki Shodan for a change) at least once, with Bassai Dai being 4 times in total. Was useful first session back to work out the cobwebs. There was an issue with the hall booking so we were in a smaller space than usual which i think contributed to the lack of kumite, but was fine for a first class of 2025

I can totally relate to that! I try to go to lunchtime bjj classes for that very reason as it doesn't reduce family time with the kids etc. Since my son comes to the karate class with me (and my daughter will be joining in May) that also doesn't count as a "me away" session either so it is just bjj on a Saturday and thursday evening Judo that count as me out - put a home gym in the back garden for a similar reason!

For me there are a few, martial arts related and general exercise related - the general exercise ones if i don't meet them i owe a friend of mine £50 per target missed and the same for one of the bjj ones - anything where the success is outwith my complete control doesn't have a penalty. Martial arts goals : Get first 2 judo belts - have been dabbling in judo for a while now and want to get a little more serious about it and get a couple of belts. Am putting this as under my control as i was told i am being graded for first one in February and that i should be able to get another later in the year. Finally sit Shotokan shodan - this is depending on available locations for the grading tbh: i don't think there will be one in Scotland i can make so i will need to travel quite a bit to England to sit it. Will then depend how viable that is Get a couple of stripes on my bjj belt - need to get my finger out and start progressing: have had my current grade for an obscene amount of time! Try to average a minimum of 1.5 bjj classes a wk, ideally 2. Set this to 1.5 to take into account things popping up with kids, illnesses, injuries etc. so i think at worst i want to average it out at 1.5/wk. If i don't manage it i owe my friend £50 General exercise : want to manage a 200kg trap bar deadlift by end of year. If not successful i owe friend £50. Think this should be fine and realistic. Want to manage 100kg x 2 bench press. Have always found it to be one of my worse lifts so since i managed 1 when i tested it a week or two ago i want to get strong enough to manage a double. If i get this easily i will revise target upwards. Again this costs me £50 if not achieved. I settle upon a £50 penalty as it is enough to care and not want to lose it but not so much you end up in difficulties!

That is an awesome goal - you really need to get some t-shirts made up like "trekking to Mordor" or something wittier for doing it. Great idea though!

Excellent! Good luck with them, though am sure you won't need it Myself i always try to set some goals / targets (some of them i set a financial penalty to not meeting them which seems to incentivise nicely!). Won't derail your thread though by listing mine!

One other issue that might come up unfortunately is the issue of there being a lot of frauds out there. When i am interested in a club or style the very first thing i (as i think most people do nowadays) is google them and see what i can find out about the instructor, their lineage, the style etc. If i can't find anything it usually seems quite a red flag to me unless i can rely on word of mouth from someone i trust. Unfortunately for a lot of frauds an easy way for them to try to escape detection is claim to be trained in a "rare and rarely seen style" and then make up whatever rank they want etc. If someone queries the lack of information they can either point to the rarity or all of the info will point back to them! Obviously there are "real" rare styles without much of an online presence but this is quite a potential issue i think. I actually think that you, Wastelander, are a good example of how to go about teaching or keeping alive a smaller style: you have a clear online presence, you give clear lineage etc. and you regularly interact with other martial artists openly (of senior level) and put out technique videos. That gives people plenty to look at and give comfort - realistically most things i would find on Kishimoto-di are from you but then i can see that you interact with enough other senior people that if you had made it up yourself they could easily have called you out on it (which you haven't so they don't need to!!)

Friday 3rd January Lifting Session Bench Press 20kg x 5 40kg x 5 55kg x 10 55kg x 10 55kg x 10 55kg x 10 55kg x 12 Squat 20kg x 5 40kg x 5 60kg x 5 72.5kg x 5 82.5kg x 5 95kg x 6 Cable face pulls 15kg x 15 15kg x 15 15kg x 15 Overhead triceps extension 30kg x 15 30kg x 15 30kg x 15 Biceps cable curl 30kg x 15 30kg x 15 30kg x 15 Seated cable row 75kg x 13 75kg x 13 75kg x 13 Cable lateral raise 10kg x 22 10kg x 22 10kg x 22 cable neck extension 5kg x 9 5kg x 9 5kg x 9 Cable neck flexion 5kg x 9 5kg x 9 5kg x 9 Cable neck side bends (reps = total of L + R) 5kg x 18 5kg x 18 5kg x 18 upper trunk curl 13 reps 13 reps flat leg raise 13 reps 13 reps Single leg raises 33 reps 33 reps V leg raises 13 reps 13 reps

Wednesday 1st January Lifting session Trap Bar Deadlift 70kg x 5 80kg x 5 95kg x 10 95kg x 10 95kg x 10 95kg x 10 95kg x 15 Seated overhead barbell press 20kg x 5 30kg x 5 42.5kg x 5 50kg x 5 57.5kg x 6 Cable chest flye (weight is per hand) 25kg x 12 25kg x 12 25kg x 12 Triceps rope pushdown (superset with cable biceps curls) 30kg x 15 30kg x 15 30kg x 15 Biceps cable curls 30kg x 15 30kg x 15 30kg x 15 Seated cable row (superset with cable lateral raises) 75kg x 12 75kg x 12 75kg x 12 cable lateral raises (reps = total of L + R) 10kg x 20 10kg x 20 10kg x 20 Cable neck extension (superset with neck flexion) 5kg x 8 5kg x 8 5kg x 8 Cable neck flexion 5kg x 8 5kg x 8 5kg x 8 Neck side bend (reps = total of L+R) 5kg x 16 5kg x 16 5kg x 16 Upper trunk curl 12 reps 12 reps Flat leg raise 12 reps 12 reps Single leg raises 32 reps 32 reps Leg v raise 12 reps 12 reps Going to add some neck and core work to every session going forward as i think i need them! Got myself a new head harness over the festive period which has D-rings on front, back and sides so i can use it with my cable machine. Should help with my grappling!

managed several more sessions in December but totally forgot to log them in here! Last BJJ session was Friday 20th December. In the interim i did a couple of 1rm test sessions around xmas time and managed a trap bar deadlift of 170kg x 1 (could have possibly done a little more but happy to use that number) and a barbell bench of 100kg x 1 (could have possibly managed maybe another 2.5kg but definitely not another rep). Used these numbers to set my numbers for 2025 and continued to workout throughout the festive period. Started programme with updated figures on new years day (will log workouts shortly). Also trying to use my ski erg every day of Jan for a minimum of 500m. Won't log those here but may put the final monthly distance when done. Idea is to get form dialled in and make it a habit!

yeah we worked our way through it already too. We enjoyed it, we weren't sure where they would take it after the first season but i think they have done a good job and the third season should tie things up nicely

i'm interested to read the above as i wonder how much people's location factors into this discussion. From my perspective boxing actually seems healthier now than it has been for years - the Saudi money coming in has led to loads of massive fights taking place this year as they won't settle for Champs taking silly defences against a tomato can. They pay premium money and expect top level fighters. From the UK perspective there have been loads of big fights taking place, not least Fury vs Usyk this year (plus Beterbiev vs Bivol etc). I would say that there aren't quite as many high name recognition top top top level american fighters anymore as there used to be: to my mind it is really Terence Crawford (who doesn't get huge gates), Devin Haney (not that popular either), Shakur Stevenson and Tank Davis, with Davis being the biggest money draw but with legal issues. (i know there are plenty more good fighters but these are the ones that come immediately to mind as at top world level). For me this is quite a change as i grew up with the majority of the top fighters being American or at the least US based (the mexican champs etc.)

Thank you everyone, surprised enough to be nominated let alone win anything! (And apologies for the belated acknowledgement! - i have tried to stay off my laptop over the festive break!)

As a Bills fan the last couple of weeks have been interesting! On the plus side it is great to see us having a genuine running threat now plus loads of targets at receiver for Allen. On the flipside : we really need to get the injured guys back in the secondary soon. Would love a rematch of last night for the Superbowl though

yeah will be interesting to see. He has always been great at extracting the most possible from undervalued players which might mesh nicely with recruiting. Would be interesting to see him win an NCAA title though. Much as he can be objectionable it just seems odd to me how he basically got dumped from the NFL and no-one would think of hiring him. Can you imaging that happening to Phil Jackson after he left the Lakers? I understand that he is a little difficult but he historically does win!

you have just reminded me that i need to get back to these! I stopped part way through Oathbringer for no particular reason and didn't get around to picking it up again! Currently i am reading through the latest Raymond Feist novel. I recently read the Firemane saga and was pleasantly surprised by them ( a lot better than the final riftwar books which seemed a bit phoned in to me). Latest one has started ok so far.

I started adding in Bulgarian split squats too myself and i think they are really useful. Personally, if you are getting sore knees i would try to explore why. Assuming you aren't overloading the movement it might be a sign of some disfunction that you need to correct which could lead to injury at some other point if not addressed. For me i felt quite a lack of stability when starting them so started absurdly light but once you get the form down you can progress quickly

The other point that might be worth thinking of is sometimes it is easier to make changes gradually and let them bed in rather than adopt a large amount of changes at once. A complete change to routines etc. for many people can lead to easily 'falling off the diet wagon'. As an example, i needed to reduce my sugar intake (which genuinely wasn't too high) since when i have more than a certain amount it causes gout to flare up in one of my big toe joints (legacy of a foot injury that i didn't get dealt with properly from training!). What i did to start with was replaced any sodas etc. with diet ones to gradually wean off any sugar, then replaced the diet sodas with diluting concentrated juices, then moved from them to sugar free diluted juices, then made them more and more dilute so that they are in essence flavoured water. Also just stopped buying any sugary desserts etc. For me it is easier to just totally avoid something than have it occasionally in moderation. Doing that allowed me to have the odd amount of sugar when appropriate (birthday cakes etc.) without any worry - since it seems to be a build up over time in my system that causes the issue. I would echo Nidan_melbournes suggestion of speaking to a dietician / nutritionist, though with the addendum of trying to find one who works with people exercising more often, and develop a long term plan to shift towards.