bushido_man96

This might have been the game of the year. What a game.

Yes, they would. I think the hope would be that the discipline and ethos of the training would hopefully turn them away from being a bully. Unsure how much stock I could put in that.

I find it interesting in Aikido that we have the uke, who receives the technique, but we don't actually refer to any technique as an uke. But, especially in Aikido techniques, where the focus in on blending with the opponent, uke is a very apt term.

One of the hallmarks of being a Martial Artist is training through adversity. This is an adversity for you. It's up to you how you approach it. One other question: in the dojo you train at, do you have the rank or certification that allows you to teach, and if so, do you take that opportunity?

Merry Christmas KF!

Thanks for the run-down. It's great to read. I do have a few things to offer. For one, you really aren't saying anything new here. There are people training out there that feel the same way. As you mentioned, you do have a small group of like-minded individuals training with you, and you find great enjoyment in that. I'd cling to that, and keep training otherwise just to keep training and learning. Keep an open mind; you might not like everything an instructor teaches, but he may teach something that you do like, and that can make the whole experience worthwhile. I've done Krav Maga training in the police combatives setting a few times. I found the training quite valuable, however, I'm not sure I'd want to train that way all the time. It's quite taxing on the body, but it is very beneficial training. However, we did not do any sparring in those settings, which I'm sure would be very different, and very beneficial. Have you had the opportunity to attend any of Iain Abernethey's seminars? It sounds to me like that kind of training approach would be right up your alley. If he ever comes close to my area, I'd like to attend one, even though I'm not even a Karate practitioner. You should look into Blauer Tactical Systems. Tony Blauer has spent years looking into the psychology of fear and fear management, and the physiology of self-defense. He's mainly in the Law Enforcement/Military circles, teaching defensive tactics, but his organization does have some general public offerings, like his "Be Your Own Bodyguard" seminars. You could move, that's an option. However, I don't think you'll necessarily find more interest by moving. What I would recommend is to keep training in the style you mentioned you chose, gain more rank, and then strike out on your own. Having some certified rank behind you will go a long way in lending you some credibility in establishing your own dojo. In the meantime, build your curriculum, write up handbook on it, and make a plan for delivering your system. Now, I would also mention this: you've mentioned that you have a small group of like-minded individuals you train with, and I'm just guessing that is a pretty small group. It's highly likely that you'll be appealing to a very limited group of people, so it could be likely that you never have more than a handful of students at any time. And that's ok. But if you find that you lose students due to your approach, you may consider some training options for those seeking a different experience. If you don't care about that, and you only wish to train others the way you want to train, just realize it may limit the students that come to you for training. This sounds a bit extreme. If you truly enjoy training, keep it going. If it bothers you so much that others don't want to do it your way, then I guess you'd have no choice but to quit to save yourself the mental anguish. I could have quit training at my TKD school some time ago because of several things I don't like about the training approaches, teaching to the tests, curriculum additions, and because we don't always approach things from my point of view. But if I do that, then I wouldn't get the opportunity to present things my way when I have the opportunity to teach. I'd rather bide my time and work my things in when I can. And by continuing to train, I stay in the loop and find new and different opportunities to improve myself or learn something new. I also realize that not everyone wants to train the way I train, and not everyone seeks out the same goals in training that I do. And I'm ok with that. I'm not going to pound the table to those who don't believe or want to do things my way. Instead of pounding the table, I'll sit at the table, take notes, write up articles, concepts, and syllabi, and move myself forward on my journey in the Martial Arts. Thanks for sharing your thoughts. I hope this helps you out.

Congratulations to all the winners, and thank you to all the voters!

I guess it wouldn't surprise me if the Raiders did fire Carroll, but I think it would be a big mistake if they did. But if they did fire him, then it would mean more instability for an organization that is KC's arch rival, so if they do, then so be it. If they struggle a few more years, all the better for KC.

I hope he recovers well and completely, and early! It's very likely that the Chiefs open the 2026 season with Mahomes on IR, though. That's a long recovery, and happening this late in the season doesn't help with the timing for next season. Cook has been a great player for Buffalo, taking some of the weight off Allen's shoulders. Maybe the Chiefs can get a chance to draft Love in the first round to shore up their running game.

The Rams/Seahawks tilt should be a good one. I believe its in Seattle, which gives the Seahawks a slight edge. If they win that, they could take a big step towards that #1 seed. The Buccaneers can right some wrongs by beating the Panthers twice. If they pull that off, they should win their division and secure a home playoff game.

I agree. I've had both of my boys wrestle and I am very confident that they can defend themselves if need be.

12/12/2025 Heavy Bag Workout: 4 rounds, 1:20/1:00, bare knuckle. Alternated southpaw and orthodox rounds, boxing. Just a brief workout today. I didn't even have workout clothes with me, but was able to get a little work in. 12/15/2025 Defensive Tactics: 8:00 am - 12:00 pm, 1:00 - 5:00 pm. Eight hours of DT instruction for our department today. Covered some basic armbar/lock takedowns, some punch blocking exercises, then tying it all together. Finished with a more "live" scenario in which they had to fight off an initial attack, then a secondary attack, and then either control into cuffing or create a safe amount of distance to transition to Taser. I ran four, two-hour sessions. It seemed to go pretty well, and I had some pretty good feedback. I have a mix of some seasoned officers with some training, seasoned officers with no training, and some newer employees with some athletic backgrounds, and some with no backgrounds at all.

I don't think this is always the case. There are times when a technique and the target can "meet in the middle" and maximize damage. I'll demonstrate this often with hikite using a knife hand strike to the neck. Pulling the attacker into the that strike generates great power into a vital spot, the neck. We do this with the hikite hand holding one of the attacker's wrists. In Aikido we using a pulling hand quite often to aid in the completion of techniques. It isn't necessarily met with a strike all the time (although there are times when it could), but often times it will result in using our other limb to make contact to gain kazushi.

12/11/2025 Aikido: 8:45 - 9:45 am. Loosening exercises, basic strikes/kicks, back falls (3 levels), some brief internals. Then 5th kyu requirement technique work: Yokomenuchi sokumen iriminage: Omote is decent. I need to focus on the pull-through/twist with the hikite hand. For ura, I need to focus on staying upright in the tenkan. Katatatori kaitennage: we worked this to a shoulder stretch to cool down at the end of class. Unfortunately, the dojo is on winter break and going to Chicago for black belt testings and camp, so I'll be on video study for a little while to supplement.

For one, you should not give up any of your mental health. What kind of divisions and isolation are you speaking about? What kind of opinions are you bringing, in what kind of settings, etc? How many years of training do you have, and what rank do you have currently? By being a mindless follower, are you talking about certain organizations, or organizations as a whole? On a side note, have you seen how many different MA organizations are out there? Division is kind of a thing in the Martial Arts, for better or worse. I would say this; if you enjoy training, keep training. That's what I do. I'm splitting time in three different styles right now, each very different from the other, and I am enjoying it very much. I always see things that I don't necessarily agree with, but I don't bang my head against a wall to get someone to agree with my point-of-view. I take in what they say, work with it, play with it, decide if I like that aspect or not, and if not, I'll move on. If it happens to be something that's a testing requirement, so be it. It's just another thing. If you derive no joy out of it at all, then you should either stop doing it, or approach it like something that is necessary, like taking your medicine (if it is that important or you believe that it is so necessary for self-defense or something like that). For me, it was first and foremost to learn how to defend myself. As I've spent more time in the Martial Arts, I've learned that there is so much more to go along with it. I enjoy the physical challenge, the technical challenges, the camaraderie built between training partners, the community of a school, things like that. If you can make money doing what you love, then power to you. Something like if you love what you do, you never work a day in your life... So, speak to us about this. I'll propose these questions to you: What did you try to make that was different? What was your approach? Your thoughts on why it had to be different? What did you not like about what you were doing? How much experience did you have before you decided things needed to be different? Did you approach others with your thoughts on it, and if so, what was their reaction? Now, I will advise that answering these questions will bring about more conversation on the subject, and to be prepared for all spectrum of replies, as everyone has different experiences. But I think it can lead to a good conversation and help to flesh out your concerns more. I'd love to see this conversation open up. I'd love to see you continue you Martial Arts journey.