bushido_man96

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.

Mahomes suffered a torn ACL, and is done for the season. Hopefully he'll be back for the start of the 2026 season. KC definitely has some evaluating to do. They lost another OL today with Moore getting injured; not sure the extent of that injury. Now the bookend tackles are both off the practice squad. It'll likely be Gardner Minshew the rest of the way, and they'll likely have to elevate Victor Oladokun from the practice squad to backup. At least I think he's the practice squad QB.

Is it "playoff Mahomes" that beats him, or is it "playoff Allen" that loses...???? Only time will answer that question, I guess. This could be the year we find out. Allen doesn't have a great defense to rely on, and I'm not sure even he can carry that team through to the AFC title.

If Martial Arts become part of a school curriculum, then it takes the instructor's discretion away on a lot of things. For one, someone that probably doesn't know a thing about Martial Arts training is going to become an arbiter of what is or isn't taught, to what extent, etc, and things could likely get watered down. Then there is the issue of how to approach gradings. Insurance and liability become even bigger issues of concern. The instructor has less ability to control who he/she is teaching; it becomes available to all, especially if it's required. I like to think all kids can benefit from Martial Arts training, but there will be some that will take in the training for the wrong reasons. The idea appears appealing at first glance, but I think there are a lot of things that can go wrong.

12/10/2025 Heavy Bag Workout: 10 rounds, 1:20/1:00. Alternated orthodox/southpaw. Rounds 1-4 boxing only. Rounds 5-8 added in kicks. Rounds 9-10 speed bag. PNF stretching in The Rack.

That's just the nature of the NFL market. Next guy up is going to get more, possibly more than what others would consider to be the best, just due to the salary cap going up. That's an NFL issue, not necessarily a Cowboys issue. You could be right about him being overpaid, but in my opinion anyone making more money than Mahomes is overpaid. The supporting cast isn't really a good argument, though, because he has a top-tier receiver in Ceedee Lamb (all-pro a few years ago), they just brought in George Pickens, essentially putting to WR1s on the roster. They were able to afford re-signing Micah Parsons, but that all was just a really weird ending due to the way Jones handles things. Their running game could use some improvement, but that can be addressed in future drafts or free agency. Here's a pretty interesting read on comparing Dak with other top QBs in the league: https://insidethestar.com/the-cowboy-way-dak-prescott-vs-top-nfl-quarterbacks Again, if the only thing that matters is Super Bowl titles, then there are several other QBs in that comparison that would be "overpaid" as well, and thus a detriment to their teams and their ability to win a Super Bowl. I'd also lend the example of Andy Reid. He was long considered one of the best coaches in the NFL, but he just couldn't win the Super Bowl, and only made it to one before his time with KC. He just couldn't get it done...until he did. Just because Dak hasn't been to a Super Bowl yet doesn't mean he can't make it to one. I'd also go back to my previous question...what's the answer? Tank in the hopes of being able to draft Fernando Mendoza? Maybe a Ty Simpson if he comes out? We have absolutely no idea what they might be able to do in the NFL. But we do know what Dak can do, and that's what the Cowboys keep leaning on. Anyways, I think I've beaten this dead horse enough. I'll return to my regularly scheduled Chiefs rants!

Congrats @wagnerk!

@DarthPenguin, the other problem is evaluating what a rookie QB might or might not be. If you let someone like Dak go, who's shown that he can compete in the league, to take a chance on a QB that has never played in the league before, it's a pretty big risk. Especially when a coach might not get 2 years to prove he can put a winning team on the field. The issue with tanking is I think the NFL has some rules in place to prohibit that. Besides, look at a team like the Jets that has spent a number of years at the bottom of the league, and had a number of early first round QBs drafted, all for naught. I also think that Cowboys have enough draft capital that they wouldn't necessarily have to tank in order to move up and get a QB if there was one they liked.

Ok, then, what's the solution? I hear lots of people say these kinds of things, but what's the solution? Only one team a year wins the Super Bowl. Do you let a guy like Dak go and take a chance on a rookie? Or go get another veteran that also hasn't won a Super Bowl? Only 2 QBs have won a Super Bowl in the last 5 years. Go get one of those guys? Nope, they're already signed. So now you look at the next tier. Josh Allen? He's won as many as Dak has, but can the Cowboys get him? Doubt it, he's signed for the long-term, too. Joe Burrow? Signed up to be in Cincy. Matthew Stafford? Looks like he could play til he's 40...with the Rams. Lamar Jackson? Not available. You see what I mean? Easy to say, hard to do. Those resources are limited. So, I ask again, should Dallas cut Dak and try to find the next best thing?

I think it would be an interesting criteria to add to an existing testing to see what the student can do, how it would differ, what the focus would be, etc. If they asked for something like that to replace the testing, I would say no. To do it as a supplement to the same test, sure. Seeing how students grow and evolve is the fun part of teaching.

12/1/2025 Heavy Bag Workout: 8 rounds, 1:20/1:00. 2 rounds orthodox boxing. 2 rounds southpaw boxing. 2 rounds kicking focus. 2 rounds speed bag. PNF stretching in The Rack. My last round of southpaw came after the last round of kicking focus. I thought I got the two rounds done, but I saw I still had an odd number of rounds left. I must have left it out, so did it after the kicking rounds were done.

Thank you @wagnerk!

That's interesting that your hands are in the guard position in your katas prior to striking, yet you use the pulling hand in the two-person drills. I do think the applications make more sense in the two-person drills, and if you are constantly grabbing and pulling on someone, the need to explain it is kind of moot. But to not see it replicated in the forms is interesting.

The problem is, there are only so many "tip tier" QBs out there, and they're all signed. Dak is good enough to lead a franchise for 10+ years, which he is doing. If you can get a QB like that, then you have to and you have to run with him. I think the ownership is more of the problem than the QB. Worse QBs than Dak have won championships.

Not terribly unlikely for the Cowboys to beat the Eagles. It was a division game, and playing a team twice a year, sometimes things go that way.

I'm thumbing through The Odyssey again.

11/22/2025 BJJ: 10:00 - 11:00 am. Open mat. I don't know how many rounds we rolled today, but we did a bunch. There were three of us and we did round robins. A younger guy I hadn't met before showed up. He was quite a bit lighter than me. I did have a pretty good hip throw takedown. I don't recall if it was from an underhook, or if he tried to step behind me to take me down and I was able to keep a base and wrench him back over. I do recall I was really deep with my hips, behind both his legs, and when I threw him I was worried that one of his legs stayed planted and twisted his knee up. Thank goodness that wasn't the case. I also pulled up on the finish so it just wasn't an absolute slam. During a few of the rolls with this kid I was able to get a couple of Americanas going. Didn't quite get them finished, but I was getting close; I know time ran out on at least one of them. The kid was really lanky, too, and had a pretty sticky guard. The other was one of the coaches, I guy who's short and stocky like me. I always struggle against him. He just keeps moving and framing. I need to keep my legs more active. When they stop I lose what decent position I had gained and end up getting sucked back into a guard of some kind. The coach would stop and briefly discuss a few things here and there, but by and large we kept the rounds going, which was great. At the end of the class, he did cover some details on mount and moving up to high mount and isolating an arm.

Could be several reasons. Perhaps there are only a few things an instructor would be willing share with only the most dedicated students, those that are willing to spend years studying under him or her. Perhaps the instructor just doesn't see the value in something and therefore doesn't bother to teach it. Perhaps something better was figured out and that is passed along instead.