bushido_man96

I've moved on to Taekwondo Textbook vol 2, Basic.

I'll have to look into the print subscription, see what that's about. I picked up a print magazine on Amazon called Deadly Art of Survival. Mostly bios of various Martial Artists, but a good read so far.

This may still happen. The announcers were talking about it off and on during the broadcast. He's planning another Olympic run, but after that, I can see him getting into MMA.

I don't know if anyone kept up on the NCAA Wrestling finals, but Wyatt Hendrickson beat Gabel Steveson for the HWY title. There was a wrestling camp announced today that Kenneth got signed up for in June, and Wyatt Hendrickson is going to be the camp clinician. It was a great deal, and he's super excited to go.

3/24/2025 TKD: Forms/One-Steps Class: 5:30 - 6:00 pm. Three of us, counting the CI, so we all did colored belt one-steps in a round-robin style. Worked well, we got through them all, and it afforded us each a little rest after each one-step. Sparring Drills: 6:00 - 6:30 pm. Warmups: knee-ups, down the floor forward and stepping backwards going back. Stretch kicks going down, then round kick knee chambers going back, really extending the knee forward and locking out and stretching the hip. Standing bag drills: In-and-out FL round kicks: 1 min each side, 30 sec rest between rounds. Stance switch then switch round kick: 1 min each side, 30 sec rest between rounds. FL side kick/spin side kick, alternating: 1 min total. FL side check kick to round kick: 1 min each round, 30 sec rest between rounds. Black Belt Class: 6:30 - 7:30 pm. We did "exploratory" one-steps and two-steps. We started with one-steps, with one random attack from either side. The defender would defend as normal and then counter, but the attacker would block/move/counter the defender's first technique. Then the defender would have to adjust and finish the one-step from there. We did the same for two-steps attacks. It was a fun approach, and we looked at different counters and talked out some of the things we did. It was a fun hour of work. I wanted to stretch afterwards, but my left hip kept charlying up, making it a pain to stretch.

3/20/2025 So this ended up being a good day of training! Aikido: 9:00 - 10:00 am. Back to morning classes! This was spring break week, and I was the only one in that morning. The sensei had been sick the night before and was concerned about being too close, so this provided an interesting training opportunity. He offered we could do weapons training, which I always enjoy, or we could practice my testing techniques using a kata approach. I opted for the latter, as I really want to test. And I really enjoyed it. It probably has something to do with the fact that I've been doing forms and one-steps for so many years, but I found it really helped me get lots of reps and really see what my hips were doing. We did dynamic ikkyo, both omote and ura, then we did the static version, which is done from a lapel grab. Next was shomenuchi katatori iriminage (I struggle with this one, and I think the kata approach helped out a lot). I really enjoyed this approach, and hope to do it some more. I plan on picking one prior to class and using it as bit of a warmup. TKD: Rank Class: 5:45 - 6:30 pm. Got through all the basics, but it took about 30 minutes. I watched white belts do their forms, then taught Won Hyo to a high green belt. Finished with white belt one-steps. BJJ: 7:00 - 8:30 pm. We worked in gi tonight, and the focus was on standing passing. Game 1: Top/standing player was attempting to do a Toriando pass by getting grips on the knees or ankles, getting the bottom player onto their back, and then get around a leg by collapsing them and then stretching one out and sneaking the far leg around to then pass to side control. Bottom player tried to sit up, retain posture, and defend the pass. To pass was to win. 8 min, round robin. Game 2: Same game, but now the bottom player had the added benefit of trying to off-balance/destablize the standing player, and by getting the standing player's hands or butt on the ground gave them a win. If the seated player could pull in close underneath the standing player, they could get hooks and sweep by pulling them over you. 8 min, round robin. Game 3: Same game, but the standing player got to expand the pass game to more than just the Toriando; knee slices, etc were all-go. Coach explained to us that we have to make their grips a liability. Trying to do that sounded easy enough, but the game moves so much that a disadvantage may only last a second, and you've got to capitalize on it quick. 8 min, round robin. Only three of us in class tonight, so got lots of work, and lots of tired. After all that, the other student in the class, who said he'd had other experience in striking styles, specifically mentioned Shotokan, talked through his frustrations. He talked about how he had trouble seeing "the way forward." He felt he could defend well, but had trouble seeing what "winning," like successfully gaining a position, was like. We talked about our thoughts for a while, and I likened it to having the "empty cup" approach. I think he struggles with the ecological approach, especially coming from styles where we stand up and learn techniques in the air before moving to application, and perhaps from a more pliant partner experience. I think he'd rather do a more static approach to training, where we talk through a technique like an armbar applied when in mount, or drilling the triangle choke from guard. I think it would help him see "the way forward" better, even though when we start rolling all those steps get pretty jumbled and thrown out the window. I offered that it might be beneficial to start with a static drill like that, and then move into the games using that as the image to fall back on. Coach was really open to listening, and he may change up his approach some. Personally, I haven't minded the approach he's used thus far; it's very different to what I'm used to, but that's what I like about it. It's taking me out of my comfort zone and really showing me my weaknesses.

I used to subscribe to Black Belt, and always enjoyed it. I honestly didn't know the magazine was still printed. I assumed it had all gone digital, and I don't prefer to consume content that way.

3/18/2025 Aikido: 6:15 - 7:45 pm. Tonight we focused on testing techniques, and the sensei was marking down notes on them to see if we were ready to test. From same side wrist grab, we did kokyunage and kotegashi. We did ikkyo from same side lapel grab. I focused on relaxing my grip more, keeping my center lower, and flowing in the technique better.

There is something to be said about finding the right community. Great people with great attitudes in a great atmosphere goes a long way in keeping people around.

Thanks DP. I think he's grown a lot in confidence, and am really looking forward to the next three years.

3/17/2025 TKD: Forms/One-Steps Class: 5:30 - 6:00 pm. I had a 10 minute warmup prior to class, and spent it going over ATA forms again, going through Songhams 1-5. My legs felt really heavy. In class, we did all of our forms, which was 17 in total (plus the 5 prior to class). I goofed in Yoo Sin, and went back through it and fixed it. I also forgot Gae Baek in order, so did it last. Sparring Drills: 6:00 - 6:45 pm. We focused on spin side kick counters, from open and closed stances, no hogu. After class, we finished with body conditioning; blocking sequence on the arms (10 each 'side'), leg kicks inside and outside (20 total each leg), body punches (20 total), and slapping the sides (20 total). Floor stretch.

Ok, State Championship tournament has come and gone, and I'm going to give this one a thorough rundown. We got in on the afternoon of 3/14, and Kenneth weighed in at 242 lbs. Day 1, 3/15/2025 Match 1: Unfortunately, this match was a scratch. Not sure what was up with the kid, but the new was the kid he was supposed to wrestle was 0-4 or 0-5. Still, would have rather wrestled than not. A note here on the bracket. The way it plays out, is depending on which district you get matched up with (they rotate them each year), the 1 seed gets a 4 seed from the other district. The 2 seed gets the 3 seed, etc. Well, the way it worked out, there was no 3 seed from the opposing district, so the kid Kenneth actually beat twice to get the 1 seed had a natural bye in the tournament, and Kenneth did not. I think that is something that needs to be addressed, as the higher seed should get rewarded with the bye if it's there. But, be that as it may, I'm certain Kenneth would have taken care of business if he would have had a first match. In a way, he ended up with a bye anyway. Match 2: At the start of the match, Kenneth was tying up well. His opponent did a lateral drop, but Kenneth had good pressure and hip placement to sprawl out and come back up with the opponent. So they were back to neutral and fighting for position. His opponent started a slide-by and ended up giving Kenneth a headlock. With that, Kenneth took him over and worked to pin. The opponent was rolling around and trying to roll Kenneth through, and he ended up rolling back into Kenneth, which allowed Kenneth to sink it in even deeper. He tightened it up and got the pin, nearly choking the kid out in the process. 2-0 on the day. Match 3: Semifinals! No matter what happened now, making it to the semifinals meant the lowest he could place was 6th, securing his first ever podium finish at state. Kenneth opened up with two underhooks and a throw for 3 points. The opponent rolled through and Kenneth "cut him" (let him up). They hand fought and pummeled, and the opponent went for a headlock, and Kenneth got a body lock with an underhook and threw him again, scoring another 3 points and also getting 4 back points for a near-fall. They ended up out of bounds and got reset, and Kenneth kept him broke down with a tight-waist/ankle and rode out period 1, up 12-1. To start the second period, the opponent chose top, and Kenneth did a "quad-pod" stand-up, and got caught in a cow-catcher. He sprawled out, got back to the quad-pod, posted his arms out and scored an escape. Kenneth got to the underhook body lock again and threw again for 3 more points, going up 16-1. Kenneth held him down after the takedown and pinned him for the major decision. 3-0, and into the finals! Now the lowest he could place was 3rd, and I'll elaborate on that in just little bit. Day 2, 3/16/2025 Match 4: This was going to be a tough match. The opponent was 4th place last year in this same tournament. The kid was very tall and was a very solid wrestler. When they started off, Kenneth was getting his inside ties and was doing ok pummeling for position. The opponent took shot a single-leg and Kenneth sprawled out, and they got up. The opponent came in for a headlock and Kenneth got his body lock again. From there, neither could get the position they wanted, so they backed out to collar ties. The opponent went for a trip but they had worked over to the edge of the mat and were called out of bounds and set back to neutral. Now here, it seems like Kenneth got pensive about tying back up. This was bad, because Kenneth was on his heels moving back slightly, and I started yelling at him to make some connections so he could work again. Too late. The opponent shot a blast double that finished out of bounds. The reset with Kenneth on bottom position, and from there Kenneth got broke down with a head lever and got turned for a pin. 3-1 for the weekend, and one would think that since this is the finals, Kenneth finished 2nd place. But not so fast.... Starting last year or the year before, KS Kids Wrestling started initiating the "true second place" rule. The way this works is that the wrestler that takes 3rd place can challenge the 2nd place finisher for "true second" if the 3rd place wrestler had not been beaten by the 2nd place finisher earlier in the bracket. We got to watch the 3rd/4th place match as they were up before his match. One of the wrestlers was the kid Kenneth beat in the semifinals, and I was hoping that kid would win, then there'd be no challenge. But the other wrestler won, and he was hanging around watching Kenneth's finals match. The 3rd/4th place match was a sloppy one, though. The two came in high on each other, basically in a headlock battle to see who would fall down first. They both had height and weight on Kenneth, but I really wasn't too concerned about either of them. The kid watching Kenneth's match yelled out in excitement at his chance to challenge for true 2nd when Kenneth lost. What I was really worried about was Kenneth's head-space after just losing a title match, and getting him mentally reset to take on one last opponent. So, I gave him a pep talk that I can't repeat here, but the abridged version of it was that he wasn't going to let this kid come take his runner-up finish away, was he? He agreed, and waited about 10 minutes for a few other true 2nd matches to finish up before we began. Match 5: This was literally the last match of the day; tape was getting pulled up and mats were getting rolled up all around us. So they go out, shake hands, and it's on. Kenneth gets inside ties, and the taller opponent tried the headlock like he did in the 3rd/4th place match. Kenneth explained to me that the opponent had the headlock on the wrong side, on his own (the opponent's) side, and he couldn't throw him. Kenneth had a true headlock. They ended up backing out of the headlock positions and pummeled for position. Kenneth got two underhooks and a body lock to a trip for a takedown and 3 points, and the opponent did a knee-slide out of bounds. They reset with Kenneth in top position, and Kenneth broke him down with an ankle ride. Kenneth defended a "big man roll" and broke him down again. He got a chicken wing and turned his opponent for 2 back points, and his opponent crawled out of bounds again and got called for stalling. That ended the first period with Kenneth holding a 5-0 lead. To start the 2nd period, Kenneth chose neutral, and he pummeled to an underhook, and the kid went for Kenneth's head, and Kenneth got the body lock with an arm in, and threw him nicely, landed on top with basically a barbed wire pinning combination set in, and Kenneth settled in, T-ed out, and got the pin! While getting pinned, the opponent got his hand pulled away from Kenneth's face by the ref; the opponent was trying to push Kenneth's head away, and nearly gouged his eye in the process. Either way, it wasn't enough to stop the pin from happening, and Kenneth secured his 2nd place finish! 4-1 record for the weekend! I was so happy for Kenneth, with this being his first podium finish, after 7 years of wrestling. It had been a long time since that 6U 4th place finish. Kenneth was so happy, too, and we got to share that moment together, and I'll always remember it. And he's got one up on big brother Kendall; Kendall's best state finish was 3rd. What I really think kicked things off for Kenneth this year in wrestling was the success he experienced at the Heartland Duals we went to last year. I think it set him up with some understanding of how to compete and that he knew he could compete. This year he got past the point of worrying about everyone being heavier and taller than him; he knew in high school wrestling he'd have to be a giant slayer this year, and he carried that attitude into the Kids season. It has all paid off. I'm looking forward to three more years of wrestling. Come what may, we got to have this year, and this year was great.

3/13/2025 TKD: Rank Class: 5:45 - 6:30 pm. We got through half of the basics roughly. For our typical side kicks drill, we changed it up to do one low, then one middle, then one high. After basics, we spent the rest of the time on one-steps. I did white belt and low blue belt one steps. My head was not feeling great, but got through it all. BJJ: 7:00 - 8:15 pm. Class focus was on the front headlock position. Warm-up: 3 low speed rounds, 3 minutes each. Then we spent time going over the anaconda, the darce, the guillotine, and the arm-in guillotine as finishes from the front headlock position. Game 1: The "top" player, or the player controlling the head I guess, his job was to get a submission or to improve position. If we got a Darce set in but couldn't finish it, then the goal was to move to mount or side control. Bottom player was trying to escape/separate. I think I got maybe one submission set while playing here, but I did move to improve my position a few times. I need to get better at letting my partner take my weight and I need to follow my moves more. 5 min x2 Game 2: We started with the controlling player moving through the submission positions. As we moved through them, the coach would call "stop," and wherever we were, that was the sub we tried to finish. I had trouble getting things set right. Pretty concentrated night. I didn't free roll due to my head feeling really bad.

Talking along the line of migraines, I recently was prescribed Verapamil to take daily. Last Saturday was a bad day, but Sunday when I got to eat some breakfast and take that pill, it made a difference. I also have prescription diazapem in case of severe cases of vertigo.

I just finished it up tonight. I was kind of getting dragged down by the overly-dramatic things going on, and in the back of my mind I kept wondering why it was titled Cobra Kai when everything seemed to be turning up Miyagi-Do? But then they brought everything full circle, and did a pretty masterful job of it. Great end.

Been a rough week. Haven't felt good at all, but finally made myself get to class. 3/11/2025 No class, but had some thoughts about a class designed around training the chamber positions of blocking techniques as the actual "block" or "reception" and using the rest of the technique as the strike and finish. I've got a few ideas down, and need to put them to paper. 3/12/2025 Made myself get to class. My head hasn't been feeling great all week, but I didn't want to give up an entire week of training. TKD: 5:15 - 5:30 pm. Solo workout, on my old ATA forms. I focused on Songham 4 several times to get it re-memorized, then did Songham 1-3 as well. 5:30 - 6:00 pm. Forms/One-Steps Class. Had two students, and I taught the class. We did Chon Ji several times at my count. On the 4th run through, I had the students say the techniques they were doing out loud in hopes that it might help make it stick more. We moved on to Dan Gun hyung, and went through it 3 times at my count. On the big turning techniques (180 degree and 270 degree turns) I had them focus on bringing their feet close together in order to keep better balance and allow them better foot placement and hand/foot timing. We moved to their current form, Bo Chung hyung, which they did twice, at my count and then their own. It's done in basically the same floor and stepping pattern as Dan Gun, so I had them focus on the close-foot turning there as well. It made a huge difference in their performance. We did Chon Ji one more time, then moved to one-steps. They got through all their low and high orange belt one-steps, and I cleaned up some technicalities along the way. 6:00 - 7:10 pm. No one for this class, so it was back to solo work for me. I went over Songham 5 several times to get it down, then I did Songham 1-5 altogether. One thing that is unique to the ATA forms is that they were all devised to run together on a floor pattern referred to as the Songham Star. Each form is designed to be able to continue right into the next one without having to reset to the joon bi position. So the more forms remembered, the longer the overall form can be. They aren't much for applications, other than the straightforward combinations you can see, but there are some challenging segments in the forms that I think should help with my technique moving forward. That, and these are the forms from my MA childhood, so they are kind of nostalgic. I know there are lots of mixed feelings about the ATA, but I had really good instructors that harped on hard work and proper technique, and my MA "childhood" was a good one. I did a stretch in The Rack for a little bit, and reviewed the next ATA form, called In Wha 1. I went through this one several times, and feel I've gotten it back. I stretched in The Rack again, and reviewed In Wha 2, then went over that one several times. If I can keep all these straight, then I only have 2 more ATA colored belt forms left.

I take a Dramamine here and there to try to quell it. If things get really bad, I have some more potent prescriptions. If there is anything natural that anyone knows of, I'm all ears, too.

I did not know this! Happy Birthday Chuck! Chuck Norris movies were a mainstay in my home growing up; my dad was a big fan, and one of my earliest memories is watching Lone Wolf McQuade with my dad as a kid. I loved it when he used the nitrous boost to drive his buried patrol vehicle out of a hole! When I got older, I remember watching Walker, Texas Ranger on the regular. And of course, there are all the Chuck Norris Facts out there....

The coach has done some of this as well.

I have some base knowledge to fall back on, so I have an idea of how to do some submissions. Not a lot, but enough to get by right now. My son, however, does get frustrated because he can apply all kinds of good pressure and good positions, but he doesn't have a very extensive knowledge of how to do the submissions. I've talked him through some, like the Americana and the armbar, and the coach has shown us the RNC, the anaconda, and the Darce. I think a brief technique session prior to the games would probably provide a happy medium for those that don't have some base knowledge.

District Championships results from this weekend: Kenneth went 2-0 and placed first. There was only one other kid in the division this year, and they wrestled a best 2-out-of-3. Kenneth handled business in the first match, getting into the second period and winning with a pin. In the second match, the other kid came at him really hard; it appeared to be an attempt to try to catch him off-guard and get a desperation headlock to get a win. Kenneth responded well, kept good position, and took the kid down and pinned him in the first period this time. This is also his first time winning the district championships. This is great, because he'll go to State as a number one seed, and face the 4 seed from one of the other districts. I've also heard via the coach that there are only 12 in the state bracket for his age/weight class. Stay tuned for next week!

Kirk Cousins could very well end up being the highest paid back-up QB in the league if the Falcons decide to lead with Pennix. It will be interesting to see how that plays out. Maybe they split time? Chiefs re-sign LB Nick Bolton to an extension, and also bring back Hollywood Brown on another one-year deal. Xavier Worthy made the news by getting arrested on felony domestic charges, which ended up being dropped. Browns re-signed Myles Garrett to a big deal, making him the highest-paid non-QB in NFL history (until next week, at least). Kind of a shocker considering his thoughts on wanting to seek a championship. Bills released Vaughn Miller, but are open to re-signing him to a different deal.

Geno Smith will provide a stable bridge to the QB of the future for the Raiders. The question is, will they find the QB of the future in this draft or in next year's draft?

3/6/2025 BJJ: 7:00 - 8:30 pm. Today's focus was on back control. I think I got all the games we did down, although I might have left something out. Today he did it differently; we started from a submission, and then worked backwards in the progression. We started in the backpack position, where the "top" player is seated behind the "bottom" player with hooks in. Warmup: 3 minutes at 15%. Kendall's 15% is faster than my 15%.... Submission technique: We worked on the rear naked choke. Game 1: Back or "top" player tries to set the choke, while the "bottom" player tries to control the hands to prevent it. Top player started with arms in the seat belt position. This kind of became a lot of cross-facing to try to get a good bite with the arm to set the choke. Hands for both players are always active. 5 min. Game 2: Same, but top player from the seat belt position had to get control of the hand(s) (1-on-1 or 2-on-1) before trying to set the choke. More focus on making connections and establishing good control before trying to set the choke. 5 min. Game 3: Same, but the bottom player now had to try to break the chest/back connection and escape or reverse. Options he showed were a parachute escape by pulling up on both feet and moving the hips away, and also laying back on the top player to apply pressure, then sliding one and then the second shoulder to the mat to get the separation. I had a much easier time with the latter process. The top player started with double underhooks this time. The top player had to control wrists or arms before advancing to the seat belt position. The top player still trying to get the choke, but would need to try to reset the position if the bottom player started getting separation. I had some luck with reconnecting as the top player most of the time. 5 min. Game 4: Same, but this time the top player started with the double underhooks and moved to a body lock or wrist/arm control (1-on-1 or 2-on-1) and tried to hold the position. This time, the top player was not trying to set the choke. One of the rounds I was drilling with a guy who was constantly pulling on my feet when he was bottom. I was constantly trying to reestablish the connection with my hooks, and he was able to slide his knee and elbow together to make a frame really well. 5 min x2 Open mat: I rolled several times, a few with Kendall and some with some of the other students. I've seen a pattern in my rolling; I go from crappy positions to worse positions regularly...

If it were easy, everyone would do it!