bushido_man96

They tried NFL Europe years ago, and it didn't last too long. However, there's a difference between running a developmental league and professional team. Personally, I would rather have a professional team anchored somewhere and maybe do away with some of these international one-offs. The international games they have tend to draw good crowds, but planning for a single event like that makes it easier to draw fans than sustaining them for a full season. The other thing to consider is they have to compete with soccer. I don't know if the NFL can do that in other countries. I dislike these international games because they take home games away from the teams and the fans that have bought season tickets, and the travel schedule and time adjustments is a nightmare for the teams. Of course, they all just say they enjoy it, and they won't say anything negative about it, at least not without getting fined. I'm not sure what the answer is. On a related note, I just drafted my fantasy team yesterday.

I'm sorry to hear that, @Montana.

8/14/2026 Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu: 6:15 - 8:00 pm. My back was still in pretty bad shape so I took it easy in class. Low speed, low intensity, and I didn't do any live rolling. We did some guard work, focusing on getting off-line and hooking the head and getting on overhook with the other arm around their arm. We worked this to a Kimura position and eventually to setting up where they try to pass on the knee-down side. Secure that wrist, work it back to clear the shoulder and get to a triangle. After that as some front headlock review with the escape/topple game.

That's great news, Bob! So glad to hear it!

It was a pride thing. It wasn't submission worthy, so I wasn't tapping.

8/13/2026 Strength Training Leg Press: 245x5, 295x5, 315x5, 345x5, 345x5, 345x5. Bench Press: 45x5x2, 95x5, 115x5, 135x3, 155x2, 170x5, 170x5, 170x5. Lat Pull-downs: 140x10, 140x10, 140x10. Taekwondo: 6:00 - 7:30 pm. Testing. A decent testing, eight students testing. Will post a testing reflections post later.

Thanks for the predictions. There's something about the Chargers pick I just can't get behind. They've been great on paper but underperformed in the Justin Herbert era. I'm not sure if that changes. But you could be right. The Vikings could be a surprise, especially if KOC works his magic with Murray like he did with Darnold. Interesting storyline, to say the least. If I recall, the Lions were a 9 win team that missed the playoffs, and the only thing disappointing about that is that the NFC South was allowed to field a playoff team. I just don't believe an .500 or under team should be allowed into the playoffs, whether they won a division or not. With that said, the Bucs and Baker Mayfield have to be more consistent. Year 2 Tyler Shough will be an interesting story to follow for the Saints. They could come out of nowhere and win that division. The Rams have loaded up for The Run, but teams have done that before and fell short. Could happen again.

That would have been an awesome experience!

Getting dressed while standing on one foot can be a good way to challenge the balance.

The experience at the stadium is great, but the time it takes to get in and out really makes it almost not worth it. I thought I saw the Falcons player was cut for off-the-field issues, but was currently in the process of being signed by the Seahawks.

That's a task I perform sitting down anymore.

Congratulations @P.A.L ! Great to see you back!

Welcome to KF, @SemperMorosus ! Great to see another training log!

I got the testing notes from Sensei. These include his and others from the testing panel. Sensei: Good stability on Aikitaiso and in general. Nice power on strikes and movements - good core integration. All weapons looked solid and powerful - could relax some to increase power/snap occasionally. Ikkyo looked good overall - on omote the hip could be turned out more on the cut to make it easier and more efficient; the ura version was well done. When the wrong technique was done it was continued and finished well - wrong but strong is preferred as it still shows martial awareness instead of just testing/performance awareness. Kaitenage ura was only missing the final step - the harder the connection, blending, and initial footwork were all correct; pulling the neck and pushing the arm to create tension instead of only holding the neck would have led to an easier and more powerful throw at the end. In general move self more and move uke less (as far as your focus) - by moving self more and uke being connected it may actually result in more and stronger throw projection (uke movement), but the goal has to be moving self with good principles. Sankyo and several other techniques had very good precise movements. From the others on panel: Nice roll with slap. Kotegashi had good grounding. Ikkyo short changed the ura even though it was good - it would finish easier with more rotation and sink. Kaitenage finish needed corrected. Very clean sokumen iriminage. Very good precision on sankyo. Nice variety and clean randori. I'm happy with this information and I think most of the criticisms are ones I had myself anyway. More practice with proper focus.

8/12/2026 Aikido: 6:15 - 7:15 pm. Warmups, basic strikes, aikitaisos, ukemi (forward and backward). Still getting dizzy. Irimi entering partner exercise (punching). Then technique work. Munestski iriminage with tenkan: I still have some trouble keeping the flow going. Especially with the blue belt. When the movement stops I have to force things. Munestski iriminage direct: Done much like tenchinage. Ryotetori tenchinage, ura and with tenkan. "Free" Aikido. I mainly tried to work on the techniques we worked on above. I did do one variation with a black belt from straight punch where I threw in the round kick and finished with an armbar. Back hurt more during this class than it had been.

8/11/2026 Strength Training Leg Press: 245x5, 295x5, 315x5, 340x5, 340x5, 340x5. Press: 45x5x2, 75x5, 95x3, 105x5, 105x5, 105x5. Smith Machine Stretch. Working more on toe touches and the like because I have no flexibility that way. Taekwondo: 5:45 - 6:30 pm. Taught Traditional Class. Got two runs of Choi Yong in before. Today's class was really full. It's testing week, so in basics I tried to clean up some things. One thing was tightening up the technique on the upset knife hand strikes. Another was rechamber position on kicks (which I've been focusing on the last few weeks I've been teaching). Thing three was sitting the leg down with control after kicking and leading into blocking or another strike (not falling into it). Forms/one-steps for white, low/high orange, high green, low blue, and middle brown. All forms were done only one time, at their own count, just like testing. One-steps were done continuously, like testing. Sparring: 6:30 - 7:00 pm. Several rounds of sparring with the pads on. I joined in for these. The last 10 minutes of the session was testing sparring done without pads. I emphasized showing control in techniques (not supposed to be any contact, at least not as color belts), controlling distance, competent blocking/defense and overall strategy, and interaction with their partner.

8/7/2026 Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu: 6:45 - 8:15 pm. Gi Class. Warmup rounds were grip wars that I couldn't seem to win. I spent a lot of time on the bottom. We went over a lot of positions from the gi perspective tonight. We started in guard, doing the triangle/armbar/omo plata progression, did some collar chokes from inside the guard and from the mount. We did a bow-and-arrow choke from the backpack position. A general overview of a little something from most of our positions. Free rolling was not fun tonight. I felt like I couldn't do anything. I couldn't seem to slow down the wrestlers, and if anything, it seemed like the gi just gave them more handles. I was constantly fighting the grips. I spent most of my time on the bottom getting crushed. The class was mostly white belts and I felt like I was behind them. One of the guys had watched a video on an Ezekiel choke, so of course he was trying it and he spent most of a round trying to dislocate my jaw. The most frustrating part was that I felt like I couldn't keep up with the other white belts. When I ended up on bottom I did get to full guard instead of half guard more often.

8/6/2026 Strength Training Leg Press: 245x5, 295x5, 305x5, 335x5, 335x5, 335x5. Bench Press: 45x5x2, 95x5, 115x5, 135x5, 155x5, 165x5, 175x5. Lat Pull-downs: 135x10, 135x10, 135x10. Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu: 6:45 - 8:15 pm. Three warmup rounds, with the first round we were letting the other work to one of the guard submissions we'd been working on, or one of the submissions from the front headlock position, then we switched roles. The next 2 rounds were regular warmup rounds. This month is focusing on the front headlock position. We started with a simple game where the top player gets the headlock position with a head and arm, both arms, or just the head (I didn't do that, didn't seem secure). then try to hold and keep bottom player's posture down. Bottom player tried to break the lock by hand fighting, posturing up, and escaping. Top player couldn't win. This progressed to where the top player could win by getting hip-to-hip, but had to do it on both sides. Bottom player could win by escape or reverse. This game led to a lot more scrambles. Most of the guys when in the front headlock position wouldn't block or tie up the arm side when trying to get around to hip-to-hip, and when they did this I could throw an arm out and catch a leg, and I could get a single leg or double it off and escape or reverse. The games finally progressed to where the top player could win by getting hip-to-hip and toppling the bottom player onto a hip (far knee/far ankle, etc). Or, you could topple them from the front headlock position. I was able to get to the hips a few times and get them broke down, and I also was able to set up an Iowa from the front headlock position and broke them down that way. Or I could secure an arm in a two-on-one and topple that way. Bottom guy could again win by escape or reverse. All the years of the boys wrestling helped out today. I think I did three rounds of free rolling. The first round was a scramble fest that wore me out. I was by far the heaviest guy there tonight, and scrambles are my weakness. I did ok, and even managed to improve position a few times against him, and defended a triangle choke attempt and did a smash pass. This guy seems like he has a decent knowledge base and I think he's been at it a little while. Next I rolled with coach, and did some things ok. I got leg entanglement takedown, but couldn't work into the leg entanglements worth a damn from it. I eventually got tapped out when he went for an armbar, I tried to defend, and ended up in a bicep slicer that really hurt. Last round was with another wrestler. I manage to keep a top position, inside his guard, for most of the round. I had a forearm in his neck for a while. I have to work on getting from half guard to full guard.

I think your process there is right on. As an instructor, I think it's important to be able to demonstrate things competently like that. Did he not stick around to finally earn the belt?

I hope to be able to get good enough that I can sacrifice positions knowing I can confidently work to improve them. A rule I made for myself in warmup rounds is to not try to submit my partner. I just try to work through positions, either maintaining a dominant position or improving position. If I find a sub opportunity, I'll try to get to it without setting it, and continue the roll. What grips would you typically recommend for gi training? What grip positions do you find the most success with?

Well, I'm trying anyway. I'm starting from the ground and working my way up. I want to try to get consistency in the stances, and then connect everything up the chain. The problem is, I don't know what the rest of the instructors are telling her when she's in class with them. We should probably all get together and make a plan, but different instructors will see different things jump out at them more than other things, and tend to hammer on those things. Combined with the fact that I only teach once a week, my input probably matters very little. I think it can work either way, that was just the order we got showed that night. It's good to know the two work off each other, as nothing happens in a vacuum. 8/5/2026 Aikido: 6:15 - 7:15 pm. Traditional Class. Basic strikes, abbreviated aikitaisos, and forward/backward ukemi. I did ok with the rolling, but I just can't do too much of it in a row. Then we did an irimi entering partner drill, attacking with munetski. It's a pretty slick drill, and I really like it. Every time I do it and do that sidestep, I can only think about delivering a round kick to the body or a side kick to the leg/knee area; my TKD/hard style brain kicking in. It's very much like the harder palm blocking we do at an angle in our TKD one-steps. The irimi entering drill was done to set us up for the techniques we did next, all from the munetski attack: Kotegashi with tenkan: This went pretty smooth, and I'm pretty sure it's review from a lower kyu. That's ok, as the review is necessary. Sumi otoshi: "Corner drop." The entry is the same, but the hand the redirects goes palm up in order to hook the arm and pull it and extend it out. Then downward/circular pressure is applied to the elbow to "drop" them. A little different, but it felt more direct and I did like it. I want to play with these and add in the kicks to see if I could make that flow. I tried to focus on moving myself more than uke in these techniques. I have to keep focusing on this.

Hello @P.A.L ! It's good to see you back!

Yeah, the gear doesn't help, either.

8/4/2026 Strength Training Leg Press: 245x5, 265x5, 285x5, 305x5, 335x5. Press: 45x5x2, 65x5, 75x5, 85x5, 95x5, 105x5. Lat Pull-downs: 130x10, 130x10, 130x10. I did a little bit of stretching prior to lifting to try to help loosen up my back a little. Still have back pain. Taekwondo: 5:45 - 6:30 pm. Taught Traditional Class. Regular basics, and I focused on making sure kicks followed the same track out and back, and having good rechamber position, and not dropping the leg after kicking. Forms/one-steps for low/high orange, high green, low blue, and middle brown belt. I did one-steps with the middle brown belt. High orange - a young kid, doing very well. She does the form with confidence and is ready to test. High green - we had 4 of them tonight! All middle school/young high school. They stayed in sync very well and they are all looking good. I hope this group of kids keeps growing together. Overall very good and they are ready to test. Low blue - another young kid, and he's really looking pretty sharp now. He used to go 100 miles a minute, super high energy. We got him to slow everything down a little bit and it's helped him bring his techniques and balance under control, resulting in smoother being faster. Slowing down a touch has actually helped his power. He's ready to test. Middle brown - an adult, and she has the form down and is doing well, and is ready to go. Sparring: 6:30 - 7:00 pm. Instead of sparring, we pulled out the standing bags and worked on some kicks. I had them start close to the bag, slide away a stance length, like a retreat, and then throw a back leg kick. We did this front kicks, round kicks, reverse side kicks, reverse hook/heel kicks, and then 360 degree round kicks, ratcheting up the difficulty on the kicks as we went. At the end, I started introducing the next step, which is doing these kicks as "switch-away" kicks, where the slide back and kick is combined. I will drill those next week. 30 minutes is not enough time for this segment of "class."

Oh...my... I don't know what to say! I had lost track and didn't realize the anniversary was coming up. @Patrick does it every year, but I didn't think about this year being a milestone like this. I don't think I can say enough in response to these touching and heartfelt thoughts that so many have presented, but I will try. I didn't realize that I could have such an impact, and hearing it is all the more touching! It brings a tear of joy to my eye! @DWx Wow! Just, wow! I didn't realize all that. Thank you, for those kind words. I've had some things go one recently in which I didn't feel like I was very appreciated in the places that I am, but your response here just overwhelms me. I would never have imagined any of my thoughts could have that much of an impact on other students, even students an ocean away! Thank you for that; thank you so much! I do miss our TKD conversations, and hope to pick them up again sometime! I've always valued your thoughts and insights into a style of TKD that I've only ever read about and watched videos on, and never experienced. Sugo Hasamita! @sensei8 Thank you, my friend. Your thoughts and encouragement throughout the years have been a huge boon to my training. We shared that training session all those years ago, and it opened my eyes to what else TKD could be, and how I could approach some things differently. Thank you for that. I know we never got to get together to train again, but that one session taught me many lessons. Think back to all those years ago, when we met on that "other forum," and where we are now. @ryanryu I'm glad I you came back, and thank you for the kind words! I wouldn't have thought I could be the reason someone returns and stays. That thought means so much! @JazzKicker Thank you so much! The KF journey and the MA journey have many parallels, and love seeing what everyone has to share in their journeys. Watching students advance is it's own reward. @Wastelander Thank you. Your knowledge and experience has been very helpful and inspiring in my own training! @DarthPenguin Thank you for the kind words! Following your training on your log helps me out so much and inspires me to keep going. Seeing other people's cross training experiences helps me with my own, and helps me to stay positive, even on those days where I feel like I'm wasting my time getting crushed at BJJ. @Himokiri Karate Thank you as well! The reflections of the many Karatekas here on their training are helpful to my own, to understanding more about the root of TKD, and how to reach back into what's there. @KarateKen Thank you for the kind words! @Patrick Thank you so much, for extending the opportunity all those years ago to join the staff. I never imagined it would lead to where we are today. I've enjoyed it so much, and KarateForums.com continues to be as much a part of my Martial Arts journey as the physical training itself does. Your words are deeply touching and mean so much to me. To continue in the role as moderator is a privilege I'll continue to cherish. To close this post, I have to say that without all the great members that contribute to KF, past, present, and future, this couldn't have happened. I owe this to all of you, and I thank you for making this the place I can continue to come to share, learn, and grow in this journey we all share a passion for. Thank you all so much!