bushido_man96

12/11/2019 MA Training TKD Kicking Class: 6:30 - 7:30 pm. Although this is usually a kicking class, it is more informal than our regular classes, so a few of us spent some time reviewing some 2nd and 3rd dan forms. We did Poe Eun a few times, and Se Jong a few times each. I also did a little kicking on the bags, but not much. I spent more time helping a few of the kids with hook kicks on the target pads.

12/6/2019 Strength Training Deadlifts: 135x5, 205x5, 225x5, 225x5. Lat Pull-downs: 125x10, 125x10, 125x10. Worked on the setup with the belt on again. 12/9/2019 Strength Training Squats: 45x5, 135x5, 205x3, 225x3, 260x6, 260x5, 260x5. Bench Press: 45x5x2, 115x5, 135x3, 170x1, 190x5, 190x5, 190x5. Press: 45x5, 65x5, 85x5, 115x3, 115x3, 115x3. Stretch: kick stretches and quads. Bar speed on the squats was good. I through in the press session just to get some more frequency with it, and since I've not pressed in some time. TKD Training Went through Choong Jang twice, Se Jong twice, stretched a little, and worked through the first four three-step sparring segments.

No doubt there. I've struggled and struggled with consistent training these past ten years or so, and it isn't going to get any easier as I go along. I think a lot of people get like this, and feel like if they can't train regularly, then they just won't do it. I hate to see this, and as an instructor that struggles with consistency as well, I would hope other instructors would find it in their hearts to be willing to work with individuals that run into this.

May he rest in peace. The lives that an MAist like that touches throughout his life, and the impact he makes on so many, is incalculable.

I'm with you, Bob! It seems I'm running into layoff after layoff, stymying my ability to improve. But, we've got to just keep plugging away at it. After all, like Martial Arts, it's about the journey, and we have to keep walking that path!

12/5/2019 TKD Testing: 6:00 - 7:30 pm. We had our GM in for testing, his daughter, a Senior Master, along with our CI (also Senior Master) on the panel for testing. Most we've had in some time. Our school is changing hands now, too, and so we are in an interesting time. We had one student testing for 1st dan, and another testing for 2nd dan, and they both performed well.

Oh, yes, those nagging injuries. I'm not sure when the last time I was truly healthy was. Keep up the hard work, and it all pays off! Congrats to you and your son passing your tests!

I wasn't sure how to title this thread, so let me clarify a bit. I was thinking about sparring, and sparring classes in general. It's easy to get the students together and do some drills and a lot of sparring, and then to try to point out issues while sparring for the students to work on, and then hope they do so. However, I was thinking of taking a different approach. Perhaps not for every sparring session, as it can be quite time consuming, but perhaps in a sparring-specific class setting, sparring for a round or two with a partner, and then afterwards taking anywhere from 2-5 minutes to discuss the match with each other. Break each other down, asking what one was seeing the other do, how they were scoring, etc. Then up and spar another round or two, and work on the flaws. Then rotate to someone new and do the same thing again. I think this could be a highly valuable format for a sparring class. Does anyone already take this approach? I'd love to hear feedback.

That's pretty cool, Patrick. My wife likes to always take in The Parade on Thanksgiving Day. I don't pay much attention to it, though. Had I known, we'd have been watching for you!Our family had a pretty good day. We had a good meal with some extended family the day of, and the day after, we had our own, smaller meal at home, just us and the boys. I'm still eating leftover turkey sandwiches....

He actually has a book out now. I hope to pick it up by around Christmas time.

I have a hard time judging if a student will be a lifer or not. One would think that the one's that come in and are talented and really excel and pick it up fast would be the one's that stay, but that is not the case I've found. They tend to either burn themselves out, of get bored with it, and end up being the type of person that doesn't really stick with anything. I've seen some people who aren't the most talented or the most driven become long-time students. They tend to see the long road ahead and look forward to the drive, as opposed to trying to hurry along and accomplish all kinds of things. In the end, it is very difficult (for me, at least) to determine the life of a prospective student. All I can do is offer them the best instruction I can, and be the best person I can to them, and hope they stick around for a while. If I have students that end up leaving, I try to encourage them to find something that intrigues them, and try to stick with it. On a side note, Bob, your journey sounds very much like mine.

12/2/2019 After a long lay-off, it's back to the grind. I hate missing time, but sometimes, in the life of a grown-up, we learn that our time isn't always our own. But, it was time well spent. I took Kendall out to Missouri, where he got to play in an all-star type of football game with other 8th graders from around the country. It was a good time, and he represented himself and his school very well. It was also a good trip to spend with my brother and his family, and getting to see my mom, as well. Squats: 45x5, 135x5, 225x3, 250x5, 250x5, 250x5. Bench Press: 45x5x2, 115x5, 135x3, 170x1, 185x5, 185x5, 185x5. Stretch: brief kick stretches and quads. I also got my youngest, Kenneth, started weight training on this day. He did squats, press, and deadlifts, all very well. We've got some form work to do, but that is to be expected. He did very well, and he was excited about it. 12/3/2019 Strength Training Squats: 45x5, 135x5, 185x5. Deadlifts: 135x5, 185x5, 205x3, 225x1, 275x5. Lat Pull-downs: 120x10, 120x10, 120x10. Stretch: kick stretches and quads. I added the light squat session today just to try to work out some of the soreness from the previous session, due to the layoff. In the future, I may make Tuesdays a light squat day to add to the deadlifts, but I'll gauge how this goes. The only thing I don't like about the 4-day novice split is loosing one squat day out of the week.

Has you doc thought about taking any chest x-rays to make sure you don't have pneumonia? Hanging on for three weeks makes it seem like it could be something more like this.

Or maybe buy a bigger pair than she needs and get the tailor to take them in? This is what I always have to do. I have short legs but big thighs and hips, so I have to buy larger sizes to fit the hips, then hem them up. I'm only 5'7"-ish, but I always have to buy sizes 7 and 8 in dobaks.

Thank you, Patrick!

Do you have a local tailor that might be able to help out? If you take in a pair of uniform pants for them to look over, have her come in for measurements, and figure out what material to use, a local tailor might be the way to go.

Hello KarateForums.com members! Today marks another half-birthday for this community (18.5 years!), and I take pride in being given the opportunity to address our members on this occasion. I found KF waaay back on March 31, 2006. At that time, I would spend several nights a week at my TKD school, trying to get better and doing what I had a passion for. Needless to say, time has marched on and changes have taken place in life, as happens to all of us. As my family grew and my career shifted, the amount of time I have been able to dedicate to my martial arts training has diminished. As these changes have taken place in my life, different things have taken priority. Being a husband and father is first and foremost among them, and I wouldn’t trade them for the world. Martial arts, which is and always will be important to me, has taken on a different role in my life. It’s what I love to do, but now I do it when I can, as opposed to all the time. However, throughout all the changes in my life that have affected my time and effort in the martial arts world, the community at KarateForums.com has always been a rock of consistency as my martial arts outlet. Everyone that is here and has been here has always been supportive and helpful, no matter where I am in either my martial arts journey or in life in general. I see the community here as an extended family, one I can rely upon through the ups and downs, through thick and thin. I can’t think of a group of individuals, most of whom I’ve never met in person, that have been as supportive and kind as the members of this great community have been during my time here. When I can’t train (which has been often as of late), I can come to KF and talk shop. If I can’t train physically, then I can come to KF and do what I view as a mental training, with the opportunity to talk with some of the smartest and most experienced, and not to mention open-minded, individuals across the globe, in one of the most constructive environments I’ve had the privilege to be a member of. Suffice it to say, it is all of you, the great members that make up the KarateForums.com community, that bring all of these positive aspects to bear. It has been a great privilege to be a part of this community, and I look forward to see what the next 18.5 years bring.

11/19/2019 Strength Training Deadlifts: 135x5, 205x5, 225x3, 275x1, 300x5. Lat Pull-downs: 145x10, 145x10, 145x10. Stretch: kick stretches and quads. I was sick again over the weekend, which really set my body back. I missed Monday's session, but was able to make class that night, which was good. Today was a decent session, but I will most likely be missing the rest of the week due to travel. So it was nice to get at least one session in. The high belt for the deadlift is really helping out my form in the bottom, too. It's great to solve a problem like that.

Those are interesting takes. You are correct that in the early ages of strength training, you are also practicing the movements. Hopefully, you have the eye of a qualified coach, or have done enough research to understand how to do the movements properly, that you aren't playing a guessing game as you go. That is not a safe way to strength train. It is true that during training, you are practicing the movements. But I disagree that the first few times you go to the gym and squat that it should be "hard." The weight that is moved should be manageable, and doing enough work for the athlete to know how to do it right, rest and recover, and come back and add a little bit more weight the next session. It will get more difficult as the athlete goes along, but it gets harder as one gets stronger. At any rate, that has more to do with the stress/recovery/adaptation cycle, which is worth it's own thread in it's own right. Now, when it comes to TKD, my style of choice, I train TKD, and develop my skills in practice; i.e., at class, during solo sessions, etc. I make my body stronger for TKD through strength training, because strength is a general physical adaptation, and the most efficient way to develop it is through strength training. I agree that you are correct about how people get caught up in functional training. They are told to exercise, but not really told what to do. And there is a difference between exercise and training. Exercise is activity done for the immediate result that it produces today; be that just getting tired and sweaty, or to make the muscles "burn," or whatever. Training is done with a long-term goal in mind, the workouts of which are designed to produce that goal. In strength training, this is accomplished through programming. I think the main problem with approaching strength training is that most people don't know how to approach it properly to reach those long-term goals. So instead, they end up trying different exercise or "functional" training, and may get strong to a point, but then don't know where to go from there. My hope in posting the article is that it can help show the way to accomplish these goals.

Welcome to KF, Cappella! Glad to have you! It sounds like you found what you want to do, and that's the best part about the Martial Arts journey. Enjoy, and welcome!

What TKD texts would you recommend your students read? There are a lotof them out there, but which ones do you think best fit the bill as being most valuable to your students? Alternatively, what's your favorite? I'll answer later; I'm interested in what others have to say.

11/18/2019 MA Training TKD Black Belt Class: 6:30 - 7:30 pm. Started off with some low rank form review: Chon Ji, Dan Gun, and Do San hyungs. Moved into Do-Kangs 1-4, taking some extra run-throughs on 3 and 4. Finished up with three-step sparring 1-3.

Cool. Maybe one will come close my way.

I saw UFC Fight Night 130 in Liverpool a couple of years back. Was really good and about 8 hours of fights. Saw Olympic TKD at London 2012 too. That UFC nigh sounds awesome, and getting 8 hours of fights, that's worth the price of admission. What were your thoughts on Olympic TKD? Did you enjoy the fights? That would be a fun time. He's getting up their in age, though. Do you know if he still does seminars?

You refer to Kung Fu as more natural, but Karate more mechanical in regards to its forms. Doesn't Kung Fu have forms, too? Would they not fall into the same mechanical reference?