bushido_man96

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?

I would be interested in the structure of these classes; how you order them, spend time with drills, etc. In this class, is the focus on weapons kata, or weapon-on-weapon work? Bob, would each of these specialties fall into classes of their own, or would they overlap into one class, or a few classes?

11/15/2019 Strength Training Warm-ups: 5 box jumps, 5 med ball throws, 5 med ball slams. Deadlifts: 135x5, 205x5, 225x3, 275x1, 300x5. Barbell Rows: 135x5, 157.5x8, 157.5x8, 157.5x8. Stretch: kick stretches. The deadlift work set was a little better today, but rep 4 did pull away from my shins, and was a struggle at the top.

That's good to know! I wasn't sure how he worked those seminars out. That is true, Bob, although I would need a bit of memory-jogging to get it back on-line.

As instructors and/or school operators, do any of you have any kind of "specialty" classes that you run? For example, we have our "traditional" classes that consist of basics, forms, one-step, and sparring work. These are the classes that are geared toward learning the testing curriculum. These classes provide the roots of our syllabus to the students, and they are required for students to attend. We also offer some other classes. We have a black belt only class once a week (after a traditional class), and we have a kicking class once a week (also follows a traditional class). In schools I've been a part of in the past, we've had a separate sparring class. What kind of specialty classes do others here offer? Self-defense or bunkai classes? Sparring? Kicking or striking? I'm interested in what other teachers provide to their students, and am also looking for ideas.

11/13/2019 MA Training TKD Kicking Class: 6:30 - 7:30 pm. The class was a good-sized one, so in order to make use of our space, we alternated pairs on the Powerlines and on paddles. At the end of class, we did some rapid-fire paddle drills, getting the students really moving and hopefully thinking a little less and executing a little more. We started with single techniques and worked up to some two-kick combinations. 11/14/2019 Strength Training Warm-ups: 5 box jumps, 5 med ball tosses, 5 med ball slams. Squats: 45x5, 135x5, 225x3, 275x1, 305x5, 305x5, 305x5. Bench Press: 45x5x2, 115x5, 135x3, 170x1, 195x5, 195x5, 195x5. Stretch: kick stretches, quads. Squats were tough, even though this is weight I've done before. I believe the problem is not eating right. Since I've switched to night shift, I get home to bed in the morning, then when I wake up in the afternoon, I have to get to the school to pick up my youngest. Due to this, I don't have time to eat anything significant before getting to the gym, and I think I'm feeling the effects of that.

11/12/2019 Strength Training Deadlifts: 135x5, 205x5, 225x3, 295x5. Lat Pull-downs: 142.5x10, 142.5x10, 142.5x10. Range Training Night shoot, 2.5 hours of shooting with the pistol, rifle, and shotgun.

I agree. I really loved their work on the subject. They do a great job of laying out guidelines to consider in regards to deriving the applications to the techniques, and it translates over to whatever form or techniques one happens to practice quite well.

I'm not sure I'd ever be able to pull it off, but seeing a live UFC event would probably be a good time. I'd enjoy the K-1 tournament, too, if it still happens. A seminar with Iain Abernethy or Stuart Anslow would be a lot of fun, and quite educational, I think. I'm not sure how well a seminar would go with Abernethy, since I don't know the Karate forms, but I still think I could learn a lot. Being able to go to an Olympic or other International Wrestling event, or NCAA Nationals, would be a blast.

Congrats!

Happy Veterans Day to those who served!

11/11/2019 Strength Training Warm-ups: 10 med ball tosses, 5 med ball slams, 5 box jumps. Squats: 45x5, 135x5, 225x3, 275x1, 300x5, 300x5, 300x5. Press: 45x5x2, 75x5, 95x3, 115x1, 135x5, 135x5, 135x5. Stretch: kick stretches and quads. MA Training TKD Black Belt Class: 6:30 - 7:40. Black Belt Basics 1-4 (Do-Kangs), Three-steps 1-5, and some ho sin sul.

I guess I don't understand why you don't see the importance of the topic. But, if it's not important to you, that's your prerogative. I can't make it be important to anyone. As far as the opinion aspect goes, I don't recall presenting any opinions. I was presenting an article that discussed the two-factor model, and why and how it works in regards to all aspects of athletic endeavors, and presented it as a topic of discussion. You disagree; I can't convince you, so really, what else is there going forward? But I'm more than happy to discuss it further, trying to move forward in the discussion, and not into circles.

The problem is you and I aren't having the same conversation. There are all kinds of ways to improve health and such. What I've opened this discussion with is the idea that there is an efficient way to get strong, and getting strong is a general physical adaptation, and should not be confused with doing other athletic activities, like basketball, football, baseball, Martial Arts, etc. The most effective way to get strong it so focus on getting strong through weight training. The best way to get better at Martial Arts is to practice Martial Arts skills during Martial Arts training. When one starts to try to combine the two in the same sessions, by doing "functional training," then it's to the detriment of both. Strength training, using the barbell weight training system, done properly, uses exercises that can move the most weight possible, over the longest effective range of motion, using the most muscle mass. Exercises are selected to fit these criteria, and the exercises are programmed to complete (usually, but not always) 3 sets of 5 reps across. Then the body rests, allowing for a strength adaptation to occur, and when the athlete returns for the next training session, a small amount of weight can be added to the bar (maybe 5 lbs, maybe 2.5, depending on the lift, the age of the trainee, etc), and the exercises are performed again. Chin-ups and dips are exercises that fit the criteria listed above, and are good accessory exercises to the main lifts. The problem with these exercises is that not everyone can perform them right away, and hence are not valuable to program right away. Some heavier athletes may not use them, and some older athletes may not, either. However, it is possible to program this kind of training for the older demographic in a safe and effective manner. Sometimes, very detrained, or untrained, individuals will start out with an empty bar, a lighter training bar, or box squatting, or even standing up out of a chair without a bar. But even these older and untrained individuals can move forward to the point where they can squat with a bar on their back, and deadlift weight from the floor, or press overhead. These individuals will likely not be able to perform any kind of chin-ups or dips for some time, or ever. The other issue is in the assumptions that when I talk about strength training that I am talking about "bodybuilding" or "power lifting." I've not mentioned those terms when I talk about strength training. The fact of the matter is that the squat, the deadlift, and the press are all natural human movement patterns that every human does throughout the course of their lives. Standing up out of chairs, or off the toilet, or getting out of bed; picking the lawnmower up and putting it in the back of the truck, or picking a box of items up off the floor; lifting an object up overhead to put in a cupboard in the kitchen or on a shelf in the shop; all of these patterns are natural human movement patterns. The squat, deadlift, and press, done with a barbell in hand, allows us to train these movement patterns in an simple, efficient, and effective way. A person with a strong deadlift and a strong squat will have a stronger back, and will be less likely to miss a day of work due to a lower back injury. And if a person can keep their back strong through their 50s, 60s, and 70s retains their independence longer. Increasing the strength in my legs, back, arms, butt, shoulders, and chest through strength training with barbells makes me stronger in TKD class. No where have I mentioned anything about power lifting or bodybuilding, other than to say that I'm not, and have not recommended, to power lift or bodybuild. So, at any rate, I've made my initial point twice, and tried to clarify it many times. I know you don't agree with me, and the conversation goes away from these points, changing the discussion entirely.

Congrats! Well done!