bushido_man96

Thank you, Bob! I really appreciate it. I wanted to take a minute to point out here that this running log is not just meant to be for me. I know we have a lot of new members here, and back when I started this, it was my hope that it would be a running thread where the community compared and contrasted their training time. Here is my original opening post: So please, everyone, feel free to chime in here! 12/20/2019 Strength Training Deadlifts: 135x5, 205x5, 225x3, 255x5, 255x5. Press: 45x5x2, 75x5, 95x3, 125x5, 125x5, 125x5. Stretch: Kick stretches and quads. TKD: Worked on some low rank forms; Chon Ji, Dan Gun, Bo Chung, and also on Se Jong. Finished with some stretching.

Welcome to KF, KevinD! Glad to have you, and look forward to your contributions!

12/16/2019 Strength Training Squats: 45x5, 135x5, 205x3, 225x3, 275x5, 275x5, 275x5. Bench Press: 45x5x2, 115x5, 135x3, 170x1, 195x5, 195x5, 195x5. Press: 45x5, 65x5, 85x5, 120x3, 120x3, 120x3. Stretch: kick stretches and quads. 12/17/2019 Deadlifts: 135x5, 205x5, 225x3, 285x5. Lat Pull-downs: 125x10, 125x10, 125x10. Stretch: kick stretches and quads.

It would be an easy decision for me. If the other instructor is going to be more welcoming, helpful, and not be a personality conflict, then that's the answer I'd go for.

Ditto. Do keep us posted!

Congratulations to all!

Well, I can see how that would be overwhelming, Bob! Did the doctor diagnose you with prostate cancer, or is he just warning you to get the numbers down in order to avoid it?

I like the split-screen idea, Bob, but I don't know that I could pull that one off. Have you tried that with sparring review, as well, or just on forms or singular technique review?

12/12/2019 Strength Training Squats: 45x5, 135x5, 205x3, 225x3, 270x5, 270x5, 270x5. Press: 45x5x2, 75x5, 95x3, 115x5, 115x5, 115x5. I felt pretty fatigued during this workout. I came down with something again on Monday night, and missed my Tuesday workout and spent the day sleeping. 12/13/2019 Strength Training Deadlifts: 135x5, 205x5, 225x3, 275x3, 275x3. Barbell Rows: 135x5, 155x8, 155x8, 155x8. Stretch: kick stretches and quads.

I will keep you in my prayers, Bob, as you take on this battle.

Nothing wrong with that. Things come up, and at times, it's better to wait another testing cycle, that way you can be sure you are fully prepared.

The video option is a good idea, too. I've done that before with forms, but not with sparring. What I found was that you can tell a student over and over again what it is they're doing, but in their mind, they have a certain way they see it. When you show it to them on video, then it kind of clicks with them, as they get to see it themselves. I think the benefits this could have on sparring strategies would be awesome. In sparring class, we encourage the students to try out new tactics, different techniques, and the like in order to get used to different things, get out of their comfort zones, and broaden their repertoire. Seeing things on video would be helpful in this. This would probably take more time, for sure, but would be worthwhile to do periodically.

I'm hoping to do this in some future classes, for sure. I think I can limit the time it takes up by timing out rounds and rest periods, and perhaps at the end of class allotting extra time for stretching out and allowing the students to discuss their matches with each other a bit more extensively.

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.