bushido_man96

6/11/2024 Aikido Class: Morning Class. This was a pretty light class. We worked kote-gashi from a cross-hand grab, and from a lunge punch. I tried to focus on the grabbing positioning, leaving no gap with the hand. I also needed to focus on "pulling" to get the tension in the manipulation.

Congrats!

6/10/2024 DT Training Day: I did four, 2-hour session of DT training for the department today. It's always a good time, and most of my co-workers are excited to do the training. We have some new people in, so I did another SPEAR intro session, and the second hour of training was working things off block/pass/pin. For the SPEAR session, we worked up to the flow drill, and I added in CWCT principles, which is using the Closest Weapon to attack the Closest Target available. It made them think, and helps with that transition from the "reactive brain" in responding to a surprise attack and getting into the "cognitive brain" of working towards the goal of taking control and finishing. In the block/pass/pin session, I introduced each segment one at a time, and after getting through that, we moved to "inserts" after each segment, looking for opening to counter and possibly work to a takedown and control. We worked in some attempts at armbar takedowns, the "palm to the chin" takedown, and bodylocks.

Boy, my first test was a long time ago. It was in TKD, and I'm pretty sure all I did were the form and the one-step requirements. I don't recall that I did any free sparring at that time, although the club I was into sparred a lot. I've always been a nervous tester, especially when I was younger. Heck, as a black belt that would get asked to run the floor at testings I would still get nervous (even though I wasn't testing!). However, I got over that one day by just saying to myself that I didn't have to be nervous, I wasn't the one testing. Now I enjoy it and have fun with it. I still get a little nervous when I test, but not as bad as I used to. I have high expectations of myself, so that contributes to some anxiety, but not nearly as much as it did in the past.

Perhaps they agreed on it being an exhibition; that could account for the performance.

Crazy, 40 years. I remember watching it as a kid and always enjoying it. The new series has been a nostalgic trip. Don't really have any stories to go along with it. My dad was actually my first influence in the Martial Arts, and he would always give interesting tidbits about this art or that art. That's why I'm still doing it to this day.

Well, I think it is. I gets my legs warmed up for the kicking, which is nice. I think it's getting to the point where I need to up the amount of time I spend on the rowing machine in total, maybe to 15 minutes. 6/7/2024 TKD Workout: Rowing, 1 min/30 sec, resistance level 8, 240 m per sprint, 10 minutes. Floor stretch. Do-Gons 1, 2, 6. Chon Ji, Dan Gun, Bo Chung hyungs. Three-steps 1-6. Push-ups, 3x5. Floor stretch, then sat in The Rack. Chair back at 2, did some PNF stretching and took it just past 150 degrees. 6/8/2024 Dryfire Training: 4-6 rounds per draw. Working on that trigger control.

6/3/2024 Aikido Class: Morning Class: 8:30 - 9:30 am. After stretching and basics, we did shomenuchi irimi-nage. With a taller person, I have to keep them closer and tight; with a shorter person who tends to stay upright, I have to produce a horizontal spiral at the shoulder. After that, sensei advanced it by having uke counter by facing me, like they were going to square up for a bear hug or a waste tackle. I keep stepping to move to the other side and keep the momentum while stepping. It worked pretty slick and just end up applying the same technique on the other side. 6/5/2024 TKD Workout: Rowing, 1m/30s, resistance level 8, 230 m per sprint, 10 minutes total. Floor stretch and gravity stretch. Did Do-Gon 6, all segments in a row. Se Jong, Yoo Sin, and Choong Jang hyungs. Three-steps 1-6. Finished with a floor stretch, followed by The Rack. I ran The Rack up to 150+ degrees with the chair back set at #2 position. It really hurt, so I backed down to 150.

Something I've done that's helped out is to keep a food journal along with your training journal. Helps with accountability on the diet side of things.

I understand your plight, Bob. I can do the same thing when I watch cop movies. You just have to discipline yourself to focus on the entertainment factor, and not the bull crap factor.

I don't think there is anything wrong with a loud kiai; I think it should be loud. Just not long and drawn out, and it shouldn't come from the throat.

That's crazy! From a real high to a real low real fast! I'm glad everything is getting sorted for you. Please keep us posted on how things go!

I can understand not liking how this judging method sounds, but I don't think it's necessarily a bad way of judging. Instead of keeping track of numbers, it sounds like the judges are basically keeping track of who they thought performed better. Of course, I can see running into issues when judges disagree on who performed better.

I could see a Netflix released Cobra Kai movie happening, especially with the success and following of the series. Something that ties everything up.

5/25/2024 TKD Workout: 10 minutes of rowing, 1:00/30 sec, 225 m per sprint at resistance level 7. Do-Gons 1-6, Choong Jang, Yoo Sin, 3-steps 1-6, then stretch. Got up to 140+ degrees in The Rack. 50 minutes. 5/31/2024 TKD Workout: 10 minutes of rowing, 1:00/30 sec, 230 m per sprint at resistance level 8. Floor stretch. Do-Gons 1, 2, and 6, all colored belt one-steps and three-steps 1-6. Floor stretch, then got in The Rack. 30 minutes.

Glad to hear thats going well That's great news!

Congrats on passing, DP!

I agree with your criteria. The excessive yelling and kihaps/kiais are especially annoying. It shouldn't be a scream, it should come from the gut and be forceful and short.

Not yet, but I definitely should!! I mean, we had several breaks throughout the sessions, so I could have taken copious notes during those breaks. I'll definitely need to do that in the future. Do it, you won't regret it. Many times, I find myself just righting down some mundane details about training that day, but every now and then a thought strikes me out of the blue, and I'll jot it down or right a whole page article.I've also found value in it when I'm reading about Martial Arts. If something in a books strikes me, I'll quote it and jot down notes on it. Then I can really get deep into the weeds.

It will happen. Too much money on the line. Still looking forward to this. Too bad they are using the heavier gloves. Paul is usually smart about choosing opponents. This might be another smart move by him. I hate to see it, though.

I think the point is that they both are going to get a nice payday out of the deal. Regardless, it should be fun to watch.

Wow, they are really spreading that out. But I think we'll see this happen more and more with the more popular IPs of the various streaming services to prevent people from signing up for a month and then canceling. That said, I'm looking forward to the conclusion here. Things have gotten so zany and crazy, I can't wait to see how it finishes up.

5/23/2024 Dryfire Training: 10 minutes. Draw and fire 4+ rounds each time. Actually trying to get the sights and the red dot lined up at the same time seemed to help level everything out. Worked on trigger control, on pull and reset.

5/22/2024 Solo Workout: Rowing, 1 min/30 sec rests, 225 m per sprint, resistance level 7, 10 minutes. In the mat room I did Do-Kang 6, Choong Jang, Yoo Sin, three-steps 1-6, and finished with Do-Kang 6 again. Finished with a floor stretch, and then some time in The Rack. I get up to 140 degrees in The Rack. I really tank out on Do-Kang 6.

5/20/2024 Aikido Class: Morning Class: 8:30 - 9:30 am. After warmups and such, technique work started with doing ikkyo and then going into nikkyo. When applying nikkyo, I bring the uke's hand to my chest, and I have to work on making sure there is no gap between the hand and my chest. I wasn't getting it flat to start out, but picked up as I went along. Also, after the initial step back on the defense/grab, the key is to step the front leg back into a rear facing front stance (best way I can explain it), then I rotate the hips through to get to the lock. So, it's like going from a front stance facing north and rotating the hips to face south. After this technique work, sensei wanted to work on his oyo and henka waza, and through this we learned a that a counter to ikkyo can lead into kokyonage.