bushido_man96

I don't know that I've ever felt that way in sparring, but in thinking about self-defense applications and the way my style tends to get nit-picky in how techniques look, such as stances and kicks, I have definitely felt that way. Is it more important that a front stance in a form is technically correct, with both feet pointed forward, 70% of the weight on the front leg, front knee bent, back leg straight, feet like your walking on railroad tracks (teaching points we use in our version of front stance), or is it more important to understand how front stance works in transition in applying leverage to a technique? I think at time we fail to see the forest for the trees.

4/8/2024 Aikido Class: 5:00 - 6:00. Weapons Class. Stared with jo warmups, then went to jo kata 1, and I got it on the right and the left side. Next was bokken warmups and bokken kata 2. It was quite a change from bokken kata 1, so I didn't quite get it down. When thrusting, I need to focus on not drawing the blade back, but going to the blade as I step, in order to keep contact with the other blade. I also need to focus on keeping my body upright when cutting, and not leaning forward with the cut. Lastly, we went back to the jo and learned Shirata Kata. It was 4 segments that flip-flopped similar move sets, and was done on both sides. It was confusing, and I'll need more practice to remember it. TKD Class: 6:30 - 7:30 pm. Black Belt Class. We sparred today. Against the tall kid, I need to do a better job of using my footwork to control the ring. We didn't time our rounds; we just kind of went until we were done. I sparred to the point of exhaustion and then kept going, which was very much needed. Doing spin back kicks with my right leg made my left knee hurt quite a bit. 4/9/2024 Dryfire Practice. 10 minutes of dryfire, sticking to draw and fire once, or draw and double-tap. I had some improvement on some of the double-taps.

This is a WR rich class. I'm hoping the Chiefs can find a good one at the end of the first round, too. However, they may choose focus on a DB to replace Sneed. The recent goings-on with Rashee Rice might also force KC to take a WR in the first round to shore up needs. I can't imagine he gets out of this pickle with anything less than a game suspension.

I think the only time I've ever recorded myself teaching was when I had to do so as a requirement to send into ATA Headquarters in preparation for instructor certification. Otherwise, I've never done it for myself. As with anything, I can see the benefit of doing so. If you choose to record every session, you can go back several years and see how much you've changed as an instructor. That would be interesting more than anything. But watching and taking notes on specific approaches and teaching techniques could be revealing. I do think it's a good idea to let the students know the session is being recorded. In some states, it might be required to avoid legal issues.

We do, in fact, joke about casual Fridays around here....

Buffalo Bills traded Stefon Diggs to the Houston Texans, and didn't seem to get the better end of the deal. I'm not sure what Buffalo is doing in the off-season, but it doesn't seem like an opportune time for a reset.

"Leave your ego at the door" comes to mind here....

Next, he's talking about signing up for the Greco/Freestyle club that is supposed to go through the summer. Greco would be really great for him, as he is already doing a lot of upper body takedowns and throws. It's sounding like a few of his buddies are going to sign up, too, so hopefully we can make all of that work. We have track and baseball practice happening right now, so if he adds wrestling back into the mix, he'll be a buys young man!

We are back from the Heartland Middle School National Duals, and it was quite a fun weekend, and Kenneth acquitted himself quite well, and I'm very proud of his performance. We started out getting to Topeka, getting our gear, figuring out the logistics of the weekend, and then also learning that he was 4 lbs overweight. He needed to weigh 220, and he was 224. The frustrating part of this was that for most of the middle school season he wasn't even scratching 220. The saving grace was weigh-ins weren't until we got to Council Bluffs, about 3 hours later, and after using the restroom and doing a touch of extra running, he was able to make weight. This was a good thing, because although we had a contingency of wrestling 275 because we had that roster spot open, it would not have been a good experience. He would have been a terrible underweight heavyweight. That was all on Friday, and Saturday we started wrestling. Day 1 was pool wrestling. The first dual on Saturday was against a team from North Dakota. The 220 weight class was open, so Kenneth got a win by forfeit. Kind of a let down, but things got better for sure. The team won the dual, 38-34, and Kenneth filling that 220 weight class was a big help to the win, and that forfeit equaled 6 team points. The next dual was against a team from Utah. And this team was good. Kenneth faced an actual opponent in this one. In the first period Kenneth was able to secure a body lock and a takedown, but he wasn't able to get the kid turned for back points. Next period Kenneth had choice and he took neutral. He got into some weird positions but got out of them, and tried to get to a headlock, but it wasn't there and he wisely moved to something else. He did get double overhooks and got a takedown that way; the opponent got up and escaped and the period ended. Opponent started period three in neutral as well, and the opponent secured a takedown, but Kenneth was up and escaped real quick. Kenneth countered with a decent double leg takedown to get two more points and rode out the match from there. A win, 9-3. Unfortunately, the team took the loss of the dual, 81-9. Dual three on the day was against an Iowa team, and the kid he wrestled was good. The kid came in with trying to get overhooks, Kenneth backed out, and the kid basically grabbed him by his head and threw him to the ground, and from there turned and pinned him in the first period for his first loss of the day. The team lost the dual 82-6. Dual 4 was against a team from South Dakota. He came out in the first period with double underhooks and a throw. He was kind of high, and the kid tried to sweep Kenneth, and he almost got him, but Kenneth reversed the momentum somehow and got a takedown with a nice throw like a lateral drop. He moved on his feet really well to get behind and stay behind the opponent's hips, but no back points. Period 2 was Kenneth's choice and he took neutral. Kenneth had an under and overhook and was trying to throw again, but the opponent reversed it with a headlock throw that put Kenneth on his back. He based out, got up and escaped and a takedown, but was out of bounds. Reset to bottom, and he started to standup and got a reversal. Once on top, Kenneth was hacking the arm hard, which I wanted him to do, but still had trouble getting him turned. Period three the opponent took bottom, and Kenneth spent the remained of the period riding out on top, but no turns. Kenneth got the win, 4-2, but the team took another loss, 87-3. That was the end of day 1, and Kenneth finished the day 4-1 overall, but 3-1 against actual opponents, which was a great day. The team finished 4th out of 5 in the pool, which put them in the Gold Bracket for the Saturday. First match on Saturday was against a team from Wyoming. Kenneth was moving well against a pretty athletic 220 pounder, but he got swept for a takedown, and then while he was trying to stand up, the opponent put him in a standing cradle, threw him to his back, and pinned him in the first period, taking the loss. It was a pretty hard slam, and Kenneth was a bit sore from that one. Team lost the dual, 69-12. In the process, one of their teammates got his shoulder or arm injured, which took him out of the rest of the tournament, which left another open weight for the team. Second round, the team faced off against a team from Kentucky. They were open at 220, so Kenneth got a win via forfeit. The team lost though, 66-28. Last dual of the tournament, in the 7th place match, they faced another opponent from Wyoming. Kenneth almost got taken down, but the opponent didn't ever get control and Kenneth scrambled to his feet, negating any points. The opponent then came in high, allowing Kenneth to set up a headlock. He did a great headlock throw, using his feet to help with the sweep, and Kenneth took him to his back, worked down, and got the win with a pin. Unfortunately for the team, another teammate was sick prior to this dual, leaving yet another open weight class and free points for the other team. They lost the dual, 56-31. A few more wrestlers could have helped that score out quite a bit. And that finished out the tournament. Kenneth's overall record for the weekend was 5-2, and against actual opponents he was 3-2. He scored 24 points for his team, and he was the highest points earner for the team, earning him Most Valuable Wrestler for the team. I honestly could not be more proud of Kenneth and how he worked this weekend. I knew coming into this that it would be very tough, and we be seeing some of the best kids from across the nation. Kenneth fought hard and got some wins and was very happy with his weekend. It was a great culmination to a great season. He met some new friends and learned a few things.

Bas Rutten was great. I've seen some of his clips, and they are highly entertaining. 3/27/2024 15 minutes of dryfire. Trying to smooth out the trigger pull and get a good grip on the gun. 4/1/2024 10 minutes of dryfire. Drawn, fire, return; then draw, fire twice (double tap), and return to holster. I tend to slap the trigger on the second pull, and trying to stop doing that. Trying to keep better pressure with the support hand in the grip. Indexing the support hand at the chest is helping with consistently acquiring the dot. I'm also using that index to drive my support hand into the same place as I punch put, helping the grip to be more consistent. Aikido Class: 5:00 - 6:00 pm. Weapons class. Partner warmups with jo, 4-hi, 4-low, then combined. Next we did jo kata 1, and I got through it at least 4 times. I feel I have it memorized now, problem is I rushed it. Then we did bokken warmups cutting, then thrusting with a partner in front of us to work on keeping distance when approached and also seeing the line for the thrust. Did bokken kata 1, which I have down (but is pretty easy). Finished with a little knife defense, and for fun, we did "crease control" knife defense, Ameri-do-te style (since it was April Fool's day). TKD Class: 6:30 - 7:30 pm. Black Belt Class. We have a few black belts getting ready to test, so tonight was kind of a testing focused class. We did Do-Kangs 1-3 (black belt basics), and then some forms work. I did Choong Jang and Bo Choong. I felt really disjointed early on. My left knee was really hurting just getting into a front stance, and I didn't feel stable during Do-Kangs. Choong Jang felt better, and in between I was able to stretch a little and get a little looser. Next was three-steps, which I was able to get through, so maybe they are starting to stick. We finished working on some of the breaking techniques. I tried to do flying side kick over three obstacles, and I honestly don't know if I can do it anymore. I can't get as much air as I used to, I don't explode off the floor, and it just kills my knees to jump like that.

Just 112 posts to go!

Lots of great thoughts already mentioned. If your not looking for profit, then you can be more selective with who you take on as students as far as the age ranges go. What I would suggest is perhaps not setting a hard and fast rule on age. Give yourself the leeway to evaluate a prospective student before saying yay or nay. Not all kids are created equal. You might run across a few that are very serious about training and will dedicate their time accordingly. They may be more focused than most kids, and can accommodate the demands of class better. It's just a thought, but give yourself that flexibility.

Congratulations, Noah. Your incite and contributions to KF have been stellar from day 1. As a moderator, you've been a bulwark at KF. Keep up the great work and here's to another 10 years!

We don't joke about Casual Fridays here at KF.

Dye them. Get a plastic bucket at the dollar store, pick a color you often test for (yellow, blue, green), dye them then hang them somewhere to dry (outside is better so it doesn't drip on your floor). Give them away to students that test. Costs you little, makes students happy. Don't put them in the dryer or they'll shrink. I had not considered this. Hmmmm. Might be an idea to run with. That's a great idea, Montana!

Whatever strikes my fancy, Patrick. I have an NES, a Sega Genesis, a Sega Master System, a Wii U, and a PS2, and an xBox 1. I've been playing my Genesis quite a bit lately. The boys and I like to play Mario Kart 8, and I'm partial to Super Smash Brothers.

I felt the same in a lot of what you mentioned. The problem with trying to step one leg behind the opponent is that I just don't see how that's done without keeping your hips close the the attacker, which is what they want so they can hoist you up and keep leverage and throw. I'd personally rather base out and start walking my hips out to keep the throw from happening. I'll have to take a look at those online to see if I can see anything I was doing wrong that I could fix. Thanks for the suggestions.

I would like to see scholarships, for sure, but we'll see. He hasn't had the same success that his older brother had, but he's got a lot of heart and he keeps at it. I need to take some time to work with him to keep his game up during the offseason, and even to drill some new stuff to get better. It sounds like your son had a great performance! That's awesome to hear. We take video of all the matches as well, and he'll watch them and learn from them. It's a fantastic tool.

I've got a ton of Legos, too. All kinds. Loved them as a kid, love them still!

Excellent!

3/20/2024 Range: Put in 3 hours at the range. We started out with just drawing the gun and getting on target and acquiring the dot. Reholster and do it again. Lots of reps. Then we went to drawing and firing one shot, then reholster. We did that with 10 rounds from the 10 yard line, then from the 15 yard line, then from the 25 yard line, shooting at steel. Indexing the off hand at the chest when punching out on the draw helped in acquiring the dot more consistently. I was still pretty shaky at 25 yards, making consistency hard to come by. Next, we did some shoot and move drills, switching hands, strong hand/weak hand only, etc. A couple run-throughs of each drill, working to improve our time on each run. My one-handed got pretty frustrating, and there were times when reacquiring the dot was harder due to not punching out with two hands. Finished with another proficiency drill for time, and that was it. About 200 rounds. 3/25/2024 Aikido Class: 5:00 - 6:00 pm. Weapons class. It was just me today, so lots of work with the instructor. Warmed up with high 4, then low 4, then high 8. I mixed myself up in spots, but it was a good warmup. Next we did jo kata 1, and I think I've finally got it memorized. Then he explained about performing the kata with a rhythm to certain segments, which was a nice change of pace. We worked on Kiai in spots too, and one spot has kind of a longer, drawn out kiai over two moves, which is weird for me. I'm used to brief kihaps in my TKD. Last thing we did, very briefly, was jo disarm from a kotegashi. Notes: on the kata, I need to focus on the "high blocks" (my terms, not theirs) in which I do a high strike to a descending sword. Need to make sure I don't drop the staff down to circle around the side of my head, but above my head. Instructor said my base and power transfer into the weapon was good. I tried to focus on where my hands were positioned when striking from above my head. When going from thrust to guard to yokomen strike, not letting my hands be too far out in front when I transition. TKD Class: 6:30 - 7:30 pm. Black Belt Class. Pre-class stretch in The Rack, and class warmup was Do-Kang 1 and 2. Again, just me and the CI, so we did forms and three-steps. We took an approach where we did our form, Choong Jang, and then another black belt form, then our form again, and so on until we got all the way through the black belt forms. So it went like this: Choong Jang Yoo Sin Choong Jang Se Jong Choong Jang Gae Baek Choong Jang Poe Eun Choong Jang Kwang Gae So 10 forms, 5 of which were Choong Jang. My knees were hurting, and my head was wonky today, making everything off. I started the forms out slow and taking it easy, warming up, and my third run through of Choong Jang was probably my best. What I need to focus on when doing forms more slowly is to work on a rhythm and a pace and flow to the form. Even though it's not at full power, it still has to have life.

Thanks for sharing your viewpoint here, Dennis. It's very eye-opening.

Follow-up from State: It turned out that Kenneth actually had a concussion from the slams in that last match. All good though; a few days later he cleared the concussion protocol at the doctor's office. This Thursday we leave for the Heartland Duals in Iowa.

I just picked up a copy of Secret of Mana for my collection. I was pretty happy with the find. Very nice!

3/18/2024 Aikido Class: 5:00 - 6:00 pm. Weapons class. Got through jo kata 1 after some hiccups at the same place halfway through. We did some cutting work up and down the floor with the bokken, and then went back to the jo for some kumi jo partner work. I need to focus on weapon pressure when doing partner work to get better at blocking and countering. TKD Class: 6:30 - 7:30 pm. Black Belt Class. Pre-class stretch in The Rack. Warmed up with Do-kangs 1-3. After warmups, it was Ho Sin Sul work. The CI worked us on a throwing counter to a bearhug from behind. The premise was to base out somewhat, and then on the side where the space was, turn your hips and throw the attacker from around behind you. You'd basically roll on top of them and then have a chance to attack and escape after knocking the wind out of them or hurting them by landing on them. I didn't like it, and when the attacker started adding resistance, I couldn't get it to work at all. I may do some checking online to see if there is some more breakdown of such a technique, but at this point in time, it will not be a technique I'll go to. After that throw work, we did punch/pass flow drills. Me and my partner expanded things quite a bit as we went, adding multiple passes and counters. We also changed up attacks to a haymaker, which altered the blocking scheme some. This was much more productive work in my eyes.