bushido_man96

12/26/2024 TKD: I went to the gym with the kids and spent some time in the dojang trying to learn my new hyung from a video sent to us by one of our seniors. I got about half of it down I would say. I was working it off and on, and going into the gym to help the kids with their strength training. 12/27/2024 TKD: Went back to the gym and did some more work on the new hyung. I got through it all once, and worked on sections of it, too. Feeling better about it. There's a few trick balance parts that are tripping me up. I may try some visualization work with these sections. New form is Choi Yong.

This is an interesting discovery. I haven't been able to consume caffeine or alcohol for some time now, but I don't know that it has helped my eating habits. I never really was an energy drink guy, but I did like my coffee. Not had any in some time now. Thanks for sharing this with us, @KorroddyDude.

Lots of great advice has been put forth already. As martial artists, we've all been there in that beginning phase. The truth is, it just takes time, and you have to tell yourself that you're looking years down the road, not days. It's easy for me to say, "don't be so hard on yourself," but the fact of the matter is everyone is different and this is tough for some to accept. I started Aikido back up very recently, and I get frustrated with myself in class at times because I just can't seem to make some things work. The sensei is good about telling me to not worry about trying to be as proficient at Aikido as I am with Taekwondo, so I try to take it all in stride. You need to do this for you; it's got to be your journey. You'll have lots of help on the way, but only you can put the work in. Try to take one positive thing out of every class. Just one. And focus on that. Keep a journal, and have an entry for every date that you go to class or practice something on your own. Write down little notes you remember. These could be feelings you had about a certain topic in class, or they could be tidbits you recall the instructor telling you to improve one aspect or another of a technique. Jot these things down, and you can look back on them for reference, and it's also a log of your progress. It also keeps you accountable. I've found it to be a very handy tool. Then, come back here to KarateForums and talk to us about it. Heck, start a thread that's a log of your training like several of us have done here. I've found this community to be very supportive, and coming here to discuss my thoughts on classes and testings really is a motivating factor in going back to class. I think you will find it to be true, as well. Go back to class. Believe in yourself. We do.

Congratulations to you and your daughter on your promotions!

Merry Christmas to everyone!

Wado-Ryu Karate Fighting Techniques Uncovered, by Frank Johnson.

I just saw this and wasn't surprised either. Sounds like he had three full practices. He's too much of a competitor to sit these games out. If KC can win all three of these games, that'll be a monumental task. Playing 3 games in 11 days is a bit crazy. I believe Pittsburg is still first in the AFC North, and Houston is first in the South, and Denver, although just losing to the Chargers, have turned into world beaters and will be a tough out. Bo Nix has worked himself into the OROY conversation. In other good news, Hollywood Brown will make his season debut against Houston on Saturday. Things may be coming together at just the right time for KC.

I don't know that it's dying necessarily, but it's popularity has declined, but appears to have levelled out. I think the heavyweight title fights still tend to be the most popular, but that's just my perception; it may not be true. Does anyone know what the pull was from the last big boxing PPV?

That does look pretty good. I guess I need to get Cobra Kai all finished up yet. Cool to see Jackie Chan again.

12/16/2024 Aikido Class: 8:30 - 9:30 am. Morning class. After our warmups and stretching/aikitaisos, we got to work more on testing material. The first technique I did was shomenuchi kokyonage. I need to get better at the balance breaking aspect of this technique. Sensei gave me a few good pointers, the most important one is staying relaxed when I hook the hands on, especially the one that goes up to the head/neck area. From there, I tried to focus more on a "drop" than a pull or a yank back on the uke. From the drop, pulling the head to the chest becomes easier. I started to see improvement. Next was shomenuchi iriminage. This one was a bit of a challenge. In the kokyonage, the pull was down. In this iriminage version, the pull is around, and then feeding their head into the crook of the elbow, and keep using a tenkan turn to get them off balance, then throw them down. The control of the head in the crook of the elbow and pointing the elbow up at the right time seems to be a key. On top of performing the techniques, I'm still worrying about how my head will respond to getting taken down. I did take a couple of falls, and things went ok throughout the day. That was a nice relief.

Pretty interesting. It's good to get data on things over time. I don't blame you for not wanting to jog. It is boring, and it does suck. I'd much rather do forms/hyungs for an hour than jog. Have you had any opportunity to wear that thing while sparring to see what that data looks like? It'd be interesting to see.

Thank you everyone, and congratulations to all the winners! I'd also like to express appreciation for the members that nominated and voted. The community is what makes this forum so great, and without all the great people here that post, respond, and most importantly, help each other out, then it would just be another spot on the web. Instead, you all make this the best place to come and talk about our passion. Thank you all for being here!

Hehe, we watched The Grinch with Jim Carrey tonight, so I heard that one, too.

Another head-scratching performance by KC. And now we've got to hope Mahomes's ankle is ok to go on Saturday. That game with Houston is an important one.

I will heed that advice! Currently, I'm finishing up Life Lessons from a Martial Arts Master. It's written by Mastery Corey Lewis, who is a master in the organization I'm in. He was a judge at our recent testing.

I love Magic the Gathering.

It's going to be interesting to see this project at UNC going forward. Bill presented a plan on how to run the football team like an organization, with the how the NIL stuff affects things now. I think he's basically going to run it like a pro team. If it goes right, this will set the precedent for how college football teams are ran going forward.

I look it at more as being a 'master instructor,' like how one might earn a master's degree in a field at college. I don't truly feel that I'm a "master" of the martial arts, but I do feel that I can competently teach another person at a high level.

Thank you again, everyone! It was a long time coming. @sensei8, my next form is Choi Yong, I believe. I look forward to learning it.

Congratulations @JazzKicker! That's awesome!

Personally, I just wouldn't do that exercise. I'd stick with a regular squat, low bar preferably, as it emphasizes the drive of the hips and isn't as stressful on the knees as a high bar or front squat. But that's just my preference and experience.

That's cool of you to say, @DarthPenguin. I tend to do that at times, but I always like to have an instructor or practitioner's input on the matter. And visiting other schools and instructors is just always fun to do.

That sounds interesting, for sure. Makes me think of the scene in Deadpool & Wolverine where they fight in a Honda Odyssey.

To echo this somewhat, I remember when I first started TKD and was testing, there was a pretty good group of us that were training and testing together. I remember the kid that convinced me to start coming to class with him; he eventually fell away from it and I stayed. I remember when I finally tested for my 1st degree, there were two other guys that tested with me; three of us from the large group that was going through the ranks together made it to the black belt testing. Now, as far as I know, I'm the only one of us that is still active in the martial arts. I've heard it said that of the people who start the martial arts journey, 10% maybe make it to black belt. Then, it's another 10% die-off that make it to 2nd dan, and so on. I don't know if the 10% number is accurate, but the fact that the ratio keeps decreasing is true; I've seen it, as I'm sure everyone else here has. It's kind of saddening, to know those colleagues I had fell away, and they were way more talented than I ever was. But on the flip side, I'm proud to have persevered.

Thank you everyone! I do look forward to learning the new form. It has some interesting kicking aspects in it.