bushido_man96

I'm 5'7", about 270 lbs, and have never been able to do a pull-up. I haven't always been this heavy, either. Its always been a tough exercise for me, but in a few weeks, I will probably work it into my strength program.

5/25/2015 Strength Training Squats: warm-ups: 45x5x3, 135x5, 155x5, 180x3; work sets: 240x5, 240x5, 240x5. Push Press: warm-ups: 45x5x2, 65x5, 85x5; work sets: 105x5, 110x5, 110x5. Power Cleans: 80x3, 80x3, 80x3, 80x3, 80x3 Power Snatch: one set of 3 at 65. I just wanted to try it a bit. I'll need some technique work, but might start alternating it with the power cleans. 5/26/2015 Defensive Tactics Club: 2:00 - 4:00 pm. Did some arm bar reps on the grappling dummy. Reviewed some pistol disarms; front, side to the head, rear to the head. Observed a couple of guys doing some sparring with striking only, giving pointers and what not. Some single sick work. Some rolling, working on some positioning stuff. Finished working on some kicking techniques, some Olympic style round kicks, and some 360 round kicks, mainly on the ground, working towards the jump and spin. TKD Class: 6:00 - 7:00 pm. Basics (changed up with some different combinations for tournament use), forms (Choong Jang...got through it), one-steps - working with an orange belt, and a recommended black belt for testing this week. Sparring, just a few matches. Got some stretching in between basics and forms.

Deadlifts shouldn't be a knee-dominant exercise, I should be a back/hams dominant exercise. The knees shouldn't be affected too much. But I'm thinking of it in the barbell version. I think all the exercises Nidan Melbourne mentioned would be good substitutes for leg work.

Welcome to KF! Glad you have you here!

I'm sure your skills are pretty well up to the need! That said, any rolling sorts of recovery can look really daunting. And again, it's a process. This shouldn't be first thing a person learns from bottom side. Nor should it be the first option for everyone else. Even with that, it's actually easier than it looks at first glance. Take the time to set into the position. Then, look at adding the roll step by step. I might venture to give it a try, at least really slowly, and see how it works out.

Looks like he's really into the philosophical side of the art. He has some interesting approaches. Thanks or sharing it.

From what I've read, it sounds like the roots of this kata are relatively unknown. It does seem to be tied to him, but whether he created it or not isn't necessarily proven?

I've been under the impression that many of these katas were originally learned as a complete fighting method, each in and of itself. If that is the case, then the need to learn more is just to supplement the training. I feel that as Karate styles have changed over the years, especially with the grading systems and syllabi, forms tend to be done more for rank requirements as opposed to what they were initially used for. But I could be wrong, here.

I like seeing the contrast in approaches. Clint's did seem a bit more involved, but I liked his approach at breaking the grips, and having sole control of you, and not letting you control him.

With my limited BJJ experience, this one seems pretty complex to me. I'm sure our Wrestlers could probably pull it off, but it would take me some time and work to get through this one. I don't mind turning the back to them like you do, because it appears you take appropriate steps to prevent the two worst things that can happen to you: the choke, and the hooks. And like you say, you don't stay there for long. Again, though, this would take some time for my simpleton grappling mind to wrap my head around for use.

Look at the video again in regards to the leg checks...notice alot of them not only block his kicks, but also protect Sensei Lindseys groin, while at the same time making his opponent lose balance. The change of body (side stepping) is taught in many systems, but in all honesty I've NEVER seen these other systems use it in refereeing about 20 years of tournament sparring. I competed in only 1 tournament (my students guilt tripped me into it) and I used it alot. In every instance I nailed the guy cleanly coming in, yet not once did I get a point from it because the judges didn't see that his technique missed, and mine connected. However, my opponents each time touch gloves with me and stated "You got ripped off man...". or words to that effect, becuase he knew I had him cold, but the judges didn't see it. No biggie..I still won 2 of my 3 matches in single elimination, heavy weight black belt division. One thing I've never liked about sparring is that it often has seemed to me that even glancing blows tend to get scored, and a block that absorbs or redirects most of the power, but may still glance, gets scored. The strategies of point fighting and useful self-defense are often miles apart.

Very cool. Thanks for sharing it with us.

To the bold above, I say, try to put that behind you. There really is no use in dwelling on the past. Live life through the windshield, as opposed to the rearview mirror. It sounds like you've had two different instructors with two different ideas of what and how to teach. Don't let that grind on you. Keep you head down and keep moving forward. That is all that anyone can do. After all, its a journey, right? Keep working hard, and don't sweat the small stuff. And as my dad once told me, "it's all small stuff." Keep up the good work!

You're welcome.

Yes, very welcome, indeed. You've earned it!

We do burpee pyramids on our Saturday AM long workouts...this old guy is up to a total of 25 (1,2,3,4,5,4,3,2,1) so far. Been good to get back to running, up to about 22 miles/week (4 days, each run 5.5 to 6 miles). Want to be faster than I was last year, but I have to be careful to not mess up on running form and get injured. With Karate workouts the other 3 days (2 regular classes and long class on Saturdays) I don't have a down day, but so far that's been OK. I commend you man, on both the burpees and the running. Running has never been my cup of tea. Vomiting isn't either, so I stay away from the burpees. 5/22/2015 Strength Training Squats: warm-ups: 45x5x3, 135x5, 155x5, 180x3; work sets: 230x5, 235x5, 235x5. Funny story here, I was rummaging around to load on weight, and had to track down the 5 pound plates. I found one, put it on the right side, but forgot to put on one the left side, for that first set. Needless to say, that first set felt noticeably heavier on the right side... Press: warm-ups: 45x5x2, 65x5, 85x5; work sets: 103x5, 103x5, 103x5 Deadlifts: warm-ups: 135x5, 165x5, 195x5; work set: 295x5 Curls: 17x15, 45x15, 45x15. Done with a straight Olympic bar. Lying Triceps Extensions: 27x15, 27x15, 27x15 We are looking to do some extra exercises, and I think next week we will do some Pendlay Rows as the last exercise.

Nice video. I was surprised at how much/how often he went to one leg, but leg checking kicks makes sense. It keeps the hands available for use, which he did with all the striking and locking. The side stepping was pretty subtle, too, and I also found some of the side stepping stances having the feet close together interesting, too. Thanks for sharing it, Montana.

Thanks again, everyone! I'm so very greatful!

5/21/2015 Defensive Tactics Club: 2:30 - 4:00 pm. Reviewed and repped Americana and arm bar from the mount; we even used a grappling dummy we have now to work on the nuances of getting into position for the arm bar. Then we did our full mount reversal/guard pass to Americana/arm bar series as a mini-rolling series. Then we did a mount maintenance "game" that Royce had us do in the GRACIE training course. One guy starts in mount, and the goal of the person in mount is to try to maintain the mount as long as possible, with no striking and no submissions. The goal of the person mounted is to work a reversal, or use the elbow escape to get a knee out and one leg around. If the person on bottom succeeds, then they switch roles. After that, we touched on the elevator sweep, working off the video that Alex posted in this thread: Closed Guard to Elevator Sweep Video: [/url]

I used to play quite a bit of 2nd edition, and then a little 3rd edition, but got out of it when other priorities took over and I just didn't have the time to put into it. I also played quite a bit of Magic, The Gathering, and really, really enjoyed it. I still have a bunch of cards and decks, but just couldn't keep up with the production of the sets to keep putting money into it, especially as a casual player.

To the bold, I don't think so. Even the general public understands that most people providing a service have some sort of system in place that ensures they are learning from someone with some adequate experience in the field. I think most people will seek out this information, even if they don't know what it means. Not to be argumentative but what about the MMA schools? I have seen a few where the owner was a fairly young guy without much experience. I think it may depend on who is looking and what they are looking for. Some of the schools I have seen are more of a work out gym that does MMA or BJJ but are not really MA schools, I think in those cases people don't care about instructor qualifications as long as they seem like they can fight. I think also that in these cases the students are just looking to fight rather than learn MA and everything that goes with it. Quite possible that these places attract some of the "undesirable" students being discussed in another thread right now. I'm guessing this is more the exception rather than the rule, but that's just me guessing. Some people are just looking for fitness, and they will find it. And there are some "fight clubs" out there, too. But I think the high percentage of the places out there have some legitimate credentials, even if they are not elite credentials.

Ok, I got my sword hung up finally. It's in my basement right now, on my computer desk, for the time being. I hope to finish my basement some day, and find a really nice spot on a wall to hang it. But for now: http://www.karateforums.com/img/photos/bushido_man96-sword-display.jpg http://www.karateforums.com/img/photos/bushido_man96-sword-display2.jpg That belt has been hanging there for a while, and I thought it would be a nice touch.

Well said, and I couldn't agree more! This is the best place to discuss Martial Arts anywhere. Keep up the good work, Patrick!

To the bold, I don't think so. Even the general public understands that most people providing a service have some sort of system in place that ensures they are learning from someone with some adequate experience in the field. I think most people will seek out this information, even if they don't know what it means.

I've been lucky in that I haven't had to do this. The head instructor of our DT club does his best to vet each potential member before teaching someone a skill set that is meant to help and protect others, not harm those we try to protect.