bushido_man96

Ok, then I'm confused. Does the book end before Noranaga becoming Shogun? Are there sequential books with the same characters?

Sorry I missed this! A belated happy birthday to you!

Draft has come and gone. How do you feel about how your team drafted? I think KC did a pretty good job overall. Getting Worthy was a great idea. I worry about his size, but if Reid traded up to get him, then they must be confident in his abilities to play in the leauge. DP, what do you think about Buffalo trading away the pick to KC that gave them the fasted WR in the draft? It made me scratch my head.

It appears that you can choose to watch an English dub of the show. I haven't been doing that, though. I think I may have to find the book. I watched the first season, and I was really enjoying it, until the last few episodes. I just didn't like what happened (I won't spoil at this time). I'm willing to give season 2 a shot, but I won't be as excited for it.

4/29/2024 Aikido Class: 8:30 - 9:30 pm. Morning Basic Class. We started with stretching and aiki-taisos, and moved into some ukemi, then some technique work. While rolling, I focused on keeping my arm extended out and in contact with the ground as I did my forward rolls. This helped me to keep from crashing into my shoulder, which I've been prone to do. For the technique work, we did kote-gashi and shio-nage. I tried to stay more upright when doing kote-gashi, focusing on projecting forward and fading back as I was stepping and turning. For shio-nage, I needed to focus on keeping things in contact with my head as I turned.

4/22/2024 Dryfire: 10 minutes of dryfire practice. I noticed some trigger slap going on, and worked to correct it. Aikido Class: Weapons Class. 5:00 - 6:00 pm. Just me and the sensei, and he was recovering from an illness, so we kind of took it easy and really just had a great MA discussion. I talked about some TKD history, and he hadn't realized it's roots in Karate. He talked about some of his perspectives through Aikido, and he's been doing a lot of researching on what has been recorded of O'Sensei's teachings, and what he actually meant. I guess we kind of discussed our search for truth. I also did get some review of jo katas 1 and 2. I really enjoyed our discussion. TKD Class: 6:30 - 7:30 pm. Black Belt Class. Do-Kangs 1-6. I think I might have 6 almost down now. I need to focus more on a block/block/strike scheme that starts and ends each segment of Do-Kang 6.

As a Bills fan i hope you take a WR! Also, i would have preferred you to keep Snead to Chris Jones lol. It is beginning to get to a place like the old 49ers / Cowboys rivalry in the late 90s where the teams basically built a roster to beat the other one. For the Bills we need a team to beat the Chiefs, that is the roster goal! Might lead to some odd decisions on the face of it. E.g. we need a new WR but if a great lineman to try and counter Chris Jones is available maybe that would be better as it will come down to us vs the Chiefs again probably! It reminds me of the Brady/Manning rivalry, and sprinkle in some Joe Burrow in the place of Rothlesberger. I saw a post the other day where Burrow was making statements that the Bengals built their roster to beat the Chiefs. Could be him just playing that up, or could be he really thinks that. These coaches and team presidents have a tough job of building squads to compete with the cream of the crop, but also structuring the team to win the division. So hard to keep doing, and eventually there are some breaks in the cycle.

I think there's a fellow out in California named Dan Harden that you might look into.

4/14/2024 Dryfire practice. 15 minutes. Draw and fire 4 rounds, then reholster. I'm noticing the most movement when I reset the trigger. As I went along, it started getting better. I still have some moments of trigger slap as well. I missed the last department range day due to being out of town for a doctor's appointment, so looking forward to the next one. 4/15/2024 Aikido Class: 5:00 - 6:00 pm. Weapons class. Jo warmups, doing 4 high, 4 low, and then combining them. Jo kata 1, both right and left sides, and the left side is getting much better. Next was bokken kata. Got through bokken kata 1 several times, and I need to lock down the spinning maneuver at the end. I attempted bokken kata 2, and got about half-way through it. There are some interesting turning cuts in that one that I'm still fighting with, and at the end of this kata is an even more intricate spinning move (double spin essentially). I don't handle this spinning very well. At the end of class we did some tai sabaki with the bokken. TKD Class: 6:30 - 7:30 pm. Black Belt Class. Pre-class stretching in The Rack. CI had to take off, so I taught the class. Warmed up with Do-kangs 1-5, but they did not look or feel great. The pain I had in my left knee was exquisite, and it made transitioning into front stances difficult and jumping nigh impossible. I didn't jump much on the last stretch of the 5th Do-kang, which is all jumps. One of the black belts just earned his full 3rd dan, so we spent time working through Yoo Sin. The other student was a 1st dan, so I gave him some little bits to focus on in Kwang Gae.

It's great to hear about the Judo class, DP. Happy for you. I know I look forward to my one Aikido class per week. It's inserted a freshness to my training that I haven't experienced in years.

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!