bushido_man96

3/31/2014 Defensive Tactics club: 2:00 - 3:00 pm. Instructed today, so I worked with the students on some striking focus pads. Worked the jab, then the cross, and then a combination. Added in a low round kick to the leg after the cross, too. Spent some time working the heavy bags with the kick. TKD class: 6:00 - 7:00 pm. Taught class. We have switched to our summer schedule already, so I lose the extra half hour of class time, which really sucks. Did do the regular basics, reviewed all low rank forms, then did some slow sparring, so everyone could get more in tune with making contact to target areas and blocking. 4/2/2014 Defensive Tactics club: 2:00 - 3:00 pm. Taught from the GRACIE curriculum. Two of the jailers were at the club, plus me and one other Aikido/BJJ/DT guy was there, so I just started from the top and worked through the curriculum. We got through standing punch defenses and disengagement, into the takedown from behind, did UMPA and UMPA with swim and trap, and Americana from mount. It was also a bit less teaching, and a bit more just repping here, so it was nice. One of the female jailers is also making it to the DT club every Wednesday, which is great to see. I'm wearing off on someone at least!

Congrats, and well deserved!

Thanks for the support, Bob and Patrick! Here are the highlights from Kendall's Kids State Folkstyle Championships matches, 3/29 and 3/30/2014. Match 1: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=B5Czxr7PnO0 One of the coaches said he was really tight before this match. I think the parade of athletes that started it off really kind of overwhelmed him, with all the kids that were out on the floor, and everyone in the stands. It was a lot of people in one place, and he was looking to get off the floor and up to sit with us pretty quick. But, next year he'll know what to expect. In this match, the other kid ties up his hands, then shoots and gets a leg. Kendall didn't get a sprawl off, and he didn't crossface or circle well enough to keep the kid to working to his back. After that, it was a matter of the other kid setting up a cradle and pinning him. He was pretty upset after the match, too, and we are trying to work with him on that matter. So, match one down, with a loss. After a while, he cooled off and recovered, settled down. On to match two. Match 2: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Hp1YVyuqo20 They tied up early, and the kid tried to take him down with a headlock, but Kendall kept a good base, and landed on top of him for some points. Kendall got high up on the kids shoulder, still trying to work the head I think, and the kid got close to rolling him over. They go out of bounds and reset, with Kendall back on top. He gets him broke down, eventually rolls him onto his back, and gets the pin, for his first state win! I was really proud of him, coming back after being so upset about the loss, and really working it hard. I did see where had the ring been bigger, the other kid could have gotten a reversal and started to work on pinning Kendall, so that's something we need to try to address in the offseason. He has a third match, be we have to get it uploaded, and will post it up as soon as I can. EDIT: Ok, here we go, Kendall's third match at the state tourney: Match 3: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=616Dww-7ET8 This kid was a bit taller than Kendall, and I'm not sure he isn't at the top of the age bracket either, but that's ok. Kendall did a pretty good job against him. And from what I was told, this kid goes to the "big" tourneys for the most part, so he's a solid wrestler. Kendall is aggressive and goes after the kid, but he isn't able to secure a leg for a takedown, and the other kid circles around to get two points. I don't recall if its in the first or the second period, but Kendall is down 0-4. He starts period two on bottom, and switches out and keeps working to get into a better position. He thought he really had the kid, but he had him out of bounds. He was upset about that, but that's ok. They got reset in neutral, and finally worked himself to a takedown. He did tie the points up, bringing it back 4-4. He starts the third period on top, and almost gets the kid broken down and tries to get to some back points, but he gets the head wrapped up, and is too high on him, and gets rolled over, and almost gets pinned. He doesn't get pinned, but ends up losing the match, 7-4 if I recall correctly. He was very, very upset after that match, and I guess I can't blame him for that. He is very competitive, which is good and bad. After he finally got his emotions back in check, we talked about the weekend he had. I told him he did a great job, and had a great season. Another year in, he'll be stronger, he'll put things together more tightly, and he will improve. He just has to be willing to put the work in to get better, and hopefully, we will be doing that.

Well, no, not really. We aren't all equal. If that was the case, we'd all be the same rank all the time. But we're not. We all have the same opportunities, but that's not the same as being equal. All men (and women) may be created equal, but some work harder, some have more natural talent, and some are born into better situations than others. But not all are the same.

I think it depends on your rank and time in the organization. A new white belt coming in wouldn't really have a right to tell me which direction he thinks my school or organization should be headed. Those kinds of opinions should only come to the fore after some time in, and seeing how things are done and why. I think this is why we have seen the splits that we have in the Martial Arts world. After spending years training, we all start to see some of ideas as to how we would do things differently, and what our own approach would be to training and philosophy. Therefore, when one gets to the point that we ask for something to change, or go our own way, we tend to go our own way. I don't think this is a bad thing, either. We all have our opinions and thoughts on how things should be done, and as we mature to the point to put ourselves into a position to accomplish our goals, these things will naturally happen.

I'm with you here. My knees scream at me, and that's just when I drop into a stance while teaching, let alone actually being in line in a class, going up and down the floor. Its hell getting old.

Sparring has always been tough for me. I've just never been a really talented athlete. I can grasp some concepts and teach some of them fairly well, but putting them to work in a match has never really panned out well for me. One-steps are tough, as well. We have some that do some challenging kicking stuff, but as far as practicality goes, only the early ones are decent, and then later on, not so much.

Would you say that it's politically correct to do so? I think its really up to each individual school to decide. The instructor needs to decide what route he goes, and why he chooses to go that way. It would also depend on the curriculum. Ours doesn't differ between adult and child. Our Little Lions don't do the same curriculum as the children and adults, so they are separate. Otherwise, the kids can move at the same pace as the adults.

This isn't always the case. Some things can be done in the same classes. Our school's attendance is down, so its not always feesable for us to have separate adult and childrens classes. We do this when we can, but right now we have gone to a mixed class setup due to the lack of bodies in the classes. The key to dealing with this is pairing. Kids can learn things from seeing adults in the classes, setting examples for them and the like. When it comes to sparring and one-steps, its about proper pairings. We are not an MMA school, so we don't have a lot of ground fighting and choking that we teach, either. It just depends on what the jist of the class is. We currently have a father/son duo in our class, both white belts, and the dad just tested. My instructor and two of his children are both active, and all have dan rank. When I was younger, my whole family was involved in TKD for a time.

Sent my first submission already. "Yes sir, the check is in the mail!"

3/22/2014 Wrestling: I worked with Kendall 3 separate times to warm him up for matches during the district tournament, probably totaling about 20 total minutes of warmups. We did a few stand-ups, a few switches, shots/takedowns to cover, sprawls to cover, sprawls into the Iowa, and head snaps to the Iowa. We focused on moving quickly, and really warming up. He wears me out! 3/24/2014 Taught TKD: 6:00 - 7:30 pm. Basics, forms, one-steps. We have a testing this Friday, and the head instructor wanted me to really focus in on one-steps. So, basics were nothing special added, and forms were just each rank individually, for testing review; no additional forms work. Hit a lot of one-steps, so everyone got lots of practice in with a high rank.

District 4 Championships, 3/22/2014, Goodland, KS. Kendall was supposed to a full 8 man bracket, but there were a few scratches, so he got a bye the first round. Match 1: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=acgkYVzBkP4 Against a familiar face, a kid he beat in a close match by 1 point the week before at subs. Kendall starts with an attempted takedown, but he has trouble taking this kid down. He sprawls out, and is able to secure one of Kendall's legs, which allows him to foil Kendall's takedown, and from there, he circles better, and gets around to the back for 2 points. Kendall fought to keep ahold of his leg, but just couldn't keep it secured. The other kid just gets around behind him. Period 1 ends without any more points being scored. Period 2 starts with Kendall on top. The kids spreads his legs, and really makes it tough for Kendall to break him down. Kendall kind of stays on top behind him, instead of moving to the side, but, Kendall does get something done from there. He uses the kids position to put him into a cradle, and rolls him over. Briefly, I thought Kendall might end up pinning himself, because he rolled onto his own back, but was able to bridge it over to get the kid on his shoulders, and locked it in tight for a pin. It was the first time he set a cradle, and he had been wanting to do that for some time now. Match 2: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DiNO_CUlnIQ Well, just watch this one. He shoots off the line like a shot from a gun, and covers to pin! I was almost sure he went before the whistle, but it looks like he didn't. If we could just get him to scoop the head a bit sooner in the process, he would probably lock his pins up faster. With that win, Kendall qualified for the state tournament for the first time! We leave this Friday, and wrestle on Saturday and Sunday. He has a tough 16 man bracket waiting for him, with some of those kids from the Salina tournament in the bracket. Kendall was excited about qualifiying for state, and we've told him that we just want him to go out and give it his best effort out there. So long as he gives his best, we can't ask for anything more. I am convinced he is a much better wrestler now than he was at the Salina tournament. I feel confident that he will be able to go out and compete.

Martial Arts students are still human beings, and these emotions will still appear from time to time. I see how some people move and kick often, and I wish I could move and kick like them. This is normal, and it can help to push others to new levels. Some people can thrive on the idea of competing against themselves. Others like the drive of competition against others. There are a lot of aspects of the Martial Arts that is competition against others. Tournaments, sparring, even self-defense. Some MAs were originally combative, military arts; you can bet that being better than the guy in front of you is a goal there. So, to say vehemently that these emotions have no place in a Martial Artist, I tend to disagree. Being a Martial Artist is about being human, and dealing with and using all your emotions to help you get better.

The Maria thing sounds very odd. I'm not really sure what to make of that. It sounds to me like some kind of joke or something, but I can't be sure. Something's not adding up. At any rate, hopefully your new school works out well for you. Keep us posted as to the progress of your classes.

Welcome to KF!

Now, a question is this...how much fine tuning is needed before you could start doing application work with a partner? I think its something that could start right away, and could even improve the learning curve of fine tuning the katas.

Lots of sparring will help. She needs to get used to seeing techniques coming in to the head. Flinching is a natural reaction, so don't be concerned that its something you caused to happen. Just spar more, and throw lots of stuff to the head so she gets used to it. It will come with time.

I think they are a great exercise for anything one does. I can't do them well, and struggle getting one. But there are ways to augment to get them done, and eventually get to doing one, then two, and so on. I'd say they are probably better than push-ups, if you can do them.

3/21/2014 Wrestle with my boys, 5:00 - 5:20 pm. Worked on some technique, some take downs, some Iowa setup, some sprawling and crossfacing, and then just got worked over when it went two on one with my boys.

During the week that we were waiting for sub-districts to come up, my wife and I were doing our best to figure up Kendall's won/loss record for the year. As near as we could figure, he was 20-4 going into sub-districts, which I thought he had done pretty darn well. The only tournament he had not placed at was the Salina Tournament of Champions. So now, we head into the state run, which I am really excited about. Kendall, on the other hand, I can't tell if he has a pulse at times before a match. But, if that is a gift he has, to not get nervous, then I envy him for it. I think I get nervous enough for the both of us. My wife says I'm crazy. She might be right. Phillipsburg North Sub-District 4, 3/15/2014 There were 4 kids in his group, so they did a round-robin format. The top 4 kids in each age/weight group qualify for Districts, so this format would basically decide the sceding for the Districts. Match 1: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Uu_AjR0DT3A This was against a kid from Colby that we had not faced before. Kendall is on the right. He goes for a shot, but the kid gets a decent sprawl, and gets around on Kendall for 2. He had a sit-out going, but they went out of bounds and had to reset. He finished the first period only giving up the two points. He was able to stay pretty well based out, and prevent giving any back points. Period 2 Kendall starts on bottom. He gets up and almost gets away after getting into position with a sit-out, but goes for the head and tries a takedown, but gets put down on bottom again. He didn't get out, but did prevent from getting scored on. He had a bit of an anger issue at the end of the period, his frustration showing. He was told to calm down, but he was a little upset. Period 3, Kendall starts on top. Now, he does something a bit unorthodox. Instead of breaking the kid down from behind the elbows, he decides to swing clear out and run the Iowa. You can tell he likes the move. But the problem was that the other kid secured a leg, hurting his chance to run it over. He never did hit the Iowa, but he secured a headlock and rolled the kid over, getting 3 back points to win the match by a point, and nearly causing me a coranary in the process. I didn't think he had it, but a coach pointed out that he got what he needed. Match 2: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jLqRUF5DsPI This match was with a kid I had seen wrestle in Kendall's brackets before, but he hadn't wrestled him before. So, two unknowns in this tourney so far. This kid appeared quick, and had a pretty quick shot. Kendall starts on the right again. Kendall shot in quick, got to the back, and got him rolled over, even got in north/south position for a bit. This kid was squirmy, and hard to keep down, but Kendall held on for a pin. Match 3: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iV0NKcdEwKE This was the kid Kendall had wrestled several times before, who likes the headlock. Kendall stated with a quick shot and takedown, and then straight to earning back points. He ended up running an Iowa during the period, and got close to a pin, but didn't get it this period. Period 2 Kendall starts on bottom. He tries to switch, but the kid stays with him, but he gets to his feet and gets an escape point. But, he gets caught up in the kid trying to sink a headlock. But, Kendall does something very smart, and shakes loose of the headlock, and ducks down and takes the kid down for two points. He then works for a pin from there. So, Kendall went 3-0 at subs, and will have a number 1 scede at Districts the next week, and will wrestle the 4 scede from the south district. Sub-District champ, and onto the next step towards state. The top 4 from Districts go to state.

To be a weapons master would be awesome. Maybe someday I'll have the time to join the Aikido club and do some more jo work. My goal, overall, is to continue to learn, train, and grow so that if the need ever arises, I can use my skills at work successfully. I also want to be able to provide my fellow officers with the tools necessary to do the same.

I don't know that any have competed for attention. Competing to be better than one another, though, is not uncommon. I compete against others all the time. To spar better, to kick higher, etc. It helps drive me to improve.

That seems like it would work. As long as you make sure to keep good form according to Kyokushin standards. I would add that after you get to the point in the video, to start throwing them faster and faster. This video is great for static balance, but static balance is a different beast than keeping balance during constant motion.In the end, I would suggest drilling it slow at first, kind of like the video (although I wouldn't hold it out there) so that you can practice good technique. Find that sweet spot for you and drill that while gradually moving faster and faster. Drilling away from the dojo is the best way to get the balance that you want. Zaine gives good advice here. I would doubly note how the individual makes certain to rechamber the kick, and not drop it down. Also notice how he doesn't lean over that much when kicking high. This comes from stretching. Don't lean to kick; if you kick high, your body will lean naturally. Zaine also makes another good point about maintaining balance in motion. This is called agility, and you should look into some agility drills to help you with this. Doing some bag work is a good start, as you have to maintain your balance when absorbing the contact that the kick makes with the bag. This will translate well to sparring. Finally, don't discount the advantage of having strong legs. Weighted squats (yes, weighted squats) are a great way to build strength in the legs, along with lunges. Your instructor is right, this will come with time. But, it doesn't mean you can't help it along, either.

I have used my basement before, but its a mess right now, and needs straightened out. I like training outside, but I don't like being watched, so don't do it often. The nice things is I can gain access to my gym floor whenever I have time, so long as no classes or tumbling is going on.

3/5/2014 Wrestle with Kendall, 5:00 - 5:15 pm. We mainly worked on getting a feel for running the Iowa. 3/10/2014 Wrestle with Kendall, 3:50 - 4:10 pm. Stand-ups x5 Switch x5 Iowa from sprawl x5 Also worked on some sit-outs, and basing out. He finished with some free work with his little brother. Not fair, but he had fun with him. 3/12/2014 Wrestle with Kendall, 3:45 - 4:25. Worked on takedowns, quite a bit, to covering after the takedown. Also did head snap to Iowa. Worked on some "popping" over to switch positions when someone on bottom is rolling into him, and some other drills when he's on top to pin. He also spent some time on the rowing machine. 3/13/2014 Solo form work, doing the first 1-11 or 13 moves of Choong Jang.