bushido_man96

Could be some underlying principles that tend to apply to all MAs in general?

One thing that I have done is reduced the number of classes I go to in a week. My knees just take a beating every time I got to a traditional class, doing basics. I've also pulled back on my output during basics. Don't read that the wrong way; I'm not lazy; I keep the form good and tight, and I put forth good effort; I still get tired and sweaty. However, I don't blast everything like I used to. I guess I would say that I do a better job of pacing myself than I used to. When it comes to sparring, I'm not sure how to explain what I do differently. I've never been very athletic or explosive, so I'd say I was a below average sparrer when I was younger. But, now it seems different. I don't try to outwork anyone when I'm sparring. I pace myself, and don't throw a lot of techniques just to throw them out there and keep someone busy. I would just describe it as "old man sparring." I use a little bit of footwork, and I don't chase people down a lot. If they want to hang back, I'll let them, and wait for that moment when they come close or leave an opening (or I'll bait one open), and then I'll unload. If some youngster that likes to be offensive, bounce around, and throw lots of stuff, I'll do a lot of blocking and when they get in close, I punch a lot, and I don't care if they punch me back. And for a short heavy guy, I can surprise them with some speed and kicks higher than they might think I can throw. But as an older fellow, I just have to wait them out sometimes. I heard a saying not too long ago that really rang true to me: "some days, you're chicken salad, and most days, your chicken poop." Those chicken salad days don't come around as much as they used to, so I appreciate them a lot more when they do.

6/1/2023 TKD Testing: 6:00 - 7:30 pm. Another round of testing. We had one testing for 2nd dan/decided, and one testing for his 1st dan/decided, with some colored belts also testing along the way. I saw some improvements, for sure, which is always good to see, but I'd like to see more out of the black belts. I expressed this to the group as a whole at the end, by emphasizing that as they progress, instead of just regurgitating a memorized form, I should start to see the students "imbue the form with their presence." When we tell them "your" form, I should see something different about it from what anyone else does. And it's time they started thinking about it that way, and not just in forms, but in their technique and performance, no matter what they are doing. 6/2/2023 Strength Training Rowing Machine: 2 minute warmup. Squats: 45x5x2, 135x5, 185x3, 225x1, 260x5, 260x5, 260x5. Press: 45x5x2, 85x5, 115x3, 135x2, 149x5, 149x5, 149x5. Lat Pull-downs: 160x10, 160x10, 160x10. Iso-Lateral Bench Press: 105x10, 105x10, 105x10.

Testing is approaching! You mentioned doing kata twice; one fast and one regular speed; the first to focus everything, to help the second. I once read that Chuck Norris did a similar thing, but he added a third performance, in which you don't necessarily hold to the technique and bust out the form faster than you thought you could, even if it gets a little sloppy. His concept was that the extra fast form would help with to improve speed when doing it at the "normal" speed. An interesting concept, I thought.

Glad to hear you at least got a response. The shipping mishap may not actually be on them; once the product gets to the shipping company, it's on them to stay on schedule. It does appear the faster shipping option was a waste of money, and that's something I think you should address with them. Perhaps they'll make good on it on your next order (if there is one). If not, I'd find a place to leave a review and mention that the "faster shipping" is not fast, nor worth the money.

Congrats Zaine!

5/26/2023 Strength Training Rowing Machine: 2 minute warmup. Squats: 45x5x2, 135x5, 185x3, 225x1, 250x5, 250x5, 250x5. Press: 45x5x2, 85x5, 115x3, 135x2, 147x5, 147x5, 147x5. Lat Pull-downs: 152.5x10, 152.5x10, 152.5x10. Iso-Lateral Bench Press: 95x10, 95x10, 95x10 (47.5). 5/31/2023 Strength Training Rowing Machine: 2 minute warmup. Squats: 45x5x2, 135x5, 185x3, 225x5, 225x5. Press: 45x5x2, 85x5, 115x3, 135x2, 148x5, 148x5, 148x5. Snatch Grip Deadlifts: 185x3, 225x1, 245x5, 245x5. Press felt better than it did on Monday; the sets seem to go smoother. Squat always feels a little tired on Wednesday, so sticking with the light day moving forward. Snatch-deads were ok. Scenario-Based Use-of-Force Training: This was kind of a surprise at work today. I did an hour of I guess you could call simulation training. The scenario is played on a screen, and the person running it has some input into how I react in the scenario. It's not perfect, but it has some good applications.

Questions on your squat; are you keeping your knees shoved out, and are you making sure that you aren't causing some knee slide in the bottom by "bouncing?"

Wado Heretic, that's quite the resume you laid out. I found this statement rather inciteful: This is the kind of thing I tend to seek out more and more as I get older and grow in my MA journey, and this is a very awesome aspect of your approach to teaching.

Welcome to KF!

That's the beauty of this place. The price of the class includes all of the materials. They provide the W-2 steel, the clay, the wood, the rayskin, the bronze, the silk cords... everything. They do some add-ons for some of their classes, but again, they rpovide all of the materials and equipment. That is really cool. How long is the class? Does it take place over the course of a couple of weeks? What is the cost, if you don't mind me asking? It is a 5 day class (35 hours total) that runs Monday through Friday. Cost for the class is $850. Wow, pretty pricy, but worth it, for sure.

Noah, that sounds like a class that I would love to be a part of.

5/22/2023 Strength Training Rowing Machine: 2 minute warmup. Squats: 45x5x2, 135x5, 185x3, 245x5, 245x5, 245x5. Press: 45x5x2, 85x5, 115x3, 135x2, 155x4, 145x5, 145x5. Lat Pull-downs: 150x10, 150x10, 150x10. Iso-Lateral Bench Press: 90x10, 90x10, 90x10. Back under the bar, with a 10% backoff on all the lifts; this is unfortunate, because I'm backed up farther than I was the last time I had this setback...not good for progress. The first press set was really heavy, and I only got 4 reps...and then realized I had misloaded the weight. So sets 2 and 3 reflect the actual 10% backoff. I didn't back off the lat pull-downs and iso-bench by 10%; I just backed off the lats a little. 5/24/2023 Strength Training Squats: 45x5x2, 135x5, 185x3, 225x5, 225x5. Press: 45x5x2, 85x5, 115x3, 135x2, 146x5, 146x5, 146x5. Deadlifts: 185x3, 225x2, 325x5. The deadlifts felt really heavy today. I hate getting reset like that. There was a highlight to this week, though; my boys are out of school for the summer, and they have been joining me at the gym, and we always have a good time together.

Good luck with your upcoming test!

Happy Birthday KF! What a great run we've had here!

That's the beauty of this place. The price of the class includes all of the materials. They provide the W-2 steel, the clay, the wood, the rayskin, the bronze, the silk cords... everything. They do some add-ons for some of their classes, but again, they rpovide all of the materials and equipment. That is really cool. How long is the class? Does it take place over the course of a couple of weeks? What is the cost, if you don't mind me asking?

That's quite the layout, Keith. Thanks for sharing your perspective. At our school, we have "traditional" classes, and these classes are all pretty much the same layout: basics, forms, one-steps, and sparring (if the instructor doesn't lollygag and actually get to it; all too often anymore, there isn't as much sparring). We have separate classes as well; we have out black belt class, in which we've been doing a rotation of forms focus one week, and a Ho Sin Sul focus the following week. The other class is a "T-shirt" class, which is more informal, and students can roll out the bags and kick all class, and we'll often spend time sparring, or we can pair up and do some different partner work if we would like to.

Yeah, that's the approach that I take. I know I'll get back to it, with a slight reset, and just start back down the road again. 5/20/2023 Women's Self-Defense Class: 9:00 am - 12:00 pm. This was put on at the TKD school, arranged by the CI and a domestic violence and abuse advocacy we have here called Options. We started the gig with about 16 attendees, and finished with 14 after a few had to leave early. Overall, it was a decent seminar.

Thanks, me too! Am cheering myself up with the fact that Saturday is deadlift day! I'm at the point that I never cheer for deadlift day anymore!

That sounds really cool! Do you have to supply the materials for the katana class? Or are they provided? I'm really interested in seeing how that goes for you!

I've seen classes where there is total consistency, and no variation; as a student, I hated that. It's good to see some variance.

I weigh around 260 lbs right now, so whatever percentage that is. 5/12/2023 Strength Training Rowing Machine: 2 minute warmup. Squats: 45x5x2, 135x5, 185x3, 225x5, 225x5. Press: 45x5x2, 85x5, 115x3, 135x2, 159x4, 159x5, 159x4, 159x2. Snatch Grip Deadlifts: 205x3, 245x2, 270x5, 270x5. 5/15/2023 Strength Training Rowing Machine: 2 minute warmup. Lat Pull-downs: 160x10, 160x10, 160x10. Iso-Lateral Bench Press: 85x10, 85x10, 85x10 (42.5). I didn't do any of the big lifts on this day because I was starting to have some issues with light headedness, which is often a precursor to a Meniere's flare up. If I get under heavy weight and Valsalva, it can set it off (had that happen before). So I did the assistance work I felt I could do, so I wouldn't skip the day altogether. That night, the wheels came off. Had a flare up that night, woke up with my head spinning. I've been fighting it all the following week, too, and missed a whole week of training. Hoping to get back on track soon.

Yuck, food poisoning. Glad you are feeling better!

Thank you for posting this review.

5/8/2023 Strength Training Rowing Machine: 2 minute warmup. Squats: 45x5x2, 135x5, 185x3, 245x1, 275x5, 275x5, 275x5. Press: 45x5x2, 85x5, 115x3, 135x2, 158x4, 158x4, 158x4, 158x4. Lat Pull-downs: 157.5x10, 157.5x10, 157.5x10 Iso-Lateral Bench Press: 80x10, 80x10, 80x10 (40). Couldn't get any sets of 5 on press today, but could get 4, so the setup is now 4 sets of 4, for a total of 16 reps, until it drops to sets of 3. TKD Class: 6:30 - 7:30 pm. Black Belt Class. Pre-class calisthenic warmup. Hit forms in class today. Chon Ji, Dan Gun, Bo Choong, then rest; Do San and Won Hyo, then rest; Yul Kok and Jung Gun, then rest; Toi Gye and Hwa Hwrang, then rest; Choong Moo, a rest, and then Gae Baek. We rotated with another first degree who was being evaluated on his performance.