bushido_man96

Stronglifts is a good plan. Other good alternatives are Starting Strength and Wendler 5/3/1.

We've been doing an elevator sweep, I believe. I like it.

I don't know many so far, but the one I've been liking the most so far has been the Kimura. We've done it sitting and standing now, and the standing variation was really nice.

Cool accomplishment. Congrats to him.

Welcome to KF, Hendrick!

I think your best bet would be to continue to study the arts you have available to you, building a solid foundation. When you move off to college, then check into Kung Fu instruction. You could look into videos to do some learning, but you'd do better to have a partner, and even better to have an instructor.

5/29/2013 After basics, forms, and one-step, I focused on some counters to be used in sparring. One was a switch leg round kick counter that can be used off a back leg round kick attack. The next was a spin outer crescent kick off a back leg round kick. Some had a tougher time with the crescent kick, so I had them start with their backs to the target pad, look over a shoulder, and then kick from that direction, spinning around to land behind when finished. This helped them get the idea of the move down while only doing half the spin to start out. It also allowed them to focus the kick better, and not drag it through a wider range of motion than needed to hit the target. Then we went from a back leg crescent into a spin crescent, to give them an idea of the mechanics on each of the kicks, and focusing the target. Then I showed this a as a variation to the spin side kick counter we use a lot.

I think sparring is good at all levels and ages. It works great for kids' Wrestling, and it works well for the kids sparring in our school. Give them the proper equipment, and sparring provides a great learning environment. I'd say its more detrimental not to spar.

5/29/2013 Taught TKD class: 6-7pm. I did some shrimping before the class, using the longer length of the dojang floor. The carpet style mats make it a bit tougher, though. For class, I did a consolidated basics set, then went into forms review. Some of the kids definitely need more review on the low rank stuff, and next week, I'll make sure I only focus on the first few with them, so they can get them down, at least. Afterwards was one-step review, and then I had them do some drills with the paddles. I tried to focus on some kicks they could use for counters. We did some back leg round kicks, using a switch foot motion, and then moved onto spin outside crescent kicks. A few needed some tips on getting started, but they all picked them up pretty well. 6/3/2013 Gracie Combatives, Day 1: 8 am - 3 pm. What a great time! I just hope I can retain most of this info he is giving us. Royce is such a great teacher, and is so mellow and cool. He does a great job of explaining what we are working on, and doesn't use a bunch of terminology. He's also really big on going in slow motion. No need to get in a hurry, and just rep the moves nice and easy. He also makes us talk our way through the techniques, which is a great help in memory retention, and since hopefully I'll be teaching the department when I get back, it will come in very handy. I've been working on writing it down, but some of it is already slipping it seems! Anyway, a rundown of what we covered: Punch blocks hooking the grip around the biceps, then disengaging or ducking under an arm clinching from behind. Another variation is from a shadowboxing start, stepping into clinch and outside the week side, then getting around to the back. From there is another disengate option, or a takedown by rolling back while blocking their far foot, and rolling up into a mount. From the mount, we've worked on an Americana arm lock. We went from being in guard, working on some reversals, and then into some options on getting out of the guard; a disengage, or a step over into mount, or standing up in base, and sweeping the leg around and getting to side control. We also did an elbow escape (I think that's what it was), getting to guard. From there, bad guy posts hands or goes for our gun, and we went to Kimura arm lock. We did a headlock defense where we secured the punching arm, stepped around in front, continued to spin and set down, rolling over to mount, then used the forearm and arm to frame the head, push down to get a release, then grabbed the top hand in a handshake, and worked towards the cuffing position. I think that covers the most of what we did. There were lots of good reps, and lots of talking and explaining while doing the moves. And 4 more days of training. How awesome! Stretched in the evening.

Yeah, I don't think that is my cup of tea. I like to sleep at least once during my 24 hour time frame. Kudos to that dude, though. What an animal!

No, no, I don't think you should have stayed retired. With your knowledge, its great that you still get out there and share it. Nor will you have to worry about being "granted" the title; you get the opportunity to earn it. Good luck with it!

Thanks for sharing this. That is some very interesting information, and important to keep in consideration as an instructor. I hope it goes well for you in fixing it.

I'm for Wrestling being in every year, as well. I don't enjoy the political jockeying that takes place in the IOC.

Not happened yet. I think we have a bit of time before this happens, but you never know what can happen. Hard to say. There are several high ranking individuals, but there is also some family members that might try to have a say, although they aren't ranked as high as some of the other current instructors. There is a chance it could splinter quite a bit. There is a group of instructors in it that have some high standards, and do a lot of chatting back and forth and corroborating. They are also the higher ranks in the organization. I will likely continue under my current instructor, because I know he has good standards and teaches well, regardless of what would happen within the organization. I respect the GM of our org, but I only see him twice a year maybe, but see my current instructor everyday.

I was pretty apprehensive when I first stated sparring. I wasn't terribly athletic, nor was I very aggressive, so it was tough with me at first.

I agree, finding a good coach and gym where you can train to put it all together will be your best bet.

Just getting through days like that are a win. 5/27/2013 DT/GRACIE review: 11:30-12:30 pm. Did some shrimping drills, which are great for the tummy I've found out. Also worked on take downs and take down defense, doing a guillotine with and without an arm. The take down is done with the head up on the side of the body, blocking the calves with the hands. Not quite like a blast double leg in Wrestling, but I did that a few times. I was also shown a Greco-style high-crotch take down done against a wall, showed to him by Couture. 5/28/2013 Shrimping, and stretching.

Welcome aboard!

Welcome aboard!

Welcome to KF, Mark!

They have a website though: http://www.sunyis.com K. Yep, but not everyone does.

5/22/2013 Did some review for upcoming testing with some of the higher ranked adolescents and adults. Focused on getting more hip twist with some, and some bits and pieces on forms. Also reviewed one-steps, and work on breaking with two of the students that are brown belts. Some of the others did some focus bag work with kicks.

You need to have a rule about talking, and stand by it; when you talk, they listen. They raise hands and ask questions then. Really, its the best way to keep it going. Now, once they get into training, and are asking each other questions back and forth, that's ok. But if you need to address the class as a whole, then come up with some kind of "hey, shut up!" signal, like clapping twice, whistling, or something like that, to get everyone's attention.

I would teach the forms in order, front to back. But teach in segments. Three or four move segments are easiest, and they'll put them together after steady reps.

Alex, great video. Thanks for sharing that. I've added it to my youtube videos for future reference. Let me know when and where I can train with Mr. Harris, as well, please! Really, some good stuff, and I like all the reps, too. I can see some great training ideas with some transitions to blue guns, as well. 5/21/2013 GRACIE Combative review: 11:30-1:00 pm. Drilled body lock takedown to mount, and "airplane" to gain control. From there, we drilled an Americana arm lock, and also a straight arm bar. We moved to punch block defenses, that were in 4 stages, and at the end, where bad guy comes to side control, bring the shin across the body, and work to an elevator sweep. 5/22/2013 Taught TKD: 6-7pm. Assisted teach tonight, working with higher ranks on forms review, one-steps review, and board breaking for upcoming testing. Also had some of the students working kicks on the bags. 5/23/2013 Range: 8-11:30 am. Did our department day qualification shoot with the pistol. I shot my duty pistol, and then my personal pistol. Shot 49 out of 50 with my duty pistol, which I was pleased as punch with, and shot 47 out of 50 with my off-duty weapon, which was still good. Afterwards, we shot at targets with T-shirts and hats on, with water balloons in the heads and body. We advanced to cover and shot from there (we had the option to shoot on the advance, but I was too bouncy). We had two targets to shoot, and two people shot at a time, 3 mags of 4 rounds each. Did ok, didn't get to my last mag, but shot more than I would have liked at the 1st target. After that, we played poker. I lost, but it was a fun try.