bushido_man96

Sure, kata could be added, or the kata you have could be honed and trained on more. If kata are going to be added, there should be a pretty good reason for adding them, aside from just adding more curriculum.

4/14/2023 Strength Training Rowing Machine: 2 minute warmup. Squats: 45x5x2, 135x5, 185x3, 225x1, 250x5, 250x5, 250x5. Press: 45x5x2, 85x5, 115x3, 135x2, 150x5, 150x5, 150x5. Lat Pull-downs: 140x10, 140x10, 140x10. Iso-lateral Bench Press: 45x10, 45x10, 45x10 (22.5). All felt pretty good today. Press seems like it might be slowing down. I anticipate programming changes coming soon. I put the wrist straps on for the last set of presses.

I think it can get tough to trace back origins, and there was a lot of political machinations going on early in the history of the kwans; heck, the changing of the name to Taekwondo is quite a story of it's own.

It's great to have you come back, Drew!

4/12/2023 Strength Training Rowing Machine: 2 minute warmup. Squats: 45x5x2, 135x5, 185x3, 225x5, 225x5. Press: 45x5x2, 85x5, 115x3, 130x1, 148.5x5, 148.5x5, 148.5x5. Snatch Grip Deadlifts: 135x5, 205x3, 260x5, 260x5, 260x5. A decent session, considering my back and my knees were bothering me. The first press set was tough again, but the second and third sets went well. I may up my last warmup to a double and see how that affects the first set. Snatch deads went up good.

Welcome back, Drew, and congrats!

Thank you for the help, guys. I've made the moves you suggested, Patrick. Thanks for not taking advantage of my ignorance!

Congratulations to all!

I will let you know how that works out for me, DP. 4/10/2023 Strength Training Rowing Machine: 2 minute warmup. Squats: 45x5x2, 135x5, 185x3, 225x1, 245x5, 245x5, 245x5. Press: 45x5x2, 85x5, 115x3, 130x1, 147.5x5, 147.5x5, 147.5x5. Lat Pull-downs: 135x10, 135x10, 135x10. Dropped the squats a little more after my knees were in so much pain. I only noticed anything on the last set, but I may have been in a hurry and letting the knees slide in the bottom. Press sets got better as they went on. TKD Class: Black Belt Class: 6:30 - 7:30 pm. I have been feeling old, cold, and tight prior to my classes, so I decided that pre-class, I was going to make myself move and warm, even if I was hurting. I just did some basic calisthenics; arm circles, hip twisting, arm swings, bouncing in sparring stance, etc. Really helped out, as obvious as that sounds. I did an easy walk-through of Choong Jang and Yoo Sin hyungs, too. This was a class full of Do-Kangs. #1 once, #2 twice, #3 twice, #4 twice, and 5 & 6 once each. My knees really hurt after Do-Kang 5; lots of jumping in that one, and it did a number. While doing the Do-Kangs, I worked on the stepping concept I read about in the book on Sanchin, in pulling with the front leg when stepping with the back leg. I really noticed a difference, and I plan to try to keep applying that in classes.

When I was in class the last Monday night, I tried applying that stepping concept outlined in the book, about pulling with the lead foot when initiating the step forward with the rear foot. I really noticed a difference.

4/6/2023 TKD Testing: 6:00 - 6:30 pm. We had a really small testing today, so it didn't take long to get through it. We had a total of three people test, and it went smoothly. A few things for the lower ranks to work on, but overall, things are going the right way. 4/7/2023 Strength Training Rowing Machine: 2 minute warmup. Squats: 45x5x2, 135x5, 185x3, 225x5, 225x5. Press: 45x5x2, 85x5, 115x3, 130x1, 146.5x5, 146.5x5, 146.5x5. Deadlifts: 185x5, 225x3, 315x1, 350x5. Ok, an interesting week, to say the least. Wednesday's workout, when I should have done my heavy pulls, didn't happen because I had to wait at home for a package to show up from Fed-Ex that had to be signed for. It's important for my wife's work, and if no one was here, then it'd have been sent back to a town 100 miles away. So, I was basically held hostage by Fed-Ex waiting for a package that we got notifications that it was out for delivery....but it didn't show up. Showed up the next day. So, Friday rolled around, and I didn't want to skip my pulls for the week. So I basically did my midweek light squat/pull workout, and it went pretty well. My knee was feeling much better, and the light squat went well. Pressing didn't aggravate the knee at all, and I added weight and everything went up well. Added weight to the last deadlift, and that pull went well, too. I've also purchased a Captains of Crush grip trainer a week or so ago, and I've been keeping it in the car when I drive, just busting out high rep sets on it as I have time. I bought the lowest one, and after a few weeks, I'm going to buy the next level up and train with it. I'm anxious to see what it does for my grip strength and forearms.

Yes, I've seen these things before, and in the book, he even demonstrates going through Sanchin with chishi. I see this as an issue of holding onto the past for way too long, and not embracing more modern ideas. For example, I think something similar could be achieved using dumbbells instead of trying to make old stone mallets. Another issue I have altogether is that too many people try to make their strength training look like their sport/activity, in order to make it more "functional." The problem with this approach is that it completely fails to understand what strength training is. Strength training is a general physical adaptation. Lots of people like to think they can get "baseball strong" or "football strong" or "karate strong" by trying to make their "strength" training look like the moves they do in their sport/activity, when they would be better off training for overall strength the right way, using good programming and progressive overload to make the entire body strong, which will then transition into athletic performance. Hence, like I mentioned earlier, no taking strength training advise from Martial Arts instructors. Ok, rant over.

This is more along the lines I was thinking. I think you and I are on the same page here; you did a very good job articulating this. It's going to take some time, for sure. Would you say it's more like a natural step forward in length, or just a bit longer?

I have some questions about the league. Mainly, how does it work When do we adjust our lineups? Do I need to pay attention to the pitching, or are all the pitchers just scored for the week? Do I need to pay attention to when guys start? What about the bullpen, how do I work those guys? Thanks for any help. It's been a long time since I played fantasy baseball, and when I did, it wasn't in a format like this one.

There will be good and bad experiences here, just like any human experience. I met my wife at TKD class, so it worked out pretty well for me. I think it's important for an instructor to be professional about it; if an instructor is trying to date every good looking student that comes through the school, then he/she should probably reconsider their motives. But many times, something happens organically, and everyone lives happily ever after.

4/3/2023 Strength Training Rowing Machine: 2 minute warmup. Squats: 45x5x2, 135x5, 195x3, 245x1, 285x1. Press: 45x5x2, 95x5, 115x3 So, today fell apart in a hurry. This is mainly due to the fact that I played baseball on the Sunday prior; my 13 year old's travelling team did a scrimmage against the parents. I didn't have any muscle soreness, but the next day, my knees hurt very much bad. To top that off, my head was bothering me, too. So my plan going in was going to do some heavy singles on squat, and try to press regularly. I got one of the singles done, then moved to press, and my right knee really went to pot...doing a squat unloaded made the knee feel compromised, so I had to scratch squats altogether. Then my kid called to get picked up from school, so the workout was a wash.

"Calm mind like water" I think I have a grasp of. "Mind like the moon" I'm not as sure on. What does it mean to have "a mind like the moon?" To glow at night, and still be visible in the daytime? To wax and wane? To hang above the world and see it from a different perspective? How would you elaborate on it?

I am really appreciating your reviews of the chapters here, Zaine. Like you, I think he probably tried a little too hard to explain that repetitions are a good way to practice. Just from what I've seen of Sanchin so far, I'd tend to agree with you in that I don't think it is a kata with much bunkai attached to it. I'm not sure if any is out there for Sanchin. I don't really think that I've ever done forms as a way to meditated. I'm not much for meditation; just not my thing. However, I do find value in finding the focus to work through a form with consistent technique, power, and proper stances for generating power. I guess, in a way, this is a kind of meditation. On another note, I started working my way through the kata for the first time the other day. I'm using the one Wilder does in the book. My plan is to memorize the movements first, then work on the technical aspects. One thing I am noticing is that I think I might be trying to step too far forward in sanchin dachi. A lifetime of stepping into front stances will do that to ya...

Its good to hear you are feeling better and getting back to class, aurik. And good luck to Zach and his testing!

This is very helpful. I'd look forward to reading some other reviews, too!

That's an interesting take, Bob. I like how you mention that even "mimicking" is still a creation from ourself. Here we get the moon mirrored in the lake analogy. I do like it; the reflection in the lake brings something so far away so close to us, albeit in a different form. Even so, it's still majestic. I'm interested in this idea of becoming a "past master of life." There sure is only one way to do that - LIVE! There are days when my existence seems meager, and there are days where I feel I've accomplished something. However, overall, every day I live, I become more of a "past master of life," for every experience teaches us something, even if it seems like a meager experience.

3/31/2023 Strength Training Squats: 45x5x2, 135x5, 195x5, 245x1, 280x5, 280x5, 280x5. Press: 45x5x2, 75x5, 95x3, 115x1, 145.5x5, 145.5x5, 145.5x5. Lat Pull-downs: 135x10, 135x10, 135x10. Iso-lateral Bench Press: 40x10, 40x10, 40x10 (20). Squats were wonky until the last set. I got them locked in then, and the technique felt pretty good. First two press sets were rough; rep 5 on each almost didn't lock out. Last set felt great though. I think I was a bit more explosive with the hips, and stayed a little tighter, and probably grooved them better, too. It seems like a wider grip might be the answer on the Iso-Bench machine; wide grip seemed to not bother the shoulder as much. I tried to do the incline bench press with just the bar at a few different grip widths, but it hurt the shoulder too much, so that's a no-go.

That's the way I would lean, too.

I can't see this as holding anymore weight than a psychology or criminal justice degree. Let's take criminal justice: I've heard many younger people talk about getting a criminal justice degree because they want to be a police officer. But most police departments require no college degree at all, and the ones that do don't care what your major is in. That frees up the young lad to get a degree in something else, so that he can spread his eggs across two baskets instead of putting them all into one. And that's what I'm looking at with a degree in martial arts. It doesn't give you qualifications that are not obtained in the dojo. And what would a shihan need with such a degree? Can confirm, as a deputy for 13 plus years, and being employed with a sheriff's department for 16+ years, there isn't much need for a criminal justice degree. I especially despise learning how to be a cop by someone who's never been a cop, and that's the big problem with the criminal justice studies departments in colleges; they are taught by teachers who have never worked in law enforcement, but have all kinds of theories and ideas about how to be better cops. All theory with no experience behind it.

That sounds like a great idea, DP. I may have questions about how the roster needs to be set up going forward. I'm going to do some looking at it today.