bushido_man96

I agree. As an instructor myself, I would find a point of pride in the fact that my students would always be ready for testing.It has seemed, in my experience at this school, that the CI has always had the final say on testings held at the school. At the HQ school, it's a little different. I knew of another incident, quite a few years ago, in which a young student went to test either for 1st dan, or as a 1st dan, at the HQ school. The CI wasn't happy with the attitude this kid was having at the school, or his effort levels, or something of that nature. At any rate, after being back from the testing, when others got their promotions, this kid didn't get his. CI told him he didn't pass. Well, the dad was a bit miffed by this, and contacted the HQ school to find out the results there; turns out the GM had passed the kid, as did the rest of the testing panel, I guess. Needless to say, the dad was not happy, and shortly thereafter, the kid quit. I don't know if that was an instance of "when I get certain rank, I'm done," and that was the CI's issue, or if there were severe attitude problems at class and that was the reason for failing the kid. Those are issues the GM and the rest of the testing panel probably weren't aware of. But, the CI should have either shared that information with the testing panel, or should not have allowed the student to test at all, and spoke with the parents about what the issues were.

1/18/2023 Strength Training Deadlifts: 135x5, 185x5, 255x3, 325x1, 350x5. Press: 45x5x2, 65x5, 95x3, 117.5x5, 117.5x5, 117.5x5. Deadlifts were feeling pretty good...and then after finishing my work set, I got my buddy that works at the gym to come count the weight; I misloaded my work set. It was supposed to be 360...curses! But, I was able to keep the weight from floating away by getting back into my heels to start each rep. Last rep was the worst of them. My shoulders were feeling really good today; not really any lingering pain from class or lifting on Monday. I did a couple of test pulls on the lat pull-down machine, and I will be adding that back into the routine next week. Didn't make class tonight. The weather was starting to get nasty.

$75, but they get the next uniform, too? Not too bad, compared to what I've seen.

Congrats Montana!

I agree, the issues with this approach are embarrassingly glaring. It was really frustrating to hear that this happened.

1/16/2023 Strength Training Squats: 45x5x2, 135x5, 185x3, 235x5, 235x5, 235x5. Press: 45x5x2, 65x5, 85x4, 115x5, 115x5, 115x5. Triceps Push-downs: 65x13, 65x13, 65x13, 65x13. Decent session. Got back to the limited ROM triceps push-downs. TKD Class: Traditional Class: 5:30 - 6:30 pm. No one showed for this class, so I used it as my own training time. Sat in the sauna for about 10 minutes before class, and did Choong Jang 3 times throughout the class time. I took a middle section of the form, which has some tricky stance work in it, along with a round kick done on the ground from one knee, and did quite a few reps of that section. Also spent some time in The Rack. Black Belt Class: 6:30 - 7:30 pm. Warmed up with Do-Kangs 1, 3, and 6 (two reps of 6; still learning it). Had 5 rounds of sparring afterwards; two with kids I tried to help out, 1 with a big kid who is taller than me now, and 2 rounds with the adult black belts there. It was my first time sparring in 2 months. It didn't go badly. Choong Jang hyung count: 25 Total hyung count: 51

I agree as well. As in any form of human achievement, there exists the law of diminishing returns. Some people, based on genetics, have higher ceilings than others that aren't so lucky. But, in order to reach that potential, the combination of genetics and hard work have a huge affect.

That sounds like a school making lots of money on each belt testing.

I envy your, Zaine. I'd love to be able to work with something like HEMA. I've got a whole bunch of books on various styles of sword fighting and other medieval weaponry. It would be just a blast to do. Go for it. I look forward to your posts.

That's another thing that bothers me here. The instructor assumes that the student has never dealt with failure because they have never failed a belt test. Most of life happens outside of the school. The teacher likely has no idea what that student has gone through. Agreed 100%.

Hitting PRs can be quite enjoyable.

Awesome job!

Heard this story in class the other night. One of the adult students, who is going to be testing for 2nd dan soon, has a son, middle school aged kid at the time, who was told by our prior instructor that he was going to fail his testing; can't recall if it was for 1st dan recommended or decided (I think it was for decided). His rationale: "he hasn't failed before, and I want to see how he handles it." The parent mentioned that he lost quite a bit of respect for that previous CI at that point; I can't say as I blame him. He initially thought he was kidding about it, but the testing came and went, and the CI failed his son. Personally, I think this is a bunch of malarkey, and the CI's justification for it was bunk. Seeing how a student reacts to actual failure is one thing; fail them on principle is quite another. I find serious integrity issues here. If the parent would have dropped both him and his son from classes at that point, I wouldn't have blamed them. Luckily, the kid responded well, they stuck around, and ownership changed. I wanted to vent about the situation a little here, and see what other's had to say. Personally, I'd have been furious, and probably would have neglected to keep my mouth shut on the matter, regardless of an preconceived notions of rank and respect. In my eyes, this was an abuse of power.

Love seeing the BJJ session update. Great that you have that opportunity!

DarthPenguin, there are times when it seems like the only thing that helps on the deadlift is leaning into my heels, but I'd rather not do it that way. However, it may just be necessary going forward. 1/13/2023 Strength Training Squats: 45x5x2, 135x5, 185x3, 230x5, 230x5, 230x5. Press: 45x5x2, 65x5, 85x3, 112.5x5, 112.5x5, 112.5x5. Snatch Grip Deadlifts: 165x3, 225x2, 255x5, 255x5. Pretty good session today. Switching to 2.5 lb jumps on press going forward, and also starting to add the belt. Snatch-deads are still rolling along. As long as I use chalk, grip is solid, and not a factor yet. If I lose concentration on a rep, and don't lift my chest to start, it will drift, but unlike the deadlift, I find it easy to correct.

It's good to have you back, Montana!

I, for one, have no issues with this form of testing. I think it's a great process, Montana.

1/12/2023 Solo Training: 30 minutes of nunchaku again. 2nd class, adding to previous class and putting things together. Did 30 minutes on the elliptical in the evening.

Yes, the sessions are 2 or 3 lifts each, focusing on the big movements; squat, press, deadlift. My knees hurt too much to do any power cleans or snatches right now, and the accessory stuff really isn't a priority right now. Every lift I do is recorded. I don't recall suggesting any single-leg movements lately; you'd have to point that out to me. I don't particularly like movements like the Bulgarian split squats. 1/11/2023 Solo Training: 30 minutes of basic nunchaku work again; watched the first video from the channel I checked out originally. It consisted of moves he referred to as "simple ups," "front switches," "inward figure-eights," and I think "outside circle and catch." Strength Training Deadlifts: 135x5, 185x5, 245x3, 315x1, 355x5. Pin Bench Press: 95x5, 105x5, 105x5. Press: 45x5x2, 65x5, 85x3, 110x5, 110x5, 110x5. Bar is floating away on the deadlift now, and it's really frustrating. I'm doing everything I can think of to stop it; closing the armpits, pointing the elbows back, trying to put my shoulders "in the back pockets," and nothing seems to be helping. I thought I'd give pin bench presses a try, to see if I could eliminate some shoulder pain by limiting the range of motion. It didn't really help, so I went back to pressing, which is better on my shoulders. TKD Class: 6:30 - 7:30 pm. T-Shirt Class. Stretched a little in The Rack, then did forms. Did two reps of Choong Jang, then did all the colored belt forms: Chong Ji, Dan Gun, Boo Chung, Do San, Won Hyo, Yul Gok, Jung Goon, Toi Gye, Hwa Rang, and Choong Moo. I can't hardly do the flying side kick in Choong Moo anymore; it hurts my left knee too much to land on that leg after kicking, and it hurts to push off to jump. Choong Jang hyung count: 22 Total hyung count: 44

That's the best kind! I kind of thought so; I get exactly what I want!

That's an awesome sized class! Sounds like a great time! Zaine, it looks like your on pace to go over your goal! 1/10/2023 Not a lot today, just an easy half hour on the elliptical with my wife at the gym.

Great to see you guys jumping in, Alex and DarthPenguin! It's what I've been hoping for; lots of discussion on what we Martial Artists probably view as a treatise! Art, how we do art, is our art. But, does it demonstrate our enlightenment, or does the act of creating art enlighten us further? Perhaps both can be true? And the second sentence seems pretty straightforward: creating art liberates us. It helps us grow, and become more free in the process. Free from restraint, free from all the rules at times, I guess?

That is a huge concern, DP. In training my co-workers the other day, I stressed that they "stay in the drill" for drilling purposes, but also stressed to them to watch as they are drilling, and be aware of where they can start throwing in strikes. I made sure to explain that when we actually have to defend ourselves, we aren't "doing the drill," but instead using the drill to get us to a position of control, and then keep control. I think a lot of this gets missed in more "traditional" instruction.

1/9/2023 Strength Training Squats: 45x5x2, 135x5, 185x3, 225x5, 225x5, 225x5. Press: 45x5x2, 65x5, 85x3, 105x5, 105x5, 105x5. Took videos of my squat to form check myself. I need to let my knees travel just a touch further forward and then lock them in. Third set looked the best. My shoulder was feeling really good today when pressing. I sat in the sauna for about 15 minutes after, and before class started. TKD Classes: 5:30 - 6:30. Traditional Class. There were three young students in this one. I assisted with basics, breaking things down and helping out. When the students were doing forms, I jumped; two reps of Dan Gun hyung, two reps of Won Hyo hyung, and a rep of Do-Kang 1. I got two reps of Choong Jang in prior to class. 6:30 - 8:45. Black Belt Class. We did a ton of Do-Kangs in this class. Do-Kang 1 once, Do-Kang 2 twice, Do-Kang 3 once, Do-Kang 4 once, Do-Kang 5 once, and learned Do-Kang 6 for the first time ever. Lots of kicking, lots of spin kicks. I really felt doing the spin heel kicks in my right adductor tendon, so I'm hoping that doesn't inflame it. Do-Kangs are considered our "black belt basics," but they are required to do at black belt testings, so they basically count as another form. So, adding to the form count. Choong Jang hyung count: 20 Total hyung count: 32

You can't use the wrong muscles to flex the foot into that position; the muscles that do it are the muscles that do it. Pretty simple. You could try standing/walking on the edges of your feet, for small bouts, though. It should help you develop the proprioception to tell that you have your foot in the right position. The only thing that will change when you kick is that you want to make sure you have your heel forward as much as you can.