bushido_man96

Rank and title have their places and their merits. I'll admit that when I was a younger student, the next rank meant the world to me. Working towards the next rank was my motivation, and I loved being awarded my new belt and certificate after a testing. Now, I see things differently. I don't hold against anyone who desires to increase their ranks and such; for some, that's what it takes to motivate them. When I work with my students, though, I try to relate to them much the same things you do, Bob; that the journey is what is important.

Agreed. This unproven legend (not proven fact) has also created a kind of monopoly on the whole creation of Martial Arts, and the perception that all Martial Arts come from the Far East. You'd be surprised to learn of the number of people out there that wouldn't constitute styles like Boxing and Wrestling as "Martial Arts," because they didn't come from the Far East. A constant source of irritation to me...

This is a great summary. I also think that at times, bad teachers, or poorly informed teachers, can make a style appear ineffective by the way they teach it. Its tough for a bad teacher to make any system look good, and thus trasmit it effectively. Overall, I would tend to put more on a practitioner at first glance than a system. However, there could be some quacks out there spouting foutains of crap in a style they put together, which could make for a bad style.

I agree with ps1's assessment; shoulder follows the trunk movement, and everything starts from the ground.

Catch-up time... 5/14/2012 Texas Method - Volume day Front squats: warmup: 45x5, 135x5, 155x3, 175x2; work: 195x5, 190x4x5 Lying triceps extensions: 41.2x5x5 Hamstring curls: 100x3x10 Stretch: quads, hams, shoulders 5/16/2012 Texas Method - Recovery day Front squats: warmup: 45x5, 135x5; work: 155x2x5 Back extensions: BWx5x10 Straight bar curls: 48x5x10 Stretch: quads, hams, hip flexors, arms, shoulders

Congrats on 11 years, Patrick! I know that KF has meant a great deal to me in the time I've been here, and my time discussing here at KF is just as valuable to me as my actual training time on the mat. Thanks, Patrick, for creating and maintaining such a great community.

Congrats on 5 years on staff, Danielle! Its been a lot of fun working with you!

5/10/2012 Reported to the doc, on schedule. She said since I'm having improvement, then we probably likely won't be doing anything invasive for my shoulder. This is good. The bad news is it will likely take another few weeks to be completely healed. 5/11/2012 Texas Method - Intensity day Front squats: warmup: 45x5, 135x5, 155x2, 175x2, 185x2, 205x1; 210x5RM Lying triceps extensions: 40x3x10 Hamstring curls: 70x10, 90x2x10 Back extensions: BWx3x10 Stretch: quads, hams, shoulders.

That's a great post, JusticeZero. I don't understand what you mean when you talk about, "finding the spots where your techniques can be sliced at the joint, the breakpoints." I'd love to read more about how this works, and the interpretations of "breakpoints." I'll pick up where JusticeZero stopped with moving with a partner. You can have the partner start throwing attacks you typically see in class, one at a time for now. Block the attack. Then, move off the line as you block, and see where you end up. Evaluate and make sure you are off line, but stay within range to attack. Next, work on stepping off line and attacking, not just waiting to block. Also, moving around a heavy bag or standing bag and working attacks will help after you've put together that chair drill really well.

"Its like a switch...like a truck." Love it!

You shouldn't trouble yourself on what's going through your mind too much upon walking away like that. You had no need to fight this guy, and you didn't. Don't worry about it from there. If your concerned about what's going through your head afterwards, about how you fealt, maybe you should look into some books on cultivating your mindset to the way you want to think. As with anything, though, it takes training to get good at it. Use this experience to learn and train.

Hopefully he makes a full recovery.

This is very true, however, many people have a mental/moral block when it comes to being willing to actually cut someone. Those people would do well not to bring such a weapon into play, as their hesitancy could result in their own weapon being used against them. That's a solid point.

My wife has been called to jury duty about as much as you have, Bob. Drives her nuts. She uses the fact that I'm an LEO quite often to get out of it.

That's a tough blow for the Yanks, for sure. Meanwhile, watching the Royals is a roller coaster ride. Lots of young talent, mediocre pitching.

Well, I'm pretty sure he was aware that he was Boxing, and not point sparring. He would have been aware that someone was going to try to hit him hard and knock him out. I'd say that's full disclosure.

Welcome!

Welcome to the Forums!

Congrats to you, Ueshirokarate! You know, you're right. I hadn't thought about it in that sense. Probably one of the reasons I enjoy it so much right now. There is no pressure to perform up to your rank, no thinking of helping or correcting others, etc. It is just shut up and train. I found this to be true as well when I started up Aikido. Its nice to just set back and be a student again.

Thats a lot on your plate! When do you have time to study? Nor can I imagine what your class fees must run... Its great you have such an opportunity to train. The best thing you can do right now is read your body, and see how it reacts to all the training. If you find out you are overtraining, you may have to drop something. If you can handle it, then you should take advantage, because life might not always be this way with you. As far as lifting weights goes, I'm not sure what the other guys suggest, but with as much MA as you are taking classes for, you should probably only lift weights twice a week. And if I were you, I'd do barbell training, for strength and power. A 5x5 program or 5/3/1. At two days per week, and all that MA training, 5/3/1 would probably be your best option. When Wrestling season ends, you might be able to bump to 3 days per week. Have fun with all that training!

True - its very counter-productive.I think along with the "no one wins a fight" mindset, we see too much of worrying about not hurting someone too much. When you worry about not hurting someone too much, you can second guess your actions, and it can cost you time and position. I've had this happen to me not long ago, and I won't let it happen that way again. When it comes down to it, your safety is what is paramount.

I agree.

Maybe this is the sadist in me, but I'd like to see a picture like that with a roundhouse kick to the face.

Nice play, evergrey! I've never had this experience, but I deal with a lot of drunks. Sometimes, there is no convincing them, and they just have to be dealt with. Its also funny how many times they wake up the next morning, and are totally different people, and don't even remember that they bounced with you the night before.

I think that even though you didn't want to consider knives, that the mention of the simple pocket knife would have been a huge winner for you. Folding pocket knives with a blade no longer than 4" are legal in most areas, are inconspicuous to carry, and are readily available to purchase. Just a thought...