bushido_man96

Good words, Bob. Its been great to learn about your MA experiences, and I've felt privileged to have been able to share the floor with you. You always speak from the heart, and I admire that. I only hope my journey can go on for as long as your's has.

Welcome to KF, Trevelyan!

Yeah, I think we are all kinda saying the same thing here. It doesn't have to be done with anything fancy, but it should be done religiously. Agreed. When I can't find my journal, I'm so lost and irritated.

Good luck to you, and have fun!

Hey, its good to hear you got started in the Martial Arts! Don't worry about your age, or your weight. Hard work and the enjoyment involved will overcome all that other stuff. Glad to have you here!

Actually, getting stronger can be a big help. If size is a concern, which from his opening post, it seems to be, then hitting the gym to gain some strength can be beneficial. As long as he lifts and keeps training and working toward improving, lifting weights will only help him. For some reason, Martial Artists tend to be scared of gaining muscle mass, because it will "slow them down." It just isn't true. Power training can actually help to increase speed. Look at a guy like Joe Lewis. Dude is still big. I don't think he was known to be slow. If our poster is confident in his abilities for the most part, but finds size to be an issue, then adding a strength training regime 3 days a week will do nothing but help any athlete, including Martial Artists.

This has been my experience, as well. When dealing with black belt ranks, two judges of the appropriate rank were required.

Aikido - one of the hardest styles out there, have you ever been an UKE for a Aikido Yudansha, you end up with more bruises than "Soft" Mick (no offence to Mick) As most Judoka and Aikidoka will tell you "The Floor will hit you harder than any punch or Kick!!!" OSU!!!! That's why Aikido has such a strong influence in Ashihara because Ashihara Kancho realised how "painful" Aikido can be OSU!!! An Aikido book I read referred to "throwing planets at people." Kind of an entertaining way to look at it.

All good advise. You could use a Composition notebook, or just a spiral notebook, and divide each page into 3 columns, and do one day per column. I just use a small spiral fat notebook, and jot my stuff down in there. The bigger notebook will allow you to compare your previous workouts easier, in more of a timeline manner.

I couldn't view the link at this time, but I agree with the othes. If you aren't working out your legs, then you aren't working out.

That sounds like an interesting hold.

In Shindokan, we don't block...we deflect. Yeah, you deflect people to the other side of the room!

Some people who train one way may not ever respect the way other people train on the other end of the spectrum. Some may be able to discuss that in a respectful manner, though, and that's what we want here. I think its also important to keep in mind that just because someone doesn't agree with how others might do things, that it is automatically disrespectful to them. Its just a difference in opinions, and some people won't sway. That's not necissarily disrespect, either. Just differences.

Some people are just that way. For all the character development and what not that are supposed to go in the the "traditional" MAs, it just doesn't always take hold. More than likely, is it takes hold with those who already have a pretty strong character. Not everyone is a nice person.

Very nice story. Thanks for sharing it.

Congrats!

Crazy. I'd have been very upset, too. Sounds like a bully to me.

5/25/2012 Texas Method - Intensity day Front squats: warmup: 45x5, 135x5, 155x2, 175x2, 185x2, 195x1, 205x1; 215x5RM Hang clean: 90x10 Hamstring curls: 115x3x10 Unfortunately, my shoulder seems to be aggrivated further, so I'm taking some time away from lifting. Which is killing me. 5/29/2012 TKD Little Lions: 5:15 - 5:45. Assisted with this class. There were 15 total in the class, and we had a pretty good time; working on balance. Traditional class: 6:00 - 7:00. Taught this class. Didn't get to sparring, because we were working new forms after a testing. It was nice to get back, but just the little bit of demonstrating I did while teaching really bothered my shoulder. Back to the doc for xrays and a shot likely tomorrow.

I agree; Starting Strength or Wendler's 5/3/1 programs would be great for him.

It could, depending on the requirements of the school. I think if I were you, I'd find a place to train, explain your situation, and make it known that you plan on easing into your training. If you start experience soreness, then it may time to stop and rest. You may only be able to work for 20 minutes or so in the beginning. Just make sure to listen to your body.

The most productive way to gain strength is by doing strength training with weights. Working a heavy bag over that much will help some, but at some point, you won't gain any more strength from it. My advise, lift weights.

In lew of finding a school to train at, using equipment at home to keep your techniques and skills up is a great idea, and highly recommended to retain skills. Not having a partner is detrimental to timing and such, but not training at all is even more so.

I agree. The key here is to not out think the room. Just taking the time to slow yourself down, breath, and re-hydrate, would probably fix the issue.

I've seen that done. Also, there is the holding onto a rail slow-mo kicking drill. I really think the best way to start is kicking at knee height in slow motion while holding onto something. That would be my next step, I think. Even with holding onto something, newbies will still wobble around a bit, I've found. Hell, I still wobble around a bit when holding onto things and kicking. I want to take balance completely out of the equation for the first few runs through, if I'm given the choice. But then moving on to slow-mo kicking on the wall or using a chair would be next. My first instructors called those "concentration side kicks." For the record, they suck.

I've found when kicking with the heel, that I don't have as much range of flexibility as I do when I kick with the ball of the foot. Therefore, it slows my kick down a bit, and limits how high I can kick. I have done both, but when it comes to preference, I prefer ball of the foot.