bushido_man96

Lots of interesting points made here. I think there is a lot of MA exposure out there anymore for the general public to see; TV shows like Cobra Kai, the UFC, and other fighting leagues just to name a few. You get Martial Arts in Marvel movies, the Star Wars franchise, etc. So there is lots of stuff to view out there. The problem for the general public is separating the wheat from the chaff. I think in the end, it's important for student to at least get the journey started. Hopefully exposure increases, and students can start to see the difference in quality from different schools and such. It'd be nice to be able to visit different schools, but not everyone is in a metro area with 13-16 options for training; they may only have 1 or 2. But by starting the journey, and taking it seriously, I think the students will eventually come to understand whether or not their instructor is credible or not, and make a decision to move on or stay put.

Bob makes lots of good points here; there just isn't much you can do about this. The hall can choose to rent out it's space when it likes and to whom it likes. As long as they don't interfere with your agreement in regards to the time and space you are entitled to, it's all good. Now, what does suck is if your student is tied up in it, especially if he's the one that spearheaded this movement. I can understand someone wanting to make some money and have a job doing something he enjoys. You noted that the Kickboxing school is the one that set this up, but you didn't specify that your student was the one spearheading it; if that's the case, then I think having a discussion with this student is in order (if he's still an active student with you). If he is no longer your student and has severed ties with you, then there's not much you can do on that front, either. If he is still your student, have a discussion with him. If he is the one that is going to be teaching at your locale, then perhaps it's time for him to decide which school he wants to be a part of. Or, you can choose to allow him to stay on with you. I think at this point, it's really up to you. It's really a crappy situation, and pretty crappy of him to pull it on you like this.

In the end, you could check with your instructor to determine if it would be bad form to buy your own belt.

The testing prep you are doing sounds great, and it sounds like your instructors are really serious about producing quality black belts, which is awesome. I enjoy reading these updates, and it sounds like you are doing really well, and should be proud of yourself. Also, caught the "wiry" reference.....good stuff!

8/11/2023 Strength Training Squats: 45x5x2, 135x5, 185x3, 205x1, 245x5, 245x5, 245x5. Press: 45x5x2, 85x5, 105x3, 115x2, 142.5x5, 142.5x5, 142.5x5. Deadlifts: 185x3, 225x2, 285x5. 8/14/2023 Strength Training Squats: 45x5x2, 135x5, 185x3, 225x2, 250x5, 250x5, 250x5. Press: 45x5x2, 85x5, 105x3, 115x2, 145x5, 145x5, 145x5. Deadlifts: 185x3, 225x2, 290x5. Meniere's kicked in after the deadlift set. Had to sit down for a minute to gather myself. Things have not been good lately. TKD Class: Black Belt Class: 6:30 - 7:30 pm. Did a lot of Do-Kangs, which was good review, and also some three-steps. ------------- So, it's been a rough span. I've had a couple of episodes, missed a day of work because of one, and then I had one hit late last week while on duty. It was not a good thing at all. I have an appointment coming up at the beginning of September with the specialist, so maybe we can make some progress. I've been reassigned at work, so on day shift now, and the schedule is a bit tight. 8/21/2023 TKD: 4:30 - 6:30 pm. We had a booth at our local college set up, and we spent the time doing some demos of forms, one-steps, and board breaking, along with providing information for the Martial Arts Alliance, which includes our TKD class and the Aikido club/class. The Aikido students were alongside us, doing some of their own demos, too. 8/23/2023 TKD Class: T-shirt Class: 6:30 - 7:30 pm. I spent the evening trying to get Do-Kang 6 memorized. I've got the first 3 segments down. Did a few board breaks; a two-board palm heel smash (twice with the right hand, and tried the left hand...didn't go), and also did a downward hammer strike, right handed, twice. Broke well, but it felt like I was bouncing off those rebreakable boards. Stretched a little, and provided feedback for a few of our young black belts sparring.

Hopefully things line up for you here soon, and you can get the procedure done.

Oh that's a classic! Definitely, i also find it hilarious that the answer to the "which celebrity is best at BJJ" is actually Ed O'Neill - he is a legit 3rd or 4th degree BB (can't remember which) and trained in the "gracie dojo storm" era. He is apparently really good! I've heard the same thing. I always thought that was pretty cool.

8/7/2023 TKD Class: Black Belt Class: 6:30 - 7:30 pm. Today was a Ho Sin Sul day, and we worked on fun defenses. It was a good review for me, and the students had some good questions and considerations as part of the class. We started class with Do-Kang 2, and prior to class I went through Chon Ji, Dan Gun, Bo Chung, Se Jong, and Yoo Sin hyungs. Missed strength training again today; having more issues with Meniere's flaring up, and we were down a vehicle again due to a dead battery.

I feel you here, Bob. I have Crohn's, which is why I've had several colonoscopies already (and I'm not even 50 yet). It came about when I was struggling to keep any kind of food down. Turns out my colon was all inflamed, and had to get the diet in check. Medication helps keep it in check now. The bowel prep is a nightmare for me now, since the prep is so high in sodium. The counter to that is that I have to fast, but that really doesn't make things much better. It's no fun, any way you slice it.

I didn't notice any fake single leg shots...unless it was very subtle and I missed something (very possible). Thank you for this evaluation. Very interesting. It's very hard for me to see the angles here. I'm guessing they are very subtle, and because I've never had any kind of experience with this kind of fighting.

That sounds like a great week of classes (except for getting your arm cranked...hopefully, that gets to feeling better sooner rather than later). Very cool on sitting in on the testing and watching. Hearing those evaluating the testing giving similar advised to what you saw and would have given is one of those higher level "aha" moments that Bob would talk about. Let's you know that you are actually getting this stuff too, which is a great feeling.

8/4/2023 Strength Training Squats: 45x5x2, 135x5, 185x3, 205x1, 240x5, 240x5, 240x5. Press: 45x5x2, 85x5, 105x3, 115x2, 140x5, 140x5, 140x5. Deadlifts: 185x3, 225x2, 280x5. I focused on taking the Valsalva with my mouth open, and that helped to not build up so much pressure in my head, which tends to be compounded by the Meniere's. Press sets were heavy today. I see programming changes coming sooner rather than later. Since I missed Wednesday's workout, I tacked the deadlifts to the end of this one.

Colonoscopies are no fun at all, Bob. Good on you for not having to get one until now. Hopefully, it comes back negative. What are they looking for?

I think that's an awesome approach.

Mad About You was also a fun one.

8/2/2023 TKD Class: T-shirt Class: 6:30 - 7:30 pm. Ran through 16 forms today, from Chon Ji up to Choong Jang. A brief stretch at the end of class. I didn't get to lift today due to not having transportation available at the time. Had to get some new tires on one of our cars.

I'm enjoying a nice, cold glass of tropical punch Kool-Aid, right now. Quite tasty.

Sounds like a good week of training, getting lots of different things in. Definitely seek out that opportunity to train with that high rank!

7/31/2023 Strength Training Squats: 45x5x2, 135x5, 185x3, 205x1, 235x5, 235x5, 235x5. Press: 45x5x2, 85x5, 105x3, 115x1, 137.5x5, 137.5x5, 137.5x5. Barbell Rows: 105x10, 105x10, 105x10. TKD Class: Black Belt Class: 6:30 - 7:30 pm. Went through all the one-steps, then started on three-steps; I focused on the first two so I can start getting them memorized. After that, we sparred. Had three good matches, felt like things went pretty well, had some things working for me. Got pretty gassed at the last match. I did manage to to take a knee into the rump, and an elbow on the ankle, but it's all good.

Welcome to KF!

I felt the same way.

This right here is the reason why the first thing i say to any new prospective parents is "hope you are blessed with a good sleeper" usually gets met with a slightly odd look as they wonder what possible relevance that could have... Nowadays I just wish I could be blessed to be a good sleeper myself!

I tend to do this at least once a week, on a night that I have class and need a quick one to cook up after. I usually season it with lemon-pepper, fresh rosemary, topped with lemon slices. I either steam or bake a vegetable and make a side of rice.

Home Improvement was always great. Step by Step. Family Matters. Fully House. I remember enjoying Spin City briefly.

7/28/2023 Strength Training Squats: 45x5x2, 135x5, 185x3, 230x5, 230x5, 230x5. Press: 45x5x2, 85x5, 105x3, 115x1, 135x5, 135x5, 135x5. Barbell Rows: 100x10, 100x10, 100x10. Kicking off a big weekend of TKD for our school this weekend. Friday night, we had testing with our association's grandmaster and his daughter (senior master) in as guest judges. And on Saturday, the school hosted it's first ever tournament. TKD Testing: 6:00 - 7:30 pm. The black belts did a little bit of demo breaking at the beginning (I did not), with the CI doing his 6-board palm heel smash. The kids tried some new things, which went well. Other than that, we had several white belts test, and one green belt tested. Our adult white belt impressed the GM so much that he jumped her in rank to high orange belt, which was pretty cool. She's pretty technically sound for a white belt, so I think it's a good call. At the end of testing, the GM had our three teenage black belts do their first-ever round of three-for-all sparring, while two second degrees did a regular sparring match (it was a father-and-son match, so always fun). 7/29/2023 TKD Tournament: 9:00 am - 2:00 pm (including teardown time). I got in early to help with sign-ups and what not, then we had our black belt meeting, and then lined up as a group. Our CI and the Salina CI did some black belt introductions after our CI introduced the guest of honor, Grandmaster Yi. This was a small, interschool tournament involving the 4 KS schools in the association, so we had just under 50 competing, I believe. Next, we did a brief demo involving some basics and one-steps and three-steps (my and my partner, a very talented 4th dan, only did one-steps). After that, it was time to break off and go to work. The formalities handled, we started the competition proper, and I spent the day center judging a ring for forms and sparring. I have to say, our school has always had a high standard for technique, and it has carried on since the instructor that founded the school has moved on. I have to say, compared to some others I've seen out there, our school upheld its reputation. We had a pretty good day sparring, too. Good news that came out of this is that the headquarters school is planning on finally having another national tournament next year, around the same date we just had ours. This is a good thing, as the association hasn't had a national tournament in several years. Overall, I enjoyed being a part of it, and enjoyed judging the rings. One of the other area CI's came up with a forms judging system that streamlined things pretty well, and once he explained the system, I rather liked the simplicity of it. Much easier than what I had done in the past. Our CI is also looking at trying to host an open tournament at some point in the future, which I think would be a lot of fun, but will also come with it's own challenges. This was a good learning experience, and I expect some good things going forward.