bushido_man96

That's cool. Might be worth looking into.I am not far enough into it yet to have an opinion, but it has been on my bookshelf for a while, so I decided it was time to read it. So many books and not enough time. Ain't that the truth?I've been poking through Taekwondo, A Path to Excellence, by Doug Cook. Unfortunately, I'm reading the history section right now, which is usually painful in a TKD text. And usually false.

Awesome!

8/7/2024 TKD Class: Traditional Class: 5:30 - 6:30 pm. I had not done a traditional class for a loooooong time. It was good getting back into that rhythm. There was just one other student there, one of the new low-orange belts learning his new material. Basics: Lost balance in a few spots, so need to focus on that. Balance has been an issue for some time, so I'm holding on to as much as I can. Forms: After the orange belt did Dan-Gun, I did Choong Jang. It went well. There's a series in the form of stepping backwards into back stances, which I tended to have problems in keeping my feet aligned properly. That has gotten better. Afterwards, the instructor brought the orange belt back up to get more work in, and had me watch and give tips as well. I gave advise on some hand placements for starting techniques. One-steps: I partnered up with the orange belt to go over his one-steps. We spent a lot of time on #3 and 4. #3 has a reaping takedown. It didn't use to be taught that way; it was taught with an extra step forward to facilitate the takedown. I think this is the easier way to teach the lower ranks the proper mechanics behind it all, and then the reap should be brought it a few ranks later. He doesn't fall safely either, so we took some time to work on getting the breakfall right. #4 has a joint/arm/shoulder manipulation element to it, so we spent time drilling that right as well. Overall, I enjoyed myself, and I think I will be hitting this class going forward to keep myself involved with the few students we have. I was the senior rank, but the 3rd dan usually teaches on Wednesdays, and I let him do so and just joined the class as a student. BJJ Class: 7:00 - 8:15 pm. Went to check out the new BJJ class that is hopefully going to be offered for at least a year going forward in the Aikido dojo. The instructor had a different approach than I had seen before. It wasn't the standard "learn a technique, drill the technique" approach. He did a series of "games" (that's what he called them) that lasted for 6 minutes each. He presented a concept to work on, laid out the parameters for the drill, and then turned us loose. I'll try to explain each one as best I can. 1. This first game was focusing on kazushi, in either breaking or maintaining balance. We started with one person in a single-leg position, holding our partner's leg like we'd just secured a single-leg. The goal was to move, push, pull, trip, step on the foot, or whatever to try to take them down. Their goal was to retain balance and prevent it. Had to focus on keeping the leg in close to the body and good position. Defender had to try to use them for balance and keep close to have a "base" between the two. If the defender put his hands on the ground or his but hit the ground, end and switch roles. I did better than I thought I would here. I retained my balance more easily than I thought I would, but did get taken down eventually. As far as being the attacker, that wasn't bad either. I was able to find different ways to make it happen and did ok. 2. Game 2 built on the first. Same starting parameters, but the defender's goal this time was to try to get their leg back under control and eventually back down to the ground. This could be accomplished by hooking the inside or the outside of the attacker's leg. It tended to be a progression; hook to the inside, then move around to hook on the outside, then get it down. Not bad here either. I did have my struggles, but I found once I got the leg hooked somewhere it greatly increased my balance and my chances of getting it back down. 3. This game was "butterfly" I guess. One person would kneel in front of the other, who sit on his butt and hook his feet inside the other's thighs in a butterfly position. The goal was for the person seated to get to one or two underhooks on the kneeling person, secure it, and then scoot in close and sit back with them, going to your back and raising them up with the "butterfly" position of the feet. You could then elevate one foot and roll them to reverse position. Once you did that, roles reversed. The kneeling person's job was to try to prevent the underhooks and keep from getting reversed. (Not sure who would be the attacker here.) This was fun. We could do arm drags and the like to try to facilitate the underhook(s). I found that once I got the underhooks, I had to scoot in real close in order to sit back with them and get them elevated. I really had to get our combined center close. I was not as good at defending the pummels to prevent the underhooks. It's hard work, but fun. 4. I think we worked another drill from here, the only change was the reversal needed to get to mount or side control, and the guy on bottom had to try to keep or regain a guard position. Pretty straightforward, went pretty well. 5. Side control. Guy on top had to retain side control, guy on bottom needed to get back to guard. Pretty tiring, but did ok. My son was my partner, and he's pretty good at keeping pressure on top. He's heavy and strong. 6. Side control again, but this time the goal of the top guy was to keep the control and secure a lock around an arm and the head, or around an arm, in order to isolate a limb. Bottom guy trying to get guard and prevent this at the same time. At times, it didn't feel like I was accomplishing much by locking an arm or the arm and head. But after the drill, he showed what it meant to get a limb isolated like that, and how it can lead to opportunities for submissions. Good stuff. The point about isolation really stuck with me. This was a lot of fun, and a very active class. I brought my youngest son along as my training partner, and he was doing really good with everything. He's young and strong, so a good experience. His wrestling background really helps out. There's going to be another session on Friday, and I think we are going to go check it out again.

I'm making this post prior to ready any other comments, so it's just my straight reaction. Personally, any ultimatum like that rubs me the wrong way. Big red flag. There is definitely something they are trying to control here. And they are definitely exerting an inordinate amount of control over their members here. They sound like they are scared of something. I don't know what the wedge between the two organizations is, but it doesn't appear that the JTK has the same issues. What I'd like to know is how they intend to find out who attended the seminar? Big red flag for me.

Thank you for the responses, Bob. I'm glad you liked the post. I should clarify, when sparring and defending in TKD, I typically pay attention to the center of the opponent's body. Trying to focus on one arm or one leg is sure way to end getting hit or kicked by the other. The direction of the force part of it is what was a little more enlightening to me. I've been doing TKD for so long that when say a round kick comes in, I just block it without much thought. I want to stop the kick. But understanding how the force is brought is really important in the defense or movement, which I will try to be more cognizant of. I appreciate the transition into the Bruce Lee quote. Makes a lot of sense.

8/6/2024 Strength Training Leg Press: 45x10, 135x10, 225x5, 250x5, 250x5, 250x5. Press: 45x5x2, 65x5, 75x5, 100x5, 100x5, 100x5. Lat Pull-downs: 117.5x10, 117.5x10, 117.5x10.[/u]

These are some thoughts I jotted down one day while I was reading a book on Aikido. The passages just caught me and caused me to think about things more, and it helps to write it down. It also makes it easy to share here with everyone and see the thoughts of others with more experience than me. Notes on reading Aikido and the Harmony of Nature, by Mitsugi Saotome: 3/29/2024, reading pg. 191 about Shomenuchi Ikkyo: I guess I never thought of defending a kick or a punch this way. But in sparring, techniques come at you so fast, one can get overwhelmed. I will try to focus more on this concept, and not just think about blocking a strike. The strike coming at you is a concrete thing; the idea of the direction of the force seems more an abstract way of thinking about it. In the end, perhaps it simplifies things? Instead of thinking about how to defend a side kick or a front kick or a straight punch, think about the direction of the force, which these three different strikes produce a similar direction of force. Defend that direction of force. Also important here is to pay attention to their center, and how you can affect it through defense. If I only deal with the striking tool, I leave myself to the mercy of the other striking tools, whereas if I deal with the center, I can perhaps better control the other striking tools. The passage then goes on to talk about subtly changing that direction. Sensei Brandon has referred to this as “blending.” I will try to see it more when I train. Saotome wrote about some class teaching experiences in which he’d focus on a particular movement or feeling (like a particular technique). He said the beginners will be the ones really conscious of the point he made, but the more advanced students, who have done it more, are often filled with preconceptions of what the technique should be. He stated, “that they have forgotten how to see.” This makes me think of complacency. I’m sure I do this in my Taekwondo training, but I do it less in Aikido right now, as it is still fresh and new, and I can view things through “the eyes of a beginner.” 3/30/2024, reading pg. 197 about de-ai, “the meeting”: Sensei Brandon talks often about using our center when doing techniques, keeping weight under center and the like. As a new student trying to get techniques down, I find myself thinking of what I’m doing or what I’m doing wrong all the time. I try to keep track of where my center is, but thinking about the center of the two of us is going to be difficult. But I’m going to try to make the effort to be cognizant of it. I think once I get the hang of keeping my center where I want it, being aware of the center of both of us will come more easily (yet still be difficult!).[/i]

I'm under the impression that that particular dojang already had a seat at the table, and Kreese just basically jumped on a horse that was already in the race.

8/5/2024 Aikido Class: Weapons Class: 5:00 - 6:00 pm. We started with jo warmups, and I did hi-4, low-4, and hi-8. I still manage to mess up hi-8, but it's getting better. I need to get a jo I can practice with at home. Next was jo kata, and we did jo kata 2 today. We went all the way through it twice, then he cut me loose on my own (there were 2 other students today, both young boys, and neither very attentive). I managed to get about halfway through the kata before I blanked. So I'd just start again and get to where I could. Next was bokken. We did basic cuts across the floor, and then he changed it up on us. He would demo a series of steps and strikes and/or thrusts across the floor, and then we had to try to mimic him as best we could. He said we got things about 60% right. I generally messed up footwork when I messed up. After the basic cutting, we did some bokken defense/disarms. I did a kote-gashi and a kokyo-nage. The kote-gashi method went pretty well; I got the tenkan down pretty well and can get the balance broken with it. I need to focus on the initial tai-sabaki when moving in. The kokyo-nage method was a little tougher. The technique goes to one knee when facilitating the takedown and pin, and I kept kind of just diving onto my knee instead of going down gradually. It hurts to kneel down like that, and I end up just crashing instead of going easy. Gotta do some work on it. TKD Class: Black Belt Class: 6:30 - 7:30 pm. Just me and the CI today, so we spent the class going over plans for the upcoming women's self-defense seminar we are putting on. We are going to do it over the course of three two-hour sessions over three Saturdays this time, and see how that works. Day one will be learning strikes and some basic wrist grab releases. Day two will be escape from standing situations (chokes, bear hugs, etc). Day three will cover escapes from ground situations. He's going to put together an itinerary, and I think I'll come up with one, too, just to see how close we end up. Wrist releases will be simple same side grabs in a few variations, rooting and releasing and/or throwing strikes. Strikes will be limited to palm heels, hammer fists, eye gouges, elbow strikes, front kicks (A-frame kicks) and knee strikes. We'll also cover some kicking from the ground with a side kick to keep distance and move, then recover. We'll cover stand-up in base along with this. Standing situations will cover chokes from all sides, and with pushes and against a wall, and bear hugs from the rear, side, and front. They'll get to incorporate the strikes into the defenses. Ground stuff will cover escape from mount and guard. We're going to be workshopping the ground stuff a bit more for sure. At any rate, I'm looking forward to it. It appears that it's going to be a yearly thing. On another note, on this coming Wednesday night, the Aikido dojo is hosting someone that is looking to start teaching some ground fighting classes going forward. I'm going to participate on Wednesday and the sensei is going to do so on Friday to vet him and make sure he's a safe instructor (which it already sounds like he is), and if all is good, the classes will be offered for free at the dojo. I'm looking forward to this opportunity.

That's cool. Might be worth looking into.

Thank you, Fat Cobra. I'm glad you liked it.

I've really lost track of time. I didn't know he hadn't fought in over three years.

Win in Your Head, Win in Your Heart, Win on the Mat 3/29/2024 “Win in your head, win in your heart, win on the mat,” was a pre-match tradition I started with my oldest son when he was a young wrestler, and I share this tradition with my youngest son as he wrestles. The saying was meant to inspire them in their preparation for matches, and although it held meaning for us through wrestling, it applies to other athletic endeavors as well, especially other martial arts performances. It has always held meaning for me and my boys, but I wanted to finally put it on paper. As I describe each aspect, I’ll do so in a wrestling context, but know that it can easily apply to other martial arts. Win in Your Head This covers the physical aspect of the physical endeavor. This means you need to know you have the knowledge to compete, which comes from practice. Drilling takedowns, stand-ups, switches, reversals, turks, etc, until you know you can make them work. This drilling should build “physical confidence,” or the ability to perform the techniques confidently and effectively. This confidence should also allow you to make adjustments to the techniques or to other techniques as necessary. Win in Your Heart This covers the mental and spiritual aspects of the physical endeavor. You have to know in your heart that you can compete. Don’t look at the size of your opponent. Be confident in your physical abilities so far and know you can win. Don’t lose your match before you even start it. To quote Dan Millman, “If you face just one opponent and doubt yourself, you’re out-numbered.” Embrace the spirit of competition with another human being. You honor each other by facing each other. Embrace the fires of adversity, bathe in them, and grow stronger. Win on the Mat This is where it all comes together. All the blood, sweat, tears, meditation, and focus come together as you pit yourself against another person. Let your body do what you’ve trained it to do. Let your heart fuel you. You’ve trained yourself with the moves to win. You’ve seen yourself win through visualization and actualization. You know in your heart you can win. Now it all comes together. It’s a rather brief dissertation, but I hope others can find some meaning and inspiration in these words as they move through their training journey and their life.

Sure. Each belt color is broken into two ranks, a low and a high, instead of adding more colors. It goes this way: 9th grade White Belt 8th grade Low Orange Belt 7th grade High Orange Belt 6th grade Low Green Belt 5th grade High Green Belt 4th Low Blue Belt 3rd High Blue Belt 2nd Low Brown Belt 1st grade recommended Middle Brown Belt 1st grade decided High Brown Belt I hope that makes sense. The lower of the colored belt rank is denoted with a belt with a white stripe through the middle, and the higher is a solid color. Then our black belt ranks start. This is a great idea. It at least allows the students to see what the process and order of the testing will be. I would like for us to do it. Thank you, Bob. That means a lot. I can remember testings where I've actually gotten frustrated with some things I've been seeing, knowing there were classes that I had hounded on them about it, and expect them to be fixed, and have mentioned as much in the post-testing comments. I constantly take notes on the back of my testing score sheets. This post is a reflection (and expansion on) the notes that I take. I don't know why I didn't think to start putting this stuff down on paper sooner, but I've got a lot of testings to look forward to, and I plan to post more of these. Exactly. I can understand being a hard-nosed grading judge, and I'm ok with that. But on the white belts who are just beginning. I'm not saying that the white belt test is a mail-in test; not at all. I still expect the students to work hard and perform to the best of their abilities. If they did not, then I would be disappointed, and I would note that in post-testing discussion. As I mentioned in my post, if the student showed a complete lack of interest and energy in the test, it might be grounds for failure, but it would have to be completely on their lack of effort, and not on the instructor's failure to prepare them.

Why do you think that?

Wado Heretic, you should put together a binder of all this history! I'd take a copy of it!

8/2/2024 Strength Training Leg Press: 45x10, 245x5, 245x5, 245x5. Bench Press: 45x5x2, 95x5, 95x5, 95x5. Lat Pull-downs: 115x10, 115x10, 115x10. Bench didn't seem to bother my head like pressing has. The leg press didn't bother my much either. I'm going to run the leg press a while and alternate between bench and press.

These are the reflections I had on this recent testing at our TKD do-jang. Testing scoring: 60 – No-change 65 – Recommended rank/below average 70 – Average 75 – Above average I judged a testing at our do-jang today, and it got me thinking about testing white belts (it was a small testing, with five white belts and one high orange belt testing). I listed the scoring table above for context on these notes. In thinking about a white belt testing, I came to this conclusion: if a white belt should fail a testing, that failure is on the instructor, not the student. Barring a catastrophic brain meltdown or a mental reaction to stress (panic attack, anxiety disorder, etc), I truly believe this is the case. As an instructor, being exposed to the students daily, the instructor should know if the student is ready to test or not, and if they are not ready, they should not be allowed to test. If an instructor allows a white belt to test that isn’t ready (or any student, for that matter), then that is akin to malpractice in my eyes. This brings me to scoring white belts in testing (how I do it, anyway). Most white belts aren’t going to blow away a judge on a testing board. Sure, exceptions exist, like naturally gifted athletes that pick things up quickly, or students with prior martial arts experience, but these students aren’t the norm. As a testing judge (tournament judge is whole different animal), my expectations aren’t low for white belts, but they aren’t high either. A white belt won’t test like a black belt, or even a mid-rank colored belt (we have young black belts that when asked if students performed their one-steps correctly, they start to get into minuscule technical aspects, and I have to remind them that they are white belts). So how do I score? Barring a complete lack of effort from the student, I score average. I might modify it with an up or down arrow next to the 70, denoting if I think the student is on the high side or the low side of the score (we don’t use .5’s for some reason), but otherwise average. I expect some fudge in stances, less power and speed and the like. Distancing on one-steps will vary greatly and will probably be subpar due to general insecurity in striking so close to someone and not understanding their range. But I know their kinesthetic awareness will improve with time. White belts tend to get nervous, too. The first test is always an eye-opener. As an instructor in the past, I’ve taken the time to explain to new students how a testing will run, the procedures involved, and what to expect, but even with all this preparation, most white belts will still be uneasy going into the test. They are unsure of what to expect, there’s the added tension of judges sitting up front watching them, etc. A big part of that first testing is learning how to handle the nerves. New white belts face a lot in their first testing. One never knows what a student will eventually be capable of. There are hopefully plenty of testings down the road in which I will score tougher. Other notes: We had a high-orange belt that tested very well. She had good stances, decent power and technique in her form. This faded a little on the one-steps, I believe due to being nervous about the distancing. She had a decent go at sparring, too. She needs more of it, for sure (as does the whole school, not much time is spent on it at the end of classes due to getting through basics, forms, and one-steps). She also needs to learn to use her rear hand for blocking. Like many beginners/early rank students, they tend to try to block or parry everything with their lead hand. It’s a weird habit, but funny to watch as a high rank. We had three black belts do a brief demo today. Even though they weren’t testing for rank, I told them that I tested them anyway. While doing their Do-Gons, they ran some things together during transitions. They would start a step transition before getting the previous technique finished. Getting in a hurry. Impatient. I told them they needed to learn how to speed up without getting in a hurry. Fast techniques is a good thing, but they can’t run them together and end up with sloppy transitions. On a final note, there was a blue belt that wasn’t allowed to test, due to not being ready with the material. This is a quality I admire in our school.

8/1/2024 TKD Testing: 6:00 - 6:30 pm. Small testing, 5 white belts and a hi-orange belt. I wrote a reflection article on the testing I'll post in the testing forum. I sat at the judging table, and have a few brief notes. I noticed for the low ranks that had good power in their forms, it faded when they did one-steps, likely due to not being comfortable with the distancing. Some of the black belts did a brief demo, and I caught a few things for them to work on as well. They need to speed up without getting in a hurry. They ran some things together and ended up with some sloppy transitions. A very brief but decent testing. Not much to expect out of low ranks, but I like to see where they start and where they go.

It's too bad those annoying guys show up in training. Sounds like you did his ego a favor, though. Hopefully he learns to shut up and train, but not likely.

7/31/2024 TKD Class: T-shirt Class: 6:30 - 7:30 pm. Got started a little later than I wanted to, due to some other stuff coming up before starting class. Once I got in there, I did more bag work, doing my 12 variations of kicks with the front kick and with the round kick. I did 5 each leg, so ended up with 240 total kicks. I did a quick stretch in The Rack, but the chair back was set at 1, and I ran it up to 145 degrees.

Congrats!

That's good stuff. You really run the gamut on your music selection. I like it!

That's a cool story.

7/30/2024 Strength Training Press: 45x5x2, 65x5, 95x5, 95x5, 95x5. Lat Pull-downs: 112.5x10, 112.5x10, 112.5x10. Triceps Push-downs: 52.5x15, 52.5x15, 52.5x15. Valsalva on the press was fitful with pressure in my head, but I'm going to keep working at it. On a proud dad note, my youngest son, Kenneth, hit a 425 squat PR this morning. He's starting his freshman year in less than a month.