bushido_man96

Ha! This reminds me of when we first met Pedro Sauer. Tony (my direct instructor) had been training for 9 years on his own and attending various seminars. He had a bb in JJJ. He figured that, on a scale of 1 to 10, he was about a 7 or 8. After Pedro...he realized he was more of a 1 or 2. Since then, he's just exploded. Now he's a bjj brown belt that regularly beats tough black belts. But he says he owes it all to getting in a good BJJ program with Pedro. With this in mind, do you feel that the time spent with JJJ has been a boon to the time in BJJ? Or do you feel that jumping into BJJ would have been more beneficial to you?

I agree. Its great to see that man's Boxing skills have stuck with him through the years. Its good to see justice here, too.

Brock Lesnar vs. Frank Mir......................Lesnar Georges "Rush" St-Pierre vs. Thiago "Pitbull" Alves...........St. Pierre Jon Fitch vs. Paulo Thiago.............................Fitch Dan "Hendo" Henderson vs. Michael "The Count" Bisping.....Bisping Yoshihiro Akiyama vs. Alan "The Talent" Belcher..............Belcher Mark "The Hammer" Coleman vs. Stephan "The American Psycho" Bonnar.....Bonnar Mac Danzig vs. Jim Miller.........Danzig Jon "Bones" Jones vs. Jake "Irish" O'Brien............O'Brien Dong Hyun "Stun Gun" Kim vs. TJ Grant..............Kim CB "The Dobberman" Dollaway vs. Tom "Filthy" Lawlor...........Lawlor Matt "The Real One" Grice vs. Shannon Gugerty.............Grice

RIP Such a great personality.

Respectfully speaking, and only going by what you have said here, if I was your sensei I would not advance you either. It is one thing to know what attitude you should have but another to actually have it. You may be letting this show in class and sensei is waiting for that to change. A shodan should already understand this and always come to class with an empty cup. Well, I don't know. I don't think that there is too much wrong with having that kind of outlook, and I don't see a problem with having these questions in mind. That's what we do here in the west, isn't it? Question the status quo? On a side note, many people tend to refer to schools that pass quickly as McDojos. However, could it not be viewed the same by dragging out rankings, gradings, and the lure of the black belt for years as doing the same thing? Many won't think so, because we think we are all too impatient for that. But, its just a thought. I do wish you luck on your testing. Let us know how it goes. One other thing I would consider with this whole scenario is what you learn in class. Do you feel that what you are learning is in line with your progression? Do you feel that you are being held back, and not learning important aspects of self-defense, because of the slow progression in rank? That is something that I would consider, as well.

6-26-09 Weights Seated row: 115x15x3 Seated chest: 130x15x3 Lat pull-down: 102x15x3 Shoulder press: 84x15, 15, 12 Barbell curls: 55x15x3 Triceps push-downs: 80x15, 14, 15 Gripper: 25x15x5 Upper body stretch. 6-29-09 Weights Seated row: 115x15x3 Seated chest: 130x15x3 Lat pull-down: 102x15x3 Shoulder press: 84x15, 78x15x2 Barbell curls: 55x15x3 Triceps press: 120x15, 129x15, 139x15 Gripper: 25x15x5 Decline crunches: 22x10x4 Upper body stretch.

Thanks for the descriptions, Tony. When I do a back leg side kick, which would be the side piercing kick you describe, I usually try to get my base leg pivoted so that the heel points at the target. I don't know if that changes the total kick or not, but "side piercing kick" is not the nomenclature that I use; I just call it a back leg side kick. Our spinning side kick is our version of your side thrusting kick, as near as I can tell. Let me know if I am off here at all when comparing descriptions, though.

That's cool. I think things like that tend to happen when you go into a different venue. Let us know how it goes for you, too.

Here's another spot from The Book of Earth: I feel this is in regards to paying attention to the basics, as Musashi also describes the importance of building everything from the ground up, in one stage at a time. Thoughts?

I have found that the little bit that I have done here recently has been very helpful. I'd love to get to do it on a more regular basis, because I have never been a good ground fighter.

This is an interesting point to consider. Every school and instructor tends to do things a bit differently, and students can be impatient at times. However, at the same time, I do think that an instructor should not approach every student as the same, and a good instructor should be able to recognize those who are ready to move on, and absorb more, and be willing to give them the extras to bring the along. Regards, Tony

6-24-09 Weights I changed my workout up now, working on more muscle endurance. I did each of these as a circuit, moving from one exercise to the next. I really got good bicep work out of this, too. No leg exercises because I am still nursing the groin injury. Seated row: 115x15x3 Seated chest: 130x15x3 Lat pull-down: 102x15, 15, 96x15 Shoulder press: 84x15, 12, 78x12 Gripper: 25x15x3 Barbell curls: 50x15x3 (does anyone know the weight of a standard Olympic barbell?) Triceps push-down: 80x15x3 MA workout Combat Hapkido: 8:50 - 9:00. We didn't work very long, because we were both pretty tired after the night shift. We did run through the 2nd half of the red belt material, since we were there anyways. 6-25-09 Morning Combat Hapkido: 8:40 - 9:20. We did all trapping drills today. While doing these we explored how the movements with the traps gets us to the flank of our opponent. We explored shots to the ears, back of the head behind the ear, to the ribs, etc. I see lots of possibilities to work with there. Evening TKD class: 6:00 - 7:00. I had to take it pretty easy tonight because of the groin, and so I changed a few things up during basics. Just getting back in and moving was good, though. After doing one-steps, we got to work a few of the techniques on the kicking shields, working on various elbow strikes. It was good work, too, because we don't make conctact with the techniques during the one-steps. It was good to get that feedback.

A very nice article. Thanks for sharing this with us. This is a very good point. I have never really thought about it, but you are right; the longer you try to hold someone in a lock, then the more of a chance you run of them beginning to squirm out of it. Even if it does hurt them some, escape may be their priority. It can also get tiring to hold a lock for a prolonged period of time. I found this out the other night at work, when I had to work my thumbs out for a while before I could even write with my pen again.

Story: http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,529080,00.html?test=faces RIP One of my favorite movies of all time is Cannonball Run.

Story: http://news.yahoo.com/s/time/08599190726900 RIP

Thanks for the link.

You might try something called "Goof off." I've heard of it, and I think it does a pretty good job of taking things like that off. Worth a shot.

Thanks for the thoughts so far, everyone. Good posting. I may dig the book out and find something else to poke and prod at.

That's a good point that you make, Tony. I think that many times MA students get caught up in needing an instructor in order for anything that they learn or do to be considered legitimate. I think that self-discovery through training without an instructor to lord over you to make sure you do this "right" or that "right" can be a very liberating experience.

We also use a lot of hip twist in our school, and no sine wave. I think the main reason that we don't have a sine wave motion is because our GM was originally trained in the WTF style forms, most like the Palgwes, but I am unsure. So, we use a lot of hip, and no sine wave.

Cheers anyway, I'll thank Mr Ohgami for you personally next time I train with him WNM Sounds great.

I am a bit doubtful of this though. It is a strategy we also tell beginners but if you are fighting a competent fighter then circling to the back puts you at risk of any spinning type techniques off the the back leg, back kick, hook kick etc. You'd be moving into the line of power of those kicks as well as moving yourself away from the open side and the majority of targets. It is something to try but I'd be wary of how your opponent reacts to this because you could end up in a worse off position. I think that if you move towards the back, you can cut off some of the momentum of these techniques, and if you cut close, not allowing too much distance, then it will be tough to execute those techniques. I do think that it is worth exploring both sides of this; defending those attacks, and trying them out to a side-stepper.

This is an interesting way to view this subject. Thanks for pointing it out like this; it gives me a visualization, anyways. Its kind of a funny one, too, because just this morning, I thought my bedroom door was open when I attemtped to walk through it....

Bowser as #1. Ahhhh, all is right in the video game world.

Welcome to KF, KyoSa Twigs.