bushido_man96

This was a very useful product review. Thanks for taking the time to write it up, DarthPenguin!

Like Wastelander mentioned, Olympic TKD implemented this kind of technology. What it doesn't account for is if your arm is against your body, and a kick hits your arm with sufficient force to cause the technology to "score" it as a hit, it does, even though with the arm there, it didn't reach the target. As for your idea about sensors in the gloves to score head contact....at that point, your leaning more into full contact, where you could judge the ippon as to whether or not the opponent fell down or not, thus rendering the sensors in the gloves rather meaningless.

JCVD does have his base in Shotokan, but as he progressed in his movie career, I believe he leaned more into doing what made for good looking fight scenes, as opposed to whether or not it looked like Shotokan. He was probably more freestyle with it while he was acting. I always thought is reverse punch in the movies was vicious, and that jump spin hook kick was a thing of beauty. Interestingly enough, Wesley Snipes was a Shotokan stylist, too. His best work is in the Blade trilogy.

8/15/2022 Strength Training Squats: 45x5x2, 135x5, 185x3, 225x1, 245x5, 255x5, 260x5. Press: 45x5x2, 65x5, 85x5, 105x3, 115x5, 115x5, 115x5. Lat Pull-downs: 155x10, 155x10, 155x10. Still having pain in the right shoulder. TKD Class: 6:30 - 7:30 pm. Black Belt Class. Had a light stretch early, then we went into some colored-belt forms; low and high orange, low and high green, and low and high blue forms. It was a good run through. My balance was tested in a few spots, but overall, it went well. We had a fresh 2nd dan decided black belt learning Gae Baek, so I went over that at count several times, which was a good workout and refresher. It's my favorite form. We finished going through the first 6 three-steps. Still having shoulder pain.

I had several of Wendler's books (got to find them or re-order them), and also have 5/3/1 Forever. There's a lot of stuff in that one; and it might take a couple of read-thrus to figure it all out. Lot's of programs in it. I wondered if you were doing some 5/3/1 when you mentioned your final set was an AMRAP set. I do like some of the programming, but the problem I've had when considering switching to it is that the Training Max goes way below what I'm used to working with, and it doesn't provide enough stress. But, along the same lines, I tend to take longer rests between heavy sets than he recommends for his workouts. As time goes on, I may look at working with 5/3/1 again.

If I recall, Soo Bhak was a style in ancient Korea, and when modern Korean styles started to take shape in the 1940s and after, I think some of the stylists cobbled onto the name in order to reflect it as a Korean traditional style. I believe Soo Bhak is mentioned in the Muye Dobo Tongi. But I could be wrong...

Strongly concur with this! But thankfully, people like Chuck Liddell and Stephen Thompson have demonstrated its value in competitive mixed martial arts at the highest levels. (former champ Glover Texiera is also a high ranking Kempo guy under Hackleman) I've learned over time that looking to the most talented in conversations like these doesn't end up proving much. It's likely that these individuals would have made whatever they were doing look good, when in fact, it has more to do with the fact that they are just really naturally talented, and they ended up making what they do look good.

8/12/2022 Strength Training Squats: 45x5x2, 135x5, 185x3, 225x5, 235x5, 245x5. Press: 45x5x2, 65x5, 85x3, 95x5, 105x5, 115x5. Deadlifts: 135x5, 185x3, 225x1, 275x5. Seated Dumbbell Press: 40x12, 40x12, 40x12. Lat Pull-downs: 152.5x10, 152.5x10, 152.5x10. My head was feeling much better today. No dizziness or lightheadedness. Hopefully this keeps up.

8/9/2022 Strength Training Bench Press: 45x5x2, 95x5, 115x5, 135x5. Barbell Rows: 117.5x8, 117.5x8, 117.5x8. Lots of pain in the shoulder again. 8/10/2022 Range Day: 5 hours of duty pistol, back-up pistol, rifle, and shotgun qualifications. Also spent some classroom time on annual use-of-force and less-lethal. Also qualified on bean bag rounds. I shot better with my back-up pistol than I did with my duty pistol, but the first go was a cold shoot, which might have had something to do with it. 8/11/2022 TKD Testing: 6:00 - 7:30 pm. Sat at the judging table for another school testing. It was a good testing, and we're starting to get some upper ranks back in the room. We had one adult testing, too, which was nice to see. We had one test for 2nd dan, and he had a really good testing.

I believe that it would catch on like a brush fire. Put a table up at a tournament, small or big, and you just might be spending your days counting your million dollars. After all, the inventor of the Pet Rock, laughed all the way to the bank. I agree. Why wait for someone else to fill the need you want? Make a few pair. If someone else is interested, make a few more. Who knows where it might go?

Congrats!

8/4/2022 Strength Training Hack Squats: 95x8, 95x8, 95x15. Seated Dumbbell Press: 35x12, 35x12, 35x12. Lat Pull-downs: 150x10, 150x10, 150x10. Still having issues with Meniere's, so I'm reluctant right now to do anything that requires balance. Last set of hacks was an AMRAP (As Many Reps As Possible). 8/8/2022 Strength Training Leg Press: 245x10, 335x10, 425x5, 425x5, 425x5. Hack Squats: 95x8, 95x8, 95x15 (AMRAP). Seated Dumbbell Press: 35x15, 35x15, 35x15. Lat Pull-downs: 150x10, 150x10, 150x10.

Front squats can be extremely stressful on the knees, due to the vertical back angle and knees-forward position required to balance the weight in front of you. If you've got old, creaky knees, it may be best to avoid front squats and stick to back squatting. Low bar back squatting also puts much less stress on the knees than high bar back squatting.

Sounds like great news, Bob! Very happy for you!

You are exactly right! It's time to move out of the dark ages, and get pockets on gis! I do agree that they would be handy when getting to and from class. It'd be nice to be able to take the top off, put on a t-shirt, and then slip my phone, wallet, and keys into my gi pockets, slip on my flip-flops, and then walk to the car after class.

Your best bet will be to go check out schools on an individual basis, speak with instructors, and see which one offers you the closest thing that you're looking for.

Hey, welcome back, Alex! Good to see you!

8/1/2022 Strength Training Squats: 45x5x2, 135x5, 185x3, 225x1, 255x5, 255x5, 255x5. Press: 45x5x2, 65x5, 95x2, 115x5, 115x5, 115x5. Lat Pull-downs: 145x10, 145x10, 145x10. Hack Squats: 75x8, 75x8, 75x8. Squats felt much stronger today. Still getting soreness in the left shoulder pressing. Lat pulls were done with a narrower grip, and I like the feel from it. Hacks still going ok, just not much weight on it yet. TKD Class: 6:30 - 7:30 pm. Black belt class. Warmed up with Do-Kangs 1 and 2, and then went into Hoo Sin Sul. From our fighting stance, did defenses against jabs, haymakers, and crosses. Against the jabs, I really focused on parry and side step so that I was on the outside of the arm with good targets to attack and few of my own targets exposed. Did some parrying, and some parry/pass or brush/trap/strike sequences, but tried not to force it. Similar responses to the cross/rear straight punches. For the haymakers, I did more of a covering motion with my elbows (think "answer the phone"), and then worked counters from there. I don't like how that keeps me on the inside, though, and worked on some things to get outside. We finished with some work against "tackles," which I didn't prefer and I didn't think was all that productive, and then with bear hugs from behind. 8/2/2022 Strength Training Deadlifts: 135x5, 185x5, 225x3, 275x1, 315x5, 275x5. Barbell Rows: 115x8, 115x8, 115x8. Standing Dumbbell Press: 35x10, 35x10, 35x10. Didn't up the weight with deadlifts, but did a backoff set.

Am not familiar with the combatives course. I have taken a few of the GRACIE defensive tactics courses for law enforcement. How long is the course, what does it entail, and what is the rank you come out with?

5 seasons to start with! That sounds promising.

I never mind questions! I'm using a machine for hack squats. So far, so good, but if they start troubling my knees, I'll have to think of something else. Right now I'm doing rows from the floor, like Pendlay rows. You should feel them in the lats, and not the lower back. Make sure to set your lower back in extension, take a breath and hold it, then pull the bar off the floor and try to slam it into your belly. Doing sets of 8 right now, and don't think I want to go much lower than that. 7/29/2022 Strength Training Romanian Deadlifts: 45x8, 95x8, 135x8, 155x8, 155x8, 155x8. Bench Press: 45x5x2, 95x5, 115x5, 135x5, 185x5, 205x3. Barbell Rows: 110x8, 110x8, 110x8. Lying Triceps Extensions: 50x12, 50x12, 50x12. Feeling out the RDL. Got a good stretch in the hamstrings.

You could increase the density of the training, but first you should consider what your goals actually are, and determine if that is the variable to change or not. Very early on in structured strength training, not many variables need to change except load. Are you using a particular program?

7/28/2022 Strength Training Squats: 45x5x2, 135x5, 185x3, 225x5, 225x5, 225x5. Press: 45x5x2, 65x5, 95x3, 110x5, 110x5, 110x5. Lat Pull-downs: 140x10, 140x10, 140x10. Hack Squats: 65x8, 65x8, 65x8. Didn't wear a belt for the squats, and really noticed it, too. Lots of fatigue. Triceps got very sore pressing, too.

7/26/2022 Strength Training Deadlifts: 135x5, 185x5, 225x3, 275x1, 315x5. Barbell Rows: 95x8, 105x8, 105x8. Last two reps of the deadlift were floating away from my shins again. Set felt very heavy and slow. It's hell trying to recover. Adding in the barbell rows to get some more direct work on the lats.

After a long week of being sick with both flares from Meniere's and Crohn's, it felt good to finally get back to the gym. 7/25/2022 Strength Training Squats: 45x5x2, 135x5, 185x2, 225x5. Press: 45x5x2, 65x3, 95x2, 105x5, 105x5, 105x5. Lat Pull-downs: 120x10, 130x10, 140x10. Hack Squats: 45x7, 45x7, 45x7. Seated Dumbbell Press: 30x10, 30x10, 30x10. Squats didn't get heavy, but they were ripping my legs up from being off for a week. Will be a touch sore this week. Going to be adding in more focused back work going forward, too. Hack squats are for hitting the quads more directly. With the way I back squat, I get a lot of work on the posterior chain, which is very important, and it allows me to squat without stressing my knees out. The hack squat felt good on the knees, and I'll be adding weight as I get a better feel for the movement. MA Training TKD Class: 6:30 - 7:00 pm. Usually black belt class, but no one really showed up. There was an interschool tournament out of town this weekend, and several of the students had gone to that. It sounds like the school represented itself pretty well. I spent about 20 minutes going through basics, just moving, getting a sweat and the heart rate up, and just doing martial arts moves in general. Nothing high impact. Had a nice sit on the stretching machine prior to class.