bushido_man96

I feel that wearing the uniform elsewhere just leads to trouble. You may know everyone in your town, but it still is something that should just be worn to class.

I think achieving "mastery" is something that is possible. However, its hard to put a measurable, quantifiable number on it. Therefore, its hard to tell if you have made it there or not. "Perfection" is not really attainable, in my mind. Working towards it is a good goal, though; it makes you continue to strive. But, you have to keep it in the context of everything else you are pursuing in your studies. Do you have a layout you could show us for 1, 2, and 3?

I agree, tallgeese. I think a lot of people are under the impression that they can just kick a big dog, and it will go away. If the dog gets into that fight drive/prey drive, there is nothing that is going to hurt them. Shooting the dog would be the best idea, especially if you want to get away with the least amount of harm.

This is just good awareness, I think. Especially by not letting him realize that you were listening in. These are the kinds of things that you may want to document for further reference, in case something bad like what he was discussion should happen.

1-23-09 Week 3, Day 3 16, 21, 15, 15, 21 = 88. The last set was really tough, and I had to really grunt out the last few. But I do feel like I am making improvements. On to week 4!

Well, most of our jail guys don't have any DT training, so we are starting fairly basic. My DT partner is certified in Hock's system, so we are basing our training off of his system. We'll introduce palm strikes, and use the statue drill to introduce them to some basic footwork and use of angles with the strike. Then, we'll move into the block/pass/pin drill. We are also going to work with a torso twist takedown and the wrist twist takedown. The class will begin with some lecture/question/answer time to talk about use-of-force and the like. 1-23-09 100 push-ups log Week 3, Day 3: 16, 21, 15, 15, 21 = 88. The last set of 21 was nasty on me. Weights Bench press: 190x6 Seated row: 170x6, 7 was failure Military press: 115x4, 5 was failure Lat pull-down: 150x7, reps 6 and 7 were not full reps Triceps push-down: 135x6, 7 was failure Machine curls: 45x8, the last 2 reps were tough, but not failure Cable crunches: 105x20, 16, 16 Cable trunk twist: 80x10x3 Cardio: Bike for 20 min, then stretched.

Ouch, cracked ribs. Do you remember how you did that? Remember to just stay patient, and get back to training when you can. Otherwise, you could end up missing a lot more than 4 more weeks. Keep your chin up.

I'm glad that we were able to provide you a little guidance in this matter, slowhands. As always, referring to your instructor will tend to help you the most.

Better to have and not need, than to need and not have.

Edit: Fedor Emelianenko vs. Andrei Arlovski....Fedor...Sub Josh Barnett vs. Gilbert Yvel....Yvel....KO Matt Lindland vs. Vitor Belfort....Lindland...Dec Renato "Babalu" Sobral vs. Rameau Thierry Sokoudjou...Sobral...Dec Bobby Green vs. Dan Lauzon...Green...Dec Kirill Sidelnikov vs. Paul Buentello....Buentello...KO Vladimir Matyushenko vs. Antonio Rogerio Nogueira....Nogueira....Sub Jay Hieron vs. Jason High....Hieron...KO Mark Hominick vs. L.C. Davis....Hominick...Sub Antonio Duarte vs. Albert Rios....Duarte....Sub Brett Cooper vs. Patrick Speight....Cooper...KO

That was interesting. I'm not sure I got the knack of it, though.

That might be worth a try.

1-22-09 TKD class: 6:00 - 7:00.

You touched on the importance of gaining proficiency in another post, but it fits here, too. I think that it is important to realize that this is what the rank system is for; more important is making sure that these proficiency levels are achieved before a student moves on. These small building blocks of proficiency will build the foundation for a good black belt.

Nobody ever wanted me to get to one because it would always be followed with one hundred side kicks for the whole room. Those people must have developed some solid side-kicks, I wish I got to do that aswell hehe. One of my old instructors would use what he called "concentration" side kicks. You'd grab a piece of wall to hold your balance, then chamber for a side kick. Kick 5 seconds out, then hold..........................................then 5 seconds back, then.....hold.................................and repeat as often as necessary.

Good post, Joe. I think I would put proficiency in with the #2 and 3 in the heirarchy listed in the original post that ironsifu made. Its an important step on the road to mastery, for sure (oops, there's that work again...).

I'm not so sure nutrition has to come first, though; you can start working towards fitness, nutrition, and self-defense skill at the same time.

1-20-09 TKD class: 6:00 - 7:00. 1-21-09 100 push-ups log Week 3, Day 2: 14, 19, 14, 14, 19 = 80

1-19-09 Defensive Tactics: 8:15 - 9:15. We spent time going over what we plan to present to the Jailers for the upcoming DT class. Weights Bench press: 190x5, 6 was failure Seated row: 170x6, barley got 6 Military press: 105x9, need to go up Lat pull down: 150x6, 7 was not a full rep Triceps push down: 135x6 Machine curls: 45x6 Cardio: Bike for 20 minutes. Stretched. 100 push-ups log Week 3, Day 1: 12, 17, 13, 13, 17 = 72

1-19-09 Week 3, Day 1: 12, 17, 13, 13, (max) 17 = 72. This felt pretty good on the arms. 1-21-09 Week 3, Day 2 14, 19, 14, 14, (max) 19 = 80.

Those are good questions, Dobbersky. Is it just a matter of dates?

That's what ended up happening to me; now, I mostly fight southpaw.

I didn't say that those that train like me are limited to poor skill. In the years that I have spent learning and teaching, I have seen very talented individuals come in and go out, and I have seen individuals come in and develop talent over time. When it comes to developing talent and skill, the rank system comes into play for most schools. A white belt, in my mind, isn't going to, and shouldn't perform like, a black belt. Now what an instructor has to do, is evaluate what level of development at the white belt level is acceptable to move onto the next level, and how long that should take. You can see differences is approaches to this method when you look at the requirements of Japanese Juijitsu and Brazilian Jui-Jitsu. BJJ takes longer, and puts different emphasis on different skills. So in the end, is it fair to compare the skill level of the BJJ black belt with that of the JJJ black belt? Should the JJJ practitioners adjust their teaching and curriculum to be equal to that of the BJJ practitioners? I don't know, but is should bring up some more good discussion.....

I think this is what causes the main confusion, and thus is the biggest problem with using the term "mastery" in the Martial Arts. Taking your shooting example, there are scores established that determine your skill level; marksman, etc. In the Martial Arts, we don't have that. It becomes much more ambiguous. Sometimes, it is based off of an achieved rank, or years in service, so to speak. At other times, it can be related to competition skill level, like the Lopez's in Olympic TKD. So, we don't have a determining factor when it comes to "mastery" of the Martial Arts. It would be easy to take someone like Bruce Lee, and use him as the measuring stick. But not everyone is going to be, or can be, Bruce Lee. It would also be like saying that every soldier that comes out of every society should be like the Spartans. It just won't happen, based on cultural biases and what is important to them or what they do.