bushido_man96

That's what I was starting to think....

Very cool, thank you. Do you and your fellow students learn of whether you passed or failed right after the test, or do you have to wait some time?

Not watched it yet, but I think I will be soon.

Those "restricted" sparring sessions can be quite valuable, can't they?

Hoping for the best out of these scans, Bob! Please keep us updated!

Thanks! They are feeling better and better. Are you using the approach where you stay loose and flexible while throwing the technique, and then tightening at the moment of impact? I've been approaching forms like this for some time, and it really helps me out. I'm a bigger guy, but I feel like I don't look as "stiff" when doing forms as some of the other black belts in the school. Thanks, Bob! Really appreciated! 11/4/2022 Strength Training Safety Squats: 60x5x2, 110x5, 130x3, 150x1, 190x5, 190x5, 190x5. Snatch Grip Deadlifts: 155x3, 205x2, 235x5, 235x5. Stretch: quads, hams, glutes. Squat is coming along well. Not feeling the pull on the adductor right now. I'm focusing on keeping my knees out, but not shoving them outside of where my feet are, instead making sure they track with my feet. Seems to be working for now. I really like how the snatch-deads are coming along, too. It's a really long pull for me, but I think it may help me off the bottom of my standard deadlifts. I think it's helping my lats more, too.

Each section is worth a different number of points - I used 8/10 as an example. The key takeaway is that you want to maximize your score in every section, because if you get one of those "Can I see that again", you know you didn't quite pass that section. There are sections that if you don't pass, members of the test board may recommend a fail regardless of your overall score (Sanchin is one of these sections. It's worth 25 or 30 points). However by maximizing your score in other sections, you can pass even if you marginally fail one section. Also, the score you receive on each section is the average score from all of the examiners on the testing board. And no, you generally don't get to know what your score is after your test. If these numbers get put on the testing sheet, and the students get to know what they scored, do they get to ask the instructors what they can do to improve their score? I'm a firm believer that the perfect is the enemy of the good. Striving for perfection can be rather exhausting, but striving to be better is achievable.

Awesome!

11/2/2022 Strength Training Safety Squats: 60x5x2, 110x5, 130x3, 150x1, 180x5, 180x5, 180x5. RDLs: 45x5, 100x5, 140x5, 185x3, 205x8, 205x8, 205x8. Barbell Rows: 155x8, 155x8, 155x8. Stretch: spent about 5 minutes stretching/reading in The Rack. Conditioning: TKD forms work again, in the same 2 at a time pattern. Chon Ji/Choong Jang, Dan Gun/Choong Jang, Bo Chung/Choong Jang, Do San/Choong Jang. Struggled with balance today, especially when turning into techniques. There's a side kick in Choong Jang that is done from kind of an awkward position, so I worked on getting my base foot pivoted and my body lined up to fix it. There are also two low ridgehand blocks that I focused on getting the technique lined up correctly upon completion. It's a really weird position to get the arm into, blocking low and getting it completely turned over.

With your time constraints, it sounds like you're doing the best you can right now! Keep up the good work!

My (hockey) St Louis Blues went 24 straight years of making the playoffs without even getting to the Stanley Cup Finals. It took them 51 years from their inception before they won their first Stanley Cup. I feel your pain. thats true though i will see your 24 years and raise you the Marv Levy Bills reaching 4 superbowls and not winning one! For that period of time there were three certainties in life : Death, Taxes and the Bills losing in the Superbowl! I was going to ask if you were a fan during those years. I remember those Super Bowls. I also remember the Bills beating my Chiefs in the AFC title game, losing Joe Montana to injury. Oh, Marty-Ball, I remember those days....

I enjoyed it as well, and am looking forward to the following seasons. I've heard a few complaints from others about supposedly messing up the story, basically throwing Tolkein's appendices aside? But I haven't spent the time to read them, so don't know for sure on that.

Front squatting is really hard on my knees. They don't like it. That's why I prefer the low bar squat variation. That, and low bar squat allows for heavier weight to be lifted, and involves more muscle groups. More bang for the buck, so to speak. I'd really like to have a Marrs Bar to squat with. Better design than the safety squat bar, allowing for better balance, and also puts the bar more into a low-bar position. 10/31/2022 Strength Training Safety Squats: 60x5x2, 150x3, 170x5, 170x5, 170x5. Deadlifts: 225x3, 275x2, 320x5.

Is there any way you can get more than 2 days per week in? I'm not sure of your age, but if you are younger, 2 days per week may not be delivering enough stress for you. But, you got to do what you can. Could you get away with more days at the gym doing 1 lift per day? I believe there are a few 5/3/1 templates out there like that. Could that work for you?

I agree with DarthPenguin, 100%. I would only add a few things. One, that control is paramount in keeping you and your partners safe, but at the same time, someone getting hit doesn't always indicate a lack of control, but could indicate a failure to apply a technique or block correctly, which becomes a learning experience in and of itself. The other thing I would add is that it is a contact sport/activity, so at times, things like this will happen, and it's important for the students to be able to accept that and move forward with their training. Now, the student that came to you about the excessive contact, and what also sounds like inappropriate contact, is a different matter entirely. It sounds like you are doing a good job dealing with that, and please let us know how that works out going forward.

10/27/2022 Strength Training Safety Bar Squat: 60x5x2, 150x5, 150x5, 150x5, 170x5, 170x5. RDLs: 45x5, 100x5, 140x5, 185x2, 200x8, 200x8, 200x8. Barbell Rows: 150x8, 150x8, 150x8. I decided to give the safety squat bar a try today. I didn't like it that much, but I liked it better than not squatting, so I'm going to be moving forward with it for the foreseeable future. I definitely noticed the difference in my trunk working to stabilize the load than I did with the combination of hacks and leg presses. I took some playing around to figure out how I should secure the bar, and waiting for it to "balance" when I take it out of the rack, but I think I've got a working solution going forward. 10/28/2022 Strength Training Snatch Grip Deadlifts: 105x5, 115x5, 155x3, 205x1, 230x5, 230x5. Conditioning: TKD forms. I did two forms, back to back, then rested briefly, then did two more forms, back to back. I did Chon Ji/Choong Jang, Dan Gun/Choong Jang, and Bo Chung/Choong Jang. So, I ended up doing my 4th dan form 3 times, which was good practice. Had a nice stretch in the rack prior to forms. Legs were pretty fatigued afterwards. I spent about 10 minutes on the forms, including the brief rest periods. Starting the next week, my work schedule shifts. With that happening, I'm going to try to switch my lifting schedule to Monday/Wednesday/Friday. I'm going to squat with the safety bar 3 times per week on a linear progression, while sticking with the Heavy/Light/Medium program for my pulls.

Attitude effects leadership; truer words have not been spoken. I think it can become a challenge at times, when you spend day after day at the dojo, teaching what may seem like the same stuff you've taught for years. An instructor must make sure that they keep things fresh for themselves, and realize that what is old for them, is new for many.

Those are interesting observations, Bob. I think the conventional wisdom would be to not move such a student up, as it could be seen as rewarding the student for their behavior, when in fact it helps to curb the behavior. It's a very astute observation. Thank you for sharing this!

Yes, Zaine, please keep posting here! 10/26/2022 TKD Class: 6:30 - 7:30 pm. T-shirt Class. I did a bunch of switch-kicking on the heavy bag. I wanted to try to focus on switching feet and switch-kicking more in sparring tonight. I warmed up with basic front and back leg round kicks, then I did back leg switch round kicks, switch-foot round kicks, side kicks, front kicks, and outside crescent kicks, all on the heavy bag. After the kicking, I did a long stretch on the rack, and I felt pretty good. Did my form a few times, Choong Jang. Not fast, but with a good steady rhythm, and I felt like I did well and made some much needed changes in some areas. Next came sparring. Only sparred three rounds, but at 90 seconds per round now, which is good for upping the conditioning. First round I sparred ok, but against a much lower rank, so worked on landing my switches, and my footwork. Second round was against a black belt, but he spars very slowly. So I wasn't blitzing him or overwhelming him, but with his slowness I just kind ended up watching everything instead of focusing on my game plan. I've got to work on that. Last match was with a little girl, so we worked getting her more aggressive and throwing in combinations.

This is excellent! Now you'll wonder how you ever lived without this!

Not "giving" the students the throw...that's a great teaching call there. Make them feel it, and make them get it right. Kudos to you!

10/21/2022 Strength Training Leg Press: 245x5, 285x5, 285x5, 285x5. Snatch Grip Deadlifts: 105x5, 115x5, 155x3, 205x1, 225x5, 225x5. Conditioning: 15 minutes of rowing, 1 minute on, 1 minute off. Stretch: quads, hams, glutes. 10/25/2022 Strength Training Hack Squats: 125x8, 125x8, 125x8. Leg Press: 285x5, 285x5, 285x5. Deadlifts: 225x3, 275x2, 315x5.

Amen to this!

You think 13 years of maybes is bad? Try 30....

Congrats, John! Here's to the next 2000!