bushido_man96

Keep an open mind, my suspicion is that by the time you get to Shodan that you will feel differently. An adage that we like to repeat, both here and as Karateka in general, is that Shodan is just the beginning. Testing anxiety does suck, but we all feel it. I've been doing Martial Arts for 19 years and a I just tested for gokyu (green belt) and I was anxious. I've been a gokyu before, I've been a Shodan for over a decade, I practiced, and I new I had nothing worry about; but I was still worried. A good sensei does not test students who they don't know aren't ready to move up. I agree. I still get nervous for testings, too, but I see it as part of the challenge to overcome. It is most rewarding afterwards.

11/16/2021 Strength Training Deadlifts: 135x5, 185x5, 225x3, 295x1, 335x5. Bench Press: 45x5x2, 115x5, 155x3, 205x1, 232.5x5, 232.5x5, 232.5x5. Push Press: 145x3, 175x4, 175x4, 175x4, 175x4. Lat Pull-downs: 145x10, 145x10, 145x10. The push press was tough. Tried rep 5 on set 1, and it would not lock out. So finished with sets of 4.

11/15/2021 Strength Training Squats: 45x5x2, 155x5, 225x3, 295x1, 327.5x5,327.5x5, 327.5x5. Press: 45x5x2, 75x5, 115x3, 145x1 161.5x5, 161.5x5, 161.5x5. Power Snatch: 45x2, 75x2, 90x2, 90x2, 90x2, 90x2, 90x2. Lat Pull-downs: 142.5x10, 142.5x10, 142.5x10. Squats were absolutely horrible today. Bar kept shifting around, I got the weight forward and backward and every which way it seemed. Press was heavy. Snatch is getting better, but it's not quite heavy enough yet to start messing with me. Being such a long kinetic chain, I want to have the technique down by the time it gets heavy. TKD Class: 6:30 - 7:30 pm. Black Belt Class. Do-Kangs 1-3 (#2 twice), and then right into some Ho Sin Sul work. Instead of the standard wrist releases and lapel grab type of attacks, we did some punching flow drills, working on lead hand parries and eventually into counters, adding some footwork as we went. Finished with some self-defense focused sparring sessions.

Bob! Congratulations on this huge milestone! As Patrick has already mentioned, your impact on this community has been significant. I know you've enjoyed your time here from the beginning, and it goes without saying that his community is better for having you be the part of it that you are. The mark you've left on KF is indelible. The mark you've made on me, through the course of our friendship, is indelible. Thank you, Bob, for being a part of KarateForums.com!

Not seen it yet, but looking forward to it!

I found this article very interesting. I admit, my knowledge of Wing Chun is quite limited. I would like to see your Center Point therory in action.

I'd be interested in following along.

Absolutely, but not in the way you are describing. If I ever get to black belt I will probably retire. Either way I am never testing again. Why? What is your reasoning behind this?

I recall several years ago a Dillman story that a news station did on him. They started with him in his school, demonstrating things on his students, and then he went to a BJJ school and tried demonstrating everything. None of it worked on the BJJ students.

11/12/2021 Strength Training Bench Press: 45x5x2, 115x5, 155x3, 205x1, 230x5, 230x5, 230x5. Power Clean & Jerk: 115x2, 125x2, 140x2, 140x2, 140x2, 140x2, 140x2. Push Press: 135x3, 172.5x5, 172.5x5, 172.5x5. Lat Pull-downs: 140x10, 140x10, 140x10. Cold day, and I didn't warm up well. Bench press went pretty smoothly, but I felt I couldn't really warm up. Clean and jerk was smooth. Push press was heavy.

Welcome to KF, Karate Ken!

11/11/2021 Strength Training Squats: 45x5x2, 155x5, 225x3, 295x1, 325x5, 325x5, 325x5. Press: 45x5x2, 75x5, 115x3, 145x1, 160x5, 160x5, 160x5. Deadlifts: 225x3, 295x1, 330x5. Lat Pull-downs: 137.5x10, 137.5x10, 137.5x10. Squats are getting to that heavy point again. Press was heavy, but smooth. Added another deadlift day back in, and although my legs were pretty fatigued, I moved the weight well; good set. Pull-downs are slowing down now, too, and may be progressing to 4 sets of 8 here in a few weeks.

I think this is spot-on. It's also why after the occupation was over, the Koreans who had learned Karate and where beginning to fashion their national style, mainly General Choi Hong Hi, started to change things and give it their own flair and style, elevating kicks and adding jumping and spinning techniques, in order to try to move away from that Japanese influence and try to make it more their own. Along with that, came the reverse-engineering of the history to the 5000 year martial history of TKD, and it's "roots" in arts like Subak and Taek Kyon.

Great post, and I was going to recommend Gillis's book, as well. During the occupation, if the Koreans wanted to get university education, I believe they had to go to Japan. I think they often took Japanese names, too. At this point in history, with militaries that were mechanized for the most part and used firearms and various explosive devices as the main weapons, they probably weren't terribly concerned about a few Koreans wanting to learn Karate recreationally. Unarmed combatants, no matter how skilled, usually won't survive a volley from regiment of soldiers. Another consideration might be the idea of further inundating Koreans with Japanese culture, which Karate most definitely is.

11/9/2021 Strength Training Power Clean: 135x3, 150x3. Deadlifts: 185x5, 225x3, 295x1, 325x5. Bench Press: 45x5x2, 115x5, 155x3, 205x1, 227.5x5, 227.5x5, 227.5x5. Push Press: 135x3, 170x5, 170x5, 170x5. Lat Pull-downs: 135x10, 135x10, 135x10. Used power cleans to warm up the deadlifts. Bench press reps felt pretty smooth, but my shoulder was really clicking and popping today, too. I added three sets of push press to get a little more overload work overhead; this may be my plan going forwards on Tuesdays and Fridays, where I have more off time to recover. I'll monitor and see if it adds too much fatigue. I've got to start getting some TKD conditioning in, too. Evening - Range Training: got some good firearms work in during our annual department night shoot. Probably the best I've shot at night.

11/8/2021 Strength Training Squats: 45x5x2, 155x5, 225x3, 295x1, 322.5x5, 322.5x5, 322.5x5. Press: 45x5x2, 75x5, 95x3, 135x1, 157.5x5, 157.5x5, 157.5x5. Power Snatch: 75x2, 85x2, 85x2, 85x2, 85x2, 85x2. Lat Pull-downs: 132.5x10, 132.5x10, 132.5x10 Squats were super hard today. I think my weekend nutrition wasn't up to snuff.

That is great news, Bob! Finding a support group like that is an amazing boon for you! So happy for you!

e what the video is about is the use of force , not about an application. Ah, I see. Thank you for the clarification.

11/5/2021 Strength Training Bench Press: 45x5x2, 115x5, 155x3, 205x1, 225x5, 225x5, 225x5. Power Clean & Jerk: 115x2, 125x2, 135x2, 135x2, 135x2, 135x2, 135x2. Push Press: 135x3, 165x5, 165x5, 165x5. Lat Pull-downs: 130x10, 130x10, 130x10. Everything felt pretty smooth today. I'm going to try to add push presses in a couple of times a week to overload the top of the pressing movement.

11/4/2021 Strength Training Squats: 45x5x2, 155x5, 225x3, 295x1, 320x5, 320x5, 320x5. Press: 45x5x2, 75x5, 95x3, 135x1, 155x5, 155x5, 155x5. Lat Pull-downs: 127.5x10, 127.5x10, 127.5x10. Press started getting heavy, and I had to go back to more of the double layback to push the weight up. The last set was a real struggle; I got off balance on rep 4, and actually had to step back with my right foot to keep the weight, and that really sapped rep 5; it was about a 5 second grind to the top.

Welcome to KF, Ethan!

I recall your training experiences in regards to TKDs kicks, and I recall that you spent a brief time training in TKD to learn from them, and gain a better understanding of dealing with TKD kicks. I'd propose a similar rout in a non-grappling style, by seeking out a grappling style to supplement training, and learn better how to deal with grappling.

I think this sums it up best. Great post.

Welcome to KF, both of you!

Congrats!