bushido_man96

9/28/2021 Strength Training Deadlifts: 135x5, 225x3, 275x1, 325x5. Bench Press: 45x5, 115x5, 135x3, 195x1, 232.5x5, 232.5x5, 232.5x5.

This is a great observation, and not one that I thought about at first glance. You make a good point here. I agree. I always referred to this as the "pin mentality." Once a Wrestler gets over this, I think their BJJ level can improve drastically. Also a good observation. The BJJer didn't really panic, and you could tell he was pretty comfortable being on his back.

9/27/2021 Strength Training Squats: 45x5, 135x5, 225x3, 285x1, 332.5x5, 332.5x4*, 332.5x6*. Press: 45x5, 85x5, 115x2, 135x1, 164x4, 164x4, 164x4, 164x3. * On set 2, I ended up squatting one of the reps high (I think rep 5). I had a guy watching my form and overall giving encouragement. I felt it right away on that rep, too, and was very frustrated myself, knowing I cheated the rep. So, I did 5 reps on that set, but one was high, and didn't count. My buddy was giving my a friendly poking, too, saying I needed to get 6 reps on the last set to make it all count. I laughed it off, and said I don't know if there is any way I can hit a set of 6, after what rep 5 feels like. Set 3 rolled around, and after hitting 5 reps, I decided to go for that 6th rep, and I got it. That made me feel a lot better. Now, the press. I managed to miss load the bar, going heavier than I intended by 2 extra pounds. I decided to go back to pressing on days 1 and 3, and benching on days 2 and 4, after the way the press felt last Friday. TKD Class: 6:30 - 7:30 pm. Black Belt Class: Did all 4 Do-Kangs, and then worked on breakfalls and rolls with some of the students to get ready for Ho Sin Sul work. For Ho Sin Sul, we did "sparring," which went ok, I guess. I think soon we are going to start working more ground work into it.

That's a spot-on observation there, Bob, that not only were the Wrestler's takedowns so good, but the BJJer received them well, making sure he was in a good position upon being taken down. I think he could definitely work on some sprawls and other takedown defenses to help with that, too. I understand why you'd score the Wrestler the winner; he was very good at getting into a dominant position. I'd be interested in seeing some continuation, though, and if strikes were applied, I'd really like to see how the BJJer started defending the strikes, and if that would help provide him openings to advance his position.

9/24/2021 Strength Training Press: 45x5, 85x5, 115x2, 135x1, 160x2, 160x4, 160x2, 160x3, 160x4. Power Snatch: 45x3, 65x2, 95x2. Power Clean & Jerk: 115x2, 135x2, 135x2, 135x2, 135x2, 135x2. Press was a struggle. I think the bench press the day before really affected it, so I may switch those days back. I decided to start practicing the power snatch, too, so my lighter power cleans sets became my snatch sets. As it gets better, and the weight goes up, I'll figure out how to start working it's own day into the mix. Later that day, after my workout (of course), I got my wrist straps and 1.25 lb plates in that I ordered. The wrist straps will be welcome additions, and I may try to use them for the Olympic lifts, too.

Sports like wrestling and boxing have done very well without the use of a ranking system. However, if there is no ranking system, some method of determining a pecking order tends to rear it's head. In the case of boxing and wrestling, that outlet tends to be competition, or more specifically, competition results. Warning: going off on a tangent here.... Now, I'm not saying it has to be that way; I'm sure there are some schools and instructors out there that could pull off the teaching of Martial Arts without the use of ranks. The way you describe your school makes it sound like it is competition focused, which will not appeal to everyone, and may lead to a very limited student body. I, for one, would not sign up for a cardio class if I wanted to learn Martial Arts. I want to be taught Martial technique, concepts, and applications if I'm paying for it; I'll handled my own fitness levels outside of that. I look it at in a similar way that some styles like to use implements to "strength train." The clubs they swing, holding the jars, etc. I would not be terribly interested in that kind of training, because I spend time strength training using barbells. Spending a half hour of class time that I pay for wanting to learn Martial Arts on carrying jars or swinging an Indian club is not what I would consider a valuable use of my time. I'd rather spend that half hour on learning an application, or sparring, or self-defense work. Ok, tangent over... Now, back to the rank discussion. I do think it's possible to do without rank. I do think it may limit the student body your school attracts. And this is ok; some instructors would rather narrowcast than broadcast. I do find it interesting in that in this discussion you've mentioned your instructor's rank a few times; you've stated that he's a third degree. But what if he wasn't? You know his rank right now; what if you didn't when you first met him? Would that have affected whether or not you wanted to train with him? Will you and your instructor put your belts away and not concern yourselves with your ranks in the class anymore? Will some other titles end up being used, like "instructor" or "coach?" Or will there be complete autonomy within the group?

9/23/2021 Strength Training Squats: 45x5, 135x5, 225x3, 285x1, 330x5, 330x5, 330x5. Bench Press: 45x5, 115x5, 135x3, 185x1, 230x5, 230x5, 230x5. I switched the days I'm doing bench press and press. Now, I'll find out if bench affects the press more, or vice versa.

Cung Le was a lot of fun to watch.

Thanks, Bob! 9/20/2021 TKD Class: 6:30 - 7:30 pm. Black Belt Class. I taught this class. We did Do-Kangs 1-4; 3 and 4 twice, to get those familiar with them that haven't got them down yet. We finished with Ho Sin Sul. We started simple, with wrist grab releases, and worked up to lapel grabs and punches. We used our white belt one-step #1 as the basis. 9/21/2021 Strength Training Bench Press: 45x5, 115x5, 135x3, 185x1, 227.5x5, 227.5x5, 227.5x5. Deadlifts: 135x5, 225x3, 275x1, 320x5. The wrist straps are helping with bench press. I've ordered my own pair. Deadlifts are feeling good, although I've got to keep an eye on how my back is responding as it gets heavier. 9/22/2021 TKD Class: 6:30 - 7:30 pm. T-Shirt Class. I did some bag kicking tonight, and did a lot of two-kick combinations. Spent some time stretching.

Well, it sounds like you got your answer!

Agreed. Try your hardest to not dwell on that. Instead, focus on living, every day of your life!

Ugh, that's rough, Danielle. I'm hoping the healing is going well!

Thanks, Danielle! It's feeling really good. I'm pretty sure I'm hitting PRs for 3x5 on the squats. 9/20/2021 Strength Training Squats: 45x5, 135x5, 225x3, 275x1, 325x5, 325x5, 325x5. Press: 45x5, 85x5, 115x2, 135x1, 158x3, 158x4, 158x4, 158x4. Press is getting hard to hit sets of 5 now. The focus now is on getting 15 total reps. Squats are getting heavy, and when I can, I have someone I trust in the gym watch me, talk me through the sets, and confirm I'm hitting depth.

This is true, Bob, but at times, there are obstructions in the way, so taking a less direct route can be necessary at times.

9/15/2021 TKD Class: 6:30 - 7:30 pm. T-Shirt Class. I did all of my black belt forms; Kwang Gae, Poe Eun, Gae Baek, Se Jong, Yoo Sin, and Choon Jang. Some stretching, and some work on some of the spinning one-steps, and then a bit of drilling with new hogu. 9/16/2021 Strength Training Squats: 45x5, 135x5, 225x3, 275x1, 322.5x5, 322.5x5, 322.5x5. Press: 45x5, 85x5, 115x2, 135x1, 156x5, 156x5, 156x4, 156x1. Squats are getting heavy, and press is getting hard. I'm focusing on getting to 15 total reps with the press now, in as few sets as possible. 9/17/2021 Strength Training Bench Press: 45x5, 115x5, 135x3, 185x1, 225x5, 225x5, 225x5. Power Clean & Jerk: 95x2, 105x2, 115x2, 130x2, 130x2, 130x2, 130x2, 130x2. Neutral-grip Chins: 3, 2. One of the guys at the gym let me borrow his wrist straps for bench press. The support they offered was noticeable, so I've ordered a pair for myself. I haven't gotten any knee wraps yet, but I'm thinking that time is approaching, too. After reading up on some programming ideas for the clean and jerk, I dropped the sets to two per set. I noticed previously that fatigue really started to set in doing sets of 3. I'm really enjoying doing the "quick lifts" in training, and finishing with the jerk is adding some more overhead work during the week.

I agree with Zaine. I've had highs and lows in the dojang. Right now, things are kind of a slog. But, I'm staying steady with it, and I always feel good after a class.

Holy cow! I've never seen Rodtang before. He's unreal. He stands in there like a heavyweight, and it looks like he can't be hurt! What a fun guy to watch fight. He controls the ring, the tempo. DJ's grappling and athleticism is awesome. His striking didn't look nearly as good. This will be a fun matchup to see.

Those costs are crazy! Hoping the best for you, Bob!

Sounds awesome. Have you taken any applications from the new kata yet?

This video popped up in my feed the other day, and it drew my attention: First off, this isn't your typical "versus" YouTube video. I thought it was very tactfully done, with each stylist getting to display their skills. I thought this was a great video, and as I watched it, I noticed a couple of things: 1. The wrestler's takedown game was very, very good. He was able to take the BJJer down with relative ease, and he didn't have much defense against it. The wrestler was also able to use his takedowns to establish a dominant position. The BJJer did not show any effective takedown technique, that I could see. 2. The BJJer was very good at getting into guard after being taken down. It would afford him the opportunity to begin mounting a defense if the fight continued. 3. When the grappling continued, the BJJer did lock up at least a few good submissions; the heel hook, and I think he had a choke that would gone his way. The wrestler was pretty good at maintaining good position, but other than working for a pin, didn't show much of a submission game (which I kind of expected). So, some other notes: Aside from the two subs put on the wrestler in the continuous grappling portion of the video, I thought the wrestler did an overall decent job of defending subs. The weight difference was an important factor, I think. Also, the wrestler's athleticism was a huge advantage to him. I think if you put them both in gis, things slow down a bit, and favors the BJJer a bit more. I'm just guessing here, but I'm assuming the wrestler, who I think they said was a high school senior with prospects of a collegiate wrestling career, has probably been wrestling since he was 6 or earlier, giving him a lot of years of experience. The BJJer appeared to be in good shape, but he didn't appear to be DI athlete material. For all that, the BJJer performed very well. I liked how they talked and evaluated things after they were done. Both showed a great martial attitude towards working together, and admitted that each one's style had strengths that the other could benefit from. I'm anxious to hear what others think!

That is an excellent choice to add to a grapplers tool box. I would not only advice the takedowns but the counters to said techniques such as sprawling and the wizard. I would add throws and counter throws from judo. and there's too much to list from Brazilian Jui Jitsu too list that are important and useful moves. Welcome back, Pittbull! Great to see you! I agree with you on learning to sprawl and defend the takedowns. A good takedown game is hard to stop. With BJJ, I like the idea of learning how to improve position, and learning to be comfortable on the back.

I agree. I also think one can differentiate between defining a technique, and in defining what technique is in general. I think there is lots of room for exploration there.

Congrats! That's awesome! Let the quest to learn the new material begin!

9/13/2021 Strength Training Squats: 45x5, 135x5, 225x3, 275x1, 320x5, 320x5, 320x5. Press: 45x5, 85x5, 115x2, 135x1, 154x5, 154x5, 154x5. Squat sets were tough, but felt really good. I'm loving seeing those numbers climb up. Press continues to improve, as well, which I'm surprised to see. 9/14/2021 Strength Training Bench Press: 45x5, 115x5, 135x3, 180x1, 222.5x5, 222.5x5, 222.5x5. Deadlifts: 135x5, 225x3, 275x1, 315x5. I really felt the work sets in my bad shoulder, and am noticing it more now as the weight gets heavier. I'll monitor my shoulder to see if the pain persists after the workout at all, and adjust accordingly. I think it's mainly the scar tissue that hurts. If I don't have any lingering pain after the workouts, I'll keep trying to work through it. My back continues to have soreness, and some days are better than others. I was able to pull the deadlifts without problems, but my back did complain about it a little.

Sorry to hear that, Danielle! That's terrible! How did it happen? Just know that as bad as things are now, "this, too, shall pass." Once you get recovered, start easing back into everything. Strength is the most persistent adaptation, so when you do finally get back to training, things will start coming back for you.