bushido_man96

Those are great traits to find in an instructor.

Welcome to KF, and welcome back to training!

Now that is interesting!

4/12/2022 Strength Training Squats: 45x5x2, 170x5, 240x3, 305x1, 342.5x5, 342.5x5, 342.5x5. Press: 45x5x2, 75x5, 105x3, 140x1, 163x5, 163x5, 163x5, 163x5, 163x5. Another tough squat session, but I made the best of it. Dropping to 2.5 lb increases now. 4/15/2022 Strength Training Squats: 45x5x2, 170x5, 240x3, 305x1, 345x5, 345x5, 345x5. Press: 45x5x2, 95x5, 135x3, 165x1, 186x1, 186x1, 186x1, 135x5, 135x5. So the day before, I had some issues. My Meniere's flared up, and I ended up in bed for a portion of the day, suffering from dizziness, and I didn't eat much. I felt better the next day, so gave the gym a go. At first, I thought I'd be somewhat conservative, and just see how it felt doing the warmups. Turned out, they felt good, so I went to my regularly scheduled work sets for squats, and got all three sets. I started focusing on really shoving my but back and keeping my knees from sliding forward, and it seemed to really help, especially in hitting depth. Press was another matter. I don't know if it was from the day before, but after set 3, nothing went up. I tried but failed several times. I backed it off and did a few more sets to get volume, and that was it.

Got to love those higher level classes!

4/9/2022 Strength Training Snatch: 100x2, 110x2, 115x1, 122.5x2, 122.5x2, 122.5x2, 122.5x2, 122.5x2. Clean & Jerk: 130x1, 140x1, 150x2, 150x2, 150x2, 150x2, 150x2. I missed a few of the snatches; not sure what I was doing wrong, but I'd get them up about chest level and it would die. It happened a few times. C&J went much better.

Glad to hear that it went so well for you, Bob! Hooray for the old school, right?

4/8/2022 Strength Training Squats: 45x5x2, 165x5, 225x3, 295x1, 340x5, 340x5, 340x5. Press: 45x5x2, 90x5, 125x3, 165x1, 184x1, 184x1, 184x1, 184x1, 184x1, 184x1, 184x1. Neutral-grip Chins: 2, 2, 2, 2, 2. Stretch: hams, quads, glutes, shoulders. The last set of squats is a grinder, but I'm finishing. Still need to find a little more consistency in hitting depth. Presses were hard. There were a few of the reps where I got it out of the groove, throwing the bar forward as I thrust my hips forward. This caused me to end up with some half reps before getting a good one in. I also had one die on my 3/4 the way up, which was disheartening. But things getting tougher means I'm getting stronger.

Glad to hear things are going well for you, tubby!

Geez, that's kind of crazy, Bob. Hoping it finally goes through for you here next time!

Thanks for clarifying the explanations, both of you. It's much clearer to me now.

I agree with Bob's sentiments. It's good to hear you sparring with some different people, and seeing where your improvements are. Keep up the good work!

4/6/2022 Strength Training Deadlifts: 135x5, 245x4, 315x1, 360x5. Bench Press: 45x5x2, 135x5, 185x3, 235x1, 265x2, 265x3, 225x5. More bench press issues. My plan was to do a few sets of 3, but that didn't go well. Back to the drawing board. The pain lingers in my shoulder now after workouts, and that just won't do. TKD Class: 6:30 - 7:30 pm. T-Shirt Class. Went through all colored belt forms and one-steps, by each colored belt rank, while doing some kicks on the bag in between. Stretched in the stretching machine afterwards.

This is an article I wrote back in 2007, talking about the practice of forms. Keep in mind, I was a much younger Martial Artist then, and had yet to be exposed to the idea of applications. Suffice it to say, I have grown as a Martial Artist since then, but I still think the article has some value. What Forms Are Good For

Thanks for the explanation, Bob. I think I've seen such things in the past. When I've seen them, they have seemed to have more of a demonstration approach than a practical approach. Has this been your experience?

This is an interesting take, however, not the first time I've heard it, either. I'm kind of the opposite; I really like finding some applications to apply to techniques from the forms. I don't know which one's you don't particularly care for, but I've seen some that are very similar to the techniques done as they are in the forms. I take it you're not a fan of Iain Abernethy?

4/1/2022 Strength Training Bench Press: 45x5x2, 135x5, 185x3, 235x1, 262.5x5, 235x5, 235x5. Snatch: 100x2, 110x2, 115x1, 120x2, 120x2, 120x2, 120x2, 120x2. Clean & Jerk: 125x1, 135x1, 147.5x2, 147.5x2, 147.5x2, 147.5x2, 147.5x2. Neutral-grip Chins: 2, 2, 2, 2, 2. Stretch: hams, quads, glutes, shoulders. Just one heavy set on the bench was much easier on my shoulder. I may consider sets of 3 as well. I took videos of my snatches and C&J, and it helps in evaluating them. 4/5/2022 Strength Training Squats: 135x5, 165x5, 225x3, 295x1, 337.5x5, 337.5x5, 337.5x5. Press: 45x5x2, 75x5, 105x3, 140x1, 161.5x5, 161.5x5, 161.5x5, 161.5x5, 161.5x5. Stretch: hams, quads, glutes. Squat depth was really good on first set, and watching the videos I took, frame by frame, I was hitting depth or darn close on the subsequent sets. Both my boys have baseball season starting up. My high schooler already played one double header. With that happening, the workout schedule is going to start getting weird. I'm going to be squeezing in training when I can, still hoping for at least two squat sessions per week.

What an awesome experience! Thanks for sharing it with us. Training opportunities like this are so awesome!

It sounds like prep is going well! Keep it up!

What is the "four-person bunkai?" Is it with 4 opponents coming from each angle, and you deliver techniques to one, and then another?

I've always enjoyed forms training myself. As I've gotten more experience and learned more things, I've found different things of value over the years. Do I think it should be the heart of training? That's a bit tougher to decide on. I like to think of training as a stool, with at least three legs, if not four. Kata/forms training is just one of the legs. Like a stool, if you take one of the legs away, you lose some of the balance and stability.

I don't see any problem with this approach. Using technology to our advantage shouldn't be shunned by the Martial Arts community. It sounds like you did your part diligently, and with integrity, and the review board took their time and made careful calculations in coming to their conclusions. I say, congratulations!

Congrats on your progress, and that Gasshuku sounds like it's going to be great experience! Please let us know how that goes.

Can't wait! More KF content! Sign me up!

3/31/2022 Strength Training Squats: 45x5x2, 165x5, 225x3, 295x1, 337.5x5, 337.5x5, 337.5x5. Press: 45x5x2, 90x5, 125x3, 165x1, 182x1, 182x1, 182x1, 182x1, 182x1, 182x1, 182x1. Stretch: hams, quads, glutes, shoulders. Going to repeat this set of squats to focus on hitting depth. TKD Testing: 6:00 - 7:30 pm. Had a good sized group test tonight, and I stepped in to spar a few rounds.[/u]