bushido_man96

In strength training, this is an example of the Valsalva maneuver. Taking a big breath, bracing the body, and then exerting effort. It locks the body into a strong, stable column in order to move the weight. Once the weight is lifted, it's usually followed by a sharp exhale, much like a kiai/kihap is done (although these are usually a much shorter duration). I always thought a war yell was much akin to a kiai, too.

I'm 46 and have been making a BJJ class pretty regularly, but only once a week right now (and will probably miss this week due to TKD testing). Our instructor emphasizes the stand-up aspect in every class, too. My knees are always pretty achy, but I've been holding up ok in the classes. I'd say it's easier on my knees than TKD is.

Yeah, crazy. Campbell had a brain fart. The Chiefs win another way-to-close game against division rival Chargers. Kelce had a much better showing (but he always plays well against the Chargers). Unfortunately, we may have lost Rashee Rice for some time to injury. I still haven't seen a confirmation of what the injury is, but the fear is that it's an ACL tear, which would end his season. I'm hoping its not that severe. Davonte Adams wants to be traded. Chiefs need another WR. Chiefs need to go get Adams!

Royals are back in the playoffs, and are up a game on Baltimore now. Hopefully, those games are televised where I can watch them. On a sad note, Pete Rose passed away. RIP Charlie Hustle.

9/26/2024 Strength Training Leg Press: 45x10, 135x10, 185x5, 225x5, 295x3, 330x5, 330x5, 330x5. Bench Press: 45x5x2, 75x5, 95x5, 115x3, 140x5, 140x5, 140x5. Lat Pull-downs: 155x10, 155x10, 155x10. Squats: 45x5, 135x5, 155x5. BJJ: 7:00 - 8:30 pm. Started standing again, and then did ground work from the front headlock position. 1. Standing, working to get good hand position (2-on-1, collar ties, under/over hooks, etc) and then work to either the waist, or getting into an upright lock around the head, or head/arm. Lots of scrambling here, trying to use my hands to illicit an action, and not just grabbing for the sake of grabbing. I tried to work 2-on-1s, and then get to an angle. 6 min. There were only 3 of us tonight, so we kind of worked in a round robin fashion. I felt like I still got lots of work in. 2. Same, but try to get a takedown. I did get a few takedowns, but mostly got taken down. I kept hand fighting and moving. 6 min. 3. To the ground, front headlock position. Bottom guy's job was to escape/reverse/guard. Top guy just try to hold them down. Bottom guy had to hand fight, and I tried to pin the hand down, move it around my head, and then stand or escape. 6 min. Next, we spent time going over submissions from the front headlock position: guillotine, head-and-arm guillotine, D'Arce, and anaconda. I had trouble setting these, so I'll have to work them a lot to figure out how to get them set with my short arms. 4. Same ground work, but now the top guy was working to get one of the submissions set. There was a lot of hand fighting involved on bottom, and I was trying to plant one to get out. I don't think I had a sub set in, but still, I didn't do great. After all that, me and Kendall did a couple of 2-minute rounds. I felt like I did better, but still not good, if that makes sense. At one point I had an arm and did kind of a whizzer takedown on Kendall, but he wrapped a leg in on one of mine and stymied my efforts. At one point he got to side control, and I tried to get back to guard, but just couldn't make the room to get the knee in. Afterwards, the instructor worked with me on hip bumping towards him, and using my arm to pressure his head away as I did the bump. He described it as moving a lot to make a little space, then doing it again if need be to get a little more. It all made sense, so now I just have to apply it.

Welcome to KF! The best place on the interwebs to discuss martial arts!

Welcome to KF, @LoneWolf1401! Glad to have you here! Kata practice is always a good start for solo training. However, I do think there is value in hitting something with the weapon. For bokken, one might be able to practice cuts against a standing or swinging heavy bag. The value of buying or building items to practice actual cutting with a live blade can't be overstated, either. You could probably try to tie or tape a jo or bo to a heavy bag to create an obstacle to work footwork around. A BOB would be good for working shomen or yokomen strikes to the head. And you could make him taller or shorter based on what you want to work on. I hope this helps. I've only just begun my journey into weapons training, so I don't have much to offer.

9/24/2024 Strength Training Leg Press: 45x10, 135x10, 185x5, 225x3, 295x2, 325x5, 325x5, 325x5. Press: 45x5x2, 75x5, 95x3, 115x1, 130x5, 130x5, 130x5. Lat Pull-downs: 152.5x10, 152.5x10, 152.5x10. I was feeling a little off today, and press was tough as it is. No squats. 9/25/2024 TKD: 5:15 - 6:45 pm. No one in class today, so it became a solo workout. I went through all the colored belt one-steps twice and all the black belt three-steps twice. The first run-through was pretty rough as I wasn't very warmed up. The second time through I really popped 'em. I then did three-steps one more time, with a partner, the other 4th dan. After that, we did Do-Gon 5 and 6, which was draining. Lots of kicking and lots of moving. We finished the last 10 minutes practicing flying side kicks over obstacles. It's a testing "requirement" board break..."requirement" in quotes because the GM has let others skip it due to physical limitations. I thought I was going to be one of those people, but after getting some work in tonight, I feel confident that I can do the break at testing. I focused on shortening my running distance and working on a good burst once I get to the obstacles (which will be people at the testing...hopefully no more than two...small children..., down on their knees and curled up in the fetal position). Finished with a good floor stretch.

9/23/2024 Department DT Training: 8:00 am - 12:00 pm, 1:00 - 5:00 pm. In these sessions, I covered out-of-holster weapon retention, both standing and on the ground, and then we covered defenses against threats with a handgun (all the way around, from front, to side, to behind). Training went well, we had some good questions and some more awkward scenarios pop up that caused some variation in the techniques. It was all good discussions and good reps.

What a great seminar! Getting the why's along with the how's is awesome. Getting those explanations makes everything make more sense. Sound like an awesome time!

Kansas City won another nail-biter against the Falcons. It looked like a few miscues kept the offense from taking off in the 2nd half, and Mahomes has got to find a way to not throw so many picks. Pacheco's physicality was missed to be sure. But Steele looks to have a physical streak himself, and I see his number of reps increasing over the next few weeks. Rashee Rice has been stellar so far, and has shown that he can get open down field, and is not just an underneath screen threat. Worthy had a few more touches, but I want to see him take the top off the defense. Speaking of defense, the KC defense was amazing. Even after picking up some ill-timed penalties at the game was winding to a close, they made the plays when they needed to to seal that win. Next week I'm looking for the offense to get back on track, score some points and Patrick throw for some nice yardage.

9/21/2024 Women's Self-Defense Seminar: 9:30 - 11:30 am. We started by covering two of the choke defenses we didn't quite get to last week: choke from front and behind, against a wall. They work the same way that the chokes with a push do, and overlap is good in self-defense. Then we got into ground defense. I think I recall everything we covered, but there was more we could have gotten to. Attacker in guard: pull them in/hug the tree, then wrap an arm, block the same side foot, and hip bump/bridge over, then strike and work to escape. With the attacker trying to choke, we plucked and bucked them over, reverse and strike and escape. With arms pinned, we would snow-angel the arms down and extend the hips, create distance, and get the heels into the hips, deliver kicks and escape. If the defender reversed and was still in guard, it was deliver strikes to the groin, face, and wherever and then get away. Attacker mounted: choking, pluck and buck, then strike to face or groin if still connected, then escape. With wrists pinned, snow angel arms down and buck to reverse, then strike to get away. Getting dragged by the ankles: extend one leg, draw one knee in, kick out, attack the legs, then stand up in base when safe and get away. At the end of the session I answered some questions about use of force in a sexual assault situation. Some of the girls were worried about if they could get into trouble for striking the groin. I told them they had nothing to worry about, as a sexual assault like that would rise to the level of defending your life. We also talked about some nuances in regards to use of force. After most everyone had left, one of the gals hung out with some varying questions. She asked good questions and was really into it. She also mentioned that she wanted to learn how to punch. So I started talking to her about it, and how we approach teaching it, and I got to geek out for a bit about technique, building a structure to generate power from, and that kind of stuff. I think we might have gained a new student. Overall, I think we had a good three-week course put together. There are some things I'd approach differently, and I thought pacing could have been better in spots, but overall, I think we provided a pretty positive experience for the attendees.

9/19/2024 Strength Training Leg Press: 45x10, 135x10, 185x5, 225x5, 295x3, 320x5, 320x5, 320x5. Bench Press: 45x5x2, 75x5, 95x3, 135x5, 135x5, 135x5. Lat Pull-downs: 150x10, 150x10, 150x10. Squats: 45x5, 95x5, 135x5. One plate bench. Felt good on my shoulder, and the weight moved easily. I could probably go bigger jumps, but I want to bring my shoulder along slowly. I went out on a limb and did just a few squats at the end of the workout. It felt good to do them, even if they were really light. I'm going to see how much I can get away with here. BJJ Class: 7:00 - 8:00 pm. Sub teacher today, so the class was a little less intense. Other than the instructor, it was just me and Kendall. 1. We started with just trying to get a single leg wrapped up, or a double leg, just working against each other. Kendall got several single legs on me. I couldn't get to one on him. 3 min. 2. We moved to one partner starting with a single leg hooked up. His goal was to prevent escape. Other's job was to escape. I was able to complete some escapes, and Kendall did a good job of using a whizzer basically to help his escapes. It was good feedback. 3 min. 3. Not a "game" this time, but we worked on a guard pass to get to side mount. It was different than I'd seen before, posting up and getting to one side to squeeze a leg between my legs, in a squatting position and deep enough and balanced enough so they couldn't just kick you away. Then pinning that trapped side knee to the ground and working to pass. We also worked Americana and Kimura from side control.

I wasn't sure what to make of the Pat's after that first win. It looked bad tonight. Does Drake Maye start going forward?

9/18/2024 TKD Class: Traditional Class: 5:30 - 6:30 pm. Basics: focused on my stepping footwork to protect my knees again. I also focused on my kihap. With the discussions we've had in this thread, it's made me think more about something I've been doing for years. I'm trying to make sure it's coming from the gut, and that it's tightening things up when I do it. Forms: Chon Ji, Dan Gun x2, and Choong Jang. On the low rank forms, the orange belt student takes quite a bit of time to get through his forms, so I got to spend time at the end of the form holding position, breathing, and staying focused on the completed strike and stance. One-Steps: White belt 1-7 and orange belt 1-4 (the low orange belt requirements). This low rank really thinks too much and gets himself all in a tizzy. I dealt with that later on. For this class, we just slogged through the one-steps. Sparring: We didn't spar, but instead grabbed a kicking shield and worked some drills. First, we worked front leg kicks, like front pushing kicks and side kicks, for judging and maintaining distance. Then we did kicking drills from being crammed in. First it was trying to kick as we moved away from the bag holder, then we did a step away and then kick approach. It was fun to do, and it was a nice change up. Our school has quite a bit of equipment, but we don't tend to use much of it. T-Shirt Class: 6:30 - 7:00 pm. I spent the first 20 minutes running the low orange belt through drills. I had him start with Chon Ji hyung, made him do it, and once he finished it, made him start it again right away. Low and behold, reps resulted in retention. I had him do this with both Chon Ji and then next with uncle Dan Gun hyung. On the last performance of each hyung, I made him go at my count, and he had to do the move right away on my count. My count was much quicker pace than his own, and he still got through it. I told him that was more of a pace he should be seeking. Like I said, he thinks too much, so in these drills, I didn't give him a chance to think. Next, he reviewed white belt one-steps. I made him do #1 several times in a row, over and over. Once he had it down, I made him do #2, over and over. Once I felt he had it, I made him go back to 1, do it once, then do 2 once, then do #3 over and over. Once he got 3 down, I made him start back at 1 and go up to 3, then moved to #4. Rince and repeat until he got to 7. Low and behold, reps resulted in retention once again. He had started off the class by asking me and the 3rd dan teaching the class how many hours he should spend practicing outside of class. I told him after this that it only took him 20 minutes. It's not the quantity of time, but the quality of the time spent practicing. We also encouraged him to make as many practices a week as he could, and then maybe practice about 20 minutes like that on Saturday. While I was drilling the orange belt, I did some floor stretching to get loose. Then I did some floor drills. I did some BL round kick chamber (feinting) followed by a back leg round kick down the floor and back. Then I did it with advancing footwork added in first. Next, I did the drill by starting with the chamber-fake, then the hop forward, followed by a BL round kick. After these, I did some generic kicking combinations up and down the floor: BL front kick/BL round kick; BL front kick/BL side kick. Stretched in The Rack up to 140 degrees, chair back at 2.

That's pretty cool. I like to see what an author was thinking when putting things together.

9/17/2024 Strength Training Leg Press: 45x10, 135x10, 185x5, 225x5, 295x3, 315x5, 315x5, 315x5. Press: 45x5x2, 75x5, 95x3, 127.5x5, 127.5x5, 127.5x5. Lat Pull-downs: 147.5x10, 147.5x10, 147.5x10. I think I've got a mild hernia or something. I've been feeling a pull on the right side of my very lower abdomen area, to right of my groin. I really noticed it pressing today. It hasn't hampered me yet. It's a real nuisance, though.

9/16/2024 Aikido Class: Weapons Class: 5:00 - 6:00 pm. Different instructor today, as the sensei is awaiting their next child to enter the world! We did a lot of warm-up, with hi-4, low-4, and hi-8. We even toyed with low-8, hi-10 and low-10. Then we went through jo kata 1 several times, which was good review, and needed. After that, it was some bokken work, doing shomen cuts, 5 at a time, as each person counted out the 5 strikes. During the cutting and during the jo kata, I focused on getting power into the strikes/cuts.

The Ravens have had two tough games in a row. That home loss to the Raiders makes me wonder more about who the Raiders are as opposed to who the Ravens are. If they start 0-3, that will be tough to overcome.

I'm checking things out in the new app, and it's awesome! Easy UI and easy to read and post. So smooth!

Or just have other problems in general that need to be addressed.

Thanks for explaining this, Patrick. I'll be looking into it!

Congrats Ashworth! Well done!

That's nuts! Hadn't heard that! Chiefs pulled out another great win against another good AFC team. Unfortunately, they lost Pecheco for 6-8 weeks in the process to a fractured fibula I believe it was. That'll hurt. Hopefully Perine and Steele can platoon and cover the load. Steele looks promising; just have to protect the football. Worthy wasn't as involved in the offense this week, and Kelce has been too quite as well. I'd also like to Smith-Schuster get more involved. Especially now that it's been announced that Hollywood Brown is out for the season.

I've done a few things like this in TKD years ago. It wasn't really a cross-style setup; everyone was TKD, but there were different things broached, so we got to see some different topics. I like to see different specialties show up in things like this. As the organizer of this event, perhaps you can have some control over this. If I were you, see if you can invite specific instructors that have some special stuff they teach to do so in their allotted timeframes. That way, instead of getting a bunch of instructors teaching the same basics and forms everyone knows, there will be whole bunch of fun and interesting stuff the students get exposed to.