bushido_man96

9/8/2022 Strength Training Snatch-Grip Deadlifts: 95x5, 115x5, 135x3, 185x3, 205x5. Lat Pull-downs: 170x8, 170x8, 170x8, 170x8. Triceps Push-downs: 75x12, 75x12, 75x12. First go at the snatch-grip deadlift. Probably could have done more, but this is a good starting point to build from. Going to look into the programming for it a little more. Dropped the reps on lat pulls and added a set, moving along the progression here. Onward, to chin-ups!

I think there will be quite a bit of story building throughout. They makers can't assume that all the viewers understand everything about that universe, especially all this backstuff that wasn't as popular in the mainstream. It'll be a combination of story building, and getting into the action. I know I've not read many of the appendices that the series is supposed to be based on. So far, the story has been nice.

Those are wise words, indeed.

I agree!

I've watched the first few episodes. So far, so good! They have really kept the epic scale that was felt in the movies.

I heard about this. Wishing her family well.

I concur! It sounds like you are headed in the right direction, and you've got things focused in.

That's a nice approach, Bob. Never heard it put that way before.

9/6/2022 Strength Training Squats: 45x5x2, 135x5, 185x3, 185x3, 185x3. Cleans: 95x3, 115x2, 125x2, 130x2, 135x1, 140x1, 150x3, 150x3, 150x3, 152.5x3, 152.5x3. Lots of burning in that adductor tendon while squatting, and the knees were hurting to boot. Not a great squat session, and I may not be squatting for some time. Cleans went well. Need to cut back on the warmups. 9/7/2022 TKD Class: 6:30 - 7:30 pm. T-shirt class. Warmed up with stretching, bag work, and a run-through of Choong Jang once, then ran through a segment I need to concentrate on the footwork on. Finished with several rounds of sparring. I really wasn't feeling it tonight, but I sparred anyway, and held my own ok.

Yeah that makes sense. I think i have been slightly overdoing the volume on the warm ups. Took a look back at my decade old gym logs (when i was less feeble!) and i used to do very similar to what you say above. Deadlifts are the lift that i probably do closest to that currently and it seems to be the smoothest progression over time. Have started implementing slightly reduced warm ups already Cool. Hopefully, that helps you with your work sets.

Congrats, Alex! And it's good to have you back!

This is awesome! These kids are lucky to have an instructor like you! Taking your own advice was a solid idea! I have no doubt that you will have a long and wonderful career as an instructor.

9/1/2022 Strength Training Squats: 45x5x2, 135x5, 185x3, 245x1, 275x5, 275x5, 275x5. Lat Pull-downs: 167.5x10, 167.5x10, 167.5x10. Triceps Push-downs: 65x12, 65x12, 65x12. Stretch: hams, quads, glutes, and shoulders. Squat still hurts the adductor tendon. 9/2/2022 Strength Training RDL: 135x8, 155x5, 170x5, 180x8, 180x8, 180x8. Leg Extensions: 100x12, 100x12, 100x12. Triceps Push-downs: 70x12, 70x12, 70x12. Barbell Rows: 125x8, 125x8, 125x8. Tried leg extensions in place of hack squats to see if they were any easier on my knees; they weren't. I may just drop those exercises altogether.

When I do warm-up sets, I will usually start with two sets of 5 with the empty bar, then do a set of 5 at 50% of the work weight (or first work set), a set of 3 at 70%, then a single or double at 90%. I pretty much do these without rest in between, either; just enough time to load the next set and then do it, then after the last single or double, get right into the first work set. After that set, I'll rest probably 7-10 minutes, depending on the weight. That method has worked pretty well for me, and does a good job of getting the system ready for the work sets.

I can't speak to the form itself, but I think it looks pretty good. I would suggest trying to get more hip into some of the movements; you'll really see the power pop that way. I imagine at a faster, stronger pace, it looks even better.

8/30/2022 Strength Training Cleans: 115x2, 125x2, 130x2, 135x1, 140x1, 145x3, 145x3, 145x3, 150x3, 150x3. Deadlifts: 185x3, 225x3, 275x1, 300x5, 340x1. Dropped the jerk to save my shoulder and also push the weight a little more on the cleans. Much happier with today's work. Deadlift went well, and a buddy was working with 340, so I jumped in and pulled one, and probably could have pulled a few more. 8/31/2022 TKD Class: 6:30 - 7:30 pm. T-shirt class. Started out stretching in The Rack, then moved to just a little bag work. The CI bought a new toy for the dojang; a board holding station, and some plastic rebreakable boards that attach to it magnetically (the station will also hold wooden boards). We tied to one of the Wavemaster standing bags, and I proceeded to do a bunch of breaks. Back leg round kicks with both legs and two of the "boards," and also did a top of the foot round kick with one board. Did a left hand knifehand through one, and a right ridgehand through one (never did that one before). Also did side kicks with both legs and two or boards each. Also punched it once, and it broke much better than I thought; last time I had done punching on boards, it didn't go well. Even with all that funning around, I still went through Choong Jang hyung a few times.

I would cut that first set of 10 out of your bench session. Is that a warmup set? If so, 10 is probably a bit excessive. The warmup sets should be just that; a warmup. If they detract from the work sets, then they have become work sets themselves. How much time did you rest between work sets? How's your eating and recovery?

Wow, lots of stuff going on! The dagger making sounds way awesome, and would be a fun time! But getting to hang out with your family on vacation and making memories snorkeling with your son; that takes the cake. It's great that your instructors are trusting you with more and more instructor responsibilities in class. Keep at it, and take every opportunity you get; when one teaches, two learn. I think it's cool that you are starting Aikido. Although I don't agree with everything about Aikido, I do think it has a lot of good things to offer.

Thank you, Zaine. That means a lot. It's great to see your contributions again.

8/29/2022 Strength Training Squats: 45x5x2, 135x5, 185x3, 245x1, 270x5, 270x5, 270x5. Lat Pull-downs: 165x10, 165x10, 165x10. Triceps Push-downs: 60x12, 60x12, 60x12. Lots of pain in the shoulder, so avoided pressing. I was going to try to do some curls, but those really hurt. TKD Class: 6:30 - 7:30 pm. Black Belt Class. Stretched on The Rack prior to class. Warmed up with Do-Kangs 1-5. I really considered not doing jumping techniques for the last segment of Do-Kang 5, but I did them anyway, and of course, regretted it. After that, we spent the remainder of class going through three-steps several times. I'm going to have to miss class on Wednesday, which is a real bummer.

When I moved away for college, and then back home to find that my teacher had closed the dojo and stopped teaching, I struggled for a long time on whether I could call myself a Martial Artist. I learned from people outside the dojo. I took up Longfist and Southern Mantis so that I could round out my training, but looking back, a large part of it was to feel like I was still a Martial Artist. I don't regret my experiences, but the reason remains. I now know better. I was practicing (and still do) almost daily (I take Sundays to rest), and when I'm not practicing physically, I'm thinking about it constantly. Being a Martial Artist is a mind set that comes with training. To your point above, Bob, I love talking about Martial Arts. I've talked to a lot of people who got to some kyu-rank and then quit for whatever reason. Every time, they always feel regret, or a sense that they aren't a "real" Martial Artist and every time, I tell them that they are incorrect. Once or twice, these conversations have led to them going back to the dojo. It is absolutely enough to have been in it. To have loved it, even momentarily. To still think about it from time-to-time. For some, Martial Arts is temporary. For others, an endeavor that we know will never be truly finished. It's allowed to be different things for different people. Great post, Bob. It's great that you still have this fire, Zaine. I feel like I've lost some of it. And I don't want to. It just seems that with getting older, things have definitely become harder physically, and I've gotten mentally stale because we don't have a large adult student body in our school right now. It's been kind of tough to deal with, but I keep at it, trying to pull myself out of the slump. Wednesday this week, in our T-shirt class, we actually sparred, as we had quite a few students in the class, and even several adults. We've got a new adult student who is a local college student, moved in from another town. She's a 3rd dan in a WTF style, and she sparred with us that night, too. She did really well, and it was just nice to have some adult competition. At first, I was kind of reluctant to spar, because it had been several months since I had done so, but in the end, I felt better for doing it, and I don't think I embarrassed myself. Finally, I love to talk Martial Arts, too. Problem is, I really haven't done it in so long. I need to get engaged in it again, and I need to do it here for sure. Even if it's a style I know little about, or have only read about, I love hearing about things and talking about differences. I need to do that more, and hopefully, that will start to respark everything. Thanks for your post. It's really helped me to reflect.

To your point here, when I was doing Longfist, the CI didn't use a rank system. He just taught you the next thing when you were ready. Sometimes, he would teach you the next thing if he thought that it would help you understand and become proficient with something that you were currently struggling on. It was a really refreshing thing to be a part of. I love this approach, and it's what I love about having my kids Wrestle. No ranks. Results are seen on the mat.

8/26/2022 Strength Training Squats: 45x5x2, 135x5, 185x3, 225x1, 265x5, 265x5, 265x5. Press: 45x5x2, 85x5, 125x3, 130x5, 130x5, 130x5. Lat Pull-downs: 162.5x10, 162.x10, 162.5x10. Hack Squats: 125x8, 125x8, 125x8. First set of squats was just all over the place. I guess I couldn't decide what to focus on, and there was just all kinds of wreckage. Trying to set things up to avoid inflaming my adductor tendon is messing things up. The other two sets were ok. I had to get my toes back out a little more, and focused more on pushing but back in the bottom, and not bouncing or knee sliding, feeling the "bounce" off the hamstrings, and then driving up. Seemed to help. Press still hurts. I fear I have an injury that may require surgery, and I don't want to have surgery, and I don't want to rehab. Time will tell....

It's always great to get this kind if individualized attention and feedback. Best of luck on your upcoming test!

I second this! We look forward to hearing from you!