bushido_man96

I think anymore, it is more and more difficult to rely on adult students to keep a school afloat. Non-profits may have a different experience, but I'd be willing to guess that most of them don't have a large adult student body. I know at our school, the kid's program is what keeps the school afloat. Before the quarantimes, it was normal to have kids classes with 9-12 students in per day. We're fortunate to have 3 or 4 adult students, most of whom are higher ranked colored belts or early black belt ranks.

Training in grappling styles would be difficult. I'm not a grappler at my core, but what I've done in the past is still got on the floor and done some "walking through" of various moves and positions to keep things fresh in my mind. I've done the same of Hapkido in the past. For my main style, it's pretty easy to rehearse forms and one-steps at home, and I have a standing heavy bag I can work over if I feel the need to. Training at the school has been ongoing here for quite some time, and there hasn't been a second shutdown for us, so we've been fortunate. On cross-training note, I've ordered a pair of Kali sticks, and my youngest son and I are going to begin training with those.

That's what I was wondering. Without the give, I would think they lose their effectiveness as a training tool.

I like Mr. Abernethy's applications here, but I like his material in general, and like to apply pieces of it to my TKD forms.

Are you looking to build it into the wall, or will it stand out from the wall so it has some give when you strike it?

2/24/2021 Strength Training Squats: 45x5, 135x5, 165x3, 185x1, 215x5, 215x5, 215x5. Press: 45x5x2, 65x5, 85x3, 107.5x5, 107.5x5, 107.5x5. Deadlifts: 135x5, 165x3, 185x1, 220x5. Squats are really grindy out of the hole. First few reps of deadlift were good, then the last few started floating away from my shins for some reason. Trying to stay back on the heels. MA Training TKD Class: 6:30 - 7:30 pm. T-shirt class. I did 16 forms, from white belt up through my 4th dan form. I actually did Se Jong a few times, as that one had slipped away from me a little bit. Yoo Sin is a bit more tolerable to do now; I hated that form as a third dan; I tolerate it now. I worked solo on some self-defense against straight punches, with a bag in front of me. Finished off with some more Ho Sin Sul, shoulder grab defenses. We worked on securing the grabbing hand and striking with a palm heel, and then walking to a takedown. We also did a version striking the arm from the outside with an inside middle block motion and working to a takedown. I also demonstrated a breakdown of our white belt one-step #1, with self-defense applications.

2/22/2021 Strength Training Squats: 45x5, 135x5, 165x3, 185x1, 205x5, 205x5, 205x5. Press: 45x5x2, 65x5, 85x3, 102.5x5, 102.5x5, 102.5x5. Deadlifts: 135x5, 165x3, 185x1, 215x5. MA Training TKD Class: 6:30 - 7:30 pm. Black Belt Class. The CI and I had talked about refining the outline/itinerary for black belt classes going forward, to make sure they are more structured and we end up focusing on the things we want/need to. He implemented it today. We opened with Do-Kangs (black belt basics); I was late to class, so I missed Do-Kang 1, but I worked through 2 and 3 (at count), then we moved on to three-step sparring, and finished with Ho Sin Sul. We started introducing the other students to the defenses against the shoulder grab we had been putting together.

Sounds like things are looking up, Bob! Great news!

Those are great quotes, Bob, and thanks for sharing them. I do need to reread some Sun Tzu, for sure!

Good stuff, aurik! Glad to hear things are starting to get back to near normal for your school.

The registration of black belts with the Kukkiwon doesn't really have anything to do with legitimacy. I believe it's necessary for Olympic competition. You just have to meet their requirements to be "registered" with them. It's more about money than legitimacy.

2/19/2021 Strength Training Squats: 45x5, 135x5, 165x5, 185x3, 205x5, 205x5, 205x5. Press: 45x5x2, 65x5, 85x3, 102.5x5, 102.5x5, 102.5x5. Deadlifts: 135x5, 165x3, 185x1, 210x5.

Congrats!

The "traditional" tag is, I think, a relatively recent descriptor attached to any MA style that originates in the far east. Another descriptor I've seen is "classical." I think it basically came into being in order for the "traditionalists" to differentiate what they taught from things like Boxing, MMA, and even new eclectic styles that started to come into being, like Kajukenbo and other styles of Kenpo that were modified in the U.S. I also believe the main idea behind this "traditionalism" is the ability to trace the lineage back to a certain founder, and that this had to have happened before 1900 (for Karate, at least). These are just thoughts on my end, not hard and fast rules. Just how I think these tags have been used for labeling the styles.

This is how I would prefer it be done, and how it was approached with me in the past. My current organization does things a little differently, though, granting instructor rank upon reaching third dan (and meeting age requirements).

2/17/2021 Strength Training Deadlifts: 135x5, 165x5, 205x5. Press: 45x5x2, 65x5, 85x3, 100x5, 100x5, 100x5. Squats: 45x5, 135x5, 185x3. I was planning on hitting all three; squats, press, deadlift, but someone was in the squat rack. Ah, the trials of working out in a commercial gym. MA Training TKD Class: 6:30 - 7:30 pm. T-shirt class. I spent about a half hour working Chon Ji hyung and some applications. I also spent a little time on Dan Gun, and also Choong Jang. Finished class working on three-step sparring, and generally grumbling about them and their practicality.

Agreed. The old adage, "a black belt is a white belt that never quit" rings true. Without the beginning, there is no journey.

I think this is spot on, and is a good hypothesis on why things change in styles. What and how you learn is all dependent on where you fall on the instructor's timeline. I think styles like TKD, especially the larger organizations, have actively worked to remove this phenomenon from training, in an attempt to standardize everything. I'm not so sure it is the way to go, but I do understand why.

Those are good points. I think it's incumbent upon the instructor to make sure students understand that it is a learning process, and to not worry about what others in the world may think. It's also incumbent upon the instructor to make sure that the white belts feel comfortable in the classes, impressing upon the intermediate and higher ranks the importance of treating the white belts in such a way.

2/12/2021 Strength Training Deadlifts: 135x5, 165x5, 195x5. Press: 45x5x2, 65x5, 85x3, 100x5, 100x5, 100x5.

These are interesting. In paragraph 6, I'm not sure what to make of it. I understand the idea of being like a cork on the waves, riding through the crests and the troughs. I find it interesting he chooses to address good and evil here. It seems, to me, he means to have an attitude of neutrality to it, but I'm not for sure. All I can think about is the saying, "evil thrives when good men do nothing." Paragraph 7 is also interesting. Embracing the disease to be rid of it. More confusing Zen stuff, to me.

2/10/2020 Strength Training Squats: 45x5, 135x5, 155x1, 185x5, 185x5, 185x5. Press: 45x5x2, 65x5, 85x3, 95x5, 95x5, 95x5. I felt very fatigued while squatting. I think I'm going to need to wake up a little sooner so I can eat something before going to the gym. MA Training TKD Class: 6:30 - 7:30 pm. T-shirt class. I did lots of round kick reps on the standing bag; front leg, back leg, stepping, turning, hopping, etc, single and repeat kicking. Then we spent about half an hour starting off with the Ho Sin Sul "sparring" and eventually working to scenario drills. We worked defenses from a collar grab, and then a collar grab and straight punch, and then a collar grab and hook or roundhouse punch. We found a series of defenses that start very much the same and finish very much the same, so good for retention. We also worked on some front choke defenses.

2/8/2020 Strength Training Finally back to lifting! Squats: 45x5, 135x5, 155x3, 155x3, 155x3. Press: 45x5x2, 65x5, 85x5, 85x5, 85x5. First lifting session post-covid. My legs felt very fatigued. Working night shift isn't helping either. MA Training TKD Class: 6:30 - 7:30 pm. Black Belt Class. Spent the entire class working on three-step sparring, spending a lot of time breaking things down and analyzing the various techniques, the set-ups, etc.

Geez, Bob, quite the day! I'm glad you came through it ok. I've had an MRI, and it was not fun. I'm claustrophobic, too, and they had to reschedule me for a bigger machine in order to get it done. Still, not fun. I hope and pray all your results come out well!

TKD, Hapkido, and even TSD's "origin stories" go back to the Japanese occupation of Korea, and afterwards, their desire to establish a national identity. A good book, titled A Killing Art by Alex Gillis does a good job of telling the story of Korean Martial Arts history.