bushido_man96

Welcome, BobD! Was the "American" TKD you did, perhaps, in the ATA? I was a former member myself. I look forward to hearing about your experiences! If you are so inclined, there is a running Martial Artists' Training Log thread in the Health and Fitness forum where you can basically share your training journal!

4/8/2021 TKD Testing: 6:00 - 7:45 pm. Another small testing, but with two students, and adult and a child, testing for 1st degree. We had a couple of green belts testing, an orange belt, and a white belt who is taking to the art like a duck to water. Although small, and still finding things to work on, the testing was a good testing. 4/9/2021 Strength Training Squats: 45x5, 135x5, 205x3, 225x1, 245x1, 275x5, 275x5, 275x5. Press: 45x5x2, 85x5, 95x3, 115x1, 135x5, 135x5, 135x4, 135x1. Deadlifts: 135x5, 205x3, 225x1, 245x1, 305x5. Squats seemed to feel a little better today, as far as form went. Set three felt pretty good, although the grind is still there. Presses, on the other hand, were hard. Rep 5 on sets 1 and 2 were touch and go, but go them up. Set 3, rep 5 died halfway up. It could very well be that I lost track of my time, and didn't rest enough between sets, but I'm not sure. I'll pay better attention to that at the next session, but I expect this to start happening more and more as the weight gets heavier. I'm getting to the point where the goal will be to hit 15 total reps, regardless of how many sets it takes to hit that volume. I may consider switching to sets of 3, but if I can grind out just the first set to 5, I think that's good for me to try to do. Deadlifts were a religious experience at 305. Slow, grinding pulls, from first to last. But, it seems I was able to keep my back set, as I didn't feel that I was losing any tightness on the way up. I count that as a win. I'm considering removing deads from Wednesday, and doing barbell rows then. We shall see.

Made me smile, lol I'm glad! I wonder how many get it...

The authority of Master Ken!

If you would have put a bookstore next to the KF dojo, I might have got distracted and clicked the wrong door....

Congrats, GojuRyu Bahrain!

4/7/2021 Strength Training Squats: 45x5, 135x5, 205x3, 225x1, 270x5, 270x5, 270x5. Press: 45x5x2, 85x5, 95x2, 115x1, 132.5x5, 132.5x5, 132.5x5. Deadlifts: 135x5, 205x3, 225x1, 245x1, 300x5. Oh boy, where to start with today's session. I'll start with squats, since that where the session starts. Man, it was hard today. I could actually feel some soreness in my legs for the first time in a long time. The first two sets were just junk. Form felt ugly. Last set, although tough, felt the best form wise. But man, that last rep on each set was a grind. I've been having Kenneth try to coach me through them with a little motivation. Presses. The technical fix seems to be working, but it's still just getting harder to complete the sets. I thought the last rep on set 3 was going to stall halfway up, but a little extra layback pushed it through (although I'm avoiding excessive layback as much as possible). Deadlifts. Slow, grindy. I had good pulls, kept the bar close, and double knee hitches, but that last rep was an especially loooooooong pull. So, I feel I'm at a crossroads. I feel like I have more to give in the linear progression, but everything is so grindy now than it was the last time I went through. I'm also 30 lbs lighter than I was when I was squatting 325 for a set of 5, so I should take that into consideration. I'm also walking a fine line of trying to get as much protein as I can into my system without pushing myself to the limits of my Meniere's. I've got some new protein powder that has a bit lower sodium content per serving, so I may be able to up my protein some more without any repercussions. Time will tell. I'm not sure if I should keep grinding, or start thinking about a Wednesday light day and making the move to HLM programming. MA Training TKD Class: 6:30 - 7:30 pm. T-shirt class. I did some kicking on the bags, some basic stuff, and then some fancier stuff off the bag (jump 360 crescents). As I mentioned elsewhere, I also spent quite a bit of time assisting a brown belt with his spin crescent kicks. I love the challenges of teaching. After class and lifting today, I felt....old, I guess? Body was sore, especially my legs, which haven't been sore in some time. Knees also sore. Back aching. We also had a weird weather day. Yesterday was sunny and 70, and today we had a cold snap with a freak rain/snow mix, and it never got over 37 degrees today. Perhaps my body was responding to that, too. It just didn't feel like a good day. But, I got through it, so there's something to that.

Ryugi makes me think....perhaps CapCom is the distributor... Sorry, my bad....

I always appreciate your input, Bob. You see things differently than I do, and it helps me see more of what I can't. I like the points you are making here, especially about needing to step back away from something at times, and just "let it be." I see this as having many ways to approach and teach a singular concept. I actually had a little experience with this tonight in our kicking class. We have a student who is an older guy (but not as old as me, but started TKD as an adult), who is a big man who played Division II college football here in KS. We were working on getting his spinning outer crescent kick down. I must have broken it down 5 or 6 different ways, searching for the answer to the questions his body kept asking. It's one of the things I love about teaching.

Welcome to KF, Questor!

I don't know about other options, but I like your design!

4/5/2021 Strength Training Squats: 45x5, 135x5, 205x3, 225x1, 265x5, 265x5, 265x5. Press: 45x5x2, 75x5, 95x3, 115x1, 130x5, 130x5, 130x5. Deadlifts: 135x5, 205x3, 225x1, 245x1, 295x5. Press is getting harder and harder to complete the sets. I've been re-reading Starting Strength, Basic Barbell Training, and as always, I pick up on a few more things than the last time I've read it through. This is probably my third time reading it. I've fixed some technique issues on the press start, and it makes much more sense in my mind now. However, I'm finding it necessary to switch to taking a quick breath at the top, and then get a rebound out of the bottom to keep the set going. It was a challenge to eek out rep 5 on the last two sets.

Congrats, Zack! Keep on trucking!

Agreed. So many colored belt trainees see it as a culmination of the their training up to that point. I think for many, it's hard to see what's past it, and therefore, many quit after reaching that point, seemingly happy with accomplishing an objective. Those who can see what lies beyond are the ones that dedicate themselves to the long journey.

I thought the tournament choreography in the first season was a bit excessive. I would have preferred more of a throwback to the first movie.

Thanks, Bob! But I think I'll skip the CrossFit events...a bit too much for me. 4/2/2021 Strength Training Squats: 45x5, 135x5, 205x3, 225x1, 260x5, 260x5, 260x5. Press: 45x5x2, 75x5, 95x2, 127.5x5, 127.5x5, 127.5x5. Deadlifts: 135x5, 205x3, 225x1, 245x1, 290x5. During squats, I tried to focus on coming up the whole time I was descending to the bottom. I think it helped. Press was tougher, and I went to breathing at the top with no stop at the bottom, and also wearing the belt. Deadlifts were hard. Maybe only 5 lb increases from here forward.

Well that's a bummer. Hopefully you're able to find some good doctors and get set up in no time.

Thanks for sharing all that information, Danielle. I might have to bring it up to the CI, and let him mull it over.

De-escalation is still a valuable tactic to learn, and not every confrontation will be like this for you. But sometimes, you have to switch gears and show that you won't be stepped on or run over. Sounds like you adjusted and did what needed to be done.

A bit off topic, but if you are still interested in pursuing a legitimate certification in strength training, you should check out the Starting Strength Coach Certification. It sounds exactly like what you were looking for. Now, it's not an easy certification to obtain by any stretch, but it would be well worth your time.

Hmmm. Observe techniques as though not observing....what do you suppose this means? To me, to observe means more than just to watch. It's to study, learn, and attempt to understand something. Doing this without preconceived notions is important, especially if one is trying to keep an open mind.

We are going to see it this Saturday! Can't wait! GOOODZIIILLLLLAAAAAAAAAA!!!!!!!!!!!!

Patrick, I agree with you about the amount of violence with the kids. It's really crazy the way they display it!

3/31/2021 Strength Training Squats: 45x5, 135x5, 185x3, 205x1, 225x1, 255x5, 255x5, 255x5. Press: 45x5x2, 75x5, 95x2, 125x5, 125x5, 125x5. Deadlifts: 135x5, 185x3, 205x1, 225x1, 245x1, 280x5. Another good session, but press was tough today. Not sure why, but it was tough. The squat session went well, and I think I only misgrooved one rep, on the third set. Deadlifts are feeling heavier, but I'm happy with it so far. MA Training TKD Class: 6:30 - 7:00 pm. T-shirt class. After some stretching, I went through my black belt forms; Kwang Gae, Poe Eun, Gae Baek, Se Jong, Yoo Sin, and Choong Jang. All went pretty well.

This is great news! Do your current doctors perhaps have some recommendations, or can make referrals to doctors in Vegas, to get you set up with them prior to moving there?