bushido_man96

Happy New Year all!

Oh, that sucks so bad, Danielle! So, is it back to Zoom classes for now? 1/2/2021 Half hour of cardio (elliptical) with my son, who's still working on cutting weight for wrestling. He's getting closer, though. Afterwards, I had a nice stretching session at home, and am going to be reading more By the Sword.

I think in BJJ circles, this tends to work a little differently. I believe there are BJJ blue belts that run schools and promote a few levels, as a BJJ blue belt typically has about as many years in as a typical Karate black belt does.

That is very interesting, Himokiri. We do tend to have different mental orientations at different times in our lives, so that can make a huge difference. Mental practice is important to stay sharp and focused.

12/30/2020 Strength Training Deadlifts: 135x5, 165x5, 195x3, 210x1, 235x5. Press: 45x5x2, 75x5, 95x2, 117.5x5, 117.5x5, 117.5x5. Lat Pull-downs: 140x10, 140x10, 140x10, 140x10. After deadlift and between press sets, I stretched my legs and back.

I've never found puzzle mats to be great for comfort in falling or anything. Something more like a wrestling mat would probably be a lot better for jumping on. However, since you are training at home, you might consider training in your shoes, at least while doing jumps and such. Much cheaper, and they should lessen the impact of jumping.

12/29/2020 Cardio: 30 minutes on the elliptical, then spent 30 minutes in the hot box at the gym. My oldest son is still working on cutting weight for wrestling, so I was his cardio partner today. Afterwards, I had a nice stretching session at home.

My only complaint is that I wish Ralph Macchio actually had some skill. He's just painful to watch at times.

12/28/2020 The only bad thing about the holidays is they tend to lead to long layoffs. Back to it. Strength Training Squats: 45x5, 135x5, 155x3, 185x1, 205x5, 205x5, 205x5. Press: 45x5x2, 75x5, 95x2, 115x5, 115x5, 115x5. I got both boys to the gym with me today. Fun time. TKD Class: 6:30 - 7:30 pm. Black Belt Class. We did Do-Kangs 1-4, doing 4 twice by count. Three-steps 1-6. Brief stretch at the end of class. Evening light stretching session at home.

Alright, in these stanzas here, I feel like I am beginning to understand some concepts that Lee is talking about (but am probably wrong...). Paragraph 5 starts out, to me, with being flexible. Not just supple in body, but flexible in your mind, in how you think, in how you approach things. By being flexible in our view of the world around us, new things will be revealed to us. Moving like water: the classic Bruce Lee line. Water has no shape, and thus can take the shape of whatever vessel it encounters. It flows and fills, and flows on. Being still, like a mirror, is something different. The mirror only reflects your movements (and that of other things around you, of course). The mirror only shows you what is there, what you present. So, in being still, like the mirror, this means....present nothing in the reflection to move? I think I'm better with water... Respond like an echo: an echo is only a reverberation of sound. I guess if you think about it, the response of an echo is only what was offered in the first place. So, when responding to someone, only respond with what they present you? I think I'll have that glass of water... Nothingness cannot be defined...so I won't bother. The softest thing cannot be snapped: I believe this goes back to being flexible in how you receive things.

I'm thinking of picking up Volume 1 soon. Let me know if you do pick it up.

When the weight is light, doing 3x5 on deadlifts is ok. As it gets heavier, you'll find that one heavy set of 5 is more than enough, especially after a heavy squat session. 12/26/2020 and 12/27/2020 Some light stretching sessions in the evenings, while reading. I finished up Jeet Kune Do: Bruce Lee's Commentaries on the Martial Way. I've got the last two books of that series on order, too. In the meantime, I'm rereading By the Sword, by Richard Cohen. Fantastic book. I'm having trouble stretching lately. The muscle on top of my left hip wants to seize up and cramp all the time. Feels like the hip flexor. Makes it really hard to get a good stretch going.

I remember Brutus, the Barber, Beefcake, too! Great name!

That is tough, Bob. I understand getting emotional, though; this tends to be an emotional time of year, and medicinal side effects compounding that; I can't imagine what that's like. I agree with Patrick in talking with someone. You can also shoot me a text anytime!

Hehe, that's cool. I'll bet it makes for a nice collectible.

Well, the regular season is winding down! KC pulled off a win in the most undesirable fashion; watching a sure-footed kicker miss his first FG attempt in 50 some tries. They were quite fortunate. The offense STANK today! But, they pulled it off, and secured the #1 seed in the AFC, and the first round bye. But, congrats to Travis Kelce on breaking the single season Tight End yardage record. Now, it will be interesting to see how the Chiefs approach week 17. I'd like to see Mahomes play, if only long enough to secure the passing yardage crown. That, and they need to get the offense in sync before heading into a bye week.

That sounds like an interesting find, indeed! Are you able to read the Japanese?

Thanks for the elaborations, both of you! I think I have a copy of the Tao Te Ching here at home; it might have to be the next thing I read! Bob, your mention of consciousness, and "becoming" so is an interesting caveat. I also like what you said about "awakening." Very interesting points to ponder.

Ok, we're back! Onward and upward! So, paragraph three, on voidness. I think many tend to think of "the void" as the ultimate emptiness; after all, doesn't void mean "without?" But here, Lee describes it as all-inclusive, "nothing which it excludes or opposes." This is very odd sounding to me, indeed. In paragraph four, I think I understand what Lee is trying to drive at. He is saying to let go our your ego, or any impressions you might already have, and become that empty cup that is ready to be filled. Thoughts?

Merry Christmas to everyone here at KarateForums.com!

I saw that it was being moved up. Excellent. I'm looking forward to seeing the interactions between the characters from KKII.

The suggestions that Wado Heretic laid out have been what my experience has suggested, as well. I usually see the title of instructor granted at 3rd dan ranks, but I've seen it happen at 2nd dan, as well. I rarely see school owners below 3rd dans. Talk to your instructor about this, for sure.

So, I've seen ads for this new, "modern" TKD encyclopedia, and am really curious about it: https://www.tkdbook.info/ The books look like they are well laid out, and appear to be high quality. I'm interested in the contents, for sure. I practice most of the Chang Hon forms, but I don't use sine wave, which these books appear to spend quite a bit of time discussing. I'm not opposed to reading the discussions, though. I'm curious if any other TKDers out there have seen or heard anything about these volumes, and what your thoughts are. It's been difficult to find good TKD books lately, and these seem like they'd be a nice add to my library.

I hear you on the utility of the apps, Danielle. I don't use the apps, though. Instead, I just keep a paper training log. I refer to my previous workout, and add 5 lbs for squats and deadlifts, and 2.5 lbs for the press now (I don't bench press due to the fact that it hurts my shoulder as it gets heavier...maybe someday). As for the Starting Strength program, the only difference is learning the power clean, and you don't really need to do that lift for quite some time. What I find with 5x5 is his emphasis on starting with the empty bar, and adding only 5 lbs per workout. It really just costs you a lot of valuable training time, and the volume catches up with you eventually. As for your starting weights, to find a good starting point, do a set of 5 at a warmup weight you can handle, then rack it. Add 5 lbs, and do another set, and continue until you notice the bar speed slow down, and call that your work set. It should be stressful enough to work you, but not so stressful that you don't recover by the time the next workout rolls around. Hope that helps out.

Good stuff, guys. Great insight and points. You guys are definitely better at the philosophical stuff than I. Bob, thanks for expounding on ShuHaRi. I have a much clearer picture of it now.