bushido_man96

5/28/2021 Strength Training Squats: 45x5, 135x5, 205x3, 225x1, 245x1, 280x5, 280x5, 280x5. Push Press: 45x5, 95x3, 115x2, 135x1, 160x5, 160x5, 160x5. Deadlifts: 135x5, 205x3, 225x1, 245x1 275x1, 315x5.

Agreed. Always, always, always ask to watch a class. If they don't allow you to, I think this sends up a red flag, and makes the decision process easier.

I agree with you, Bob. It's important to open up and see things for what they are, and not necessarily how they look in comparison to how you've done it in the past. Very much a carryover of some of the topics struck in our discussion on the Tao of JKD.

I think Karate, along with other "traditional" styles, are making a comeback. I don't know if it has more to do with the "downfall" of MMA, or the rise of Karate in popular culture with the likes of shows like Cobra Kai. Either way, it is welcomed. As an aside, I don't think MMA is losing popularity or is falling by the wayside. By and large, MMA is the avenue that Martial Artists that want to compete professionally take. MMA has evolved so much, and the athletes competing there are truly elite athletes. Not everyone who gets into Martial Arts is going to be an elite athlete, nor do they all want to train that way. So, I believe styles like Karate and Taekwondo will always have students ready to step into their ranks. I also believe that as more pro MMA athletes step aside and retire, they may look to the more "traditional" styles (or look back to them) in order to fill that void in their world.

Welcome to KF, Ruler of Demacia! Those are all great points. Set the goals, and go about achieving them; what happens along side is gravy.

Danielle, instead of skull crushers, have you thought of trying lying triceps extensions? It's a great triceps exercise that hits all three heads of the triceps and uses a larger range of motion. It's also easier to load incrementally. It's a great ancillary exercise for helping out with bench and presses. 5/26/2021 Strength Training Squats: 45x5, 135x5, 205x3, 225x1, 245x5, 245x5, 245x5. Press: 45x5, 85x5, 105x2, 125x1, 150x3, 150x2, 150x3, 150x3, 150x3, 150x1. Assisted Chins: 105x10, 105x10, 105x9, 105x9. Light squat day. Second set of press went sideways on me. I think I misgrooved rep 2 some, as it was a struggle to get up, so I tried to breath at the top and catch rep 3 with a rebound out of the bottom. It didn't work. Rest of the sets were good, though, so only thing I can think of is a misgroove. Superset press with the assisted chins. When I get to 4 sets of 10, I'm going to lower the counterweight.

What a ride, Bob! I'm so glad you were able to get everything sorted out! God is good!

That is an interesting, and I believe fairly accurate, take on kata and how it came to be. I also agree that kata are a form of standardization now. Kata is a template, showing how you'd like to see moves performed, when in actuality, there will be variances based on movement, the opponent, etc. But, the kata is the reference point you strive to achieve in application.

We should strive to express our inner selves through art to improve the world. Art can be expressed in so many ways, too; physically (like Martial Arts or dancing), musically, or through drawing/writing/painting, etc.

5/24/2021 Strength Training Squats: 45x5, 135x5, 205x3, 225x1, 245x1, 275x5, 275x5, 275x5. Press: 45x5, 65x5, 85x3, 105x2, 125x1, 147.5x4, 147.5x4, 147.5x4, 147.5x4. Assisted Chins: 105x9, 105x9, 105x7. Deadlifts: 135x5, 205x3, 225x1, 245x1, 290x5, 290x5. Going back to linear progression on squats for the time being, but keeping Wednesday as a light day. Press went well today, hitting sets of 4. I superset the presses and chins. Interestingly enough, the second set of deadlifts seem to go up better than the first set.

Yes, Danielle, that is annoying, too. In our classes, we actively discourage the parents from participating in that way. I'm kind of hypocrite about it, though, as I constantly get on my kids in the other sports they do.

That is great to hear. It's been so long since we've had an adult female in our classes. It's great to see.

I've seen it on there, and was a fan of the video games as a kid, but I haven't pulled the trigger on watching this. Did you find it enjoyable, Patrick?

Wow, cool to see a member from the beginning! As far as choosing a style for your kids goes, I'm biased, but find TKD to be a great style for kids to practice. However, I wouldn't rule out any other styles. Also, it's easy to find an MA kids program; most schools run them. But check around at other schools, even if they don't offer a "kids program." You might find an instructor that doesn't focus on kids, but has a great approach to teaching them and making classes fun for them. It might also be a great instructor for you to learn from. If you are interested in other options in which you yourself might not be able to train, there are some great local Kid's Wrestling programs out there, and Wrestling is a fantastic sport for kids to get into. It's great for teaching them accountability, and for encouraging them to put the most into their training.

Great retrospect. I think instead of asking, "Is it still relevant?" the appropriate question would be "How do I keep it relevant?" If this includes different ways of looking at the self-defense aspects, application training, etc, it's important for us as Martial Artists to continue to work and to make sure what we do is still relevant.

I think we've been pretty fortunate to have a good group of parents in our school. Most of them don't seem to take any issues with how we run our testings, who tests and when, etc. I see this happening with kids in our educational school system, though, and most of them don't tend to find interest in our MA schools.

I hear you on the consistency. I'm suffering through a crappy work schedule that precludes me from making it to classes right now. But, I've been able to keep up my strength training, so I take solace in that. If my schedule balances out here soon, I hope to start doing some some solo training at the TKD room.

IMHO, if you're training/learning totally online, without a partner to practice techniques on, you're wasting your time (and money). You learn the moves, but you're not getting the experiences of someone actually attacking you to see how the technique works. Without a qualified teacher to critique you, how do you know your doing techniques flawlessly? You may think you are, but ... IMHO, if you're getting certification from some online course, it's only worth the paper it's printed on. I had a guy come into my dojo years ago claiming he had an 8th Dan in karate. being ever the skeptical person I am I asked a few obvious questions, like "What system?" He didn't know. "Sensei's name?" He didn't know. I said "How can you become an 8th dan and not know the name of the system or your sensei?" He said it was online and took him ALMOST a year to get the rank. I asked him to show me a kata, he had no idea what that was. He did show me some stances and blocks, but they were very, very sad, slow and weak. His punch would have broken his wrist and hand, his kicks lacked any semblance of power or control, and he stood with straight legs. I asked him why he was there and he told me he wanted to be an instructor at my school. (I'm trying really hard not to laugh through all this). I asked him if he knew any of our katas, of course he didn't. Asked him to show me blocks, not even close. Philosophy? Nope. After about 45 minutes I sent him on his way with a little lesson on taking online course. I told him he's going to get himself killed if he started telling everybody he was an 8th dan black belt, because eventually somebody was going to challenge him and he was going to get a severe beating. I did offer to let him into my class as long as he NEVER mentioned his 8th dan or online training again. He left and I never saw him again. This, sounds like the ultimate online nightmare, and what most of us tend to think of happening when someone mentions "online training and promotion" (although, I was surprised to see he was "allowed" to reach 8th dan...).

That, is a great article. Lots of good points there, and it's giving me something to consider in my training.

Congrats, and welcome back! It's great to hear from you, and great to hear that you triumphed over your injury and got back into Martial Arts, and with your child, too!

5/21/2021 Strength Training Squats: 45x5, 135x5, 205x3, 225x1, 245x, 270x5, 270x5, 270x5. Push Press: 45x5, 95x5, 115x2, 135x1, 157.5x5, 157.5x5, 157.5x5. Deadlifts: 135x5, 205x3, 225x1, 275x1, 310x5. Stayed with the medium day percentage on squats, and am thinking I may lower Monday's weight. I woke up with a knot in my shoulder today, too, which made lifting fun, especially the push presses.

5/19/2021 Strength Training Squats: 45x5, 135x5, 205x3, 225x1, 245x5, 245x5, 245x5. Press: 45x5, 85x5, 105x2, 125x1, 147.5x4, 147.5x3, 147.5x3, 147.5x2, 147.5x3. Assisted Chins: 105x10, 105x9, 105.9, 105x8. Light squat day. The reps felt good and smooth. Press is getting heavy again, and fell to sets of three after the first. I think I only got 2 reps on set four because I miss-grooved the last rep; I think I pushed it forward instead of up, and it just wouldn't go. Happy with the rep count going up on the assisted chins.

I'm really look forward to seeing that list filled out!

It sounds like things are going very well. Congrats on the double promotion!

It's great that you get adults back, Danielle! Finally! 5/17/2021 Strength Training Squats: 45x5, 135x5, 205x3, 225x1, 245x1, 295x5, 295x5, 295x3. Press: 45x5, 85x5, 105x2, 125x1, 145x4, 145x4, 145x4, 145x4. Assisted Chins: 105x7, 105x9, 105x9. Deadlifts: 135x5, 205x3, 225x1, 245x1, 285x5, 285x5. Still struggling with getting the heavy squat day where I want it to be. 295 just feels like it's crushing me when I step out of the rack. Rep 5 on set two was a bad one; may have shifted forward, and felt like it was stalling. I wanted 5 on set three, but didn't feel I could do it. I may consider going heavier on Friday and seeing what that does for me.