bushido_man96

9/2/2020 Was having a pretty good day today, so I didn't waste it. Strength Training Squats: 45x5, 135x5, 185x5, 185x5, 185x5. Press: 45x5x2, 65x5, 85x3, 95x5, 95x5, 95x5. TKD Class: 6:30 - 7:30 pm. T-shirt class. I did my form, Choong Jang, 3 times, and did a very little bit of bag work, and some light stretching. I helped the kids with some kicking techniques, and then switched them up to doing jab and jab/cross combinations on the bags. Finished up by running them through colored belt forms at my count (white through high blue), and then one-steps (white through high green).

You can find Vitamin supplements at most grocery stores, and I believe they have recommended dosages on the packages. I'd start there at the least, so you can get a start on it. If the doc wants to up the dosage, then take more. But I don't think you can go wrong just getting some and starting.

He's so quick, and he sets the throws up so well.

When I refer to "concentration kicks," others might refer to them as "tension kicks" or something like that.So, for what I call "concentration side kicks," I'd line all the students up on the wall, where they use a hand to prop for balance. I call out "chamber," and have the student raise their leg and hold it in the chamber position. Then I'll call out "extend," and they do a slow, controlled side kick to full extension and hold it there until I say "rechamber," at which point they rechamber the kick in a slow, controlled manner (between 3 and 5 seconds). For the first few, I'll then call out "return," which means to return the foot to the floor. The "concentration" comes in when I make them leave the leg extended for longer and longer time periods, where they have to overcome both physical and mental fatigue to hold the kick up. I'll also skip the "return" part after the first few reps, making them do multiple kicks in a row without setting their foot down. This really makes the student focus on balance, and they develop a sense of kinesthetic awareness as to what the chamber position and extended position feels like, especially when the muscles start to tire out.

It sounds like you made the right decision for yourself and your training, which is great. As Bob is fond of saying, "not all black belts can teach." Now, I'm not going to go so far as to say the black belts you had at Chito Ryu couldn't teach. It does sound like they tended to be quite reluctant to teach in any other manner, and it sounds like they don't adjust their teaching style very well. When I'm breaking in new instructors, I try to get them to be flexible, and figure out different ways of getting the same points across, because not everyone learns the same way. It also sounds like your new instructors are into positive reinforcement and constructive criticism, which are two more traits I find highly valuable in an instructor. And people respond to praise differently, too. Some people need it, and some just want to know what to fix and how to get better, regardless of how they are fed the information. All in all, it sounds like you've found a school with some instructors that fit what you want, and that is great.

RW, the really short version is that, back in early 2001, I was thinking up ideas for websites, came across this name, had a friend (still my friend) who was into the martial arts, he thought it was a good idea, and so I did it. From there, it's just a lot of day in, day out attention to keep things rolling forward in a friendly, respectful, productive way. Thanks again, Patrick Patrick, that's like, the "short, short version" from Spaceballs!

Welcome to KF, Mad Mike!

I'd agree.

I have no idea what you are getting at here. Could be more specific as to what a hand-to-hand designation is?

Fighting is going into some form of altercation, be it prearranged with rules or not, with the intent of dominating someone; beating them; either until they are unconscious or unable to continue, or ruled otherwise if an official is present. Self-defense is about de-escalating a situation to the point to avoid confrontation, or execute your techniques and tactics to the point that you can safely get away from your attacker. The point is to survive with minimal injury (or unscathed) and get to safety, not necessarily render the attacker unconscious (although this would be acceptable). Law Enforcement, on the other hand, is required to apprehend and take into custody. We don't always have the option to retreat.

Guess I've got something to binge! Get caught up...

8/13/2020 Strength Training Squats: 45x5, 135x5, 185x2, 185x2, 185x2. Meniere's is really making it hard to train. 8/14/2020 Strength Training Deadlifts: 135x5, 155x5, 185x3, 225x3. Press: 45x5x2, 65x5, 85x5, 95x3. 8/17/2020 MA Training TKD Class: 6:30 - 7:30 pm. Black belt class. Did Do-Kangs 1-4, 4 at an easy pace so I wouldn't get too dizzy. We also reviewed green belt forms, and did three-steps 1-12.

Thomas Curz's book is one that I've never read, but I've always seen his name pop up. Maybe it's time to pick that one up.

Bob, I believe in you, and your fight! You're going to beat this thing!

If you feel someone is a higher rank than you, then bow and address them as sir or ma'am, and just overall be respectful. Leave it to them to tell you otherwise.

...and Uechi-ryu Karate trains to kick with the big toe... and it hurts, I know because I've been kicked with the big toe from a Uechi-ryu practitioner...got my attention quick!! I prefer steel toes....

I would say that your training is always maturing. But, it sounds to me like you've experienced a few different things, and have now found the thing that fills a training void for you. So yes, I would say it is maturing. But don't stop seeking and maturing....

Fighting three people is a very serious situation, regardless of your skill level. It ain't going to be like the movies. You'll pull off a move on one of them, thinking you'll knock them out, when in actuality you'll probably get that one move off while the others close on you, and proceed to get overwhelmed because of math. You'd need to be confident in your ability to maneuver yourself so that you are only fighting one at a time, while at the same time understanding your surroundings and knowing how to get out and away safely. All the while, yelling out things like "leave me alone!" and "stop attacking me!" so others hear you, and hopefully call law enforcement to intervene before you are too seriously injured.

For us, classes are as normal now. Contact sparring. Students can wear masks if they want, but are not required to. Our class numbers have dropped significantly since this whole thing started, though.

Yeah, life happens that way at times. Stay positive, and things will come back around. Do short walk-thrus of forms at home just to keep them fresh in your head, or stand and practice you balance doing concentration kicks if you can; small things like that.

I think it depends school to school. I've been at schools where the most senior student (sunbae) in class is responsible for organising the students, bowing everyone in, warm ups etc. I do something similar in my school though generally the sunbae is a higher grade colour belt or a blackbelt I've asked to come along to assist me. I have seen that done in other schools I've attended, as well. I think it's good preparation for working towards the instructor ranks.

You'll never go wrong with that approach, for sure.

Is what you're saying for being a LEO, and not pertaining to MA rank/regulations?? Perhaps bushido_man96 and/or tallgeese, who are LEO's, can help me understand better. There are lots and lots of different organizations that teach law enforcement things like defensive tactics. Police Krav Maga through Krav Maga Worldwide and GRACIE through Gracie BJJ are two systems that I've trained in and received certifications in. SPEAR is another popular system. There are a plethora of others. How these organizations become accredited to teach law enforcement, I'm not sure. They probably have to apply to do so through the National Law Enforcement Training Center, but I'm not sure. Each state has their training academies for the law enforcement agencies in their states (and some agencies are large enough that they have their own academies, which must teach the minimum that the state academy does). My experience was that there wasn't a particular system at our academy that was taught; it was a conglomeration of techniques and tactics put together by the head DT instructor of the academy. But this isn't necessarily the norm. The Los Angeles County Sheriff's Office, when I first certified in Police Krav Maga, used Police Krav Maga as the system taught in their academy. So, it varies from place to place.

Thank you for all you've done here on staff at KF, Devin! I wish you the best of luck moving forward, and look forward to seeing your posts here and there. You will be missed on staff, but perhaps you'll make your way back!

Congrats!