bushido_man96

Thank you, Bob! It was a challenging season, to say the least. To start off, this year the season was shortened quite a bit, so fewer tournaments to get to. We missed out on the first few tournaments of the year due to my work schedule, and then missed several more when my mother passed away. Top it all off with Covid 19 finishing the season. So, it was a rough all around, but, onward and upward. Baseball season is around the corner, so never a dull moment in the Walker house!

Congratulations! Onward and upward!

Ok, time to finish off this season. Kendall, due to some other obligations, was unable to compete in the District 4 Championship tourney we had here in town on 3/7. Kenneth, however, did compete. Kenneth lost his first two matches, getting pinned. I again thought he was doing well on his feet, moving and working with his hands, but I think he just needs to learn how to finish after getting into the position he wants. He did get to wrestle a third match for 5th/6th place, which the tournament does in order to fill out the state bracket if need be. Kenneth made it through the first period, even though he got taken down, he kept good position. When they went to the second period, I told the coach to put him on top. Coach did, and Kenneth broke the kid down, turned him, and pinned him. So, he ended 1-2 on the day, 5th place, but unfortunately, not a state qualifier. But....the day after the tourney, I got a call from one of the coaches who said the state tournament organizers were filling out the brackets, and in order to get a full bracket, Kenneth's name came up. Kenneth was excited, and said he wanted to go, so we committed to the state tournament! Hooray! ...But alas, our story ends on a downer, as the State tournament ended up being canceled due to the Covid 19 spread. Kenneth was super bummed about that. So that's how this year ends....in limbo.

3/12/2020 Strength Training Squats: 45x5, 135x5, 205x3, 235x1, 275x5, 275x5, 275x5. Press: 45x5x2, 75x5, 95x3, 115x1, 135x5, 135x5, 135x5. Lat Pull-downs: 160x8, 160x8, 160x8, 160x8. Stretch: front kick and quads. 3/13/2020 Strength Training Deadlifts: 135x5, 185x5, 225x2, 250x1, 295x5. Barbell Rows: 145x8, 145x8, 145x8. Stretch: front kick and quads. 3/15/2020 Firearms Training Spent a half-hour at the range, shooting the backup weapon. Still really working on trigger control and not anticipating the shot. I'm getting better, getting lot's more holes in the paper. I had Kenneth practice with me, too, and he's doing a good job.

We're closed up, too.

We've got the same thing going on here.

3/11/2020 MA Training TKD Kicking Class: 6:30 - 7:30 pm. Lots of front kicking. On the heavy bags, on the target pads, front legs, back legs, side stepping, timing/targeting drills, etc. Filled the class with front kicks. Towards the end we got into some combinations, following up with round kicks and a spin/reverse kick to finish. We also got some jumping work in, and a stretch.

Welcome to KF!

Congrats, Kanku65!

3/8/2020 Firearms Training: spent about an hour with my backup pistol, working on trigger pull, trigger reset, and not jumping the shot. Shot with lots of dummy rounds. Took the boys along with me, and they did some handgun shooting, too. 3/9/2020 Strength Training Squats: 45x5, 135x5, 205x3, 235x1, 270x5, 270x5, 270x5. Bench Press: 45x5x2, 115x5, 135x3, 185x1, 207.5x5, 207.5x5, 207.5x5. Lat Pull-downs: 150x10, 150x10, 150x10, 150x10. Stretch: front kicks and quads. MA Training TKD Black Belt Class: 6:50 - 7:30 pm. I was running late, due to priorities with the kiddos. I did Do-Kang 3 three times, twice at instructor count, and then on our own count. Three-steps, 1-6, at least twice each. Then spent time testing the kids on the three-steps. 3/10/2020 Strength Training Deadlifts: 135x5, 185x5, 225x2, 250x1, 290x5, 2. Lat Pull-downs: 155x8, 155x8, 155x8, 155x8. Stretch: front kick and quads. Put the belt back on for deadlifts. Still having trouble with the bar floating away from my shins on the pull. It's frustrating.

3/4/2020 MA Training TKD Kicking Class: 6:30 - 7:30 pm. I did some really basic kicking on the heavy bag. I did front kicks, then round kicks, then side kicks, doing front leg and back leg versions, and then adding in side-stepping, stepping with the front leg and then with the back leg. This amounted to 150 kicks total. Then I did my jumping work and practiced flying side kicks, getting over obstacles. Also did knife hand strikes on the bag, building power for board breaks. 3/5/2020 Strength Training Squats: 45x5, 135x5, 205x2, 235x1, 275x5, 265x5, 265x5. Press: 45x5x2, 75x5, 95x3, 115x1, 130x5, 130x5, 130x5. Lat Pull-downs: 145x10, 145x10, 145x10, 145x10. Stretch: front kick and quads. Somehow miss loaded my first squat set. Oh well. Nothing hurt. It did feel a bit heavy, though.

I agree as well. Try to set up a time to speak with the instructor to find out how he/she wants you to return to class. The instructor may wish for you to show some degree of proficiency in order to return to your black belt rank. Different schools have different policies on these things, and best to feel it out before assuming anything. It's great to see you back!

3/3/2020 Strength Training Deadlifts: 135x5, 185x5, 225x2, 250x1, 285x5, 1. Lat Pull-downs: 140x10, 140x10, 140x10, 140x10. Stretch: Front kick stretches, moving the bar up each time, and quad stretch.

3/2/2020 Strength Training Squats: 45x5, 135x5, 185x3, 225x1, 260x5, 260x5, 260x5. Bench Press: 45x5x2, 115x5, 135x3, 185x1, 205x5, 205x5, 205x5. Lat Pull-downs: 135x10, 135x10, 135x10, 135x10. Stretch: Front kick and quad stretches, moving up the rack today. MA Training Black Belt Class: 6:30 - 7:30 pm. Some more Do-Kang work today. Did #1 with no issues. Went through #2 twice, at my count, and then at our own count. Went through #3 at my count. Finished up with three-steps, doing 1-6, and really getting everyone on the same page with them. Finished class with some forward rolls practice, and then a good stretch.

That's rough, Bob, throwing out your back again. At least you have the option of using the pool, which is good to be doing something. Keep at it, and remember to moderate!

2/27/2020 Firearms Training: 4 hours at the range, shooting new backup weapons. Spent time getting familiar with the new gun, the feel of the smaller grip, and drawing from the backup position, and transition drills. Strength Training Squats: 45x5, 135x5, 185x3, 225x1, 255x5, 255x5, 255x5. Press: 45x5x2, 75x5, 95x3, 125x5, 125x5, 125x5. Lat Pull-downs: 130x10, 130x10, 130x10, 130x10. Stretch: front kick and quads. 2/28/2020 Firearms Training: A run through qualification, and then spent some time practicing with the backup gun. Strength Training Deadlifts: 135x5, 185x5, 225x2, 250x1, 280x5, 280x1. Barbell Rows: 140x8, 140x8, 140x8. Stretch: Front kick stretch and quads/hip flexors. Didn't wear a belt for the deadlift work sets, and I was able to pull closer to my body. I think the main issue is getting the lats strong enough to pull the weight back to me.

Welcome to KF!

Re-stomp the groin!

You might just need to have a lint roller handy to use before you leave the house to train.

2/25/2020 Strength Training Deadlifts: 135x5, 185x5, 205x3, 225x1, 250x1, 275x5, 275x2. Lat Pull-downs: 125x10, 125x10, 125x10, 125x10. Stretch: front kick and quads. So, the deadlifts. Still the bane of my existence. Inevitably, on my work sets, the bar doesn't want to come up my shins, and the pull goes to hell in a handbasket. The last set of 2, I did without my belt on. The pull was a bit slower, but I was able to keep the bar on my shins. So, I don't know from here. Maybe no belt? Maybe I need to belt up for every set? 2/26/2020 MA Training TKD Kicking Class: 6:45 - 7:30 pm. Did some jumping work, and worked on some jumping kicks, to start getting back into testing form. After I finally got warmed a little, I was able to get things working decently. I did Choong Jang once, slow pace, and then led some kicking drills with target pads. Worked on cutting angles and then throwing a front kick (front leg and back leg), cutting off the front leg and back leg, and then later following it up with a back leg round kick to the head. Some good drills that got the students moving. Finished with a stretch.

2/19/2020 Strength Training Squats: 45x5, 135x5, 185x5, 225x2, 275x5, 275x5, 275x5. Press: 45x5x2, 75x5, 95x3, 120x5, 120x5, 120x5. TKD Class: 6:45 - 7:30 pm. Kicking class. We worked on some speed drills, kicking and then bursting the leg back up to kick again right away, and some switching with it. We also use some target pads to work on some target acquisition training. 2/24/2020 Strength Training Squats: 45x5, 135x5, 185x3, 225x1, 250x5, 250x5, 250x5. Bench Press: 45x5x2, 115x5, 135x3, 185x1, 200x5, 200x5, 200x5. Lat Pull-downs: 120x10, 120x10, 120x10, 120x10. Stretch: front kick stretches only. TKD Class: 6:30 - 7:30 pm. Black belt class. We spent the first half of the class doing Do-Kangs 1 and 2. We did at a broken count first, with instructors doing a count and the class following; did it again with everyone going on instructors' count; and last time was done at own count. Did that with both 1 and 2, and it burned my arms out good, and my knees didn't like it the next day. Those two Do-Kangs are all upper-body blocking/striking combinations, so they really do a number on the arms, especially doing them 6 times total. Second half of class was spent doing three-steps; did 6, each one at least twice before moving on to the next.

Welcome to KF, Glenn!

Best of luck! Knock it out of the park!

So, consistency has not been my thing over the course of the past month or so. Lots of wrestling stuff going on, and I've been having some health issues that I am hoping we are closing in on figuring out. I've got an ear that has a lot of built up pressure in it, I'm losing hearing in it, and I get bouts of vertigo so bad that I throw up everything I've eaten in the day, and get walk, let alone drive a car. It's been narrowed down to Menear's disease, and I've got the results of an MRI pending, so fingers crossed. But, I have had some decent days where I've been able to get in and train. I'm not gaining, but I'm almost maintaining. 2/10/2020 Strength Training Squats: 45x5, 135x5, 185x3, 225x3, 270x5, 270x5, 270x5. Bench Press: 45x5, 115x5, 135x3, 185x1, 207.5x5, 207.5x5, 207.5x5. 2/12/2020 Strength Training Deadlifts: 135x5, 185x5, 205x3, 225x2, 250x1, 290x5. Press: 45x5x2, 75x5, 95x3, 115x5, 115x5, 115x5. Worked on slamming my armpits shut to engage my lats more on the deads, which helps keep the bar tracking up my legs. Helps, but I need work at it. I probably backed off too much on the press; it felt pretty good.

Ok, trying to keep up...this season had presented many challenges, and we've missed more tournaments than I would have liked to. On Feb 15, each of my boys had a tournament; Kenneth I took to Hill City, and Kendall's middle school team went to a town called Larned. Kenneth, unfortunately, had a rough go. It was a small tournament, and he was set up with a best two out of three with a kid his age, but 30 lbs heavier than him (two weight classes). Kenneth lost both matches, unfortunately, but we did use them as a chance to focus on some tactics. I told him to really focus on moving on his feet, being aggressive, and either circling or driving forward, but not to back up too much. And also on hand-fighting to get the position he wanted, and then attempt his attacks. In match 1, he did a decent job of that, but at one point just got stuck underneath the bigger kid, and gravity took care of the rest. Match 2 ended up much the same way, but he took his opponent into the depths of the second period. He had a few opportunities, and we discussed them, and he talked to me about what he was experiencing out there, and in the end, I think he learned some things. He did get a 2nd place medal, and for giving up 30 lbs, I think it was still earned. We got done early enough at Kenneth's tournament to make the hour and half drive to Larned to see him finish up his tournament. Before I got there, he won his first match, lost his second, and then I got there in time to seem him win his third match with a pin in the first period. His next match, he lost, getting pinned in the second period, but went on to win his last match, which put him on the medal stand with 3rd place. One of the big takeaways from today, for Kendall, was that he started taking some shots again, which he was getting away from the more he seems to move up in weight. On Thursday, 2/20, Kendall had his league tournament. He won his first match with a pin in the second period. The first period was spent jockeying for position for a takedown. The other kid was pretty active on his feet, and tried to set some headlocks, but Kendall evaded them well. Kendall tried to get a half-hearted headlock takedown at the end of the period, but it was out of bounds and he really didn't have good control, so they went to the second period, where he started on top. He got a good breakdown, and worked to a really tight single-wrist/half, and won with the pin. His second match was against an opponent that he'd wrestled before, that is pretty good, looked heavier (although they were all around 215), and he knew would be a challenge. So Kendall came out aggressive and tried to take him down with a blast double. He had a hand up too high, though, and he basically got caught in a cow-catcher, turned over and pinned in the first. So, working the backside now. His next match was against a really tall, skinny kid that tried to set up headlocks. Kendall countered with his own, did the nicest throw I think I've ever seen him do, and pinned the kid in the first period. (Bob, that was the one you got to see on FB). Last match, medal round. He faced an opponent he'd faced several times, and has been able to beat. The kid is a little taller, but less experienced. Kendall worked on his feet pretty good, trying to get behind, but just missed a takedown from the rear. Eventually, it became the headlock fight, and Kendall won that, pinning him towards the end of the first period. So, he finished the day 3-1, and placed 3rd, which he was pretty excited about. A good finish to the middle school season, and now, we'll give the kid's season a go.