The Martial Artists' Training Log

[bushido_man96]

On 2/15/2026 at 12:56 PM, sensei8 said:

The jump spinning back kick has been my most favorite TKD kick because I can generate a lot of power, Btw, I also feel in love with the turning-around roundhouse kick, as well. I was most fortunate to have learned them both from GM Suh, and adding them to my arsenal was a turning point because they’re definitely NOT Shindokan in any shape, way, or form. 

I like a reverse side kick/spin back kick, but I like to do more of a switch-foot version of it than a jumping version, as it is quicker, and I stay closer to the floor and thus have less of a telegraph.  That, and I'm also older and my knees hate me, so I don't jump as much as I used to.

I think I probably showed you that switching version I do when we trained together.

 

2/2/2026

Aikido:  6:15 - 7:15 pm.  Weapons Class.  Jo warmups:  high-4, low-4, high-8, low-8, and high-10; about 5 total minutes of continuous partner work here.  The rest of the class was spent on kumi jo 2 and 1.  After that, we did some "free" kumi jo practice using some practice sticks (soft) to finish out the class.  It was "one-to-one" striking/blocking.  It helped to see some attacks and to block and counter.  I did get a little frustrated with practice tonight, trying to memorize and just overall make things work and flow.

[bushido_man96]

2/3/2026

Taekwondo:  5:45 - 6:30 pm.  Traditional Class.  Basics and forms.  Helped white belts and high green belts.  For white belts, I focused on stances.  For the high green belts, I focused on the circular scooping block section of Won Hyo hyung.

Sparring:  6:30 - 7:00 pm.  White belts did combinations then did one-technique, two-techniques, and three-techniques drills.  The other students worked the following drills:

Closed stance, attacker does #3 round kick, defender slide back/block and reverse side kick counter.

Open stance, attacker does #2 round kick, defender blocks/reverse side kick, or if more advanced, just reverse side kick counter.

We finished with several short rounds of sparring.  I encouraged the students to work on set-ups and the counters we drilled.

[sensei8]

5 hours ago, bushido_man96 said:

like a reverse side kick/spin back kick, but I like to do more of a switch-foot version of it than a jumping version, as it is quicker, and I stay closer to the floor and thus have less of a telegraph.  That, and I'm also older and my knees hate me, so I don't jump as much as I used to.

I think I probably showed you that switching version I do when we trained together.

Yes, you did show me that version when we trained together. That’s the curse, no matter Shindokan’s methodology and ideology, that Shindokan is quite absent of high kicks. 

Because of the high kick arsenal of TKD is why I took 1 year of TKD. That sinister turn-around roundhouse kick was the bane of my JBB tournament days; I can’t begin to tell you how many times I walked into that kick.

[bushido_man96]

14 hours ago, sensei8 said:

Because of the high kick arsenal of TKD is why I took 1 year of TKD. That sinister turn-around roundhouse kick was the bane of my JBB tournament days; I can’t begin to tell you how many times I walked into that kick.

By "turn-around roundhouse kick," do you mean like a round kick that comes from a spin side type of turn, or the 360 degree spinning round kick?

 

2/5/2026

BJJ:  6:45 - 8:00 pm.  Warmup:  2 rounds, 4 minutes, light rolling.  The focus of the class tonight was getting to position to work leg locks.  We started out with one seated and the other kneeling, and working to get a leg over on the knee from outside the opponent's leg.  This advanced to trying to keep the leg in the 50/50 position and establishing a good knee line.  We worked a little on setting a heel hook and an ankle lock.  Then we did some scrambles from the 50/50 position.  For free rolling, I did 2 rounds of 4 minutes each.  Then stretched.

[bushido_man96]

2/10/2026

Taekwondo:  5:45 - 6:30 pm.  Traditional Class.  I taught this class.  Prior to class I was able to run through Choi Yong three times.  My balance was bad on the repeat kicks.  I was extremely short of breath and had kind of a cold sweat going on.  For class, I got through basics (went at a better clip), then went through white belt, low orange belt, low and high green belt, and middle brown belt forms.  One-steps were done testing style, with an attacker doing down blocks continuously so the students testing could get through them all.

Sparring:  6:30 - 7:00 pm.  Padded drills, switching sides and switching roles as they went.

1.  Closed stance, attacker does front leg round kick (#1 or 3), defender blocks and does a front leg round kick counter as quick as they can.

2.  Closed stance, attacker does front leg round kick, defender blocks and spin side kick counter, or just did the spin side kick counter upon recognition of the attack.

3.  Open stance, attacker does front leg side kick, defender blocks and side steps the back leg to a 45 degree angle forward and counters with punches and kicks.  I call this the "Crossing the T" drill.

After the drills we had time for one round of free sparring.  I encouraged the students to try to work the drilled components above.  Stretched afterwards.

[bushido_man96]

2/12/2026

Taekwondo Testing:  6:00 - 7: 15 pm.  Another small testing, mostly lower ranks, but it went fairly well.  I sat on the testing panel along with the other 5th dan/school co-owner.

[bushido_man96]

2/16/2026

Strength Training

Going to try a different approach and see how it affects me.

Squat:  45x5x2, 85x5, 105x3, 135x1, 155x1

 

Aikido:  6:15 - 7:15 pm.  Weapons Class.  Warmup with high-4, low-4, high-8 with the jo.  Went at a pretty good clip and got a good warmup.  

Kumi jo:  1, then 2, then 3, switching attack and defense roles back and forth.  Lots of reps, which helps with the memorization.  Then we did 1-3 on offense, then switched to the defense.  Finished with kumi jo 4, then stretched.

Edited Thursday at 08:16 AM by bushido_man96

[bushido_man96]

2/17/2026

Taekwondo:  5:45 - 6:30 pm.  Traditional Class.  I got to be a student in this class.  The class started off with a real downer:  my favorite, old pair of dobok pants now have holes in the crotch.  I'm really unhappy about that.  They are a nice, thinner pair that I can really move well and kick in without having to hitch the things up at the hips.  I'm hoping I can get them patched up by the local tailor.

Anyway, basics were good, although tiring.  We did extra jumping kicks at the jump front snap kick portion of basics.  I did jump front snap kick (#3), jump round kick (#3), followed by hop side kick, all with the same leg.  Then in the combination portion of basics, I did #2 round kick/spin outer crescent kick combination, and after that combination I did back leg inside axe kick followed by a jumping 360 degree inside axe kick.  I hate axe kicks, so they weren't fun, but overall I was looser than I thought I'd be.  During forms I got to do Choi Yong once.  My balance was off on the repeat kicks and the reverse side kicks.  Finished out doing white belt one-steps with a rather fresh kid student.

Sparring:  6:30 - 7:00 pm.  I sparred three different black belts tonight, and I sparred each of them differently:

3rd dan adult:  The other co-owner of the school.  I used a side-on stance, Superfoot Wallace style, mainly trying to use front leg side kicks to set up front leg round kicks and hook kicks, high and mid section, along with reverse side kicks or hook kicks.  It went ok, but I wouldn't say I ever got the upper hand.  I need to get better at sliding and kicking, and getting lighter on my base leg when doing so.

2nd dan adult:  I sparred in a more standard manner, but came out of the gate a little more aggressively.  It went ok; he did get a good score on me, and I got a few on him.

2nd dan teen:  Actually the teenage son of the adult 2nd dan.  They are both about 6'2"  or so.  For this one, I picked a puzzle mat square on the floor and said, "I'm sparring from that square."  For the most part, I kept to it and held my ground.  I couldn't chase a whole lot because of that, but he kept coming back to me, so it worked.

I had a few more rounds with some of the lower ranked kids as well.  I was tired, but it was a good night.

[bushido_man96]

2/18/2026

Strength Training

Press:  45x5x2, 65x5, 70x5, 75x5, 80x3, 85x3, 90x2, 95x2, 105x2, 115x1.  Next time I'm going to do fewer sets but go heavier sooner.  I was noticing some residual pressure in my head after pressing.

[bushido_man96]

2/19/2026

Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu:  6:45 - 8:15 pm.  It was just me, a blue belt and the purple belt instructor tonight.  Started off with a couple of 4 minute warm-up rounds.  About halfway through the first round I thought to myself, "What the hell am I doing here?"  Nothing seemed to go right.  I got really close to making a pass-by takedown that I saw a video on work.

Then we spent the bulk of the class working on takedowns at various points of advantage and disadvantage.  One of the drills started with a single leg picked up.  After the drilling portion of class, we rolled a few times to finish out.  If anything, the grappling warms me up really good and I get some really good stretching in after.

At a few points I felt I was advancing position, if just a little.  I keep seeing opportunities to get to the outrigger position, and keep getting closer.  My arms were toast tonight, and at a few points we had to do some pushups after the drills.  I'm already heavy, and that really sucked.