The Martial Artists' Training Log

[bushido_man96]

3/10/2026

Taekwondo:  5:45 - 6:30 pm.  Traditional Class, I taught.  Which was probably a good thing, because my knees were really achy tonight.  Got through most of basics, while still helping some of the lower ranks with a few things here and there without slowing the rest of class down too much.  We had white, low/high orange, high green, and low brown belt forms and one-steps.

Sparring:  6:30 - 7:00 pm.  Started off with several rounds of sparring.  One of the things I noticed and talked about was using good footwork when retreating.  I have several students that are pretty aggressive moving forward, but when they feel jammed up and want to make space, they basically walk backwards.  I talked about the speed advantage of someone moving forward while someone else is moving backward.

After several rounds of sparring I had the students pair up in a closed stance and close enough together they could lock hands to help balance each other.  I had them work on repeat kicking drills, with their partner helping them balance while providing a target for them.  First I had them do repeat round kicks, 2 at a time, middle/high, middle/middle, or high/middle, depending on their ability.  They did that back and forth for a bit, and then I switched them up to front kick/round kick, focusing on the pivot and hip switch to go from the front kick to the round kick.

After the class time was spent, I gathered the twin high green belts and worked a floor drill with them to help them get down the circle block/#2 front kick/reverse punch section of Won Hyo.  They've been struggling with putting the block together, so I broke down the block into a few segments and them had them gradually smooth it out.  Hopefully it helps them out.  If not, I'll try something different.

[bushido_man96]

3/11/2026

Strength Training

Clean & Press:  65x1, 75x3, 85x3, 90x3, 95x3, 100x3, 105x3.

Clean & Jerk:  110x2, 115x2, 120x2, 125x2, 130x2.

Deadlifts:  155x3, 205x2, 240x3, 240x3.

I enjoyed getting more cleaning and more overhead work in.  However, I do believe my knees will ache tomorrow.  I want to use cleans as warmups for deadlifts, but I'll cut back the total reps next time.  I think I'll preload the vitamin I as well.

[sensei8]

I greatly admire your dedication to your health for all of these years. Thank you for allowing us a glimpse into your journey of maintaining your health.

[DarthPenguin]

On 3/11/2026 at 11:35 PM, bushido_man96 said:

I went with the white belt first.  I was able to stay on top, advance position, and was starting to work for an Americana submission when time ran out.  It was encouraging.

Next was with the wrestler.  Holy cow.  He just killed me.  Lots of good pressure, strong, athletic, could scramble.  Somewhere during that match I smoked my right knee somehow, and it was really burning for a time.  It got to feeling better after class.  This match was not encouraging.

Last I went with the blue belt.  I felt like I had a good match with him, until eventually I fell into bottom side control, which always sucks.  My knee was burning pretty good, and it cut this match a little short.

sounds like a really positive class! Being able to advance and keep your position etc. is definitely a win. If a decent wrestler then that would be a nightmare anyway so again don't be too disheartened! Final one, if you felt like you had a good match then that is what is important. 

Definitely sounds like it is coming together  Is it still just nogi or you guys training in the gi now too?

[bushido_man96]

On 3/12/2026 at 1:32 PM, sensei8 said:

I greatly admire your dedication to your health for all of these years. Thank you for allowing us a glimpse into your journey of maintaining your health.

Thank you Bob!

On 3/13/2026 at 5:32 AM, DarthPenguin said:

Definitely sounds like it is coming together  Is it still just nogi or you guys training in the gi now too?

Nogi for the most part.  They do a gi class on the first Friday of the month.  I missed it this month.

 

3/12/2026

Aikido:  8:45 - 9:45 am.  Morning class.  Loosening and aikitaisos, then technique work.

Katatetori kaitenage omote:  This felt pretty good.  Stepping was smoother.

Katatetori kaitenage soto:  This is the more direct version, without the extra step in the beginning.  This one felt good, too.

Katatetori kaitenage ura:  This one is getting better.  I'm still trying to adjust the footwork.  It didn't feel like I was muscling things around as much today.

Yokomenuchi sokumen iriminage:  After I stopped overthinking the footwork, this one smoothed out.  I still have to focus on drawing the hand to the hip and giving a little twist for kazushi.

During the first technique, the sensei and I had a little fun with looking at some transitions to some things that would be more practical for me to use at work.  It was a little nerd out session, really, and it's always fun.

 

Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu:  6:45 - 8:15 pm.  Couple of 3-minute warmup rounds during which I got some pointers with getting past half-guard.  Class focus was on back control again.  We started out working with the top player trying to retain the position and isolate the head or an arm.  Bottom player was trying to escape or re-guard.  While on bottom I found the baseball bat grip on the arm and bringing over the head helped with the escape.  I also found that when I would pressure back into the top player while on bottom and worked on getting my head to the floor, that helped with getting my back to the floor and getting out.  When on top and getting pressured back, we progressed to letting a hook go and repositioning the hips back under the opponent to prevent escape, or releasing the hooks and going under the legs, then lifting and sitting back up and getting the chest-to-back connection re-established.  We progressed to working to a RNC or armbar for finish.  Funny point:  in one of the drills, I had a baseball bat grip with my thumb around the wrist, and somehow this got me into a spot where I couldn't release the grip and my own thumb was blocking me; it was a thumb lock!  It led to getting me armbarred.

We finished with open rolling.  Coach said I'm doing some good things movement-wise, I just got to keep at it.  I rolled with a new guy who had wrestled in high school, but was a few years out of high school.  While we were rolling he bellied out and I eventually worked a crossface into a RNC for the tap-out!  It felt pretty good.

 

[DarthPenguin]

7 hours ago, bushido_man96 said:

We finished with open rolling.  Coach said I'm doing some good things movement-wise, I just got to keep at it.  I rolled with a new guy who had wrestled in high school, but was a few years out of high school.  While we were rolling he bellied out and I eventually worked a crossface into a RNC for the tap-out!  It felt pretty good.

 

Awesome. It feels really good when you begin to see things coming together - you know it has taken long enough (it does for me anyway) that you have actually gotten a little better over time and not just got lucky. I have always said "you can land a lucky punch but you don't land a lucky armbar or choke!"

[bushido_man96]

On 3/17/2026 at 5:36 AM, DarthPenguin said:

I have always said "you can land a lucky punch but you don't land a lucky armbar or choke!"

So true!  It does feel good to have a little success.  I know with BJJ you have to play the long game, and this makes it very difficult.  I am very much a white belt all over again.  My former TKD instructor and friend from the ATA got his black belt in BJJ a year or so ago, and so I spend a lot of time texting with him about my thoughts and feelings in class and such.  He's been a great support, as he always has been over the years for me.

3/13/2026

Strength Training

Bench Press:  45x5x2, 95x5, 115x3, 135x1, 170x5, 170x5, 170x5.

Triceps Push-downs:  55x15, 55x15, 55x15.

Barbell Curls:  45x15, 45x15, 45x15.

Supersets for the ancillary lifts.  As I go up in weight on the bench, I may consider dropping to sets of 3 to see how that affects how my head feels.

[bushido_man96]

3/16/2026

Strength Training

Squats:  45x5x2, 95x5, 115x3, 135x1, 165x5, 180x3, 195x1.

Clean & Jerk:  75x2, 95x2, 125x2, 125x2, 125x2.

[bushido_man96]

3/17/2026

Taekwondo:  5:45 - 6:30 pm.  Traditional Class.  I taught this class.  Prior to class I reviewed Choong Jang hyung (our 4th dan form).  Got the class through all the basics, and I even joined in on a few to get moving a little bit.  Added spin outer crescent kicks to the back leg crescent kick basics.  Forms and one-steps were done for high orange, low/high green, and 2nd and 3rd dans.

Sparring:  6:30 - 7:00 pm.  Taught, but also sparred.  We did lots of short rounds with little rest, rotating the line each time for a new partner.  We had 5 in the class total.  I worked on my distancing.  The 3rd dan finished off by sparring with multiple opponents (who were younger kids).  He started 1v1, then after 30 seconds I had another join in, and the third joined in 30 seconds later.

[bushido_man96]

3/18/2026

Strength Training

Press:  45x5x2, 75x5, 95x5, 122.5x3, 122.5x3, 122.5x3, 122.5x3, 122.5x3.

Just in and out today.  In the future, I may consider upping weight after the last set for some push presses.

Edited Tuesday at 02:51 AM by bushido_man96