The Martial Artists' Training Log

[bushido_man96]

4/8/2026 

Strength Training

Press:  45x5x2, 75x5, 95x3, 127.5x5, 127.5x5, 127.5x5.

Lat Pull-downs:  122.5x10, 122.5x10, 122.5x10.

[bushido_man96]

4/9/2026

Aikido:  8:45 - 9:45 am.  Morning Class.  Loosened up and then got into technique work.

Katatetori sankyo, omote and ura:  I struggled with ura.  I have to focus on driving uke's elbow to their hip with the step and turn that is required of the ura variation.  I struggled with the entry, too.  Maybe overthinking it.

[bushido_man96]

4/10/2026

Strength Training

Squats:  45x5x2, 95x5, 135x3, 155x1, 175x3, 195x3, 205x3, 215x3.

Bench Press:  45x5x2, 95x5, 115x5, 135x3, 155x1, 180x5, 180x5, 180x5.

Power Cleans:  75x3, 95x3, 115x3, 125x3.

Deadlifts:  135x3, 185x2, 225x1, 245x3, 245x3.

Full body workout in today.  Sets of 3 on squats and deadlifts are making a difference in my head not exploding.  When I sat down rep 3 on the deadlift, I thought about going for the 4th rep, but as I took in the breath, I felt the pressure in my head start to build.  I took that as a sign to let it set and hit another set of 3 after a rest.  The last set went well.

 

Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu:  6:45 - 8:15 pm.  Three warmup rounds, about 3 minutes each.  I've decided to focus on a different approach to the warmup rounds; I'm just going to focus on working on position; maintaining good positions or improving position.  And when I get better, I'll work on transitioning from one advantageous position to another.  Not going to be trying to submit, but will try to see and recognize the opportunities, maybe even briefly attack and then stop and move on.

Focus tonight was on leg entanglements.  We started with games focused on starting in and holding the position, and they progressed from there.  Keeping the knee line.  We progressed to top player starting standing and seated player working on getting the leg entanglement from seated and tripping, then holding position.  We started seated and got into the entangled position, then went from there.  We finished by working on ankle locks and heel hooks.

I got a couple of rounds of free rolling in.  I ended up submitting to knee on belly position.  I was stuck there too long and it just overwhelmed me and couldn't breath.

Some time ago I mentioned in one of these posts after a Taekwondo class that a couple of college athletes came in to use the TKD floor to do some grappling, and I stopped and chatted with them for a bit.  Good kids.  I told them about the Jiu-Jitsu school.  Well, they made it in tonight.  It was cool to have them in there, but in a way it wasn't, because they just kicked my butt.  Younger, athletic, and of course taller than me.  But such good kids.  It was cool to see them make it in, and hopefully I get to train with them some more in the future as their schedule (and mine) allows.

Edited April 11 by bushido_man96

[bushido_man96]

4/13/2026

Strength Training

Squats:  45x5x2, 95x5, 135x3, 155x1, 180x3, 200x3, 210x3, 220x3.

Press:  45x5x2, 85x5, 115x3, 130x5, 130x5, 130x5.

Deadlifts:  185x3, 225x1, 250x3, 250x3.

I had a little residual pressure later on.  Will continue to monitor.

 

Aikido:  6:15 - 7:15 pm.  Weapons Class.  Warmed up with paired jo work:  hi-4/low-4 combined, hi-8, low-8, and hi-10.  Jo owasae 1 & 2, followed by bokken taisabaki 1 & 2.  I'm not as good on my left side.  When I move left, I tend to cut my footwork to close, and I tend to not get my feet reset properly for alignment in the strike.

[bushido_man96]

4/15/2026

Strength Training

Squat:  45x5x2, 135x5, 155x3, 180x3, 200x3, 225x3.

Bench Press:  45x5x2, 95x5, 115x5, 135x3, 155x1, 185x5, 185x5, 185x5.

Power Clean:  95x3, 115x3, 135x3, 135x3, 135x3.

It was nice to see two plates back on the squat.

[bushido_man96]

4/16/2026

Aikido:  8:50 - 9:50 am.  Morning Class.  Lots of work on 5th kyu testing requirements:

Munetski kotegashi with pin.

Shomenuchi kotegashi with pin.

Yokomenuchi sokumen iriminage omote with pin.

Yokomenuchi sokumen iriminage omote with tenkan with pin.  I don't like this one.  I worked on the tenkan and generating spin at the elbow along with hikite.

Shomenuchi ikkyo omote with pin.  I need to work on blending with the strike better.  I think I'm rushing it.  Slow and smooth, smooth is faster.

Shomenuchi ikkyo ura with pin.  Ditto.

 

Aikido:  3:30 - 4:30 pm.  Club Class on campus.  Got to review the rest of 5th kyu material:

All four kaitenage variations.

All three sankyo variations.

Also got to review the kotegashi and ikkyo techniques with the club student.  I'm still working the kinks out of the techniques that have the extra turning motions.

 

This is usually BJJ night, too, but instead of training they had a pizza night because it's the head coach's last night before leaving.  He's moving to Hawaii, and he'll be missed.  I've learned a lot from him and enjoyed how he ran the classes.  But we will still be having the classes, so I should be back in class next week.

[bushido_man96]

4/17/2026

Strength Training

Squat:  45x5, 115x3, 135x3, 155x3, 175x3, 195x3.

Press:  45x5x2, 85x5, 115x3, 132.5x5, 132.5x5, 132.5x5

Lat Pull-downs:  125x10, 125x10, 125x10.

My knees and hips and back were extra creaky and achy and sore today, so I worked up a pretty light squat.

[bushido_man96]

4/22/2026

Strength Training

Squat:  45x5x2, 115x5, 135x3, 155x3, 175x3.

Deadlifts:  185x3, 225x2, 255x1, 255x1.

Bench Press:  45x5x2, 95x5, 115x5, 135x3, 160x2, 190x5, 190x5, 190x5.

Lat Pull-downs:  127.5x10, 127.5x10, 127.5x10.

I had that twinge going on in my lower left back, just above my hip, again.  I couldn't pull my deadlift for the triples.  I did a light squat to warm up the deadlift, but even the light squat got affected by the back twinge.  I think on bench I may have to move to sets of 3.  Reps 4 and 5 really get to my head the heavier the load gets.  I finished with the lat pull-downs to get more pulling in since I couldn't do the deadlift work.