6/15/2026

Strength Training

Leg Press:  245x10, 295x10, 325x10, 325x10, 325x10.

Press:  45x5x2, 95x5, 115x5, 115x5, 115x5.

Lat Pull-downs:  137.5x10, 137.5x10, 137.5x10.

Barbell Rows:  95x8, 95x8, 95x8.

Barbell Curls:  45x15, 45x15, 45x15.

Triceps Push-downs:  60x15, 60x15, 60x15.

Smith Machine Stretch.

6/16/2026

Heavy Bag Training:  6 rounds, 1 min/45 sec.  Mainly punching and kicking, all levels.

Over-the-Bag Kick Flow Drills:  6 rounds, 30 sec/45 sec.  Switching feet to get both sides.

1.  BL outer crescent kicks.

2.  BL inner crescent kicks.

3.  BL outer crescent, spin outer crescent.

4.  BL outer crescent, spin outer crescent, BL inner crescent, spin outer crescent (last kick is with the other leg).

5.  BL spin round kick, spin hook kick (other leg).

6.  BL outer crescent, BL spin round, BL spin outer crescent, switch and spin round.

Stretch in The Rack.

6/17/2026

Aikido:  8:45 - 9:45 am.  Morning Class.  Some aikitaisos, then some work on mai ai and taisabaki work.  We did taisabaki for techniques like 7th kyu katatori ikkyo omote, which was good review.  We drilled the step back and "stop" hit, then added the step/slide.  Then added the backstep and cut to ikkyo.  Later on we got to freelance to different finishes a little bit.

Then we did technique work and geo waza limited to same side attacks.  It was fun, but I think too much most of the time and don't flow well.  Cool down stretch.

 

Strength Training

Leg Press:  245x10, 295x10, 330x10, 330x10, 330x10.

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

Lat Pull-downs:  140x10, 140x10, 140x10.

Barbell Rows:  100x8, 100x8, 100x8.

Barbell Curls:  50x15, 50x15, 50x15.  Hurts my left wrist.

Triceps Push-downs:  62.5x15, 62.5x15, 62.5x15.

Smith Machine Stretch.

6/26/2026

Strength Training

Leg Press:  245x5, 285x5, 305x3, 315x2, 335x5, 335x5, 335x5.

Press:  45x5x2, 75x5, 95x3, 120x5, 120x5, 120x5.

Lat Pull-downs:  140x10, 140x10, 140x10.

Smith Machine Stretch.

6/30/2026

Strength Training

Leg Press:  245x5, 285x5, 305x3, 315x2, 340x5, 340x5, 340x5.

Bench Press:  45x5x2, 95x5, 115x5, 135x3, 155x2, 175x5, 175x5, 175x5.

Lat Pull-downs:  142.5x10, 142.5x10, 142.5x10.

Smith Machine Stretch.

 

Taekwondo:  5:45 - 6:30 pm.  Traditional Class.  Good to finally be back!  As is customary, I taught this class.  But I did do some of the early basics to get a little work in.  Made my arms and body a little sore, which was nice.  It's that first week or so of getting the Taekwondo back in my body.  I also did Choi Yong once before class.  Balance on the repeat kick still sucks.

Basics, forms, one-steps.  During basics, I used an example of a slinky, twisting it one way and then letting go so it could snap back to it's regular position.  I explained that was how to help add power in the basic techniques, especially the upper body blocks and strikes; the coiling and uncoiling of the slinky.  I also talked about the importance of not just stepping in stances, but having control of the support foot and driving with it to drive power up from the floor.  I also emphasized the support foot in driving power in kicks, and that it isn't just a foot to stand on.

For forms and one-steps, we had high orange, low and high green, low blue, and middle brown.

Sparring:  6:30 - 7:00 pm.  I started one-steps at the end of the first "class," but didn't have much time, so I had the students pad up and spent the first half of sparring class working on one-steps.  With the pads on, I encouraged more work on proper distance and actually making light contact to the pads.  I taught low blue one-steps, and then helped high green belts work on their distancing and feeling actual application of the techniques, locks, pushes and pulls in the one-steps.  Last 15 minutes was solid sparring, and I emphasized the students establishing the front leg.

7/1/2026

Aikido:  6:15 - 7:15 pm.  Traditional Class.  Small class, just me, a blue belt, and the instructor, one of the nidans.  We hit aikitaisos, basic strikes, and then ukemi.  I still hate ukemi.  I just don't do it well and feel like I'm crushing my shoulder when I forward roll.  And I've been trying to panda roll more, but I'm struggling there, too.  Before technique work, we did a taisabaki drill against yokomenuchi attack (which is an angled cut, or downward angled knife hand strike).  After drilling that, each of the following techniques we did were based off that attack and the entry.

Sokumen iriminage:  The blue belt uke is weird, and I don't get the kuzushi well.  He's a touch taller than me, and everything ends up odd and strange as opposed to working with the nidan.  As tends to be the case most of the time, it's the drawing hand I need to focus on, along with twisting the drawing hand.

Shionage omote and ura:  These seemed to go ok.

Kokyunage:  This one was clunky, with lots of steps it seems.  Good energy from uke helps.  We also did a variation where we finished with a choke.

Next was some "free Aikido."  I did sokumen iriminage above, and kotegashi against a straight punch (one variation I used a tenkan entry).  Finally, I did more of a TKD style armbar and takedown.

Finished the night with some kneeling kokyudosa.

7/2/2026

Strength Training

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

Press:  45x5x2, 85x5, 105x3, 125x5, 125x5, 125x5.

Lat Pull-downs:  145x10, 145x10, 145x10.

Smith Machine Stretch, lower and upper body.

7/6/2026

Strength Training

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

Bench Press:  45x5x2, 115x5, 135x3, 155x2, 180x5, 180x5, 180x5.

Barbell Rows:  105x8, 105x8, 105x8.

Smith Machine Stretch, upper and lower body.

And I managed to wreck my back again on squat.  I don't know why that keeps happening.

7/7/2026

Taekwondo:  5:45 - 6:30 pm.  Traditional Class.  I taught this class, which was good, because I couldn't do much with the shape my back was in.  After getting through the upper body basics, then the stretch kicks, front kicks, and crescent kicks, I spent the rest of the time focusing on side kick technical breakdown.  I spent time focusing on the chamber position and keeping the body aligned while stepping.

Forms and one-steps:  white, low/hi orange, low/hi green, low blue.

6:30 - 7:00 pm.  Sparring.  Started with side kicking drills, just scoring a side kick with the front leg (no stepping) and the other just being the target, making contact.  After going back and forth and having everyone just paying attention to the kick, I did a drill where the attacker would throw the side kick, and this time the defender would defend and throw a counter BL round kick when the attacker's kicking leg was on the way down to the floor.  After some time drilling that, I had them spar a few rounds, focusing on what was learned from the drill.

7/13/2026

Taekwondo: 5:45 - 6:30 pm. Traditional Class. I taught. In basics, I was still hammering the slinky coil/uncoil principle. I added a set of front thrust kicks after the front snap kicks, along with some outside axe kicks. Forms and one-steps for white, low orange, low/high green, low blue, middle brown, and 2nd and 3rd dans.

Our young high green belt gal (early teenager) is good. Really good, very solid in her techniques. And she should be, as he came to us from a Karate school that closed in town where she was a red belt I believe. I told her she's doing great with her technique and her form, but then I told her that she is "just doing" a form, and that she needs to start focusing and putting some spirit and emotion into the form, so that she starts doing her form. I also did one-steps with her since we had an odd number of students, and we worked on distancing, judging it better to make the one-steps better and to get her more confident in her techniques. As @sensei8 would say, helping her "mature in her technique."

We have a new little white belt gal in class too. She's young, I'd say 10 at the most. She is sharp! She has her form down already, and not only that, when she did her form today, she fixed a chambering issue with her blocks that I spoke to her about last week. She also has her one-steps memorized, to the point that the 3rd dan working with her was calling the one-steps out randomly and she was able to knock them out without a hitch. Very cool.

6:30 - 7:00 pm. Sparring. I continued working on the counter kick when the attacker is dropping their kicking leg down to the ground. I let it run as a more natural sparring drill this time. I finished it by having them in open stance and trying spinning counters to the head. Afterwards, I asked them what they found that worked and what didn't.

I worked with a low orange belt gal (early teenager) in the sparring drills. She's a project. She doesn't process stuff very fast, and when doing moves and techniques, she delays before throwing them, and throws slow. It might be a confidence issue. I was working with her on thinking less, and most important, keeping herself safe while sparring - moving more and being active with her feet, having a good base, and being strong with her body (I tell her "body strong" constantly). I have to bring her along more slowly than some of the other students, but when something sticks, it's very rewarding.

My back is still causing me problems, and I can't move worth a darn. I'm hoping next week things are better. I miss being in class, and going to BJJ class.