DarthPenguin

Wednesday 1st October BJJ Session Really good session. Was working submission chains from side control using the far side lapel. Initial submission was a lapel americana. Then worked transitioning to a paper cutter / cross choke style choke if they pulled their arm out. Then transition to armbar if they defend the choke by framing. Really liked the chain and can see it being something i will actively try to develop. Couple of rounds sparring. Went well. managed several guard passes using the two passes i wanted to work on (over under with collar hand deep and lots of pressure and double under pass with pressure). Pulled guard to start everytime and managed to work a sweep too which i was pleased with. Only got one submission but managed to take top control and move in it smoothly which is what i was mainly working on. Overall really pleased! Now to prepare for getting absolutely smashed next session as that is usually how it goes!!

Tuesday 30th September Lifting Session Back squat 20kg x 5 40kg x 3 60kg x 2 80kg x 1 90kg x 3 90kg x 3 90kg x 3 Barbell Bench Press 20kg x 5 40kg x 3 60kg x 2 83kg x 3 83kg x 3 83kg x 3 Barbell sumo deadlift 90kg x 5 Biceps cable curl (tri set with one hand cable rows and triceps pushdowns) 26kg x 7 26kg x 7 26kg x 7 Triceps straight bar pushdown 26kg x 13 26kg x 13 26kg x 13 One Hand Cable Row (standing) 26kg x 10 reps (per hand) 26kg x 10 reps (per hand) 26kg x 10 reps (per hand) Tried these standing and actually felt tougher than last time. Will try again next time and decide after a few goes. Is less hassle to set up too which is good! Captain of Crush grippers identical work done for left and right hands. Same reps and strength for each. Trainer (60lb) x 10 Sport (80lb) x 6 0.5 (120lb) x 2 1 (140lb) x 5 1 (140lb) x 4 1 (140lb) x 4 1 (140lb) x 4 1 (140lb) x 4 Trainer (60lb) x 51

Monday 29 September Was a public holiday so no karate. Decided to do a little cardio on the indoor cycle. did 5.4km in 13min. Intent was gentle pace and managed that

Sunday 28 September Lifting Session Back squat 20kg x 5 40kg x 3 60kg x 2 80kg x 5 80kg x 5 80kg x 5 80kg x 5 Barbell Bench Press 20kg x 5 40kg x 3 60kg x 2 74kg x 5 74kg x 5 74kg x 5 74kg x 5 Barbell sumo deadlift 80kg x 5 Thought i would switch to these for a while as they will help with strengthening hips. Added in cable rows to cover row pattern Biceps cable curl (tri set with one hand cable rows and triceps pushdowns) 26kg x 6 26kg x 6 26kg x 6 Triceps straight bar pushdown 26kg x 12 26kg x 12 26kg x 12 One Hand Cable Row (seated) 26kg x 10 reps (per hand) 26kg x 10 reps (per hand) 26kg x 10 reps (per hand)

The thing is over here gambling has always been allowed and sports gambling is a huge deal - multiple bookmakers on every high street etc; several football clubs are sponsored directly by Bookmakers (they wear the bookmakers name on the front of their jersey) : i support Glasgow Rangers personally and they have "Unibet" as a jersey sponsor etc. So i don't think it is necessarily gambling companies that are the issue with the prices, just seems to be a shift in mindset over time: tbh not going to go into much more detail here as i have my own thoughts on that and it would likely get too political for on here!

It really is just pure greed!

Tbh as someone abroad i have always thought you guys get the short end of the stick with charges for sports. UFC and boxing are an easy example: if i decide to pay for a boxing PPV here (and it is normally only the biggest high profile fights that are a PPV) it is about £20/25 usually - i was shocked to see it is $99 in the USA and covers a lot of the fights. Similarly my subscription to TNT sports (formerly ESPN etc in the UK) includes almost all UFC events - i only pay for the biggest ones that are a PPV and sometimes i object on principle to paying when i already have a subscription! You guys definitely get ripped off - I also saw the head of TKO openly saying that WWE prices needed to change as they were stupidly priced to allow families to attend and it was leaving potential profits on the table! Sheer greed - if families can't attend then they are costing themselves potential future customers!

That is true but not what i meant: i meant that someone who has not trained against resistance is materially different to someone who has done so. So if someone has never sparred/done kumite/randori and is a black belt then it is probably not as important when they enter some competition in another style that is related as someone who has performed it against resisting opponent. eg ask me if i want to fight someone who has done Muay Thai for 10years, never fought and only done bagwork or someone who has done it for 2years but spars weekly and had a couple of fights : i will pick the first person every single time

Thursday 25 September Judo Session First session for ages and felt it! was good to get back on the judo mats. Standard warm up which slaughtered me lol and then practiced throws of the day. Gradually felt smoother as the reps went on. Newaza went well and we didn't do any Tachiwaza. All in all a good first session back

Wednesday 24 September Power interval on ski-erg 258m 246m 235m 216m 236m For the power interval it was 5 intervals, 1min max effort then 3min rest. Will try to gradually build up to 2min effort over time Reverse Barbell curl 16kg x 10 16kg x 10 16kg x 10 Got a new rackable curl bar and wanted to test it

Tuesday 23 September Lifting Session Back squat 20kg x 5 40kg x 3 60kg x 2 80kg x 5 80kg x 5 80kg x 5 80kg x 5 Biceps cable curl (superset with squats) 26kg x 6 26kg x 6 26kg x 6 26kg x 6 Barbell Bench Press 20kg x 5 40kg x 3 60kg x 2 74kg x 5 74kg x 5 74kg x 5 74kg x 5 Barbell Bent over row 74kg x 5 74kg x 5 74kg x 5 74kg x 5 Triceps straight bar pushdown 26kg x 11 26kg x 11 26kg x 11 26kg x 11 Captain of Crush grippers identical work done for left and right hands. Same reps and strength for each. Trainer (60lb) x 10 Sport (80lb) x 6 0.5 (120lb) x 2 1 (140lb) x 4 1 (140lb) x 4 1 (140lb) x 4 1 (140lb) x 4 1 (140lb) x 4 Trainer (60lb) x 50

Not quite sure i get what you mean here? on the face of it yes a punch is a punch etc. but i think you have to also factor in the constraints under which the techniques were learnt / practiced. Someone who has done a sparring/fighting heavy style such as Muay Thai, Kyokushin, Enshin, TKD will be more likely to apply a punch effectively in competition than someone who learnt it in something like Tai Chi and has never actually punched anyone or anything. The original rise of Judo sorta proved that when Kano added randori and practising techniques against resistance then his Judo Ryu beat the other schools that did older Japanese Jiu Jitsu without resisting partners.

Yeah i would say the sensible course of action is to talk to the tournament organiser and ask them. What style they do/have done is also relevant Eg. if the student is a BB in Kyokushin/Ashihara etc. and entering a TKD sparring competition then they likely should be above the green belt division. If they are a bb in one of the styles of karate that has almost no actual kumite then maybe the Green belt division in TKD is appropriate. Definitely should be disclosed in a respectful manner and let the organisers make the call

Not quite sure how the black belt in judo would have any impact on TKD tbh (other that maybe comfort in a competitive setting) so don't see why it would need to be disclosed. I have always liked the BJJ way of dealing with other grappling arts tbh: it is convention over here that if someone is judo BB and enters a BJJ tournament they enter as a Blue Belt as a minimum due to experience. Karate, kickboxing etc. grades don't matter as it is a totally different fighting style. I try to do the same when it is a related style: when i came back to karate a couple of years ago i told the instructors my prior experiences in other styles and whenever i was sparring with someone new i would let them know (often the instructor did too) that i had prior experience in other striking styles (including karate) and whilst i was wearing a white or low kyu belt they could spar harder. I did the same at my judo club before any newaza. But didn't bother mentioning any striking experience as it didn't seem relevant. For me the rule of thumb would be: is the competition using a similar skillset to one you have acquired elsewhere and have been assessed to a higher level of competency that in the style you are competing in? If yes then needs declared to the comp organisers and let them decide how to deal with it. If no then it's irrelevant and if in doubt then check.

As a Bills fan anything that can impact the Ravens playoffs seeding is fine by me! Have always had a soft spot for the Ravens too since the Ray Lewis days but they are one of the biggest threats to the Bills finally winning a superbowl so every close loss they can rack up is a win for the Bills!