Geezer's Long March Toward the Elite Sneaking Up On the Finish Line

[Ian Kovtunovich]

Thanks Ian. I battered away at the OHP for years trying to get it better. I wanted delts, not moobs.

HA! A noble goal if e'er there was one.

[bob g]

...Also, old man, may I kindly say damn you and your 160lb press? That's strong work.

I wonder if this isn't a generational thing. Those of us who had our formative years, literally, in the 60s (Mark) and 70s (me) did more pressing than benching as we grew up. We had a foundation of it back when dirt was new. Our coaches were the WWII and Korea guys who had never benched. Even those of us coming back to the weight room after a lay off for kids and jobs and whatnot seem to press OK. Mark, you've mentioned this before. Do you think the youngsters like Ian just need time standing under the bar to catch up?

[Mark E. Hurling]

I wonder if this isn't a generational thing. Those of us who had our formative years, literally, in the 60s (Mark) and 70s (me) did more pressing than benching as we grew up. We had a foundation of it back when dirt was new. Our coaches were the WWII and Korea guys who had never benched. Even those of us coming back to the weight room after a lay off for kids and jobs and whatnot seem to press OK. Mark, you've mentioned this before. Do you think the youngsters like Ian just need time standing under the bar to catch up?

OK, now that one of the younger generation has made me hip (a great old 60's term) as to how to this quote stuff, I'm a changed man. I did do more pressing than benching in high school because there weren't any benches. I didn't even know there was such an exercise until I was in college from 68-72. But all that said, once I started benching the OHP took a far back second seat. In fact thanks to Strength and Health and Weider's publications I did behind the neck presses to ear level. Gotta develop those rear delts, man. I didn't start doing them from the front again until about 10 years ago. That full range of motion down to the chest and back up overhead was a humbling experience.

I pounded away with microloading during that time. It was a slow process with a lot of re-sets and back cycling. So I guess the answer is yes. In my case it is sort of a generational thing, and time with patience did it.

[Mark E. Hurling]

Glory be, I made it into the gym to commune with the iron again! Woo hoo!

5 minute warmup on the bike. Light day (mostly)

Overhead Press: 165 x 5 x 3 115 x 10 (heavy)

Bench Press: 155 x 8 x 3 + 10 (light)

Back Extension: 90 x 3 x 10 (light)

Foam roller and stretching. This was hard and I was running out of gas about set 4 of the bench presses, BUT I stayed the course and finished. Good thing it was a light day (mostly).

[bob g]

Overhead Press: 165 x 5 x 3 115 x 10 (heavy)

Ya gotta love the overhead stuff. Solid work, Mark.

[tertius]

By buoyant I mean that the attacker's lungs are full of air and they can't empty them properly. It sounds ooky and spooky but the result is that the attacker can't "settle" properly and are much easier to send backward or upward or both and so they fall. Not really floating, but less grounded if that makes sense. Two things that induce this buoyant state is when the palm is supinated either upward or outward, or the foot or feet turn out. Sounds like something out of Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon but it works. This comes from Chinese Kempo by the way, which is something Master Bellman incorporated or perhaps re-incorporated into jujitsu. I'm glad you asked about this Ian, because I just realized that both of these positions have implications for lifting. Supinate the hand for pullups and they become easier. Turn out the feet and the squat becomes easier. I know there are other kinesiological factors, but go figure.

The throw you describe is one of several variations I know from judo as a well as jujitsu. Using mushin ryu's 26 principles the hand/wrist technique you describe is primarily about body misalignment, the neck, head and spine in this case. I think of the body as a stack of blocks and when you push one or more out of line, the stack collapses. So with the body. You can accomplish the same throw with a palm heel strike directly up and under the jaw, shoving the head sideways, or shoving your right arm over their shoulder in contact with the traps. All of them work well.

No worries about the double post, MEH. Your log.

I really love this body alignment stuff.
I also think that the 'buoyant' effect probably has something to do with the shifting of their 'center' upward.
The suppination of the hand, particular if the arm is extended, will make the chest want to lift, and pull them up out of their feet.

About a decade ago I studied Tai Chi for five years, with lots of applications, push hands, joint locking, and other partner work, and got to learn some of this stuff.

Your previous (double) post reminded me of something... there's a sexual assault educator, a guy who was a martial arts instructor (karate, maybe) who had one of his students assaulted. Afterwards, she told him that nothing she'd learned from him had helped her. He then launched himself on a quest to understand how sexual predators do what they do (including going into prisons, hanging out with serial rapists, and asking them to demonstrate how they subdue and control their targets on him), and now tours the country lecturing and so forth. I believe he's written at least one book. But I cannot, for the life of me, remember his name.

[Mark E. Hurling]

Wooooo Hoooooo! I weighed in at 210 today. This is the ultimate and final victory. I have pursued this since the 20th century and got it. Of course I don't recommend the flu to lose the weight, but it has continued to drop since Monday. I'm done now. Better even than I thought I might achieve when I started this log in August.

Jujitsu today had a couple of significant discoveries. First off Master Bellman asked if could help with some special self defense classes he will be teaching this Spring. He hasn't done these lately but likes to use me to demonstrate on in these because I'm 5 inches taller and 50 lbs. heavier. It looks really good when he launches me across the mat or has me yelping from a solid control hold. He had me teaching a blue belt and a purple belt solo today, so I think he's evaluating my class management skills. While I was teaching today I had another one of those "ah ha!" moments when I realized that half the blue belt techniques really use the same same hand movements with different foot positions and movements. This is what Master Bellman calls the alphabet of movement and every time I think I have it down pretty well I discover new dimensions to this concept.
tertius, you have hit my press to talk button with your post. Your points about buoyancy make some sense. I think Ian is actually being polite to me about this since he remains unconvinced about chi. I'm like his eccentric uncle Yuri who everyone kind of indulges at family gatherings because although he gets cranky, they put up with him because he's amusing too sometimes. It's funny because I use tai chi as the basis for getting my students to relax and move more slowly. "Move tai chi slow, like the old guys in the park you see." Works every time.

I would appreciate more than I could if you can come up with the name of the self defense lecturer you mentioned. You may have noticed in some of my posts here and elsewhere that I am working on a book about self defense for women. My premises are simple; be alert, don't get isolated, if you are grabbed, get his hands off you, draw attention to the act by making noise, and run like hell. Standing and fighting is the wrong template for women and men for the most part as well. Most women's self defense begins and ends with rape. I start at the low intensity end of the spectrum with verbal harassment then groping and then the full on attack. I've never seen anyone else do this but then I haven't seen everyone's works. I may have missed something important that this man has discovered.

[Oldster]

Wooooo Hoooooo! I weighed in at 210 today. This is the ultimate and final victory. I have pursued this since the 20th century and got it.

That is AWESOME! Good job Mark. Hitting a goal like that is cool.

Now keep working on that strength!

[Mark E. Hurling]

Hell yes on the strength! Especially now I don't have to guard my eating so carefully.

[tertius]

Wooooo Hoooooo! I weighed in at 210 today. This is the ultimate and final victory. I have pursued this since the 20th century and got it. Of course I don't recommend the flu to lose the weight, but it has continued to drop since Monday. I'm done now. Better even than I thought I might achieve when I started this log in August.

Jujitsu today had a couple of significant discoveries. First off Master Bellman asked if could help with some special self defense classes he will be teaching this Spring. He hasn't done these lately but likes to use me to demonstrate on in these because I'm 5 inches taller and 50 lbs. heavier. It looks really good when he launches me across the mat or has me yelping from a solid control hold. He had me teaching a blue belt and a purple belt solo today, so I think he's evaluating my class management skills. While I was teaching today I had another one of those "ah ha!" moments when I realized that half the blue belt techniques really use the same same hand movements with different foot positions and movements. This is what Master Bellman calls the alphabet of movement and every time I think I have it down pretty well I discover new dimensions to this concept.
tertius, you have hit my press to talk button with your post. Your points about buoyancy make some sense. I think Ian is actually being polite to me about this since he remains unconvinced about chi. I'm like his eccentric uncle Yuri who everyone kind of indulges at family gatherings because although he gets cranky, they put up with him because he's amusing too sometimes. It's funny because I use tai chi as the basis for getting my students to relax and move more slowly. "Move tai chi slow, like the old guys in the park you see." Works every time.

I would appreciate more than I could if you can come up with the name of the self defense lecturer you mentioned. You may have noticed in some of my posts here and elsewhere that I am working on a book about self defense for women. My premises are simple; be alert, don't get isolated, if you are grabbed, get his hands off you, draw attention to the act by making noise, and run like hell. Standing and fighting is the wrong template for women and men for the most part as well. Most women's self defense begins and ends with rape. I start at the low intensity end of the spectrum with verbal harassment then groping and then the full on attack. I've never seen anyone else do this but then I haven't seen everyone's works. I may have missed something important that this man has discovered.

Congrats on hitting your goal!

As for chi, well... the school of Taiji i practiced (William C.C. Chen's) isn't big on chi. Master Chen is big on physics, western boxing as a learning tool, and lots and lots of repetition. Still. The thing that sold me on it was during my first class. I was in the front row, and the instructor had me come up and push on his arm. He then told the class about how my weight was on the outside of my foot. I had to think about it for a minute, but he was totally right. I got to the point in my practice where I could feel how another person's weight was distributed on their feet occasionally, and had a pretty easy time finding an opponents center in push hands... but I kind of drifted out, for various reasons. I should get back to it.

I'll see if I can track down the name of the guy in question. I was hoping YOU knew it. LOL.
He says some similar stuff, if I recall. He's really big on situational awareness, identifying predators, and breaking the chain of events that leads to victimization long before an attack occurs.