Hi all, I used to post here regularly years ago when I trained in Shotokan Karate, and MAP use tapered off as I did some other stuff. My background has primarily been on the sport side of martial arts instead of the "am I ready to defend myself against life and death attack" side, and I'm okay with that. My background is: Olympic fencing (primarily epee): five years Taekwondo (amalgamation of WTF and ITF taekwondo at college club): three years Shotokan karate: four years And then parenthood and a knee injury and work schedules pushed me away for several years. But recently, my two sons have been training in Chun Kuk Do for about a year now (an offshoot of Tang Soo Do created by Chuck Norris, so yes, Chuck Norris jokes are always welcome), and I got back into training with them. The self-defense aspect of it is nice--my job can make some people very upset (I'm an attorney), and I prohibited to carry a firearm at work. But my main interests are exercise, fun, and being able to encourage my kids to stick with it and help them with their training. I've been training in CKD for about three months now and I'm really enjoying being back at it. I'm also a firearm guy, and I'm always happy to answer questions about that area. I know that all is kinda foreign (literally and figuratively) on a primarily-UK site, but I've seen firearms-for-self-defense threads come up more than once on MAP, so if I know the answer to something, I'll happily chime in.
Welcome back! I always enjoyed reading your well thought-out posts and appreciate your slant on things.
Ya, I remember you as a fencer. Chuck Norris karate, now, huh? LOL, I'd make a joke except that I know Norris can still knock me into next Tuesday! So, what type of law? And what is it about your job that you can carry a gun at work?
Municipal law. I do everything from civil litigation to criminal prosecution to land use law on behalf of city government. As for carry, I think you misunderstood. I *cannot* carry a firearm at work due to employer's workplace rules. Even though when I'm off the clock I can (I'm a CHL), and even though private citizens I interact with can, including for CHLs within city hall itself.
So, does your beard hide another fist or is that the secret move Chuck Norris only passed down to the most trusted of his students?
Should have put in the initial post that other intermittent hobbies over the past few years that I’m now focusing again on more seriously are power-lifting, kettlebells, and Starcraft 2. Two of these are more valuable for my martial arts training than the third...
What are you doing with kettlebells? I use them myself a bit so it's always good to see what others are up to Mitch
Nothing too fancy or elaborate; I mainly just like them for swings (one or two handed), rows, and OHP. It’s the same story with the barbell work; there’s only about three or four lifts where I really feel like I have good form and I enjoy it, and so I just try to hit those with some regularity instead of experimenting with a bunch of other lifts. I’m the “dad with a desk job who is lifting and doing martial arts to get back into shape,” not the “ripped athlete who wants to maximize his performance in every respect,” so I’m taking baby steps as to not injure myself or do something stupid.
Me too My standard routine is: 1 handed swings Goblet squats focussing on wide stance OHP curls (sorry ) Lunges Tricep Dips I've been meaning to add Turkish Get Ups for ages, must get on to that!
