This is madness! No. This is...

...Spartaaaaaa!! (kicks poor sod off a ledge). Love that scene.

Speaking of Sparta, they're coming for a scrimmage on Sat the 14th @ high noon. Sparta has a great group of juniors -- you may also have seen their senior fighters like Mr. Martinez and Mr. Uy workout at the dojang.

You'll probably be pretty tired from IT training (same day, in the morning), but if you spar in tourneys, you should come participate. It's one thing to practice with your teammates, but after a while, you start specializing in fighting that one person... Always good to see new folks and see how they move.

Ok, back to the movie. Kids, go beg your parents for a PS3 -- the Bluray player rocks. And no Rei, you may not touch the PS3. This is mine.

Got Pics?

If you have any pics or videos you'd like added to this blog, send them to me in an email!

Thanks to the Agcaoili's for sending me some from the first IT training -- I added those to the Oct 10th entry below.

Silicon Valley Tourney 10/24

Phew. That was a looooong day -- 8:00am to 6:00pm. Tournaments are always draining (not just for players, but for coaches, volunteers, and parents!); it's 5 hours of inaction and stewing in one's own juices, followed by 10 minutes of intensity.

We had almost all of BB candidates yesterday competing or supporting; really cool to see everyone out there : Alan, Austin, Jose, Yana, Allison, Audrey, Bridgitte, and Rei. Also great to see alumnus like Celina helping out.

While performance isn't everything, some personal observations...

- Holy cow, Jose was on FIRE. Motions, check, patience, counter...accurate and effective execution of training. Watch out, this boy is a head hunter! Wish I had some photos. Since I don't, here's the next best thing (sister Stephani was also crisp -- fun to watch and cheer for!).


- ok, not really a BB candidate topic, but that was one of the most chaotic tournaments I've see in the past 4 years. For example, after staging K1-5, tourey organizers gave up all pretense of sequence and called up everyone from K6-25 at the same time. So we had black belts starting, followed by yellow, then black, then red, then green...confused parents and coaches started to flood staging....yep in other words, pandemonium.

- On a real positive note, good to mix up the warmups between PowerTeam and GST. Thanks to GST Juniors Team Captain Tiffany Lopez for not only taking the initiative to round up both teams' sparring competitors and warm 'em up, but also in providing coaching for Nicole to help out our besieged coaching staff (Evan, Kevin and Master Garr covered about 17 kids...)!




- aaaand don't forget -- whether in a tourney or in training, you are able to do what you do because you have people who care for you and support your efforts! Thanks to Master Frank A, Master Garr, Evan, Kevin, Eric, Dominique, Celina, Whitney, volunteer parents...and of course, Brian's Personal Fan Club.

Say Hello to my Leeetle Friend

10 Oct 2009, IT Training #1

So...what does "IT" in IT Training stand for anyway?




Before we get in to that, let's reflect back on what we did:

- Warm up with 4 laps around the track (1 mile). Range was from 8 min/mi pace to about 11min/mi.
- Stairs part 1: sprint up, across, down x 10
- Stairs part 2: hop up, two feet together; jump down x 10
- 100m sprints x 5
- 50m hop back and forth on the line x 10
- 50m run backwards x 5
- stretch



Key point to all of the drills is -- don't give up! Speed matters less than persistence. Running workouts are SUPPOSED to hurt. Grind it out. If you make excuses in your head and drop out when you're tired, it'll become a habit... On the flip side, if you gut it out, your body and brain will get used to the experience; in fact, if we did the exact same workout next week, I bet it would feel easier for everyone!



So..what does IT stand for?

...IT hurts!
....IT's harder than I thought!
.....IT's going to be a long nap afterwards!

Proper Attire

What to wear for the Oct 10th IT training, you ask?

It's the same as red belt training -- in other words, full uniform.

Just make sure you wear running sneakers!!!

Don't show up in flip-flops, unless you're really hard-core and are confident that you can outrun everyone regardless. If you fit that description, you'll also be required to wear a 30lb knapsack filled with sand.

If you're one of those people that fall down a lot, wear a helmet. Otherwise, just show up in full uniform+sneakers...

Don't forget!

IT training is on the 10th of October @ Gunderson high school, home of the Fightin' Grizzlies and Martin the Metal Detector.

This is the 1st one of these IT sessions, so come prepared to work hard! Pack a water bottle, sneakers, and whatever else KJM tells you to bring (so make sure you attend class on Wed prior!).

I'm not sure why, but KJM asked me to post these helpful hints on vomitting one's lunch:

1. Place hands on knees
2. Distribute weight evenly between legs
3. Take deep breath
4. Aim at a point 10-12 inches away from your feet
5. Hurl

Apparently, this is crucial information for IT participants. Don't ask me. I'm just relayin' info here.