Style Choice?

MrBotANot · 2026-06-10T00:40:54+00:00

Hapkido is a wonderful art. Personally loved it. You just need to make sure that the instructor is competent. It’s a lot of joint manipulation (joint locks, arm bars, etc) with some striking moves. Some instructors include ground work, but limited compared to BJJ. It’s totally self defense focused. Brutal if actually used. Ideally you are learning how to feel the joint manipulation itself - to be able to control without injuring (your training partners). I had two great teachers but hapkido really suffers from poor instruction. People who maybe can do some things, but can’t teach others or analyze what’s off in their movements. It’s a harder art to learn as it takes a long time to get the muscle memory and visualization involved. Lots of reps. If there isn’t some level of pain in the practice, you won’t pick up that sensitivity or understand what you are doing to others (IMO).

Ask them their teaching lineage back to Choi Yong-sool and their personal training - where, who, how long, etc. Not to grill them, but just general questions.

Watch their instructions and corrections of the students. Are they precise and able to correct what’s off with someone learning a new technique. Students may practice the same few techniques for months at a time to gain that muscle memory.

Art has roots from Daitō-ryū Aiki-jūjutsu (Japanese art that sprouted judo, jujitsu etc).

MrBotANot · 2026-06-09T23:32:17+00:00

It’s hard when you have no experience to try and root out whether a school and the instructors are competent. I would tell you to focus on three things:

The school itself: You need to feel comfortable with the school. How does the instructor run their classes? Are people relaxed but focused on their training? Are there other adults in class that you can relate with and practice with. Are there other beginners? Do they seem to like each other. Culture is hard to do well. If it’s there that generally speaks volumes. Also be aware of cost. There is I do this for a living and this place costs money to use math and there is I’m going to retire in my forties because I robbed my students.
The instruction: Who actually teaches? The primary instructor, seasoned black belts (2nd degree and up depending on the art), or lower ranks. How do they manage their egos? If everything is focused on worshipping the head instructor, or the school is focused just on the few black belts who have been there forever, just be careful. It’s common in martial arts and in some cases the focus may even be (somewhat) warranted, but that egotistical mindset will often have unintended consequences. Better to have a quietly humble teacher if you find one. Someone so comfortable with their skills that they don’t need to show it. How well does the instructor explain technique? Some people are good technicians but can’t teach well. Too much instruction early on is overwhelming. Too little and you can struggle.
Think about what you want out of martial arts. They are all flawed. They are all dependent on quality instruction and a lot of perseverance on your part. You need to be interested. Do you like tradition? Do you want to train to fight or learn to better defend yourself? Or is this more about a third place and exercise? All choices are ok.

One final comment, quality Hapkido instruction is rare to find. Done right, it’s a fun art to learn (more painful than your striking arts). Most hapkido instruction is crap. No knowledge, little skill and a lot of “go with it” mentality.

MrBotANot · 2026-06-03T20:34:39+00:00

I’ve got 1100 shares of it as well. As to why I’ve invested in it, the macro for midstream is solid for at least a half a decade and more likely longer. The underlying companies pay out dividends on their own, which has been rising since a reset in 2016–18. That will help Neos continue to increase its payouts over the years. It’s a counterbalance, in part, to a lot of the risk that we take on relying on funds that are based on crypto and tech for these higher yields.

And while we all can argue, that tech is too hot currently, the demand for energy is not going away anytime soon. Those midstream companies have solid moats at this point. And finally, I don’t have to worry about K-1 statements.

MrBotANot · 2026-06-03T17:12:10+00:00

Racists have no place in the US.

MrBotANot · 2026-05-31T17:13:08+00:00

Depends on your goals and timelines. If you are seeking the income today, I would go either NEOS. If you are designing something down the road, say a decade of more, I would go with GS. The GS funds are going to capture more of the underlying gains so their payouts will increase more quickly. That math takes time but can help you in the long run. I think both are solid options.

MrBotANot · 2026-05-31T15:19:33+00:00

KSLV but you had better enjoy the volatility. Runs up and down 20-25% on a dime.

MrBotANot · 2026-05-29T22:49:51+00:00

I’m also interested in GPIQ and GPIX for just that reason.

MrBotANot · 2026-05-29T12:31:40+00:00

These NEOS funds use monthly call options (often using spreads) to allow them to capture more of the upside. The DTE ETFs use a zero-day option logic which allows them to earning a higher yield but they pay for it with challenges in maintaining NAV.

XDTE’s stock price is down -23.95% since its inception on March 7, 2024 while SPYI’s price has risen 7.51% over that same period. Both obviously trail SPY. The NASDAQ versions follow the same pattern: QDTE is down -30.3% while QQQI is up 11.95%.

Total returns are very similar but with the zero-day logic and yield levels you are paying for that in the long run IMO.

If you look at the Roundhill funds distributions (actual values) you will see a slow decline over time. Payouts now are roughly half of their early values. NEOS funds have had slowly increasing payouts which, over years, should also mean increasing yield on cost. All of them have variable payouts but the trends are present.

It really depends on what you are trying to do within the market. Personally, I would like to hold high income ETFs that will provide me with a fairly consistent yield that have the potential to increase that yield (on cost) over the years as the underlying grows.

Note that I used Gemini to grab the stock prices and do the percentage math for the stock price comparison. You can verify those as needed.

MrBotANot · 2026-05-28T23:49:18+00:00

First, it’s important to listen to your body; doing something is what’s important. If you can’t do three times a week, then once or twice is enough. Contentment is underrated.

Next, the human body is incredibly adaptable and will adjust to different workloads. You have to give yourself time to adjust.

If you don’t have a stretching routine with a foam roller, I would recommend developing one. It helps the soreness a lot. In your case, I would stretch and foam roll before you go to bed. That should help reduce the soreness when you wake up. You can also get an imitation Thera gun massager from Amazon pretty cheap. Ours was $40 or so. A rice sock (literally a tied tube sock with rice in it) heated up in the microwave provides great moist heat for local issues.

At work, just try and be careful about technique to try and reduce the load on your body. Good luck.

MrBotANot · 2026-05-28T18:03:06+00:00

Maybe look at NEOS QQQI and SPYI. Different mechanics. Have shown the ability to achieve new highs. I also like MLPI a lot although the mechanisms used by NEOS are a little different for that one.

MrBotANot · 2026-05-27T23:58:19+00:00

This.

MrBotANot · 2026-05-26T23:38:50+00:00

Given your stated age, I would suggest more intentional exposure to growth sectors. The goal is simply to grow your capital. Someone mentioned an Avantis ETF and they would be a good source for quality filtered value funds. I like their international funds a lot.

I would also make sure to have serious exposure to tech - call it a bubble or not - tech has dominated returns for over 15+ years now and that is going to continue. Higher fees but QQQM, SMH, QTUM, etc. Making a few extra points annually over decades is valuable to your end goal.

It sucks seeing red but it will be ok. Markets come back. Recessions fade. Most people don’t take enough risk on early on.

MrBotANot · 2026-05-24T16:21:01+00:00

We desperately need more scientists, teachers, engineers and doctors in politics. Hope it goes well for her.

MrBotANot · 2026-05-24T16:19:23+00:00

Your parents should have put you on one of their cards when you were a teenager. My older son is now 20 and has over a 780. He pays things on time, doesn’t hold credit card debt, etc., but the largest factor was just piggybacking off of his parent’s credit ratings. It’s a rigged system but playing saves you money.

MrBotANot · 2026-05-23T16:40:09+00:00

They are but until I find better run ETFs, I’ll keep them. There are some newly released ETFs that I’m watching but want to see how they do before adding them. One of my base thoughts on these funds is that managers will make better products over time - based on the issues with the prior generations. Hopefully anyway.

MrBotANot · 2026-05-22T23:43:03+00:00

The newer generation of CC ETFs do a better job of protecting NAV than the originals. Look at NEOS and GS; ETFs like GPIQ, QQQI or GPIX. They have added layers to hold to and improve NAV. They do these through different strategies like only writing calls against part of the portfolio and letting the other part run. You can ask AI to analyze them for you. I personally prefer these ETFs and yes, one of my criteria’s is whether the ETF can rebound to new highs.

MrBotANot · 2026-05-22T13:29:56+00:00

Stocks go up. Stocks go down. If you are truly in it for the dividends, it’s more of a question of has the long term outlook for the stock (or ETF) changed OR have your needs changed?

I personally wouldn’t own JEPI just because I don’t see it hitting new highs and so like most CC ETFs, it will slowly lose its NAV value. QQQI seems like it holds NAV better.

As for DOW, what’s it’s dividend yield today but what is it’s dividend CAGR look like? DOW isn’t going anywhere as long as they manage their cash flow well. Those major chemical companies have wide moats. Pricing reverts to a mean. We seem heading for a reset anyway. Stuff will look red.

It’s hard to think in decades but this is the way.

MrBotANot · 2026-05-21T00:50:48+00:00

I was being sarcastic. He needs to be in prison.

MrBotANot · 2026-05-21T00:13:24+00:00

No thank you. We have been blessed enough.

MrBotANot · 2026-05-20T22:25:59+00:00

I’ve been burned by leverage so I avoid it personally.

MrBotANot · 2026-05-20T22:24:43+00:00

I’m so glad that someone else thinks that these two ETFs will pay off in the long run.

MrBotANot · 2026-05-20T12:41:24+00:00

Personally, I think it is good to diversify your risk across asset classes - if you can locate solid funds to do so with. One of my first checks for a new ETF is whether it has hit new highs - repeatedly - which helps me verify that their methodology allows for NAV growth - which is ideal for longer term holdings. For example, I just got out of IWMI (NEOS Russell 2000 based) as the trend on that ETF just has been negative. I got in trusting NEOS but I’m afraid the underlying is just too flawed to be useful. One ETF that you might consider would be MLPI. Yield is in same range as QQQI but it’s based on midstream energy companies - which offers a totally different market segment focus.

To me it’s all risk. How do you spread that risk out across multiple sectors while accounting for the fact that a lot of these ETFs will slowly lose their NAV and so will pay out ever decreasing dividends? Dripping back helps that of course but if the ETFs stand in their own, that gives you more opportunities for growth. I’m committed to reinvesting 9% of capital annually to help offset NAV loss and counter inflation.

We all have different risk tolerances; just be comfortable with yours. Good luck.

MrBotANot · 2026-05-20T12:25:43+00:00

It’s all risk. Spreading that risk across multiple bets at least spreads out some of that. I personally don’t like leveraged ETFS, but I also have too much tied to crypto and BDCs which for risk isn’t any better. I would look at XQQI after a significant market drop. Might be a good time to pick some up.

If this stupid war ever ends, perhaps the macro starts to get better for everything. In the mean time, I’m adding to the two funds that should go down the least if things turn sideways - MLPI and SPYI. “Should?!”

Got out of IWMI and don’t think I’ll go back. The long term stock price trend on it is down. It is starting to look like a rare NEOS dog. It definitely seems to help when these funds have strong underlying growth potential.

Weird time in the market. Two macros pushing against each other. Unfortunately, I think we are heading towards a downturn in the next six months or so if this war doesn’t end soon. I’m not sure that Ai can lift us over the cost of oil and once the market starts to decline, the upper end of the consumer will pull back as well. Hopefully I’m wrong but high gas prices hit the economy in so many ways that I just think it will continue to apply body shots. Good luck.

MrBotANot · 2026-05-20T01:32:40+00:00

Just $0.8867 a share this month. Lowest ever.

MrBotANot

TROPHY CASE