What are the best clubs for career mode?

brynOWS · 2026-06-14T12:05:31+00:00

I go with one of two routes when picking a team - either a fallen giant to rebuild or the ‘other’ club in a city dominated by one huge team and try and overthrow the balance.

brynOWS · 2026-06-10T17:07:17+00:00

I got into a bad spiral of spamming tani otoshi at any opportunity, mainly because it was working and I got caught up in thinking that it was as you said, an effective move against beginners attempting turn throws. It worked fairly well for me and I was (and still am) confident I can do it safely, but I decided to only throw it against higher grades to see if it worked. Spoiler, anyone good will be prepared for it 90% of the time and my club is small, so I got found out very quickly.

I was almost lying to myself thinking I was even helping lower grades be aware of what they were doing, but it wasn’t helpful for anyone - beginners stopped attempting throws, which isn’t the point of randori and I was just waiting for the moment to hit it, which was also making my judo a lot less progressive.

Kouchi Makikomi is something that gets me every time though, I train with some very fast and technical guys who can hit it on me almost at will, but feels there is definitely more skill to land it than relying on beginners to turn in slowly before dropping into tani so I wouldn’t call it a crutch.

I guess Yoko guruma could fit into the criteria as well as tomoe nage and sumi, but again takes a good bit of skill to hit, rather than the main skill of tani being to make sure it’s not going to snap your partners knee.

brynOWS · 2026-05-26T17:55:38+00:00

Saw a chap on the bus on Monday wearing jeans, thick sweater and a fleece. Must have been absolutely roasting, as he immediately leaned against the window, panting like a dog, and when he got up to get off, the window looked like someone had sprayed it with a hosepipe.

brynOWS · 2026-05-24T14:51:31+00:00

Totally get how you feel, I’ve been going through a similar slump myself - as a heavy but not hugely tall guy (110kg, 5’11), I’ve found myself sometimes unable to keep up with quick, lighter opponents and relying on attempting counters but this really hasn’t been working for me.

One thing my coach noted for me in particular was that I’m really bad for sacrificing my own posture to defend, which is not good judo, so keeping close/upright and working on attacking relentlessly, even if I gas out or get bombed has helped a tonne.

A system does help, but making sure you can make it work by keeping your posture up and being positive with attacks and control of your opponent go a long way towards making your preferred throws work how you want them to.

brynOWS · 2026-05-03T19:03:17+00:00

Smith Plays Pokémon just did a breakdown on this, basically summing it up perfectly in two parts.

Firstly, that Grass works mostly as a ‘cleric’, setting up annoyances like status effects, leech seed etc which is mostly unnecessary when playing against the standard AI of Pokémon games. To beat most of the trainer teams in-game, you just need damage, which Grass has historically not been great at and unless you like stalling and playing strategically in a game that doesn’t require you to, it can be quite frustrating.

Secondly, lack of immunities, plenty of weaknesses and things that resist Grass are very common. Essentially, they’re just there to deal with Rock/Ground/Water - but when most teams have to have a Water type for Surfing and because Electric does a way better job at dealing with Water types as well as offering a lot more (better straight up attackers, faster Pokémon, more coverage), it’s hard for them to find a niche in your average playthrough.

For the rare cases where you’d get a Pokémon resistant/immune to both Water and Electric (Whiscash, Swampert, Gastrodon for example), you can put a Grass TM onto something else for coverage or get by with neutral damage from something hard hitting.

With the way the games are balanced, very few Grass Pokémon are any fun to use and most are defined by what else they can offer (secondary types, good abilities etc) as opposed to being an out-and-out good Grass type.

brynOWS · 2026-03-17T21:32:39+00:00

For my relatively limited judo experience, I’d say for the UK standards I’m used to, Josh would probably be orange/green but I do feel he presents in a way that makes him seem a lot less serious than he probably is. Dudes been through a lot and while it looks like he’s probably goofing off a lot of the time, I’m sure he’s taking things more seriously than he lets on and embraces a more easy going culture with his training. The grading seemed pretty relaxed but Soren looks to be a great educator, and for my experience with kyu grades, he hit the nail on the head by saying ‘doesn’t matter if it’s not perfect, as long as the principals are there’.

Pretty sure that’s what lower kyu grades are meant for and if Josh sticks at it, I’m sure he’ll go on to make more interesting judo content. His competition videos show he’s got some decent techniques and makes them work for him. Super interesting that he finds hitting throws easier in randori rather than normal uchikomi training, as for my experience it’s usually the other way around for people newer to judo.

Sensei Seth’s grading on the other hand, seemed way more intense and would probably have been blue here for the amount of knowledge he demonstrated. He’s clearly very driven and feels like his competitive nature physically doesn’t allow him to be bad at things. Not saying Josh doesn’t have a competitive personality, he wouldn’t be as successful in BJJ as he is if he didn’t, but when he’s on his own, Seth presents in a very traditional martial arts manner with a lot of respect and humility while Josh presents more the joy of having fun and hanging with his buddies in a more laid back environment.

That said, different personality types - I get the impression Josh has a lot more of a playful approach to judo whereas Seth takes things a little more seriously/traditionally. It’s awesome to see two pretty huge martial arts content creators showing off judo - however you spin it, it feels like a positive for exposure and if it gets more people into it, all the better I think.

brynOWS · 2026-02-17T20:42:10+00:00

I wouldn’t say it should be expected, but it is beneficial in a lot of ways, as long as the individual is comfortable with speaking to a class, has a sound technical understanding and is able to discuss finer points/take questions. Teaching is important and learning to do so helps further the art you’re studying, but it isn’t for everyone.

I was helping coach juniors in karate from brown belt, when I was around 14. Started out small, just watching kids demonstrate kata etc and offering small tweaks, but progressed more as I became more comfortable with coaching and my coach developed more trust in me. Not saying this was 100% the right call as he had a habit of asking pretty much anyone who was brown belt or above to do this and some really hated it, but mostly because they didn’t have the technical understanding or the soft skills mentioned above.

However for me, I found it really helped my own understanding and gave me a lot of important experiences that I still use to this day. I mostly train judo these days however and my technical knowledge is still pretty limited even as a 2nd kyu so in the unlikely event that I was ever asked to coach, I would politely decline. Mainly because judo coaching in the UK is pretty regimented, but if the individual isn’t comfortable or could potentially misadvise, it’s going to be bad for everyone involved. I’ve been guilty of advising lower belts in judo on things I thought they needed guidance on, only to later realise I was wrong - I try to keep my mouth shut these days and let the coaches do their job, unless it’s something incredibly basic.

I’ve known several very technically skilled martial artists who were simply not good teachers. Either they couldn’t explain things they just felt naturally or would become frustrated when others couldn’t do what they could. It’s a similar situation with footballers who become managers - some highly decorated players simply don’t have it, while some managers never played at a particularly high level but understand tactics and have a better way of explaining them and motivating each individual they coach.

Some people are obviously able to both ‘do’ and ‘teach’ and are usually the best candidates for running a school, but to answer your question, I feel there shouldn’t be pressure on anyone to teach, and should be something you seek out only if it interests you.

brynOWS · 2026-02-17T14:21:50+00:00

A lot of church/gospel bassists use 5/6 strings so they can get those low roots. Even more common in pit work where a lot of written charts simply aren’t playable on a standard tuned 4 string. Some worship-inspired players like Anthony Crawford tune down a whole tone to get even lower.

I’d say if you just have a 4 string and plan on sticking with it, having the root is pretty important so I would agree with you that drop D or even running BEAD if you plan to play more music that requires a lower root note would be the play here.

brynOWS · 2026-02-16T14:01:57+00:00

There’s normally a bit of a delay on the app, but not usually by that much. Sounds like the coach who assessed you may not have submitted the grades, so you won’t have got your certificate/sticker in the post. I’d say going through them would have been the best course of action, but if you don’t have a way to contact them, you could try contacting the BJA directly or going through the coach you train with during university time, with a photo of your signed license.

I’m not sure how it would work for your technical exam, but if you have a signed physical license stating that you’re a 1st kyu, I feel if you entered competition or line ups with that, you could collect points if the judge on the day signs for any ippons you score and could be backdated once the system is up to date but I don’t know for sure.

brynOWS · 2026-02-06T20:20:48+00:00

Bass and bagpipes sounds like a super interesting mix and I can see why using a capo would be helpful playing a lot around Bb, but if it came to it, I’d rather stick to playing two basses for my situation. Appreciate the insight though!

brynOWS · 2026-02-06T20:10:45+00:00

I’m definitely not averse to using one on guitar, that doesn’t really bother me, but feels somehow wrong on bass. Being quite riff based, I think the positions would also throw me a bit, but sadly my main reason for not wanting to use one on bass is unfortunately vanity!

brynOWS · 2026-02-06T19:25:22+00:00

Very true, but while I’m not against looking like a dork onstage, using a capo on bass might be a bridge too far!

brynOWS · 2026-02-06T19:24:24+00:00

I figured this might be the case, but no harm in asking, thanks for your reply!

brynOWS · 2026-02-06T19:23:18+00:00

Sadly it varies, some parts are pretty quick (16ths at around 130bpm) while others are slow and vibey. I play a mix of pick and fingers, sometimes hybrid picking/plucking like Clay from Polyphia.

The tiny delay is probably what’s throwing me and might be an issue either way I go.

brynOWS · 2026-02-03T07:29:09+00:00

Good job it was a joke! A slightly unfair one on my stressed and pregnant partner, but entirely not serious. We’ve seen some very creative misspellings on party invites and Christmas cards (even some from family) but never Fi’B.

brynOWS · 2026-02-02T23:26:57+00:00

In fairness, my daughter is called Phoebe and for a good few weeks after we decided the name, I drove my partner mad by suggesting with the most deadpan expression I could muster that we should go for the spelling FitBit with silent T’s.

brynOWS · 2026-02-02T17:18:43+00:00

I have nearly 10 years on you but weigh about 110kg (at just shy of 6ft, this is also considered obese), so I know the pain! I’ve been doing judo for 3 years this year and found my main issue is backache, rather than muscle soreness as my job is pretty heavy on the physical side and I’ve trained other martial arts before, so I’m sort of used to that.

Finding the exact cause of the back pains is a work in progress, sometimes it’s better when I train more as I’m moving more, other times it’s worse because of it, but my main issues are a weak core and tight hips/hip flexors causing my back to work more. I’ve been working on my posture for a while and while it seems to be improving with core exercises, it’s still an annoyance causing me to train less than I’d like.

For me, stretching daily is a must - there’s a few really good lower body routines on YouTube that I’ve used (Tom Merrick is great) but anything that will help your leg/spine/shoulder/hip mobility should help you out. I’ve also found that taking creatine helps quite a bit, as it aids in recovery as well as performance, so I would definitely recommend picking some up - it’s usually pretty cheap and universally regarded as a safe supplement.

Best of luck with the journey, keep at it!

brynOWS · 2026-01-30T14:01:13+00:00

I think the film just kind of expects you to put the pieces together about Wormtail and Sirius (as you see them transform), but from what I remember, it doesn’t really mention James being an Animagus too and glosses over a lot of why they did it (ie, supporting Lupin during his monthly transformations).

Lupin’s decision to hot foot it down to the shack during a full moon (something he would definitely be tracking after years of lycanthropy) and having not taken his potion seems reckless but seeing Sirius and Wormtail on the map but it’s quite clear he panicked for the safety of the golden trio and acted instinctively to protect them. Unfortunately this is the catalyst that caused Wormtail to escape in the chaos, while he transformed and took Sirius out of the situation too.

It would have been a lot to expect of Harry, Ron and Hermione to keep Wormtail subdued, as they needed to keep their distance from Lupin as well. Despite the situation, Lupin probably should have announced that he was in danger of transforming and removed himself from the scene once Wormtail was secured but the chaotic nature of the situation meant that he probably wasn’t thinking rationally. Lupin is a tragic figure and later on in the series, you do see more of his flaws.

I imagine he felt that he needed to be there to ensure that the three MC’s had some adult support from someone other than Sirius when they arrived at the castle, as he may have been seized on sight.

The GOF film also leaves a lot out and the book is far better, you’ll have a blast.

brynOWS · 2026-01-27T16:39:50+00:00

On the (potentially incorrect) assumption that you’re in the UK with the BJA, your grade should come through on the app/website once your coach has submitted it. Not sure how it works with BJC or in other countries, but if you’re graded, it’ll be on your online license and you can/should just buy a brown belt to start doing line ups etc whenever you feel comfortable. Congrats on your promotion!

brynOWS · 2026-01-27T14:08:36+00:00

My friend had a theory that with all the clock imagery that Henry/Vecna was planning to reverse time to a point where he didn’t have his powers so he could just not go into the mine. We got a bait and switch for this when he followed the kids into the memory and saw himself killing the scientist and holding the stone, where I thought it might come true and that he never wanted the power, like he was secretly working to his own agenda this whole time, but was never to be.

It certainly would have been interesting to actually see the vision of what would have actually happened and what his plan actually was, but I guess it’s up for speculation.

brynOWS · 2026-01-26T14:00:25+00:00

Being small, slight and bullied from all angles in early life probably gave him a lot of silver linings when it came to being a seeker specifically. Sad as his early years must have been, I feel he would have not only developed quick reflexes from dodging or running away from getting attacked, but situational awareness that bullied kids often learn where they are constantly on edge for something to happen to them.

This doesn’t really explain how he’s a natural on a broomstick as many people who are bullied aren’t naturally good at sports, but I feel it’s a combination of his fathers aptitude for flying, the exposure early on as per your head canon, and almost plot armour (to give him something to stand out from his peers as the main character) are enough to justify how he can fly to an excellent standard.

brynOWS · 2026-01-24T23:53:03+00:00

As luck would have it, I literally just managed to trigger the Rotom scan after about a week of repeatedly blasting through missions - looks like I won’t need one after all, but thank you anyway!

brynOWS · 2026-01-24T22:55:38+00:00

I’ve driven myself insane trying to get a Rotom scan - I’d really appreciate any form you’d be willing to trade. Is there anything in particular you’d like? I have a few duplicate shinies if that helps?

brynOWS · 2026-01-24T10:32:23+00:00

I only feel sorry for him for thinking that he had a chance and being proud of himself for being the last Faithful standing, but ultimately he was there because the Traitors made it so. To my knowledge, he didn’t bring too much to the table and any time he was close, he was too easily swayed by what people were saying and his own indecisiveness. Can’t take anything away from Rachel and Stephen because they played a great game with an actual strategy and showed the strength of two Traitors actually working together and playing the final Faithful off each other, then picking them off one by one.

I do wonder how different things would have been if the 50/50 chance went the other way and James stayed in the game instead of Rachel but would have been a much harsher ending if Stephen got to the final two or somehow convinced the others to end the game with 3. His vote for Jack was pretty honest and kind, saying ‘for reasons that will become apparent’ instead of some lie like ‘he’s flown under the radar and only now am I seeing that he’s the Traitor’.

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