Alan Armstrong

Myofascial release very well be a buzz word, even so all martial artists should know something about it's benefits. I'm not entirely focused on fasial release with my comments, more of a primer for stretching with baby oil. If I was to solely focused on fascia release, then yes self massaging with rubber balls and rollers is another option for a post-massage after workout; my comments are intended for pre-workout proposes. In the 1980's when kickboxing was the thing, many martial artists were practicing. Massaging the fighters legs prior to a bout was very beneficial, as there was no energy wasted from the fighters massaging there own legs and shoulders. This was the job of the fighters corner team, to help release unnecessary tension for the fighter. I believe once the muscle relaxing and stretching issues have been sorted out, then focusing on joint ligaments and bones can be singled out and addressed more clearly. Muscles are only one part of the bigger picture to improve flexibility for kicking. Having a good "Turn out" is important also worth investigation (A turn out is a ballet term for opening up the hips) Hip decompression techniques and hip stacking are also issues that are necessary for kicking appropriately; muscle stretching is only one part of many topics that needs to be investigated.

Flexibility or trying to improve it is an issue for many martial artists. It is if some people just have it and others don't. Usually those flexible types have earned it over the years and yes there are the contortionist that are made of some type of human rubber. For the rest of us "Stiffs" we are going to need to earn our flexibility the old fashion way right! With hard work and plenty of blood sweat and tears. There is an alternative method of gaining flexibility for kicking purposes; that doesn't involve the blood sweat and tears method. It is entirely based on one missing ingredient "Baby oil" Massage your legs with it (keep your fingernails short) get right in-between each muscle. The baby oil and the friction of massage will warm your muscles releasing unnecessary tension. Myofascia release is a technique or idea to separate muscles that are sticking together causing stiffness. So the idea here is to massage your own leg muscles on a daily basis, without stretching. Once you have become accustomed to doing this on a daily basis for about twenty minutes or more for one month add this idea to your stretching routines. Till eventually you start stretching with baby oil and continue to become my flexible. What I trying to convey here is before stretching, massage your muscles first with baby oil (Creating heat) to release tension and sticking muscles. Trying to stretch muscles that are not warm or primed first could continually hinder your progress for flexibility. We have approximately 600 muscles in our body that contract or relax at any given moment, some (Like the heart) do this automatically and others we move consciously. In the ancient past, oils for the body were highly sort after. The ancient Greeks that worshipped there own bodies as a temple would cover themselves in oils and with a suntan, would transform themselves in to living bronze statues.

Spot on! Having a sparring block is psychology issue; or does this topic have a duel meaning or perhaps it has gone off topic?I think Sensei8 was referring to the other meaning and was intejecting his views on "blocking". A little off topic but it fits in terms of discussing the arts in general. I believe Sensei8 being of an old school back ground was pointing out that there is not such thing as a block in Karate. The term Uke means to receive not to block and is utilized/implemented as a strike, sweep, trap, deflection, redirection, or unbalancing technique. You of course are correct in your interpretation of the discussion being psychological. The mental block (good use of the word block within the real utilization of the word in Karate) inhibiting a student during sparring/Kumite. Having a psychological block is a normal phenomenon for writers and artists also, the hope is that it is a temporary state, the real problem arises if it is cronic and everlasting.Meditations help to unblock the mind letting thoughts flow freely in an uninhabited state, to be relaxed and also aware. Another Eastern World concept is the I-Ching (Book of changes) unlocking stagnating thoughts with changing ideas. As with the physical blocking, Karate has had a bad rep for doing it; it is refreshing to hear that it has changed for other alternative methods described above by MatsuShinsii.

Spot on! Having a sparring block is psychology issue; or does this topic have a duel meaning or perhaps it has gone off topic?

It's not only controlling one's own power but is possible to also at times to control the opponent's power also, by bouncing their power back or absorbing it. An opponent kicks using the back leg in a front kick. If I can intercept it half way before it reaches me with my chest, the opponent will bounce backwards. Also if the opponent kicks me with the same front kick from the rear leg and I move backward at the same time synchronize with the kick, it will not do any damage. But if I stand there at exactly the right distance for the opponent to do maximum damage to me, then they have 100% power and it is going to hurt. Bounce Deflect Absorb are the best options to control the power. This is very basic but important theory, it can become very complicated from here on.

1) MMA or XMA and stunt(s) Cinema all belong to the entertainment industry that equals sponsorship money. 2) Military or law enforcement agencies, the people there need to be realistic about their martial arts because their lives are at stake. 3) Traditionalists and hobbyist martial artists which is the majority, can enjoy the participation without the commitment and health risks involved, on the contrary there are health benefits in this category. I believe that there is always more room for change and diversity in the martial arts, this change will happen if we like it or not. MA has alot of chapters with a long past, will be interesting to see the next trend ...

Developing strategies need to work for each individual. My personal strategy is to do things in threes; probably have about three hundred thing I like do in threes. Three lines of counter attack. 1.a) The line of attack from the opponent. 2.b) The line of intercepting that attack. 3.c) The line of striking the opponent. Three lines of attack that change according to the opponent's defence; Left, front or right doors. 1.a) If the left door is closed I will use the front or right door. 2.b) If the right door is closed I will use the left or front door. 3.) If the front door is closed I will use both left and right doors. There is also upstairs and downstairs that can open up many windows of opportunity; if not try the back door. 1.) Do your own Analysis of which techniques win fights and emulate them but be yourself. 2.) Perhaps you cannot succeed with all of them but the (Best three) few that do the job for you, be the greatestest you can be with them and be yourself. 3.) Train to win, easy is not an option and above all be yourself because everyone else is taken and you never know you could become better than those that you once wanted to be.

Developing strategy is a good question; here is how I teach it. 1) Attack the balance. 2) Always be in a position of advantage. 3) Control or dominate the opponent. 4) Take away the opponent's space. 5) Use the element of surprise. 6) Newton's quote: When a body is in motion it has a tendency to stay in motion and when a body is at rest it has a tendency to stay at rest.

Interesting how some MA styles have embraced the Extreme MA such as TSD and TKD, while others such as Wing Chun once practiced by acrobats have dispensed with it altogether. Extreme MA has opened up an interest in the movie industry for some talented individuals, starting of as stunt people and then rising to star status.

In the past, boxers would use the oversize bed springs attached to hand grips that were fastened to the wall behind. Then bungee cords replaced the metal springs. What makes the thera bands helpful and unique is that they are very stretchy and thin, comfortable to use, compared to springs and bungee cords. Today we have available to us, thick bands molded in to a loop. A little pricey but this is new technology, the fact that they don't break after a few workouts makes them a value for the price. Technology in the rubber manufacturing industry are always searching out new products, lucky for us living in the thera band age. Quote (The question of what kind of martial art specific training I do?) Chi Kung: Axillary martial art exercises. I use ankle and wrist weights with at times weights in a back pack. This gives me the working against gravity in a downward direction. Thera bands and thick bands gives me a different type of resistance workout in all other directions. Added to this the improving my range of motion. I use bugee cords in a type of pulling an arrow back in a bow (with a bungee attached to each finger) or as if pulling or dragging downwards a person. My exercises are totally and specifically targeted for martial arts. Also Yoga and the usual martial art stretching routines. In the Chinese martial arts training, what I do is more quality of energy (Pung Jing) based, rather than acquiring more tools and techniques. The better quality of Pung Jing a martial artist has, the greater their kung fu skills will be. Pung Jing is a quality of being not easily understood or easily explained. My training is like tuning myself as if I was a guitar. Over tighten the strings they will snap and not tightened enough I cannot function as intended. Pung jing is a bouncing or warding off energy, same as when pressing a rubber ball, the ball bounces away or bounces away what has pressed it. Pung Jing is only one of many types of energies, just that is one of the most important. Resistance is important for our health especially bones. Remember astronauts returning to Earth after a long mission. They could hardly walk due to the lack of gravity or resistance on their bodies, they had suffered calcium loss in their bones. Superman is supposedly from a planet with a much higher gravitational pull than Earth, this is one of the reasons why he is very strong on our planet. It has an element of truth to it, even though it's fictional. Resistance training burns calories, tones muscles, strengthens bones and can improve range of motion and is also therapeutic because the strain is unlike weights that can overstrain the body. Please Consult with your Doctor, before doing any type of strenuous exercise routines. We are all different what works well for one person might not be advisable for another:)

Privately talked to other martial artists, that have definitely opposing ideas to me, this is fine and normal of course. I tend to disagree with this one. Bruce Lee's martial art's wasn't real it was made just for the movies! Also that forms and katas that look like dance or acrobatic in nature are useless flowery rubbish martial arts, that are intended only for show! I believe there is a lot of skill and hard work devoted to doing these types of extreme martial art performances and it takes a high level of fitness to do these stunts. Talented martial artists that are labeled as ineffective because of their high level of kata skills is in my opinion unfair. Do we need to throw eleven year old children in to the Octagon to see if they are competent martial artists? How do you consider if a martial artist has a high level of ability or quality?

How much of your training is cooperative or is it mostly competitive? Are you cooperating or competing with your fellow students? I believe this to be a very controversial subject as this topic touches on the escalation and de-escalation of violence in Dojos between students.

A few more tips on Yin Yang punching. Stepping needs to be added to this equation, for instance if the opponent has a longer reach than me then I will need to double up on my stepping when attacking and defending. If the opponent is a little longer in reach than me then his Yang punch equals my Yin punch. Yet my Yin punch will be quicker than his Yang punch. If the opponent is close enough I will strike first with a Yang much then follow up with a Yin punch. The Tri grams from I Ching and Bagua, will help with the variations available and how they change and connect. Very profound stuff considered esoteric. Any questions, I will be happy to do my best to answer them.

Ok Kung Fu Lady; happy to help. Chloe Bruce and her sister Grace Bruce have many tutorials on YouTube worth watching; no matter the level you are at, including age and or gender. Bill Wallace has been an American Champion Kickboxer since the 1980's. he gives worth while tutorials also on kicking and stretching also available on YouTube. Flexibility is very much taken for granted as youngsters, as people get older they tend to neglect it, as the saying goes, us it or lose it. Flexibility really is related to having a high quality of life. If I live in a mansion in Beverly Hills or living under a bridge in Manhattan, I'll still have a high quality of life because of being flexible and mobile with a higher than average range of body motion. Here are a few more subjects worth investing Myofascial release Spine Activation Hip Decompression (I expect a full report on these three subjects on my desk, first thing in the morning) joking of course!

A boxing jab is near enough to be a Yin punch and a karate reverse punch is type of Yang punch. Loose Yin punches: Mohamed Ali was great at throwing a Yin type jab, as he threw his body forward, as if his jab hand was pulled and his body followed. It's the same principle when throwing a baseball. Balance and stability isn't needed or a definitive factor. Solid Yang Punch: This type of punch is a typical reverse punch in Karate. Used for breaking pine boards for instance. As the initial contact when breaking boards, is the first two knuckles on the thumb side, as the energy runs through the arm down the body to the ground and the energy bounces back through the body in to the target and breaking the board. Ligaments are locked in each joint with solid Yang punches and the opposite is true with Yin punches that all ligaments are momentarily stretched giving more reach, increasing range of motion thefore adding to the velocity of the punch. Yin punches are similar to a bullet fired from a gun, with close range and long range it doesn't have a great effect on stopping the bullet's impact. Yang punches need to be loaded with the arm first pulled back then released forward, Yin punches are not reliant on loading up, but are reliant on lunging forward and reaching the target followed up with momentum and body weight, similar to the movement of a snake. A Yin punch can be accomplished when jumping with both feet in the air, which is not possible in a Yang punch due to no contact with the floor or ground. Personally I'm not a great fan of MMA but when I see a fighter that understands the principles of Yin Yang punching and his opponent doesn't, I automatically know which one is going to get knocked out first be fore it happens. DON'T LET THIS HAPPEN TO YOU; KNOW YOUR YIN'S and YANG'S OF PUNCHING!

In Chinese martial arts there are two main types of punches Yin punches and Yang punches. The Yang punch is similar to hard style karate punches that relies on mostly muscle and the rebound force from the ground whereas the Yin punch relies on tendon stretching and a minimum amount of muscle without the rebound force from the ground. Therfor a Yin punch has more distance from the opponent than a Yang punch does. If a Yang type punch connects with the opponent then if the opponent moves back slightly then the second punch will be a Yin punch and still hit the target; so if two Yang punches are used and the first connects and the opponent moves back then the second Yang punch will not connect. If my Yin punch connects and the opponent moves back my second Yin punch will hit the target. Ask yourself this question, when breaking boards. If the person holding the board thrusts it towards you just before you punch, what will happen? Chances are you will damage your hand, would be the correct answer. Same applies to kicking; you will most likely bounce backwards. What if the person is holding the board for you and you punch it and the person holding the board doesn't move but instead is putting pressure on the board to snap it them self, then chances are it is almost about to break and all you are doing is putting the finishing touch on it. Magicians don't usually reveal there tricks, there are tricks in martial arts, if you don't know them then your chances or winning a fight will diminish considerably. Intelligent fighters win fights with the help of even more intelligent advisors. Distance and timing and Yin Yang punching is the key.

If Bruce Lee was alive today there would be no need to ask this question.

Conditioning will be different for everyone depending on one's age and daily schedules and commitments; health restrictions could be an issue for some and not others. From the moment a person wakes up in the morning till closing one's eyes for sleep there are many opportunities for conditioning. (Personally at my age, I'm not conditioning myself for the Olympics more like beer belly prevention and keeping up some of my martial art skills Everything is an art especially stretching, learn how to do it the correct way at an early stage and you will benefit from doing it right forever. (A few tips on the subject: don't cheat your stretching; always keep the small of your back straight. Be determined to become more flexible and never quit reaching past your normal range of motion) Know when to PNF or Pandiculate or when pulsating or bouncing is the right moment. Bill Wallace and the Bruce sisters Chloe and Grace have made many tutorials on this subject to help you. Getting back on track, Bruce Lee was constantly conditioning, seize opportunities during the day to condition different parts of your anatomy. Waking up in bed might turn in to an opportunity to stretch while there with thera bands. Then sitting on the toilet is another place place for conditioning my fingers and wrists with dynamic tension exercises that are geared for Aikido and Wing Chun also massages to increase flexibility and circulation. The showering great for relaxing stiffness in neck and back muscles; as well as pike position stretching. Toweling dry after the shower is another opportunity to stretch behind my neck and back, increasing my range of motion. Brushing my teeth with on foot on the counter top or simple standing on one foot. So as you can see from just doing four normal everyday things I need to do, I have had four opportunities to stretch. Just simply doing housework wearing ankle weights is conditioning. I built up my calves so much so by using ankle weights by going up stair cases alot, that I can only wear two weights on each ankle now because my calves are too big for wearing four. I would wear ankle weights all day while at work no one noticed. I do squats or stances in elevators if not I take to use the stairs instead. Simply walking can be an exercise in posture or moving as fast as possible. Park benches are mini gyms for me. The same is true for my living room couch as a mini gym. I am writing this message sitting in the half lotus position, at this very moment. (Learn about the after burn effect) Keep as active as possible during the morning afternoon and evening; the best never rest! Investigate how ballet dancers do there conditioning same holds true to gymnasts and those that do Yoga and Pilates... Anymore question; happy to give you my two cents worth?

MatsuShinshii, thank you for your overwhelming response. Funny you mentioned Adonis! I am an Adonis type, well that's what my wife calls me sometimes when she forgets about all my imperfections. Meanwhile back on track, with the question of having a sparring block. The Dojo or place of training is the place to get this sorted for the student. It certainly is a confidence issue. Personally I have never had a sparring block but I do remember not having martial art coordination skills as my muscle memory hadn't gelled instantly (A vulnerable time was my first three months as a martial artist) time with practice all sparring blocks should dissipate naturally.

Bagua and I-Ching. Anything related to Yin/Yang or Feng Shu. Chinese medicine is connected to martial arts therefore anything medical is worth reading or investigating. Understanding human anatomy and movement will also be helpful. The biggest tip I can offer is that everything contains Kung Fu. Every movement of your day can become a part of your training!!!! Thefore every movement could be conditioning; using the A B C method of ALWAYS BE CONDITIONING. The quality of the food and drink you consume relates to Kung Fu. Efficiency on what or how you do things is Kung Fu. Being connected with nature is Kung Fu. Have a profound understanding of Chi and leave the skeptics to ponder in darkness. Chi is more about different types of energy and purity and efficiency. One person really does stand out above the rest for written literature about Kung Fu, his name is Dr Yang Jwing Ming.

Domyos that have a line of martial art products, with three diferente rubber band types, Red for low resístanse, black for mid resistance or strength and purple for maximum resistance. I use the Domyos bands mostly for stretching while sitting in a box split, with each end looped or hooked on my feet and with the bands resting behind me on the lower back or hips. I use both the black and purple strengths combined for this exercise. The same idea applies while doing a butterfly stretch with the bands. PNF combined with Thera bands work well together for me. Cannot resist the tempation to buy and use bungee cords also. I use a pull up bar attached to a door frame and use bungee pulling routines with them attached. Broken rubber hose type of bands that snap, I simply tie them back together and create smaller short range exercises such as using the bands attached above both knees or hooked on between my thumbs and behind my elbows. Also combining thera band training with ankle and wrist weights for strengthening and stretching. It really is limited to one's imagination on what a person can do with thera bands. Thera bands and a rubber Pilate ball work well together also. I have a variety of bands in all types of sizes and thicknesses and strengths depending on the exercise, I might combine many bands at the same time, trying to add a higher level of difficulty and or coordination. I also like the fact that band training equipment is easy to take to the park or just sitting and using them while on a park bench. Thera bands can be used while practicing katas or strengthening kicks and punches...

Thanks for sharing Tubby. Have great empathy for your fight against cancer. Not trying to over shadow you with my own health issues by having four heart attacks. There is something strange about when our own body takes a turn to self destruct. Yet we are living in an age that gives many of us a second chance, third or in my case a fourth; make the most of it! Never give up your fighting spirit against cancer; once again "Thanks for sharing Tubby" all the best for you!

Personally I'm hooked on resistance training with a large variety or thera bands and the like. In the past a Gi belt was it, but now days rubber bands designed for training with have reached new heights in strengths and durability. Are thera bands a gimmick or are they here to stay? Do you train with thera bands, if so what do you expect to gain from using them? If you don't train with thera bands, is there a negative reason or viewpoint to not use them?

'Bamboo' in (Chinese styles) can be used as nick name towards a male or female martial art student. The idea is for the student to be like bamoo; strong and flexible. Also like to add, unrelated but interesting enough; "To be as hard as as puppet and as soft as a rag doll" Bamboo has a million and one uses, can be used as a weapon, can be eaten, used as scaffolding and can be constructed to make martial art training aids; warning: Bamboo can snap back in dangerous ways, people have been known to get themselves killed with homemade bamboo gymnasium equipment. But don't let the last statement put you off, just train safe!

Very good video, thanks for sharing.