AnonymousOne

My mother has been involved in and teaching Hatha Yoga for 50 years. I personally dont practise it myself. The only cross training I do is running, weights, plyometric exercises, and the odd game of squash now and again. I dont see any benefits from yoga myself. I prefer aerobic and anaerobic exerise

Properly trained = competent Untrained = incompetent Period

There is no such thing as "natural talent in fighting". Fighters are not born great, they are trained great.

Where ever there are rules for fighting, there is always that nagging doubt... what if it was a real fight will no rules?

I have never met a street fighter that works out like competent martial artist. I have never met a street fighter that can punch at 48 feet per second, or can kick, block, and move their body in a similar capability. I have never met a street fighter who has the reaction time capability of a competent martial artist. How can someone honestly compare a trained person with an untrained person? Might as well say someone who never runs, has a good chance against a sprinter. There are martial artists and competent martial artists, do not mistake the two.

How so?? and let me throw this out there why do we(kenpo people) use circular movments, and does anyone know WHY IT IS USED AT ALL Example: Karate straight punch. Although going straight to the target, turns like a corkscrew. Thats straight and circular simultaneously Karate front and side kicks Although going straight to the target, the feet move through an arc. Thats straight and circular simultaneously Karate blocks Although going straight to the target, they are moving in a circular fashion and there is also wrist rotation. Thats straight and circular simultaneously If you closely examine any Karate technique you will see straight and circular movement together.

The simple solution to this is to set a goal that inspires you to action. People will always get off their butts and pay the price for something that inspires them

In our school we have regular belt tests. These are similar to gradings. Its a test to ascertain if a student is maintaining the standards expected of him/her. If they are not up to scratch, they can lose their grade and go down a belt. Its our schools way of maintaining high standards.

I am 48 . I train twice daily and take absolutely no notice whatsoever of my age. I am fitter, faster, stronger and have more endurance than I had 30 years ago as a young martial artist. Age is in the mind.

Then simply do them as fast as you are able to. If you dont like the idea, its very simple dont do them at all

You think doing one every 1.8 seconds is slow? Well, yes it is if you are only doing 50. Try doing 500

Karate training vs. Boxing Training This is not designed to say boxing is better than karate or that karate is better than boxing. That’s an individual thing. This is just a quick look at training methods. Apart from my training, an interest I have is studying the various training methods of all kinds of sports. I am not the type of person that plays sports or even watches sports, but I am always interested in their training methods. You never know what you can pick up. Lately I have been updating myself with the latest boxing training methods. Boxing of course is a multi million dollar enterprise and there is a lot of money for research into training methods and this is something Karate lacks, however Karate-Ka can draw many lessons from Boxing I feel. This is what I have found recently: 1. That a boxer is not consider to have reached a basic level of fitness until he can run 4 miles every morning averaging 7 minutes per mile or less. 2. Once having reached this basic level of fitness, the boxer has then built the basic foundation to then perform plyometric and anaerobic development programmes. 3. Amateur boxers train twice daily, professional boxers train 3 times daily. Both are required to train 6 days per week. 4. Boxers are expected to rise early, usually at 5.30-6am to complete roadwork, which includes a 4 mile run, finishing off with sprinting and plyometric exercises for those that have built a basic level of fitness. 5. Boxers are expected to have a planned and personalised training schedule that they gradually but methodically build upon and add to. This is developed in conjunction with their coach. 6. Boxers are expected to progress at a pace that meets their exact body development reactions, but constantly working to the extreme of their physical and mental endurance. 7. Boxers do not attend a class and perform at the same level as every body else. They work at their own pace of progression constantly. But bare in mind they are working to maximum endurance and strength at all times. 8. Boxers generally work weights 2-3 times per week. 9. Boxers have a well rounded training programme and schedule to cover every facet of their needs. This includes aerobic and anaerobic endurance, strength, speed, power, agility, fighting skills through sparring and shadow boxing. 10. Boxers use a range of equipment including but not limited to weights, bags, mits, sand bags, sled hammers, agility ladders, medicine balls, etc 11. Boxers are very careful over their diet to ensure their bodies replace the nutrients burnt off through assiduous training. This is just a short summation of the kind of organised training amateur and professional boxers complete 6 days per week. As you can see its intense and well organised. So the question is, should we as Karate-Ka borrow from our boxing brethren’s methods and instigate this type of training in our schools? Or should we leave the student to decide and organise that? Remember also that in the past Karate training was very individualised and there were no organised classes, should we return to this type of format? (remember there may be many in a boxing gym, but training is still individualised). Should karate training demand certain levels of fitness like boxing before certain progressive states are allowed? Should karate have sessions specifically designed around the use of equipment? In my experience I have never seen a Karate school that has formal lessons on the use of equipment, should we? Based on the short summation above, what is its strengths and weakness in your opinion and why?

I am not talking about the kind of power and strength needed to lift massive weights, that is useless to the MA. I am talking about the kind of power needed by a MA. Albeit, use your own body weight and see how many reps you can do until your legs muscles burns with pain. After enough reps I am sure you will soon see exactly how hard it is. This exercise is one most the top champion boxers and their coaches call "The King of All Exercises" because of its difficulty.

Long running is not good for martial artists. Fighting is anaerobic not aerobic. This is easily determined by the volumes of scientific analysis done on the body underload when fighting. I can run a good time in a marathon but I never do it because that type of running teaches my muscles to work on slow twitch muscle fibers. Its fast twist a MA needs. Many many years ago I used to go for very long runs, often 15 miles or so. Its great for aerobic endurance but doesnt help the needs for anaerobic endurance. Evander Holyfield switched coaches and thus switched from aerobic running (he was training old school) to anaerobic work and as a consequence become the heavy weight champ.

Try this: Monday - Saturday 6am Run 5 miles and finish 4 - 200 metre sprints on Monday, Wednesday and Saturday Dojo 3 times per week. On the evenings you are not at the dojo, do weights twice a week. Depending on your level of fitness, you may like to do some plyometric exercises after using weights. On the other night you are not at the dojo do some bag/makiwara work and other equipment you might have

"It wont develop power" I dont know whether to laugh or cry!! This is an anaerobic exercise, when done properly, cuts into all your legs muscles. It builds explosive power. Its not an exercise that is meant to be done slowly, but as quickly as possible. The result is that it develops the muscles that are required for explosive kicks and bridging in foot work. If you do it slowly you will not get much result in explosive power. You need to do them as fast as you can to train the fast twitch muscle fibers. An alternative to this exercise is when you stand up perform a front kick or side kick and alternate legs.

How do you know? How long have you been training? Which and how many Kata have you totally mastered (in the true sense of the word)?

Kata has all the components necessary to prepare one for any self defense situation: Skill Speed Timing Power Focus Aerobic endurance Anaerobic endurance Co-ordination Balance Agility Strength Visualisation inculcation Application Thats just off the top of my head. However I personally believe it takes years of being in the MA to really appreciate what Kata is about.

http://www.karatebulgaria.com/makiwara/

Kata in general has fallen away from popularity, especially in the western world. Kata seems to have become a sideline method of training. The strange thing is that when it is put back into its central role its a very hard method of training. However its too laborious for most people. They get bored quickly. Runners have a good mindset. All they do is run and spend hours doing the same few movements over and over. Its a pity we cannot drill that mentality into the minds of students today. Even my own school is slack when it comes to Kata. Yes the students train in them and are expected to perform them well for gradings and competition, but its not used as a "systematic training programme" and yet if it is, the benefits are profound. My own self training has centred around Kata for over 20 years. I cannot understand the departure from it, its beyond me. Its very hard work and very laborious... I guess thats the answer.

Master Azato (one of Funakoshi's teachers) was attacked by one of Okinawa's greatest swordsman with a fully sharpened Katana (sword) and he bought him to his knees. Azato only ever practised Kata. I wonder how he would react if you told him you thought Kata was ineffective? Until you have practised one Kata for at least 3 years solid, you will not begin to understand Kata. Kata is like an onion. Until you spend an enormous amount of time peeling the outer layers away, you will never see what is underneath. When you keep biting it, its sour, but long term its good food. I have a challenge for all those that are anti-Kata ... Take one Kata and practise it as fast and as powerfully as you can for two hours daily, 6 days per week and see after 6 months how your martial skills are. Now remember "practise it as fast and as powerfully as you can", as if you were in a real battle each time. I believe this challenge will sort the men out from the boys.

I personally believe there are too many Kata. I could happily train with one Kata for the rest of my life. But most people would find that utterly boring. I feel its better, far better, to find a Kata that covers a wide range of technique, that perhaps covers the “majority of self defence situations” and master that. Does one exist? Not that I know of. To me a Kata is a challenge. It takes years and years to master a Kata, assuming you practised it diligently for 2 hours a day until you dropped from exhaustion. Today most students do not have the determination to put that much effort into their training. But those that do, will become first rate Karate-ka. In many ways we need to return to the old ways of training. One Kata studied for 3-5 years. In the old days, most of the old masters were from rich families and didn’t need to work and studied Karate fulltime. They were so highly skilled because they had the time to invest and that time was expected of them. Its my opinion that todays students training only 2-4 hours per week is sending a poor message. The boxing world is way ahead of us, with 6am roadwork and then 2-3 hours of training in the evenings 6 days per week. We need to return to less with more.

1. A good look at the young chicks in the aerobics class on the other side of the gym 2. A chance to show those young babes how macho I am 3. A chance to meet a chick who is exercise conscious and not likely to get fat. That all might be true "if" I was young again

Foot work is one of the most important areas of MA and sadly one of the most neglected. Without fast, balanced footwork, you are as useless as a car with no wheels. I regularly train just the footwork movements. Although a traditional Karate-ka, I have adapted my own training sequences on much research. I have studied footwork from various Karate schools, Gung Fu, Kendo, Boxing, Fencing, JKD, and all sorts of other sports. I use straight line, angular and circular training sequences. It is not unsual for me to do footwork for an hour at a time and if you push hard, its a very hard work out. I also take a low stance to work all my leg muscles as well. I also incoporate a lot of side stepping into my work outs. Using an agility ladder is an excellent idea also

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