Western(American) or Eastern(Asian) training?

[elbows_and_knees]

Actually, stance training does improve strength but if you're not patient enough to wait to see the results, they wont make themselves evident to you.

No, it doesn't. ANY prolonged activity builds only endurance. stance training is an endurance exercise. Now, if your muscles are completely weak, it will strengthen them minimally in the very beginning. After you are used to the stress of the stance, that stops. It then becomes an endurance exercise.

Muscles by nature are lazy. they will not give maximal output inless you force them to. You do this with heavy loads - this is why stance training will not increase strength. the only way it would is if you continually added weight to your body, at which point it has become a weight training exercise. This has been scientifically proven.

you can say you dont stiffen up, but weights are designed to make ur muscles contract and keep that shape, even if you dont realize it, you get tense.

that is why you stretch. Also, that is not what they are designed to do. If your program is designed that way,then that is what will happen. Strength training trains the neuromuscular system to contract harder - increasing power output.

you said this type of training has been proven wrong? Then what are cientifics saying in England? They are saying people in China stay healthier than us because they practice excercises which keep them more relaxed which makes them stronger as well as healthier.

actually, the oldest person in the world is in okinawa... in any event, it's a combination of diet and exercise that keeps them healthy. I'm not saying internal training doesn't help them - I'm referring to things like I mentioned in my post - myths like stance training increases strength - it does not. Or, the myth that weight training makes you inflexible and slow...

Sure, they dont grow big muscles, but theirs are easier to keep and they dont need to tense up to develop them.....Also, these muscles are easier to use than the ones develop by weights.

Your brain doesn't know what type or size of muscle it is moving. Why do you think 'their muscles' are easier to use? They are easier to maintain, but not easier to use.

[Kajukenbopr]

very interesting. Still, it does mention some very specific styles....

anyway, I can see why weights would be good for strengthening the hands....

Still- I insist internal excercises give me the best results yet

[elbows_and_knees]

you insist, but you can't prove... both are great, but they are designed to condition specific things - both should be performed.

[Kajukenbopr]

well, we can agree to disagree

you have ur sources of information I have mine.

Have a great day

[elbows_and_knees]

always. Care to discuss sources? scientific evidence is readily available. I'd be really interested in seeing a source that can PROVE - not just believe - that endurance type taining can also be used to build any legitimate strength, or why you should do internal training as opposed to doing both, or only external.

[Menjo]

I for the most part would have to say that i exercise mostly western, but i do enjoy exercising the eastern way that you have catergorized and favor eastern over western.

Edited July 25, 2005 by Menjo

[Kajukenbopr]

Menjo

What kind of excercises to you like? What have ur experiences been like?

[Menjo]

ok basicly i dont have a fixed shedule or strict training habits, I just like to train alot and it makes me feel alot better after unfortunate events. I train 7 days a week 2-3 hours meditation in the morning after my 1km jog to get me going. The meditation after the jogging lets me reflect on how i felt during and right after the run. In a day running in summer its 1km in the morning

2-3km around noon

4-5km around 5pm

and in the night i jog till iam exausted

I do that 4 times a week but usually get muscle problems prior to training.

Medatation whenever I can really, or if iam angry or sad or feel I lost something even though I did the best i could. I have weights and I like to use grip strenthing exercises also. with weights i train 7 days a week but its not very intense, as I usually do them when i watch tv or just in the basement. The punching bag is beatin all during the week whenever i have time to pound on it, I plan to buy some thai pads too.

Lately i started swimming across the lake and back for exercise since my knees have been temporarily damaged from excess running. Biking push-ups chin-ups crunchs and all the average stuff is also done all during the week. I unfortunatly can only attend shotokan 3 times a week for training so I like to train and practice kata at home in the night so my sleep can absorb it. I used to paddle for exercise but it got very competivtive so i quit, I remember one time while i was paddling their is a bridge down far away yet still in the lake(it has a tunnel over the water...), it is full of birdwaste and human waste as well its really disgusting anyay my canoe tipped and I was traped under neath the horrible thing and i was trying to push it up so i could start swimming, i couldn't go underneath because i was firmly touching the bottom which wasnt dirt but waste from the thousands of birds all day hovering over it and i was actually sinking into it!!! it ended up me almost breaking the canoe to get out(thats another reason why i quit lol). while running music helps alot so ill always have that blasting...another memerable experiance was my first muay thai match...i entered the place and nobody thought id be able to hold my own for a minute so the instructor to determin my skill level who didn't know i had shotokan training paired me up with a guy, he went for grapple and I punched him in the stomache as hard as i could and he went down, ever since noone at the gym was ever very cocky when about to face me so that was fun. While swimming i had an accident at the lake, a whole whack of paddlers where paddling straight for me and i was in the middle of the lake and i was to damn tired to swim fast enough, they didn't see me and sure enough i was hit hard. Someone saw this from quite a distance(dont ask how) and ironicly a small patorl boat that was supposed to save me hit me and almost killed me with the propelor however i managed to push away from the boat in time...

whats weird about my training is sometimes for some reason i think im in the best shape and fighting skill i reach in my life and then a week from then i feel the same however ive gotten alot better so i wonder how good am i really? maybe some other people do the same thing but now i try not to think of skill level and just think about skill.

[Kajukenbopr]

you should be careful about running too much....

My sifu used to run about 10-15 miles when he was young and his knees are in pretty bad shape- surprisingly, he can still fight better than most people I've seen.

but you should be careful.

other than that, great workout, must be hard to tire you out in a fight.

[Menjo]

thanks and yea ive really started slowing down the running alot