Workouts when you are all alone..

[aefibird]

Many times, when I dont have a partner to hold a target, I will play with balloons. Haha..let me explain..

I enjoy WTF style sparring drills. So when i dont have a partner to hold a target, I will blow up a few balloons, and kick them around. I use 3 different collors. One color, I use just plain mid-section roundhouse. Another color, i use one fast step rounhouse, and the 3rd, I use counter technique turning hook kick.

I remember reading a book a while ago, a fantastic book called "The science of Martial Art Training", by Charles Staley. As the title implies, this book deals with the science, and mainly, the biology and technical aspects of muscle movement and training. One thing that I learned from that book that seems very important to me is the "muscle memory" it talked about. Basically meaning, your muscle remembers techniques, so to make throwing a roundhouse, or a punch natural, you must do it many many times. Of course, you need to throw it correctly, or your body will remember bad technique, but if you are in class throwing kicks at 70% speed, your body will remember that. So when I use these balloons, I make sure every kick I throw is at full speed, just as if I were sparring.

It's not really a great substitute for a holder and a slap paddle, and I wouldnt recommend doing this everyday.. but when I want to train, and no-one is around, I refuse to use that as an excuse to not train. Of course, you can always practice forms and other things without a patner, but this is what I do when i want kicking practice and Im alone.

That is a very cool idea!! I'll have to give that a go sometime.

When I train on my own I practice with the heavy bag and my home-made maikwara, as well as doing some weights and general fitness work (like push ups, squats, crunches etc).

I also practice my empty hand kata and weapons kata, as well as the TKD patterns I know and other forms that I know, depending on what I'm concentrating on that day.

I may also have a 'basics bash' where I run through all the basic techniques, slow then half-speed then speed/power.

[Ryokeen]

Forms of course easy to do alone. Perhaps if you have a mirror practice aim? Try to get the kneecap shin waist and work your way up.

Go through all your techniques..

Do everythign you would imagining there's a person there.

[Aodhan]

Basics, basics and more basics.

If I'm pressed for time, I'll pick one thing and work on it. It might be nothing more than making sure I get the correct pivot on my side kick. If I have more time available, I'll run through the low rank forms and then through the Black Belt forms up to my rank. That, in and of itself, will have me pouring sweat out my ears. Then I get into the weapons forms, and when I'm finished, I'm ready for oxygen and CPR.

Lets see...

9 color belt forms

5 BB level forms

Single and double ssangh jeol bangh (Nunchaku)

Single and double bangh mangh ee (Escrima)

Mid and long range jangh bangh (Bo staff)

Ssangh Nat (Kama)

Jee pangh ee (Cane)

Sam dang bangh (3 sectional staff)

(Did I miss any?)

So that would be...23 total forms, with the BB forms being 81+ moves each.

Yeah, I'd be about ready for CPR too!!

Aodhan

[IcemanSK]

I run, stretch, do push-ups & Tricep dips, Ab work, & box. Usually not on the same day, tho.

[scottnshelly]

Many times, when I dont have a partner to hold a target, I will play with balloons. Haha..let me explain..

I enjoy WTF style sparring drills. So when i dont have a partner to hold a target, I will blow up a few balloons, and kick them around. I use 3 different collors. One color, I use just plain mid-section roundhouse. Another color, i use one fast step rounhouse, and the 3rd, I use counter technique turning hook kick.

Sounds like a great exercise. I guess the really advanced students would fill the balloons with helium before kicking.

[Kill Jill]

My all-alone singles workout on my non-dojang day...

Put my feet up in front of TV with a box of chocolates...

No, seriously, I'm very impressed with the guy who says he gets up at 4am to train by the ocean. I prefer to get up late so I have more energy for going to the dojang in the evening...

But, it's funny, I just read this tip:

coralreefer_1 wrote:

Many times, when I dont have a partner to hold a target, I will play with balloons. Haha..let me explain..

I enjoy WTF style sparring drills. So when i dont have a partner to hold a target, I will blow up a few balloons, and kick them around. I use 3 different collors. One color, I use just plain mid-section roundhouse. Another color, i use one fast step rounhouse, and the 3rd, I use counter technique turning hook kick.

Only today, I arrived at work early this morning. I saw some balloons stuck to a doorframe whilst walking down a corridor. I looked to see if anyone was watching. Then, cup of tea in hand, I tried a spin kick. The balloons didn't burst. I tried again. I hadn't warmed up, so I strained something nasty, as well as spilling boiling hot tea on myself. I let out a kind of Bruce Lee kihap as a result of my pain, and noticed the cleaning lady standing right behind me. I just said 'good morning' and quickly hurried off into my office. Then, I read this post and laughed. Actually, from this morning's testimony, it's quite challenging to get a balloon to burst. You have to be very accurate. So, perhaps it's really an excellent training method. You just have to be cautious that because the balloons are light, there is an increased risk of injury if you swipe at them full blast.

[coralreefer_1]

Wow, I'm sorry to hear you hurt yourself Jill. If you can pop a balloon, then you have some nice kicks. But when I do this exercise, i don't attach them to anything. I just get out in the middle of the floor and go. The point is, to kick it, and wherever it will go, to use footwork skills to get myself in a position to kick it again as its falling to waist level. Sometimes it goes straight up, many times it goes forward or to the side, but the reason this is a good exercise for me, it is forces me to use footwork and kicking skills similar to that of sparring. You have to move fast to get into position to kick it again as its falling, and kick it when it gets to head or waist level, whichever im working on at that time. Some people may be trying to pop them, but I'm just trying to kick it hard and fast, keep it off the floor, and keep kicking, changing legs, using single and double switches, trapping and counter techniques, just mixing it up. It won't take more than 5 minutes to get a sweat doing this way!!

don't be disheartened by the tea incident Jill, give it another try sometime....

Todd

[karatekid1975]

I did that once. I was messing around with a friend in NJ (when I was still in TSD), and he held a balloon for me. I did a roundhouse and popped it (after two tries) LOL

Anyways, the stuff I have been doing alone (at home) as been crazy. I would do the whole curriculum everyday (that gets a little "sticky" with a bo in my living room LOL). I have a test on saturday, so I want to be ready

Anyways, I would go through all my forms, then one step sparring, then (what we call) combat tactics. I would also use B.O.B. for these so I can actually have something to hit for accuracy, speed and power. I didn't practice our defensive stuff as much, because they involve throws, so I'd just go through the motions just before the throw part. Unless my honey is home, then I'd throw him around a bit hehehehehe.