training in a very small room..

[Ai Hate]

ok, i've just started martial arts training for about 4 months, and the training at the university (i'm 19 already.. a little late for my first martial art, isn't it?) is only 2 times per week. so i need to do some workout on my own in my tiny room (apartment). and i mean tiny. so small i can't even do a mawashi-geri (round kick?). and i have to clear up my room to make space for push ups. of course, doing kata practice is out of the question

 

any of you guys have some drills for training in such limited space?

 

my main weeknesses, AFAIK, is that my muscles are very weak (imagine, i'm 6 feet but weighs only 58 kgs!), especially my legs. i'm not even the least flexible. i can't seem to control the left side of my body. left punches are ok, just not fine enough. but left kicks are almost impossible for me to do. you name it, maegeri, mawashigeri, sokutogeri, kansetsugeri, i can't do it.

 

and the seniors say that my kata is very very "hard". but that, my sensei said could be cured by the training of ibuki.

 

thanks in advance..

 

ps. if anyone asks why i can't go training outside, the answer is that i don't have the appropriate time to do so. i study during the day, so i could only train at night on weekdays. as for weekends, work work work...

[Jack]

Hey and thanks for your post!

 

Its never too late to start training, we have people that start in their sixties or seventies sometimes and go on to earn black belts.

 

Yeah, I have a definite issue with room as well. I can't practice my patterns(kata/forms) either. I also only get to formally train once a week.

 

Don't worry about finding moves hard, everything is rather difficult to start with and its only natural to favour a side.

 

Hmmm, if you're weak then theres an answer... strength training! If you could buy some form of free weights then you could do weighted squats to work on your legs, and more exercises for your upper body.

 

I'm guessing you don't have enough money to start buying lots of exercise equipment though, so its down to the basics with lots of determination.

 

Do lots of pushups, pullups (if you have something you can do them off) and abdominal exercises. If you bought some cheap ankle weights you could do some leg exercises. Give it your heart with these basic exercises and you'll still get some good results.

 

For flexibility - Use the search option on this site and you'll find plenty of threads with advice on flexibility.

 

Just stick with it and you're left kicks will soon balance out; Don't worry, I had the very same problem.

 

Let me know how it goes.

 

 

[Jiggy9]

Lots of good advice from Jack there; I can do little then re iterate what he has already said.

 

I happen to be around 6 feet and less then 60 kgs myself so I can understand youre woes!

 

It all boils down to total determination and hard work, plenty of pushups of different varieties : tiger pushups, pushups with both youre arms on higher ground - move youre arms further away from the centre of youre body, or youre arms further up from youre orginal position; arched pushups, sit ups, squats, pull ups.

 

If you dont have weights - improvise (check out a post on the poor mans work out!) use heavy books or something - put something heavy on youre back and then do push ups, try carrying to weighted bags and doing lunges, if youre ever going up an elevator - hold on to the side rails and do calf raises whilst it takes you up. When youre training youre punches e.t.c try punching with maximum power - that should work youre muscles as well.

 

When youre not on holidays see if you can hit the gym?

 

Hope that helps,

 

Jig

[SaiFightsMS]

Do you by any chance live in a building with a hallway? If so it is possible to do some work in the hall if you work quietly with no Kiai. And if there is a stair way there is your leg strength and aerobic work. Up and down over and over. Miyagi Sanchin and the Tekki katas are well suited for practice in a hallway.

 

 

[spinninggumby]

Not enough room for a mawashi geri?!! Wow and I thought that my dorm room was bad :smile:

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if you got remove from press-ups,

 

then you got alot of room, no worriez

 

these are list of some excersies which you can perform with the space provided

 

crunces, side crunches, stretching ; hand to feet, hand to back, splits?,

 

if you really are limited, why dont you get memebership to the uni gym?, i know my brother goes, and goes every night, its open 24hours a day, you should be able to find time suitable for you!

 

and dont worry u havent started late in martial arts