Why Don't More Martial Artists Train Like Boxers?

[bushido_man96]

Excuse my ignorance, Sohan, but what is the workout you do with the sledgehammer?

Pretty straightforward. I just hit a truck tire with the hammer for two or three 2-3 minute rounds with 1 min rest in between. I switch sides every 30 seconds. I'm sure there are plenty of variations of this, but I like to keep it simple. It's a tough, tough, workout.

With respect,

Sohan

If you just switch sides with every swing, would that work as well?

I do ten on one side, then ten on the other, but certainly you could do it that way. You might end up getting fewer strikes per round, though it will really help with your rotational strength.

With respect,

Sohan

I like the sound of that workout, and I think it would help me with my weapons fighting. I do a lot of downward type swinging motions, so it may help. Maybe it will help me hit home runs in softball, too!!

[Sohan]

One more thing, remember that you can do the swings over the shoulder, or you can do them with a horizontal motion as well, just depends how you set up your striking surface.

With respect,

Sohan

[bushido_man96]

One more thing, remember that you can do the swings over the shoulder, or you can do them with a horizontal motion as well, just depends how you set up your striking surface.

With respect,

Sohan

How would you set up a horizontal motion? Brace the tire against a wall, maybe??

[Sohan]

One more thing, remember that you can do the swings over the shoulder, or you can do them with a horizontal motion as well, just depends how you set up your striking surface.

With respect,

Sohan

How would you set up a horizontal motion? Brace the tire against a wall, maybe??

Actually, I hang it from a hanging bag stand and secure it to the base.

With respect,

Sohan

[bushido_man96]

One more thing, remember that you can do the swings over the shoulder, or you can do them with a horizontal motion as well, just depends how you set up your striking surface.

With respect,

Sohan

How would you set up a horizontal motion? Brace the tire against a wall, maybe??

Actually, I hang it from a hanging bag stand and secure it to the base.

With respect,

Sohan

Could you elaborate a little bit more, or post a picture? I am a little confused.

[Sohan]

One more thing, remember that you can do the swings over the shoulder, or you can do them with a horizontal motion as well, just depends how you set up your striking surface.

With respect,

Sohan

How would you set up a horizontal motion? Brace the tire against a wall, maybe??

Actually, I hang it from a hanging bag stand and secure it to the base.

With respect,

Sohan

Could you elaborate a little bit more, or post a picture? I am a little confused.

I use this, but I suppose you could also hang it from a tree, as long as you tie it securely to at least 100 lbs on the ground. I wouldn't attach it to a tree trunk as I wouldn't want to damage the tree.

http://www.onlinesports.com/pages/I,CEN-10870.html

With respect,

Sohan

[bushido_man96]

Ah, cool. Thanks, Sohan.

[TigerDude]

Good post, Sohan. I'm not sure I agree with your comments about distance running, however. Runing with a heart monitor is a great way to work on your pure aerobic capacity, and increase your ability to do more in an aerobic fashion. There is evidence that to do this well you need to maintain your heart rate below the anaerobic threshold the entire time, although like many areas the body of knowledge seems to me to be still under development.

[Sohan]

Good post, Sohan. I'm not sure I agree with your comments about distance running, however. Runing with a heart monitor is a great way to work on your pure aerobic capacity, and increase your ability to do more in an aerobic fashion. There is evidence that to do this well you need to maintain your heart rate below the anaerobic threshold the entire time, although like many areas the body of knowledge seems to me to be still under development.

Fighting is not an aerobic activity, it is primarily anaerobic. The principle of specificity in sports training says that conditioning activities that most closely resemble the actual sport are most effective at improving performance. If you want to defend yourself in a fight, which requires speed, power, balance, and high intensity (anaerobic) stamina, then you need to train the energy systems that will be called upon in that situation. I've never had a fight where my heart rate range stayed between 65 and 75% of capacity the entire time, so it is a waste of time to train in that range, except for building a base as a prelude to higher intensity training.

I have done both. I have run marathons (Boston 2003 and 2004), and I have also done extensive sprint and power training. When I ran marathons my kicks and punches were weak and less effective. I had tons of general endurance, but I gassed when I had to grapple, punch, or kick with repeated intensity. With power training, I punch hard, kick hard, and can call upon much more useful and sustaining power than I could before. That is how the modern boxer trains, and that is why martial artists can learn from them.

With respect,

Sohan

[elbows_and_knees]

Good post, Sohan. I'm not sure I agree with your comments about distance running, however. Runing with a heart monitor is a great way to work on your pure aerobic capacity, and increase your ability to do more in an aerobic fashion. There is evidence that to do this well you need to maintain your heart rate below the anaerobic threshold the entire time, although like many areas the body of knowledge seems to me to be still under development.

Fighting is not an aerobic activity, it is primarily anaerobic. The principle of specificity in sports training says that conditioning activities that most closely resemble the actual sport are most effective at improving performance. If you want to defend yourself in a fight, which requires speed, power, balance, and high intensity (anaerobic) stamina, then you need to train the energy systems that will be called upon in that situation. I've never had a fight where my heart rate range stayed between 65 and 75% of capacity the entire time, so it is a waste of time to train in that range, except for building a base as a prelude to higher intensity training.

I have done both. I have run marathons (Boston 2003 and 2004), and I have also done extensive sprint and power training. When I ran marathons my kicks and punches were weak and less effective. I had tons of general endurance, but I gassed when I had to grapple, punch, or kick with repeated intensity. With power training, I punch hard, kick hard, and can call upon much more useful and sustaining power than I could before. That is how the modern boxer trains, and that is why martial artists can learn from them.

With respect,

Sohan

bingo.