Cultivating physical toughness

[Toptomcat]

I'm part of a small Tang Soo Do school that spars with a ruleset much less restricted than is usual to our art, with a higher level of contact. This has lead to a higher standard of technique, but some of our students have difficulties with the level of contact involved: one or two in particular have a great deal of trouble with pain tolerance and taking hits properly. Though they stick to their training and keep coming back to spar, they are persistently unable to absorb punishment.

What are some drills or training exercises that we can institute in our classes to promote physical toughness and fighting spirit? As they are famed for these qualities, I would especially appreciate advice from Kyokushin karateka- though help from any source would be gladly welcomed.

For those unfamiliar with it, Tang Soo Do is essentially karate, except a few touchy Koreans will get very upset if you say as much.

[tallgeese]

How much time have they been sticking with it? It can take the body quite awhile to adapt to getting hit. Several months even.

The best thing to do is hang with it. Repetion will win in the end. However, it might be more of mindset issue that needs dealt with on their end, ie overcoming the reluctance of taking the damage associated with high contact sparring.

In either case, continued live drill in one way. When doing mit work, actually getting a set of mit cloves or just hitting htem with the mitts works well to desensitise people. There there are the associated medicine ball to the gut routnes and such.

More than anything, spend time drilling approprite responses to defending against actual stiking. Teaching them to move and focus duruing flurries is key. One high end drill we use is to tie the lead feet of each fighter togetehr and make them cover and move from the infight range. This forces people into good defensive posture and keeps them looking and moving. It's also great conditioning for this sort of thing. Additioanlly, it will usually fire the mindset of both parties right up.

Preaching intensity is the key to training the mindset. Stopping people when they look timid during an exchange and getting them set up right is a start. Then make them work thru the same sticking point. I've found that this can work wonders for focuing fighter's minds past the panic of being flurried.

As with all things, your milage will vary. I'd look hard at the psychie of the guys having trouble and check the mindset first.

[Traymond]

Practice by hitting each other in the shoulders, arms, forearms, stomache, legs and it will build up an "immunity" to it. Thats how I overcame the pain...taking tip strikes to the stomach by a bo staff haha.

Overtime you will get over it...and meditation has helped me alot as well.

[Erin]

I am learning to take a hit. It's interesting that's for sure. We have a couple of purple belts that are supposed to start kumite soon, but can't take a basic hit in a two person drill without crying.

We start learning to take the hit in two person drills, which can be fun. I currently have bruises on my arms from kihon complex, my coworkers are starting to wonder about me.

[DWx]

Something that I've seen work is to get the person to be the pad holder. Gets them used to soaking up the impact but at a reduced intensitiy and you're controlling where the attacks are coming in so there's less surprise about it all. You can then progress to things like body armour (TKD type or other) as it gives some protection but still lets you feel the impact. Also helps with the psychological side as they think they're being protected but in reality they aren't getting that much. Once the person is confident enough to take a hit in the armour, you can take it off and get them to spar normally.

[Kempohands]

In addition to what everyone else has said about pad drills and repetition, all of which I find to be very useful and very true, go back to the basics and go over how to breath properly and relax when getting hit. Start at a slow pace and low level of contact, and strike to their stomach with a light punch. Each time they feel contact, they should exhale. Many times, people who seem to not to be able to take a hit are simply too tense or not breathing properly, as basic as that sounds.

[FitOrDie]

No one has yet mentioned the strengthening of the body. Getting in shape is key!

Other than that, it is one of those things you have to get used to. And, this sort of thing is not for everyone. An accomplished Muay Thai fighter once put it to me: taking shots either makes you straighten up (stop being lazy and fight right), or quit.

[The BB of C]

I'm part of a small Tang Soo Do school that spars with a ruleset much less restricted than is usual to our art, with a higher level of contact. This has lead to a higher standard of technique, but some of our students have difficulties with the level of contact involved: one or two in particular have a great deal of trouble with pain tolerance and taking hits properly. Though they stick to their training and keep coming back to spar, they are persistently unable to absorb punishment.

What are some drills or training exercises that we can institute in our classes to promote physical toughness and fighting spirit? As they are famed for these qualities, I would especially appreciate advice from Kyokushin karateka- though help from any source would be gladly welcomed.

For those unfamiliar with it, Tang Soo Do is essentially karate, except a few touchy Koreans will get very upset if you say as much.

Take a shinai - have them hold out their arms in a horse stance, and tap the forearms, ribs, shoulder blades, solar plexus and thighs gradually harder. Do it consistently. And introduce brick breaking.

[ps1]

No one has yet mentioned the strengthening of the body. Getting in shape is key!

Other than that, it is one of those things you have to get used to. And, this sort of thing is not for everyone. An accomplished Muay Thai fighter once put it to me: taking shots either makes you straighten up (stop being lazy and fight right), or quit.

I agree. Physical conditioning is important not only because it will help the body absorb the hit, but also because a healthy body heals and copes more easily with the stresses of combat.

I also think that we often forget that we practice an art of combat. "Taking hits" is not something everyone can actually learn to do. That's why skilled martial artists are so very rare. Combat, as it seems you train it, is not for everyone.

What are the ages of the students in questions.

[Seija]

All of the above is very good, however, I often find having some quaint saying, axiom, parable or other short memory aid can help a lot. A good one for this situation, for me anyway, is

“The more you sweat, the less you bleed!”