Overweight Karate Instructors

[lowereastside]

Many Instructors in Martial Arts are Overweight - and some of them move pretty darn GOOD and some don't. In the last year or so I lost 20 lbs - I did not do it for martial arts - I did it for Health reasons - I did not want to go on Blood Pressure Medication ................My blood pressure is now normal - It SUCKS getting old - I still have 20-25 lbs to go - and i'm taking it off very slowly. And believe me it's not easy.

[chrissyp]

I'm overweight and I help instruct...it's not that i'm lazy or eat Bad, antidepressents do not help and not able to run due to a spine disease makes hard cardio difficult.

[Himokiri Karate]

Not to go off-topic but have you guys considered implementing Bikram Yoga to your karate/martial arts?

I have heard people as well as athletes with injuries say good things about bikram yoga.

It may be a good compliment to your karate or if you have a bad knee but need that extra cardio outside of martial arts perhaps a good yoga instructor may be able to help you out

[T3chnopsycho]

Not to go off-topic but have you guys considered implementing Bikram Yoga to your karate/martial arts?

I have heard people as well as athletes with injuries say good things about bikram yoga.

It may be a good compliment to your karate or if you have a bad knee but need that extra cardio outside of martial arts perhaps a good yoga instructor may be able to help you out

Never heard of that before.. Can you maybe explain some specifics about that? It sounds interesting

I do think that in our society nowadays overweight is a big problem. And some people also have other problems (like back or knee problems) which contribute to gaining more weight.

But still in my opinion you can't place overweight one to one with the capabilities of an instructor.

Cheers

T3chnopsycho

[brickshooter]

I think that overweight do start to become a problem when an instructor is unable to do a technique. And the student has to completely rely on verbal directions without visual cues.

Probably less important the more a student advances, because advance students need more a good set of eyeballs to correct mistakes.

[FangPwnsAll7]

My karate instructor is very overweight and he can barely kick above his leg.

[Sheephead]

Not to go off-topic but have you guys considered implementing Bikram Yoga to your karate/martial arts?

I have heard people as well as athletes with injuries say good things about bikram yoga.

It may be a good compliment to your karate or if you have a bad knee but need that extra cardio outside of martial arts perhaps a good yoga instructor may be able to help you out

As it happens I went to my first bikram class one week ago, and I would definitely recommend it to everyone. It was horrible, in a good way

[DaveAbramson]

Weight definitely doesn't demonstrate one's knowledge in martial arts... but I might be a bit hesitant to join a program where the owner is obviously out of shape..

[sperki]

Wow, there's a lot of information on here, a lot of opinions, and some fairly personal insights! Weight and fitness, and their relationship is such and interesting topic. Some people have hinted at this, but there is the whole "skinny-fat" (thin, but unfit) and fat-skinny (fat and fit) concept out there. And certainly there is something to be said for that. I know plenty of folks that carry around a bit of extra weight, but have excellent blood pressure, cholesterol, resting heart rates, etc. And there's a LOT of people that look fit, but when you push them there skin sinks like play-do; they tend to have really high resting heart rates, walking up a flight of stairs leaves them winded, and they are clearly unfit. Additionally we're talking about being overweight. Do we mean "overweight" or "obese?" Based on BMI?

Here's what I think when it comes to a sensei: Running a dojo is a business. Sure it's more complex than that, but it boils down to making enough money to keep the lights on. A grossly obese sensei is a poor ambassador of that dojo. When I walk into a potential new training ground I am willing to give the benefit of the doubt to somebody with a bit of a belly, a thick neck, a spare tire. But if I walk in and see somebody that is struggling to breath because they have so much fat on their torso, I'd thank them for their time and walk back out. If I wanted a fitness instructor I'd go to the gym. But I'm not learning by watching youtube, I'm learning by watching and listening to my sensei. That person better be able to demonstrate what I'm supposed to do, at least roughly.

When it comes to size and fitness I love the image of American football linesmen. We think people playing professional sports are fit. I've seen pros sprint 50 yards, then end up on the sidelines with an IV and supplemental oxygen. Not fit in my world!

[Himokiri Karate]

Not to go off-topic but have you guys considered implementing Bikram Yoga to your karate/martial arts?

I have heard people as well as athletes with injuries say good things about bikram yoga.

It may be a good compliment to your karate or if you have a bad knee but need that extra cardio outside of martial arts perhaps a good yoga instructor may be able to help you out

Never heard of that before.. Can you maybe explain some specifics about that? It sounds interesting

I do think that in our society nowadays overweight is a big problem. And some people also have other problems (like back or knee problems) which contribute to gaining more weight.

But still in my opinion you can't place overweight one to one with the capabilities of an instructor.

Cheers

T3chnopsycho

Sorry for the late reply.

So bikram yoga is more of an aggressive version of hot yoga that holds position for a particular duration and since the room is heated you will be able to stretch more provided that you dont over do it.

Now the reason I thought I mention this is that some of the posters in this thread have been saying they have knee problems and thus they cant do cardio like they did in there earlier karate training.

So perhaps by implementing Bikram Yoga which helps regulate food craving and gives you that extra cardio may help some of the folks in the thread with the bad kness since the gentleman who founded bikram was a former weightlifter who injured his knees in a squating competition and had retired to do yoga.

Hope this helps

P.S: In regards to subject of overweight and karate instructor well...Fedor Emalianko!

Martial Arts at its very core isnt about health or low body fat...its about learning how to fight and performing the technique/movements at a high and refined level regardless of bodyfat.

My personal opinion:

Overweight instructor who can perform technique=Good

Overweight instructor who cant perform technique=Bad

If instructor is being hindered by high level of bodyfat relative to his built/bone density then he or she needs to create that caloric deficet to lose the fat.

If instructor has metabolic problem that makes it hard then he or she may consider taking healthy fats and high quaility enzymes to restore the metabolic problem from within.

I know bodybuilders who have damaged there metablism/digestive systems due to there high protien intake and some get in to holistic healing with success and have been able to fix there digestive problems to a certian level.

I am sure a karate instructor with metabolic problems will have an easier time then a bodybuilder who has abused his inside due to high/protien and super supplements