Karate for fitness and weight loss

[terretremblante]

Hi everyone.

I am a complete beginner, in fact I haven't started yet.

I have been trying to find a fitness routine for flexibility and weight loss. So far I've quit every gym membership and dvd program I've ever started. Why? For the usual reasons I suppose, but mostly for two: I hate cardio that leaves you dead, and doing exercises becomes boring after a while.

I found Hirokazu Kanazawa's dvds on youtube and I though this is interesting. The idea of perfecting a movement appeals to me a lot. The fact that you pay attention to details is also nice.

Do you think it's possible for me to do this alone, for fitness I mean, not for becoming a martial artist. And would it work? The kata against lack of fitness.

I understand that most of you are very serious about martial arts, but this is also a serious question. Who better to answer it than people who really like this sort of thing?

I am a woman, by the way, not overweight but unfit. I have very good stamina though, because I walk a lot, and the only dvd that held my interest was the walking series by Leslie Sansone. I also like calisthenics as an exercise, but I could never keep at it.

I'd appreciate any answer.

Thanks!

[ninjanurse]

Welcome to KF! There are many nuances to kata that you cannot learn from a DVD however for fitness it is a good tool-anything that gets your heartrate up and moves muscle will work. You might look into finding a dojo to visit-it is not the same as a fitness club or gym-and experience a class inperson.

[jaypo]

Kata can get you in phenomenal shape if you know how to do it right. Katas are made up of basic techniques, but to get the maximum fitness benefit from them, you must know how to do the basic techniques properly. You have to know how to use your body to focus, make strong stances, use your coordination properly, etc. This will give you the most benefit. If you simply walk thru a kata, it's like walking thru a dance routine. But if you use explosive power, speed, and focus, you will be working very hard.

I can either walk thru 26 katas and barely sweat, or I can do 1 the way it was intended to be done and be exhausted. It's all about what you put into it, just like any other athletic activity.

I love Master Kanazawa's videos, and they're what I default to when I need to polish up something. So he's a great reference for the correct way to do techniques. I would suggest studying his body mechanics well and copying what he does to the best of your abilities, and you'll benefit greatly.

[Nidan Melbourne]

Hi everyone.

I am a complete beginner, in fact I haven't started yet.

I have been trying to find a fitness routine for flexibility and weight loss. So far I've quit every gym membership and dvd program I've ever started. Why? For the usual reasons I suppose, but mostly for two: I hate cardio that leaves you dead, and doing exercises becomes boring after a while.

I found Hirokazu Kanazawa's dvds on youtube and I though this is interesting. The idea of perfecting a movement appeals to me a lot. The fact that you pay attention to details is also nice.

Do you think it's possible for me to do this alone, for fitness I mean, not for becoming a martial artist. And would it work? The kata against lack of fitness.

I understand that most of you are very serious about martial arts, but this is also a serious question. Who better to answer it than people who really like this sort of thing?

I am a woman, by the way, not overweight but unfit. I have very good stamina though, because I walk a lot, and the only dvd that held my interest was the walking series by Leslie Sansone. I also like calisthenics as an exercise, but I could never keep at it.

I'd appreciate any answer.

Thanks!

You can train alone to learn it, but the thing is that you wouldn't get the full benefits of the training. Because when you train on your own you are more likely to get bored and therefore quit. Watching videos helps you learn the basics yes but you won't learn the finer points in those moves. When you do it properly in a class you will sweat and have fun whilst learning something.

I am an overweight individual that has trained for 14 years now. And I understand fully well what it is like to be overweight and unfit and the psychology behind it i understand quite well. When you do Kata full strength will proper stances, kicks, blocks and strikes you really do build up a big sweat. It is akin to cardio yes but you don't notice that you are training like that.

At my worst I have weighed approximately 130 kg (286 Pounds) now I am down to 114 kg. And I have been giving it 100% over the last few months.

Many people who train in Martial Arts (in classes) focus on fitness and not necessarily self defense or sport.

Question: When you train at the gym do you do it on your own or with friends?

Why couldn't you keep at the calisthenics?

The Best thing is to go to do some classes give everything 100% to it and will spare you from having to spend x amount on classes and then a further x amount for a gym membership. Because many people find more benefits from martial arts training than going to the gym.

Certain Exercise Videos are good yes, but the flaw is that people often won't put 100% into doing it, then they will give up because they can't figure out why there aren't positive results.

So Martial Arts does help greatly with weight loss and can be a benefit to flexibility. As you are a female, you are already predisposed to being more flexible than males. So once you lose some weight (not meant to be an insult, i apologize) it will really come through. And will develop even more, but depends on size of your joints and muscular length

[terretremblante]

Thank you for some great and encouraging answers!

I will give the dvds a try, being very careful to do things properly and with full egagement. I also found several dojo pdfs online, with detailed instructions on the kata.

I know that joining a dojo is the best thing to do, however I am happy that nobody dismissed my idea to start this on my own. You just motivated me more than you know!

As for the gym, I went alone, but I would have quit even with friends. I can see why you say that a dojo is not the same experience.

Cardio I don't mind, as long as it doesn'r bring me to the point of a heart attack. I don't mind pushing the muscles, but the heart is another matter. As for calisthenics, I should start again I suppose, because I have convict conditioning and I love the exercises. I will simply have to be more disciplined.

This forum is great, I am still reading posts. I like the focus and energy of karate more than any other thing I've tried so far.

That was a very long thank you, by the way, but I mean it.

[hansenator]

I think you can learn a lot from DVDs. You have to be very meticulous in checking your form against what's demonstrated. Since there isn't someone there to correct you, you have to be able to correct yourself. Mirrors and videos and can help.

Without partner work, you can't develop reactions and practice working with someone but that's less important for fitness purposes. After you're more comfortable with the form, a heavy bag can provide a tremendous workout if one's available. Add some supplementary strength and mobility work and you'll get in great shape.

[terretremblante]

Thank you. All this great advice makes clearer and clearer how I'm going to do this. I'll be very careful and patient with the dvds.

I'll do walking (from a fitness dvd), kata and bodyweight. And we'll see what happens.

I'll participate in the forum's log, which I find very inspiring, and I'll keep asking for advice

[Spodo Komodo]

If you are overweight (as am I) then beware of kicking without some instruction. Kicking seems to be as natural as breathing or walking but if you kick air without some understanding of the technique then you can damage the ligaments and cartilage over time. The same goes for deep stances and anything that puts a twist or side-loading on the knee.

Stay safe, knee replacements are not that good yet!

[terretremblante]

Thank you so much for your tips. Such guidance is very valuable. I am not exactly overweight, although I could lose a few kilos. However I am so unfit, that making sudden moves could have bad results! I will be very careful with kicks, thank you!

[mazzybear]

I'm going to play devil's advocate here and say, while MAs DVDs can be hugely useful (mostly for folk in the MAs,) I don't really see the benefit in using them as fitness DVDs, as some folk have said unless proper techniques are used and executed properly, then it's not actually benefitting you. It kind of reminds me of a friend who took up boxercise, I thought if you want to get fit doing something LIKE boxing, why not take up boxing? You learn how to do things properly and get much fitter much quicker. The same apllies here. Why not give karate a try? No two classes are the same, so the boredom factor has no room to creep in and you wouldn't believe how quickly your fitness levels rise and the fun you can have in the process.

I'm not a fan of the fitness DVD industry, especially ones which feature celebrities, they target people and have them believe these celebrities lost all this weight by doing the routines featured, when the reality is they have personal trainers and nutritionists behind the scenes, this is why most folk fail with the DVDs because the goals are unattainable from the start. The only one I have ever bought and still regularly use is P90X.

But having said all this, if you feel it is working for you, then far be it from me to discourage your methods. Everbody is different and have different ways of working out. I hope you keep it up and reap the benefits.

Mo.