Well I seem to be going video crazy lately!
Here's another video I put together on Hojo Undo. Last week I set up the camera and filmed some of my usual morning conditioning routine. I edited the clips together, added an 'old film' filter and cut in some traditional Japanese music to give it a more authentic feel. I had lots of fun making this and I hope you enjoy it. Even though this kind of training is considered by many to be 'old-school' and 'out-dated', it is still in my view just as relevant now as it was when it was first developed. Of course, the aim of the training is not to 'body build' or 'weight train', but instead to develop and enhance the specific functional attributes associated with the effective application of traditional karate kata. Therefore, it helps put into place what is an essential piece of the karate jigsaw puzzle!
0 Comments
Over the past few weeks, I've had quite a few emails and questions regarding my own approach to physical training and how this connects to my traditional karate practice. So I thought that I would record a short video clip to share a particular kettlebell combination exercise that I like, especially for those times when I haven't got much time to train - hope you enjoy :-)
This workout combines the double hip clean, snatch, squat and press into one exercise and the idea is to alternate between arms for the allotted period without setting the weight down. Although this may seem a bit boring, it is actually quite challenging and enjoyable to focus on the quality of performance, attempting to make each rep identical to the last. I love to train. There's rarely a day goes by that I'm away from the dojo and often the best part of training as a martial artist is the huge variance of methods you can apply. This can also be a downfall though if you do not manage your training effectively, since it can become quite difficult to 'fit it all in' over the course of each week.
Martial artists need to develop in many areas such as strength and power, endurance, flexibility, speed, balance core dynamics, structural stability, fast adaptation to change, sensitivity, mobility, conditioning, technique, mental clarity and focus. We're fortunate that some methods of training can tick multiple boxes for us, but you need to be constantly watchful in case what one day you call a 'supplementary' method starts to take over your whole schedule. I began weight training many years ago and I really love the challenge. A number of years ago now I took the decision to become a qualified fitness instructor in order to ensure that I could confidently train and advise others in the correct way. A number of people have asked me questions lately relating to why traditional karate practitioners spend time conditioning their forearms. It is commonly suggested that this is to facilitate more effective blocks, but considering the fact that in close range self-defence the concept of blocking in any form is seriously flawed (due to the lack of ability to react in time), there is in fact a much more pragmatic reason as to why forearm conditioning is so vital. First of all, the forearms make up a primary weapon in karate. It is extensively used in Naihanchi Kata and if you think about the fundamental techniques practiced in the first few months of training then you will see that the vast majority use the forearms as a point of contact to issue force. In fact, the four basic receiving techniques of (1) age-uke, (2) soto-uke, (3) uchi-uke and (4) gedan-barai together prescribe the principle gross motor movements with the upper limbs: up, down, inside and outside. The only movements not covered are thrusting out from and in towards the body, but I'm sure you'll agree that tsuki covers that pretty well!
Last week I uploaded an article to the site that I'd wrote about makiwara training, which was originally published in Combat Magazine in early 2012... To supplement this piece, I also added a video to my new YouTube channel that showed a some clips of my personal hand conditioning routine...
|
Photos used under Creative Commons from Genista, SLImagesCa, ser..., The Consortium, perpetualplum, cphoffman42, ennuidesign, stoermchen, Ksenia Ruta