Functional Collaborative Effect

Who needs regular push-ups!

Over the past few years within the health and fitness world, we have seen a boom in more functional and old-school methods that have in some ways, turned the whole industry on its head.  No longer is it cool to lock yourself into a vertical chest press machine and crank up the pounds, but rather for those who are looking to gain more functional development for a particular sport or skill, then asymmetrical challenges, core blasters and dynamic full-body integration exercises are the order of the day.

As a traditional karate practitioner, seeing things develop in this way puts a huge smile on my face.  What many people would consider as being cutting edge principles today is often nothing more than the re-birth of some of the most effective training tactics that were considered mainstream only a couple of lifetimes ago.  In terms of karate, there are many connections between traditional supplementary training methods (hojo undo) and modern-day functional practices.  Furthermore, in the spirit of constantly evolving the art, linking these to other influences from around the world can yield some fantastic benefits.

I'm a big fan of KB's!

It stands to reason that to perform well in karate, we need to train the body how it is designed to work...that is, as an integrated unit.  Therefore, spending too much time isolating muscle groups or movement patterns is not only unnatural, but it can actually cause your body to develop bad habits and grow to unlearn the important body integrations needed for effective application of the art.

The term 'functional collaborative effect' is used to describe the result of training exercises, methods and routines that aim to develop a set of attributes that when combined together, allow specific skills to be performed at more advanced levels.  There are generally two ways in which this goal may be achieved and both of these are prevalent (or indeed, should be prevalent) in the practice of karate.       

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The first way of producing a functional collaborative effect is to challenge the body, mind and spirit through multiple pathways during a single routine.  This added pressure and stimulus causes the body to adapt further so that when going back to more 'standard' exercises, it becomes a much easier task.  Here are a couple of examples of how this may work...

• Rather than undertaking a standard bench press exercise, try performing a single arm chest press with a asymmetrical loaded dumbbell, whilst bridging yourself against a Bosu or Swiss ball, maybe even supported on only one leg.  This makes the goal of pressing the weight much more difficult, as many more factors need to be taken into consideration by the body at any one time.  The level of concentration and self-control must be increased significantly here and although you won't be breaking any maximum load records, the training effect is worlds apart.      

• Instead of unleashing power strikes from a stable posture and comfortable stance, try to add some restriction by standing with your back against a wall, sitting on the floor, balancing on one leg or having your partner impede your movement.  From these more demanding scenarios, the body is challenged in new ways and it becomes essential to dig deeper and 'find the power' from within the barriers imposed.  You must explore new ways of generating power using the very same principles as before - only this time you must adapt how these are normally applied.

Punching hard in kata? Then try it from here!

The second way of producing a functional collaborative effect is to consider the integrated attributes required to perform a task and then conducting a programme that challenges these multiple areas.  As before, here are a couple of examples of how this idea may be applied...

• Keeping on the subject of high level kicking, it is a common misconception that flexibility is the most important attribute.  In actual fact, whilst we must have a sufficient degree of flexibility in order for our body to create the required 'shapes', we also need strength in the muscles to lift our legs, explosive action in order to transfer power effectively and mobile joints for all the above to be any use whatsoever.  Therefore, simply stretching every other day and flicking a few air kicks out in the dojo once a week will not give you effective techniques.  We must stimulate our body through multiple pathways.  Therefore, we may decide to incorporate an early morning joint mobility routine, a regular flexibility programme, some plyometric exercises to help develop explosiveness and some slow/controlled kicking with ankle weights to really burn those muscles needed to kick effectively.  Couple this with bag/pad work and some sparring to test your techniques 'in the water' and you've created a much more effective collaborative programme for developing the functional kicks you've always wanted.        

Flexibility is only one component of skilful kicking!

• The practice of kata as a holistic method for self-defence is probably one of the most discussed methods of developing a functional collaborated effect.  Bunkai practitioners know that simply performing the movements of kata represents only one stage of training.  There is no way we can become skilled in self-defence simply by striving for perfection in the choreography of kata.  Instead, the pragmatic-minded karate-ka among will use the structure of kata as a basis to work from and then learn to understand what each movement or combination of movements mean, using a realistic combative model.  Then of course, the result of this exploration must then be pressure-tested through varying levels of live-drilling to audit their effectiveness and build the necessary skills required to use them.  Specific weaknesses may need to be enhanced through some form of supplementary training and finally, the whole strategy needs to conform to an overarching context for personal safety, taking into account not only the physical attributes, but also mental, spiritual, social, cultural and physiological aspects.  
  

Kata should be viewed as a process of developmental training to a pre-defined context.

Studied correctly and in line with it's traditional aims, the art of karate could be viewed as a comprehensive method of developing a functional collaborative effect and it's really up to the practitioner to be mindful of this requirement and how essential it is to their overall advancement.  As I always preach to my students, it is not what you train that's important, but HOW you train it.  And karate, like any other functional pursuit of the human body, will only ever become as deep as those individuals who study it!

Thanks for reading and best wishes,