August 24th, 2009
Mental Approach.
Begin your Martial Arts workout with a short session of mental preparation. Sit in a relaxed position (many styles of Martial Arts have a prescribed meditation position or pose) and clear your mind of the day’s problems. Focus on what you are about to do, what you want to get out of it, and how you are going to perform your workout with total focus and clarity.
Warm-up and General Stretching.
As all athletes and fitness experts will tell you, you need to shape your workout so you ease into it, build to a pinnacle of effort, and slow down towards the end of the workout in order to reduce the likelihood of injury to yourself. With Martial Arts, an initial warm-up should consist of a short session of aerobic exercise to increase blood flow and raise body temperature, followed by some 5 to 10 minutes spent doing slow stretching of all muscle groups, aiming to loosen tense muscles and ease those that aren’t used much in daily tasks, into readiness for action to come.
Slow Techniques
You might then follow with a session of slow kata (or form), concentrating on good technique with full extension. This is the time you can increase your muscle memory by doing your kata in “Full Tension” – keep your muscles tense through each slow technique.
Leg Stretching
Before getting into the more intense part of your Martial Arts workout, you need to do some more preparation. Having raised your body temperature through general stretching and warm-up routines, it is time to thoroughly prepare your muscles, particularly those in your legs, for more powerful techniques like blocks, strikes, and kicks.
Always include basic techniques in your workout. Start slowly – work through your basic techniques while gradually increasing the tempo and power of your movements. Concentrate on getting the technique right first, then increase its power. A powerful strike is dangerous to you and of little use, if it is not performed correctly.
Workout Climax
Combinations are recommended as the next part of your workout. These are groups of techniques performed in a logical, ‘fighting’ order; that is, in the order you would typically use them while sparring or in a tournament or fight. An example is Block/Strike/Kick – Block an assailant’s attack and quickly follow through with a strike to surprise or stun them, then finish them of with a powerful kick. Practice a few different combinations many times so that they flow and you can perform them without too much forethought.
Work through your kata or form with full power and intensity. This is where your art comes together. Practice as many different kata or forms as you know, working up from a novice kata to the kata related to your current abilities or ranking. Be sure that your kata is regularly inspected by an instructor so that incorrect techniques don’t sneak in and become ingrained into your Art.
Cool Down
Having reached the peak of your Martial Arts workout, you need to gradually ease back down on the physical intensity and bring your body back to a more normal state. A good cool down session will aid in removal of metabolic waste materials such as Lactic Acid which, in turn, will reduce soreness and stiffness later. This can best be achieve by some light shadow sparring which will also tend to re-stretch all muscles. Follow up by some on the spot jogging, then ease into a short session of relaxed stretching making sure you work all muscle groups with low intensity.
Finally you should do some relaxation exercises concentrating on breathing and meditation. Now is the time to focus keenly on the spiritual aspect of your chosen Martial Art and ask yourself questions about how you approached your workout from a spiritual standpoint. Did you do your best? Was your Focus all it should be?
The final part of your workout should be to re-hydrate and re-energise. Drink enough water to replace the fluid lost during your workout and have a protein snack to rebuild your energy levels so that you don’t feel low as you leave. The better you feel as you walk away from your workout, the more inclined you will be to workout next time.
Conclusion
You will get out of your Martial Arts workout what you put into it. A half hearted workout will give you little satisfaction, and mediocre fitness results. Working on your mentality at the beginning and the end of your workout will improve your ability to ‘put in’ and the value you ‘get out’ of your Martial Art.
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January 30th, 2010
what types are there? what are they’re specialties?
I know there is a limitless amount of martial arts for about every culture, but what types do they teach in america? what are the specialties?
heaps.
Posted in Martial Arts Types | 5 Comments »
January 30th, 2010
i use to take tae kwon do, then i looked in a karate book , basically i learned it preddy much the same kiund of martial art but different countrys tkd korean karate japan
Karate involves more punching and kicking (say about 50% each), while tae kwon doe is mostly kicking (85-90%). Karate is a Japanese martial art, while Tae Kwon Doe is Korean. I’ve taken ju-jitsu, which combines karate, judo, and other forms of self-defense. I’d suggest taking the karate if you’re thinking of taking up the martial arts. You’ll learn blocking techniques as well as the punches and kicks. You might also learn some throws, depending upon what form of karate you take. Shotokon uses throws. It’s alot of fun and also great self defense, confidence builder, and body toner.
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January 30th, 2010
The closest is A Plus Karate & Kickboxing.
Here is their website: http://www.bestkarate.info/
Posted in Martial Arts Exercise | 4 Comments »
January 30th, 2010
What muscles need to be flexible to kick high for martial arts? The martial art I do is Muay Thai and I want to be able to do a roundhouse to the neck… What muscles need to me flexible and what are some stretches?
It kinda depends on the kick a little.
For the common snap or front kick, the gluteus maximus (butt) and Biceps femoris (hamstring) are the most important for gaining height. To stretch your glutes you can do the stretch seen here:
http://www.apta.org/AM/Images/APTAIMAGES/ContentImages/PatientEducation/cyclingstretches/glute.jpg
For your biceps femoris the common hurdler’s or figure four stretch work well.
For a side or roundhouse kick. those same muscles need to be flexible but you also need to have flexible adductor muscles: the pectineus, adductor brevis, adductor longus, adductor magnus, and gracilis. To simplify, its all the musces that are stationed on the inside of your leg. This will help to achieve a solid split to get your leg high in the air. The common split is a perfect stretch to become more flexible in this area. as well as the butterfly stretch.
Hope this helps. But remember. never sacrifice power for flash, another person’s head is so high.
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January 30th, 2010
do women who do wushu or any kind of martial arts have nasty feet?
im wondering for women who do wushu
All that kicking and tripping make for some ugly feet. Hopefully, they cover their ugly paws when they go out for a date.
Posted in Women Martial Arts | 2 Comments »
January 30th, 2010
 http://mcdojo-faq.tripod.com/
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bullshido
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/McDojo
http://www.bullshido.net/
Bullshido is a derogatory term used by some English-speaking martial arts aficionados to describe fraudulent, deceptive, or inept martial arts teaching.It is a portmanteau of bullshit, a slang term used to denote a worthless product, and bushido, the samurai code of honor in Japan. Bullshido is considered to be the antithesis of bushido, and is generally applied to martial arts schools where their instructors publish pseudoscientific claims or unverifiable assertions concerning their lineage or training methods, or emphasize blatant commercialism over substance in teaching, training, personal conduct, or business dealings.
Traits
Some traits often seen as bullshido include training methods that have no practical application, prohibitions intended to prevent students from realising this, and instructors who use an exaggerated or fake persona to attract students (e.g., claiming exceptional or supernatural abilities gained by training in that manner).
School exclusivity
One traditional practice some consider to be bullshido is the demand that students not be a part of any other martial arts school of the same style during their tenure at the school, without permission from the instructor. Some schools prohibit training in another style altogether. Proponents of this regulation believe that learning multiple types of martial arts simultaneously will interfere with the clear transmission of information from the teacher to student.[citation needed] However, opponents hold that as consumers students have the right to pursue whatever endeavors they wish, and that they are only obligated by the school’s code of conduct while taking classes at the school. Some opponents also point out that such a rule often exists to minimize the possibility the school’s methods or quality of instruction will be seen as being inferior to others’.
Impractical training methods
Bullshido is also said, by proponents of the concept, to consist of training methods that are impractical if they are used outside of the context of the bullshido school. Noted martial artists such as Bruce Lee and Jon Bluming have asserted that board-breaking and kata (forms) are of limited benefit towards actual fighting proficiency and often used as “filler” to occupy class time. This view is very common in modern mixed martial arts or combat sport circles as well. These critics maintain that such ancillary activities often become the focus of one’s martial arts training at the expense of learning how to implement the techniques in a realistic situation. They suggest that the best means to prepare to use one’s skills in a realistic situation is through the use of full or hard contact, non-stop sparring with which students’ current skill levels can be realistically evaluated.
Advocates of methods such as board-breaking assert that these training methods have a valid place in martial arts. Particularly with younger students, accomplishments such as being able to break one or more boards can serve as a tangible sign of accomplishment as they advance in skill or rank. In regards to kata, some advocates claim that kata serve a purpose similar to that of shadowboxing in combat sports; the solo practice of techniques can help focus a student’s concentration on proper form and execution against an imaginary opponent. Modern practitioners of martial arts have less issue with these training methods when they are supplemental to intense sparring, rather than as a substitute (which is viewed as bullshido)
Duration : 0:7:35
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Posted in Martial Arts Types | 2 Comments »
January 30th, 2010
 Lee Wedlake talks about his book series, describing each book as well as sharing interesting excerpts.
Duration : 0:6:6
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Technorati Tags: arts, books, defense, Ed, instruction, karate, kenpo, lee, martial, Parker, self, Wedlake
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January 30th, 2010
 Tai Chi incorporates fluid movement and gentle exercises; learn the Tai Chi Snake Exercise in this free Tai Chi video for beginners.
Expert: Jason Hall
Bio: Jason Hall is a professional martial arts instructor who teaches martial arts, tai chi, and self defense classes for men, women and children.
Duration : 0:1:4
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Technorati Tags: arts, Chi, element, Exercise, form, martial, meditation, pose, relaxation, snake, Tai, video, visualization
Posted in Martial Arts Exercise | 2 Comments »
January 30th, 2010
 Practice Kung Fu stretches like the side kick stretch; learn Kung Fu moves taught at real Shaolin temples in this free martial arts video series.
Expert: Bruce Wen
Contact: www.shaolinca.com
Bio: Bruce Wen has studied in China with Tibetan monks and runs his own Shaolin Kung Fu studio in California.
Filmmaker: Nili Nathan
Duration : 0:1:4
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