Lose some wight before doing martial arts?
Well, I want to start a martial arts class as an exercise.
However, my parents suggested to me that I should lose some upper body weight before attempting a martial arts class to reduce the strain I put on my knees. Yes or No?
I have no pre-existing conditions.
If I did, I wouldn’t have been able to play tennis for over 6 years.
I guess some specs would be nice too.
Age: 16-17
Weight: 273 lbs
Height: >= 6′ 4"
martial arts will help you loose weight to.
if your knees do start to hurt you during class you may have to stand a little higher in your stance to reduce the press on then knee.
if that is also the case then you should also notify the instructor about the pain.
if you are very heavy i would not be concerned about loosing the weigh before class.
with a proper diet and the martial art class combined you should start to loose weight.
my heaviest student is about 500 lbs. he does not have issues with his knees….. when he stopped taking class his weigh increasing dramatically, i think the most he had weighed during his time off was over 700
keep in mind you are not him and it is only an example every person is different and you didn’t mention any pre-existing injuries.
edit>> thats not much weigh i would not worry about it. in the beginning just make sure you dont over stain anything, some style of karate have very deep stances which can but a lot of pressure on your knees. so you may have to stand a little higher then everyone else, but other wise there should be no issues.
best of luck
Radon
DO NOT go the video the above user posted.
You cannot spot reduce weight, you loose it all over. Your parents dont know what there talking about. One of the best parts about martial arts classes is that they are very effective at helping you loose weight. If you are obese than it may not be a good idea for you to participate in martial arts, im sorry if you are obese but people who are extremely overweight cannot execute some kicks properly as well as submission techniques, most classes must pass these students on belt tests because they cannot discriminate because of weight. These people generally give martial arts a bad rap. If you are 30-40 lbs overweight i would say go for it just make sure you work your ass off and get jacked. P.S. please dont take a tae kwon do class.
References :
Shihan J
martial arts will help you loose weight to.
if your knees do start to hurt you during class you may have to stand a little higher in your stance to reduce the press on then knee.
if that is also the case then you should also notify the instructor about the pain.
if you are very heavy i would not be concerned about loosing the weigh before class.
with a proper diet and the martial art class combined you should start to loose weight.
my heaviest student is about 500 lbs. he does not have issues with his knees….. when he stopped taking class his weigh increasing dramatically, i think the most he had weighed during his time off was over 700
keep in mind you are not him and it is only an example every person is different and you didn’t mention any pre-existing injuries.
edit>> thats not much weigh i would not worry about it. in the beginning just make sure you dont over stain anything, some style of karate have very deep stances which can but a lot of pressure on your knees. so you may have to stand a little higher then everyone else, but other wise there should be no issues.
best of luck
References :
30+ yrs
shotokan and shito ryu
Dhaliwal_pavan@hotmail.com
life
References :
Kuma the Painted
Don’t sweat it.
I’m a big boy at 6′3" and 260. I’ve been up to 280 and still practicing martial arts. In addition, there’s been some guys at my dojo who were black belts over 300 pounds. Doing martial arts will help slim you down a bit and improve your physical fitness, so you’ll benefit from that.
What I would suggest you do, however, is start a general fitness program. Walk a lot, hit up a gym, or something like that. Since your parents are a big part of your question, I’m going to assume for a moment that you are still in school. Go talk to one of the health or PE teachers to get advice on what kind of fitness program would be best for you. Being out of shape does get in the way of doing martial arts, and working to get comprehensively healthy will improve your martial arts performance in addition to making you feel a whole lot better in your every day life.
References :
Your Friendly Walmart Shopper
If you ever got in a fight before, you would know that being overweight you will have a lot of trouble keeping up with someone when the fight extends beyond 3 minutes. I am in good shape and I get winded after exchanging punches, defending from take downs, putting someone on the ground, pounding them on the ground, attempting submissions for about 5 minutes. Sometimes I dont even have any strength left to throw a decent punch unless I pace myself and rest a few minutes. And this is a guy that runs 3 miles every other day. My stamina is not an issue here and maybe I am overly aggressive but I have noticed myself losing power after 3 minutes or so.
You should lose weight because I have taken down a 200lbs guy who was generally obese. Kept him there while exchanging blows for about 2 minutes and he was weaker than me by the 3rd or 4th minute and I totally wailed on him.
The answer is obvious. Lose weight. Thats why fighters drop their weight class if they feel like they cant keep up with people in their weight class. Generally you have a stronger heart than people that fight in lower weight classes because you normally walk around heavier. I know 200lbs fat guys that have less stamina and strength than some professional fighters that only weigh 135lbs. So it would look stupid when this guy weighing 70lbs less will totally beat the crap out of him. Thats when you know you’ve hit a new low. Being overweight makes you look stupid and also keeps you from being the best fighter you can be.
References :
karatescientist
martial arts will get you to lose weight so you will not have to worry too much about losing it before you begin but if your knees are a problem, talk to you instructor and get some flexible knee braces that may help protect them until they can manage without them
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Justin M
Well it would help you, i am in taekwondo and im over 100lbs overweight. But Its not to much strain on me, but once in a while you will feel it.
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kerel
agree for those who said martial art will loose weight..on what your body condition is,you can simply reduce your weight by training in martial art..
by moving your arm by doing punches,it will burning your fat on your arm and shoulders..by doing kicking,it will burn fat on your legs..although it will be tough for you in the beginning,but it be ease after a few week where your body has some reflex and familiar with the training..and during the training you will have to do some push-up and sit-up..maybe you don’t usually do it you self,but by doing in classes it may motivate you to do it..
once learning martial art,do it all the way..don’t loose faith..martial art also help you gain self motivation..
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callsignfuzzy
I’d say you shouldn’t worry about losing weight. Martial arts training will help you reach your ideal weight. Being a certain weight before hand is not a prerequisite.
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tre_494
it may be a good idea but you would of course be getting exercise and losing weight while in practice.sometimes it depends on what art you’re practicing. when i was practicing wushu i got the wushu-knee because of the stances that put all weight on your knees. then i learned to shift the weight to my ankles
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tutor2000
Martial Arts is one of the top ten exercises for all around physical fitness. This is instructor dependent of course so watch a few classes before deciding on a school.
However, with martial arts being one of the top ten for all around physical fitness what your parents are suggesting is that you lose weight before you start exercising.
Rick
Sensei J. Richard Kirkham B.Sc.
References :
My degree is physical education with a health minor
http://kirkhamsebooks.com/HealthNFitness/ExerciseEbook_pd.html