How many martial artists view themselves as practicing an athletic activity? How many should?
I have found that, quite often, martial artists of all flavors tend to consider themselves as doing an activity that is wholly different from other athletic events. Consequently, they do not train as though they were athletes. I think this is a serious shortcoming in the general approach that many people in the arts take.
Incidentally, By athletic, I mean engaging in supplemental training that will develop the particular muscular and coordinational qualities that are necessary to enhance one’s performance in one’s art. This would include cardiovascular conditioning (running, biking, jump rope, shadow boxing for rounds, etc, etc), anaerobic conditioning (weights, isometrics), calisthenics (combo anaerobic and endurance), etc.
Now, there are many, many reasons that I hear for why we (martial artists) don’t have to train in supplemental, athletic ways.
The “masters” of old are often cited. There are many martial arts legends of the past who had fantastic prowess (and were held to be undisputably dominant in combat) and who did NOT train in ways that could be considered “athletic.” They were purely winning with great technique, internal power, or a combination of both, etc. HOWEVER, finding actual, hard and fast documentation (ie - video tape, etc) of these gentlemen is next to impossible – such accounts are related in terms of anecdotes. They are “legends” in most respects. Such legends probably have substance, but we must still admitt that they are in fact legends.
Also, the martial artist’s usage of “internal power” (ki, chi) is often cited as one of the main reasons that we need not engage in these “external” training methods. Again though, we have little solid examples of this sort of training enabling a person to engage with, and overcome, similar martial artists who train in more athletic manners.
Rather, I will maintain that it is simple to observe that all fighters, from almost all arenas of competition, innevitably end up HAVING to train athletically if they progress far enough in competition.
In reality, consider this: soldiers in the military HAVE to train supplementally, to be combat ready. This has been consistent throughout recorded history. Organized armies were kept in good condition – it is so fundamental as to be assumed.
Consider as well: all physical endeavors/events/sports/whatever utilize “training” in these ways – everything from soccer to ice skating to football to ballet. Anything involving complex physical movement in any arena necessitates training athletically – IF one wants to maximize his potential.
Now, what makes martial arts so special that we do NOT necessarily need to train athletically? I think that we like to envision that we are “above” these lesser, physical events. However, our arts utilize the bodies we were given at birth – just like all other physical activities.
I am espousing taking the “hard” road here – more training. I know that this is not popular. There are not many people out there who like pushups. Do them. Lots of them. Not only that, go running, go lifting – learn about how these activities should work together. If you don’t you cannot possibly hope to maximize. Go with the proof. The proof will tell you that you can do MORE by adding conditioning to your training regimen than you can without it. Internal alone wont’ get you there – if it could, then that’s what would be winning the olympic medals, the boxing titles, etc. View yourself as an athlete and an artist, rather than an artist alone.
I recommend the following website for great information:
http://www.myodynamics.com
"Correct is simple, but simple is not easy
). I like to play with my nunchakus to work out my arms and stuff, but I’ve also noticed that when my arms are tense and ‘bulging’ with muscles my chain punching slows way down and my body overall learns stuff slower.
