Skip to main content

Posts

Showing posts from 2011

Complete Guide to Feet Conditioning

Feet are very important to a martial artist specially when it comes to kumite or sparring. The point of impact of most kicking techniques is the different areas of the feet. Some of the areas of the leg that cause impact when a kick is executed are Knees, Shin Bone, Instep, Ball of the foot, Heel and knife edge of foot. So except for the the knee and the shin bone all the areas are parts of the foot. The more conditioned a foot is the better will the impact be when  kicked.    The above video shows some of the ways to go about conditioning the feet. As I have said many times before there are numerous ways that one can train or condition the body. We have showed some of the ways that we can use to condition the feet. Do train slowly and cautiously, there is no need to rush.

Complete Guide to Finger Conditioning

Finger's play a very important role during sparring or self defense specially if the fight goes on to grappling. Well conditioned fingers enable a stronger grip and are even good to use as finger jabs. A well known Karate Master had conditioned his fingers to the extent that he could tear raw meat into strips by using just his finger's.  The above video shows some of the methods that can be used to condition the finger's. There are numerous ways and numerous objects that can be used to condition any area however please do so only under supervision of a trained instructor. Start slowly and move to a harder form of conditioning gradually. Haste or being over zealous can lead to severe injury. So be patient and enjoy the fruits. 

Complete Guide to Forearm Conditioning

The forearm is a very important part of the body specially for a martial artist. During kumite or sparring it is the forearm that would most likely bare the impact of punches and kicks aimed at your torso or the head. Moreover a strong forearm with a well conditioned bone is a formidable weapon when struck with too. The video below is a guide on the different ways the forearm can be conditioned. There are numerous ways and means to go about it we have made the video showing some of the ways. The conditioning of any bone is a slow and patient process being excited or over zealous can only result in severe injuries and at times even permanent damage. Always listen to your body, if the bone is in pain or has lots of swelling then give it rest for a few days and then go about with the conditioning. Diet and rest are equally important so never neglect them for more hours of training. If the body is not well rested it could lead to lots of complications. To condition the forearm we can use...

What to do when you are 30 plus, don't exercise much and your joints and health are showing signs of aging?

In this post I hope to help people who are above 30 and simplify how they should go about getting fit. There are a lot of people who usually don't workout much or just go for an occasional morning or evening stroll in the near by park. These are the people who don't know what to do or they get misguided when they develop signs of joint pains or their doctor prescribes regular exercise to beat their rising sugar or cholesterol levels. Most of these people in this situation end up joining gyms, yoga or aerobics studios or start doing some workout on their own. For making the post more inclusive we will consider people who have not done any workout for quite some time now except for an occasional walk. Before we get into discussing how one should go about with the workout I would like to caution one and all about a very peculiar and wrong situation that prevails in most gyms in India. When a new member joins a gym which has more than one head coach who assigns the workout to all ...

Complete guide to Shin Bone Conditioning

Recently I saw the national selections of Muay Thai in India which was held at Hyderabad. It was a total disaster, I felt very sad seeing martial arts being made a mockery of like this. Muay Thai is an awesome martial art which is very very demanding and needs the whole body to be conditioned like rock itself. Sadly during these selections the participants were wearing shin guards, abdomen guards, elbow guards and head guard. While in authentic Muay Thai the fighters only wear groin guard and a gum guard.  Most martial arts need the body to be completely conditioning and those training in them spend a lot of time and effort working towards getting the bones and flesh conditioned like rock. The parts of the body conditioned are instep, shin bone, thigh, stomach, rib cage, the lats, palm, knuckles, forearms and the neck. So basically martial artists beat almost the whole body to condition it and prepare it for a real attack or strike. However proper conditioning methods, adequate he...

Super Fit Iron Man at 45 years

 Often I get calls from people inquiring about training in Martial Arts and if they are above the age of 25years the usual question is - Can I train at this age? I hope that our student Swamibabu can be a source of inspiration to all such people. About 8 years back most people in India believed that once you have touched 30 years of age walking is the best and only exercise to do. With growing awareness on health and fitness people of all age groups are training at gyms or going to play sports. However people are still a bit cautious when it comes to Martial Art training. Martial Arts can be learnt and trained in at any age there is no limit. However when you join it is best to inform the instructor about any ailments you have like diabetes, high or low blood pressure etc or if you have had any muscle or bone injury.  The video below is a tribute to our dear student Swamibabu who at his age of 45 is much fitter and tougher than most people in the age group of 20 - 3...

2 Hour Intense Workout

The 2 hour training consisted of  :-  1 ) A 6km jog around the hilly terrain of KBR Park,   2) Abdomen crunches,  3) Bunny jumps and push ups on steps   4) Lots of pad work after the jog.

Meditation, Diet and Rest for a Martial Artist

Nowadays either people are too cautious with their diet or just don't care, very few strike a true balance between diet, rest, meditation and workout. Most people due to lack of knowledge think diet control is the key to losing weight or getting the curves they want. So as soon as people sign up at a gym, fitness class, sports club or martial arts club or class they often ask the trainer "What diet should I follow? " before even sweating it out a single session. For most people who workout or train for 1 hour to 1.5 hours a day their normal diet is usually good enough may be just a bit changes here and there is fine. Sadly these are the people who think they are doing too much workout and end up trying all sorts of diets which they hear from friends or trainers or read in some book. Every individual needs a diet differently designed according to their goals, body structure, workout routine and fitness levels. My sincere request to such people is that please do not just fo...

Pad Work

Sparring Combination Practice Drill

Sparring is an important part of training and so training for it is equally important. The above video is a simple combination practice drill. Such drills improve reflexes and prepare the practitioners for the real sparring. Repetition of such combination drills again and again makes it a part of the reflexes.  

A Martial Artist - How long does it take? How to go about it?

I am often asked - How many days/ months to complete training? - by anxious parents who wish to see their kids wearing a black belt or people who watch some martial art movie and decide to join a martial art class . To them all I say is it has taken me 25 years and am still learning. Martial Science is like education can a 3 year old become a Doctor or an Engineer in just a few months? Even after completing his education and becoming say a Doctor if one does not keep on learning and upgrading he will not be a good Doctor. Similarly it is with Martial Science too. It takes a lot of discipline, devotion, dedication, effort, perseverance, determination, sacrifice and lots more.  It is the study of something which in no time completely takes over your life - the way you walk,  talk, think,  behave and lots more. It is very very demanding. No wonder at any authentic martial art school say if 30 students join at a time, by the time a few years go by there may be only 5 or l...

Conditioning

The above video is a variation of conditioning our students came up with so that all of them can do conditioning together and for different areas of the body. Conditioning is a very important aspect of martial arts. It is sad that many martial arts are moving towards point scoring in fights or sparring competitions also called as sports sparring. The sports sparring does not involve full contact kumite (sparring). As a result over the years organizations that have moved towards sports kumite have stopped or drastically reduced conditioning the body by kicking, punching or striking the various striking areas of the body. I was really shocked and upset when I met a black belt from an organization that follows sports kumite. That black belt told me that he is training from last 6years but he had never been punched or kicked any where on the body. He had never ever done any conditioning training in the 6 years that he had trained and reached to black belt. This is very very sad and ...

Muay Thai

Sawadee Khrab I had recently gone to Bangkok and was eager to train in Muay Thai (Thai kick boxing) which is the national sport of Thailand. There are many Muay Thai gyms in Bangkok and it should not be difficult to find one to train at. Many American and European Tourists come to Thailand to train in Muay Thai. Most MMA fighters too train in Muay Thai. There is lots of passion for Muay Thai, as a matter of fact professional Muay Thai practitioners train for a minimum of 6hours a day 6 days a week. This is the level of dedication that is put in its training. There are many stadiums too where Muay Thai bouts are conducted regularly and a student needs his teachers blessings and permission only then can he enter the competitions. I personally was not satisfied by my brief training in Muay Thai. In view of that some of my senior students and myself are planning a trip soon to Bangkok to train for 6hours a day for a week at a well known gym there. Children start training and competing at...

JUKAADO CAMP MAY 2011 - Traditional Body Conditioning

The above video is about traditional body strengthening and conditioning training. The equipment used are all the traditional ways of training. The first equipment in the video is a solid iron rod of 15kgs which is rolled up and down the fore arm to strengthen the forearms. The second and third equipment are canvas bags filled with pebbles and small stones on which the practitioner slams the front and back of his palm to toughen the palm. The fourth equipment is a  bucket filled with iron ball bearings in which the practitioner strikes with his fingers like nukite or spear hand to strengthen and toughen the fingers. The fifth and sixth equipment are weights at the end of a medium sized stick they are used to strengthen and toughen the shoulder, latissimus dorci ( upper back), biceps, triceps, trapezius muscle and the deltoids. 

JUKAADO CAMP MAY 2011 - Multiple or Speed throwing

Speed throwing is a very good workout. It is a high intensity cardiovascular routine. Moreover since all the people that are standing around the mats are not of the same height, weight or body type it improves the reflexes and adaptation skills of the person throwing them as he or she has to constantly keep throwing people of varying height and weight. There is not much of time gap between each throw so the person throwing has to be alert and have fast reflexes. Over a period of time it will also improve the skill in throwing techniques too. Please do not try this on your own always practice under a qualified instructor. 

JUKAADO CAMP MAY 2011 - Combination Training

The above video and the one below are of a training session where students practiced combination techniques. Combining striking techniques of a kick or punch along with throwing and locking techniques.  

9 man Kumite during Jukaado Camp May 2011

The students really did fight well during the 9 man kumite specially when we have to consider the fact that they had a tiring midnight session which got over at 3am and they started the kumite  session in the morning at 6:30 am with barely enough sleep or time for the body to recoup.   The above video has Shiv fighting well specially since most of his opponents are not only many years older than him but some even double his height. Keep it up. In the above video we have Hussain who also fought well. It is always nice to see all of them giving their best even though they had all injured their elbows with lots of crawling the previous day and only few hours sleep between the last midnight session. The above video has Sravan. Unfortunately our battery was running low and we could not shoot the full 9 man kumite by him. One thing am sure all who attended camp will agree is that Sravan has a very strong will power and never gave up through all the 8 days at camp even ...

Jukaado Camp May 2011 - Obstacle course and tile breaking

The above video is about our younger students Ritvik (13 years) and Shiv (14 years) who were breaking some roof tiles after the training session was over. The above video is of a simple obstacle the students had to cross during one of their jogging sessions. The above video and the one below show the obstacle course which all our students did exceptionally well.  

JUKAADO CAMP MAY 2011 - Stomach & Thigh Conditioning

The camp was awesome and it would have not been so awesome without the students who were ever ready to train may it be 5am or 1am. All of them gave much more than their 100%. The above video is taken during a session for stomach conditioning while the second video is taken during a session for thigh conditioning. Most of the students developed bumps, swellings and clots on their bodies but during training they all gave their best in true Bushi spirit.

Pictures of JUKAADO CAMP MAY 2011