Martial Art's Fitness Triad

Two  Martial Triads

Many people, mainly lazy people, always have excuses for why they don't train. Maybe they think they're too slow, weak, not flexible enough, or too short. Training in martial arts can make you stronger, faster, more agile, more flexible; and as for, a lack of height, Mike Tyson mastered the art of fighting taller opponents; in fact, everyone he thought was taller than him, he called his shortness, his advantage. Let's talk about some of the physical attributes that training and martial arts can improve.

Let's start with a very important strength to have in any martial arts scenario, whether it be in the street, or the cage, power. If you don't have power, it is an attribute that can be improved. Training power will always improve your ability to defeat an opponent or an attacker. A lot of our training time in martial arts is directed towards improving power, and it does. Power is related to strength. However, it is different. I like to explain it that power is it explosive, you knock people out with power, you explode on a double leg, takedown with power strength, enables you to hold somebody down, or pull somebody, or even push them. a good way to think about it would be in grappling, power would get you, the takedown, and strength will enable you to control your opponent on the ground. I know the skill has a lot to do with that as well, however, I'm just comparing power with strength, I'm considering skill be equal. So, without a doubt, maybe one of the most important physical attributes to possess in a fight, power, can training improve 100% without a doubt.  Training your power includes explosive-type workouts, some call it plyometrics.  It includes, but is not limited to explosive weightlifting movements, such as snatches and cleans. Throwing the medicine ball is also a great way to develop explosive power. Jumping, and swinging are also explosive movements that will help develop your martial arts power.

Power’s cousin, strength, can also be greatly improved with training, it is probably the most easily measured and tracked attribute. Some people are cautious about strength-building exercises because they think it will make them slow and bulky. However, when done correctly, getting stronger will not make you slower, but it will make you stronger. Squats and push-ups are great, time-proven ways to get stronger, and if you come off the floor when you fully extend either one of these two strength-building exercises, now you are building up strength and power. Lifting something heavy off of the ground and holding someone in a tight bear hug also requires strength. You can oftentimes tell someone is strong with just a simple handshake, grip strength is a very telling way to determine someone's strength. Building strength takes a lot of heavy, lifting, and other bodyweight exercises they give you a burn in your muscles. Were you know you're getting stronger. Usually, when someone starts increasing their strength, they want to increase their diet as well, so while you're not going to get slower, less agile, or flexible while getting stronger, we can is pretty common among people who are on the strength-building regimen. If you think big bulky guys are not agile or fast, I think you have never watched a football game, a rugby match, or a strongman competition.. Those are probably the strongest humans on the planet, yes, they show incredible cardio, try pushing a 16-wheeler truck, 200 m, and see if that gets your heart rate up. Most of these very bulky and very strong athletes are also very agile and explosive as you can tell by some of the boulder, lifting, or cleans and snatches that these guys are able to do.

And some people say they get too tired, to train in martial arts. They say their cardio sucks, and they get winded too easily. Cardio is one of the most simple physical attributes that you can improve on by training. I didn't say easy, I said, simple. There aren't many things more simplistic than running, jogging, climbing, paddling, or Burpee's. You have to go into the anaerobic zone to get your cardio up to fighting shape. You can't do anything easy and expect to get better, and that includes cardiovascular fitness. So all those things I listed above, when you do them, you just have to do them fast, again, that is very, very simple, but very far from easy. To grow, to improve, to get better, you have to go outside of your comfort zone, and that definitely includes your cardio. Most people don't have the self-discipline to push themselves outside of their comfort zone at all, much less on a regular basis, which us martial artists do. Guys like to do more strength work, and sometimes some explosive power work, but a lot of times, that's just because it makes them feel and look stronger. So to them, it's a win-win, they could become a much better martial artist, and they will look much better at the beach. Women like more cardio-based workouts because most women just wanna lose weight, while men wanna look stronger, which usually means putting on some weight, women are the opposite, they just want to lose weight. So for a woman, daily cardio, especially aerobic, not anaerobic, because they know it's a good way to burn calories and lose weight, martial artists are more interested in being able to stop the threat and protect their family, and they will do whatever it takes to be able to successfully accomplish that.

So while I've been talking a lot about different type of exercises and athletes, you might be thinking "Hey, I'm a martial arts guy I don't care about all those strong men” I was just giving you guys examples settle down. I'm trying to make a point if you think you're too out of shape, weak and not powerful enough to defend yourself or your family, I'm saying, you just have to get off your butt and start training. And to be a true martial artist, not a partial artist, physical conditioning is part of your training, not just punching, kicking, or Grappling. While those things are part of your training, and it is building, a lot of martial arts, specific skills, you still have to do the strength, power, cardio, and agility, enhancing exercise, and drills. many martial arts schools don't include that in their curriculum, so their students have to wander into a cookie-cutter strip mall, fitness gym to try to figure out how they can become better martial artists by building up their physical attributes. Well, I'm telling all of you martial artists out there, especially school, owners, and instructors, if your students aren't getting their power, strength, and cardio work as part of their training at your gym, it is not a martial arts school, it is a partial art school. And if Fitness is not part of your core curriculum, you should rethink that, because being powerful enough to stop the threat and protect, his family is 100% part of what you should be providing your student. You should think of your martial arts curriculum and classes like you are training your students for the most important world title fight in the world, their ability to protect them self and their family. It always astonishes me when sport fighters train harder than “I'm training to protect myself and my family” students.  If you're training yourself, please spend as much time, working your “Fitness Triad”, strength, power, and cardio as you do training the “Fighing Triad”, striking, wrestling, and grappling. Thanks guys, please live clean, train hard, and don't let anyone take your lunch money.