How Do You Train For Your Martial Art, Sport? Whats Your Way?

[Webber 0]

Ok, so I was inspired to write this after a conversation with some fellow boxers from my local gym. I would just out of interest like to find out how everybody trains, and if there is a trend between the intensity of their training and their related sport. As a boxer, and also a martial artist I have to say that I don't really follow a set program. I am very much one of the people that prefer to just simply train and train, and not make any days off, or set programs, or easy shifts, or 'rewinds' or what ever else the latest trend tends to be. I prefer to follow my heart and my passion for training. I do have a set routine that I will follow religiously. Everyday (usually before school), I will travel to my local gym and without fail train 100 reps of left jab right cross, and then 50 reps of a left jab, and 50 reps of a right cross, and then 50 of each arm of hooks. This I follow because I believe that for me as an individual this sort of routine and repitition seems to enable me to pick up what I do and engrave it firmly within my minds. This is similiar to the type of disciplined training I take part in at my local Shotokan Karate Club. Although I will push myself to perform the above routine (usually taking about 30/40 mins), I will, on most occassions train more than this. I train in a set class or some other type of training (swimming/rugby etc) almost every night of the week anyway, but I also like to practice my Karate in a similiar way to that of my boxing, also including kicking. I do enjoy training. I do enjoy working out. With this - I do also know my limits, and what I should and shouldn't do. Although I do train an awful lot, and although to many it seems insane that I train everyday on my own, and attend Judo/Thai Boxing/Karate etc most nights of the week anyway, my body has become acustom to this type of intensity (FITT Principle) and it really isn't as tough for me to pull off anymore. It works, and it really is effective, as it is based around the way in which I learn as an individual, and ofcourse, because I train with my intensity and work to overload in relation to my mood/energy levels, it means that I get the most out of my training. So how about you guys? What are you training for and how do you do it?

Notice from BuffaloHELP:

Topic title is important--modified

Edited December 29, 2006 by BuffaloHELP (see edit history)

[darran 0]

Every sport is bound to be physical, be it Kayaking, Swimming, Boxing, Football, Basketball. There is some physical attributes you have to train a lot for. I am playing football (not american football) a lot of people tend to distinguish football as american football and soccer as an entirely different thing. Football is the universal word to call the most popular sport and with this I hope I cleared some misunderstandings about football and soccer. As football is a very physical peer to peer sport where you get into contact with your opponent quite often. It is very important to train your upper body as well as your lower body. For starters, I carry weights and do lots of push ups. Most focusing on my shoulders; as we rely a lot on that in body challenges. On top of that, I do a lot of leg exercises to keep my leg strength up to run and hit the ball with as much power as possible. Anything not physical, it is technical, this comes with talent and practice. I don't really practice much so most of my skills on the ball are through imagination.

[Kioku 0]

I'd usually just jump up and down with ankle weights on my legs for training up leg strength. I'd do it for a while, so I wouldn't exactly go over the top with the amount of weight strapped to my ankles. It can really start to take its toll on you, after a while. 35 Lbs. is the most I've done. I might try a higher weight, some time.

[X_X 0]

I didn't read your post.. just your title.. I do Tae Kwon Do and here is how i trainI like to train hard, the harder you train the better.. Sometimes i train near the sun;)

[demonatashadow 0]

Ok, so I was inspired to write this after a conversation with some fellow boxers from my local gym. I would just out of interest like to find out how everybody trains, and if there is a trend between the intensity of their training and their related sport. As a boxer, and also a martial artist I have to say that I don't really follow a set program. I am very much one of the people that prefer to just simply train and train, and not make any days off, or set programs, or easy shifts, or 'rewinds' or what ever else the latest trend tends to be. I prefer to follow my heart and my passion for training.
I do have a set routine that I will follow religiously. Everyday (usually before school), I will travel to my local gym and without fail train 100 reps of left jab right cross, and then 50 reps of a left jab, and 50 reps of a right cross, and then 50 of each arm of hooks. This I follow because I believe that for me as an individual this sort of routine and repitition seems to enable me to pick up what I do and engrave it firmly within my minds. This is similiar to the type of disciplined training I take part in at my local Shotokan Karate Club. Although I will push myself to perform the above routine (usually taking about 30/40 mins), I will, on most occassions train more than this. I train in a set class or some other type of training (swimming/rugby etc) almost every night of the week anyway, but I also like to practice my Karate in a similiar way to that of my boxing, also including kicking. I do enjoy training. I do enjoy working out. With this - I do also know my limits, and what I should and shouldn't do. Although I do train an awful lot, and although to many it seems insane that I train everyday on my own, and attend Judo/Thai Boxing/Karate etc most nights of the week anyway, my body has become acustom to this type of intensity (FITT Principle) and it really isn't as tough for me to pull off anymore. It works, and it really is effective, as it is based around the way in which I learn as an individual, and ofcourse, because I train with my intensity and work to overload in relation to my mood/energy levels, it means that I get the most out of my training.
So how about you guys? What are you training for and how do you do it?

Notice from BuffaloHELP:

Topic title is important--modified

I normally flex a little then pick up my Katana and do some warm-ups. By the way I do Kendo. I do a few drills before I start to get my body accustomed to working itself. And thata about it.

[mrdee 1]

I normally flex a little then pick up my Katana and do some warm-ups. By the way I do Kendo. I do a few drills before I start to get my body accustomed to working itself. And thata about it.

I do Shotokan Karate.Unforunately, I do not have a lot of room at home (not even in the garden).
However, outside the dojo, I regularly practice my Katas, do some strength and speed exercises (with punch and kick shields), regularly kick and punch the punch bag and do some stretching as well.
I really wish I could have some dojo of my own, though.

[vmatosc 0]

Determining Your Training GoalsThe first thing to do when considering taking a martial arts class is to determine what you hope to gain from martial arts training. Everyone has a reason for their interest in the martial arts, and it's important to know your options and goals so that you can really get the most out of your training and have a postive experience. Below are some common reasons for studying the martial arts and some examples of styles that fit those reasons.

Fitness/Fun Related Interests
The most common reason for training that I hear is that people want to have fun and get in better physical condition, whether that is losing weight, getting stronger or just getting more active. Martial arts is a great way to get in shape and can be really fun to learn. It will improve endurance, strength, flexibility, speed, coordination, balance and helps with overall stress levels.

While all martial arts training involves some amount of physical training, these styles are great to try for overall physical fitness:

* Tae Kwon Do
* Brazilian Ju Jitsu and other Grappling Arts
* Capoeira
* Non-traditional martial arts schools that feature fitness as a large part of their overall direction.

Self Defense
The second most common reason for studying martial arts is self defense; a very valid and important reason for learning. The following arts certainly aren't the only ones who teach self defense, but they are known to have self defense as their main focus:

* Hapkido
* Krav Maga
* Various non-traditional systems which are organized solely around self defense, often specializing in either law enforcement training or women's self defense. Many of these programs are offered by martial arts schools in addition to their core curriculum.

Interest In Traditional or Cultural Arts
Many people take great interest in the cultural or traditional aspects of martial arts training. They enjoy the discipline, traditions and methods of very traditional arts. A traditional style will features very structured training, and many people love that aspect as well. There are many traditional martial arts styles out there. Contact the classes and schools in your area to learn what is available to you.

* Shaolin Kung Fu
* Shotokan Karate
* Kuk Sool Won
* Iado
* Wing Chun
* Bujinkan

Full Contact/Combat Sports/MMA
With the success of such promotions as UFC, Pride and K1, there has been a surge of interest in training of this nature. The following arts have a full contact or combat sport focus and many times aren't traditional asian arts, but rather a mixture of multiple styles.

* San Shou
* Muay Thai
* Schools that focus on "mma" or mixed martial arts. These schools teach a combination of grappling/ground fighting such as Brazilian Ju Jitsu or catch wrestling, stand up fighting like boxing or kickboxing, and throws and submissions.

Sport, Tricks & Competition or "Xtreme" Martial Arts
Thanks to an increased presence in movies and television, a rapidly growing reason for training is for the flashy and acrobatic "Xtreme" martial arts, which combines martial basics with difficult jump kicks, flips and speedy hand combinations, done primarily for competitions. Schools that have a sport focus usually teach either a traditional or modified version of a traditional art, and simply have more of a sport focus than other schools. While competition is probably not the main feature of these schools, it can be a large part of what they do. Sport or Competition schools will teach things like traditional and creative forms or katas, gymnastics or trick martial arts techniques as well as light to medium contact sparring. Some styles where you will see this focus include:

* Tae Kwon Do
* Many otherwise traditional schools, most commonly Karate schools.
* A new breed of schools created specifically for teaching sport martial arts, run mostly by current or former champions. Hard to find, but they are certainly out there.

Once you know what you want to get out of your training and your goals are clearly defined, it will be much easier to pick a style and a school. You won't be so overwhelmed by the variety of martial arts schools available, and you will make the choice that you will be happiest with in the long run.

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[mrdee 1]

A good analysis, vmatosc.However, there is also another (or two) main reason(s) why people opt for a certain martial art (I speak from my own experience).One reason is often that people want to take up a certain martial art, but there is no club in their neighbourhood offering the particular sport they want to go for.(I would have liked to take up kickboxing, but it would mean miles and miles of travel to get to the nearest club. Same thing for Wudang tai Chi Ch'uan).Another reason (sometimes, but not always linked to the first one) is that some clubs charge people an arm and a leg for membership fees, excluding uniform and equipment needed, and then also charge hefty fees for exams, tournaments and the likes.As you can see, people are not always as free to take up the martial art of their choice as you would think.It just is not as black and white as this.(Mind you, this was not written with the intention of criticising you our your post, merely an addition to the reasons you mentioned).

[Unknown_99 0]

The only martial arts available within my local area was tae kwon do, so thats what I learned till I became a senior brown belt awaiting for my tourney to be a blackbelt. Yes many people took up the classes to just fill the slot of doing a sport at my university.

[mrdee 1]

Well, here is another example: I wanted to add Krav Maga to my list.

(For the people who don't know, Krav Maga is the self defence of the Israeli army and the Mossad, but it has also been widely adopted by the American police in many states and it is also becoming more and more popular in Europe).

 

Anyway, I could not believe my luck when I saw there was a Krav Maga club in my town, until I looked at what they charge.

 

First you have to do an induction, which will cost you ? 20 (Around US$ 40) and then you have to shell out either ? 45, ? 85 or ? 150 per month, depending on how many lessons a month you want.

 

Same for private tuition, that will cost you the princely sum of ? 60 (about $ 120) PER HOUR.

(And then some people say my private music lessons are expensive at ? 20 per hour).

So, obviously, Krav Maga is a no go area for me at the moment. (And, all for the same reason, I will definitely not be the only one).

A pity really, as it really interests me.

Yet I live in hope.

[ChaoticRazor 0]

I am green belt of Go Kan Ryu Karate, every morning i wake up at about 6:AM then do about half an hour of exercises and such to get me warmed up for the day, then i go for a jog for another half hour then come home and get ready for school.I wear 3 kilogram ankle and wrist weights for half the week, on and off. Whilst at school i often seek the refuge of the Gym or in the Grape Vines to go through some of my katas and just be Relaxed.At times i play fight with my other martial art mates from school, and we practice on a regular basis.

[grizz 0]

I usually just wrap my wrist and put on my old shoes or no shoes then I hit the bag. Literally. I start out faster doing combos and trying new stuff then I slow as I get more tired. When I slow down is when I do my things the I know like the back of my hand. Then right before I stop I practice palm strikes cause usually my knuckles are sore cause I just wrap my wrist not my knuckles.. I usually do a little on the tree by my bag to make my hands tougher and do my "ending" strikes on the bag. I say ending cause its the ending of a fight and the ending of an opponents life I hit them right.

[deadlyweapon 0]

i dont really do karate but i wrestle. i literally dominate my friends, i picked my one friend up and gave him a Celtic Cross from the floor onto my bed. kinda hurt him a bit. im like really tall and strong and i usually do the same as grizz. except my punching bag got punched down. kinda off topic but i had some boxing gloves on a few years back and punched one of my baby teeth out cause it was loose and i had a bad temper back then lol .

[ChaoticRazor 0]

lmao! that is quite amazing DeadlyWeapon hope it hurt I wrestle with my dad and my mates just as something to do to pass the time, it has increased my strenght considerably.Yo Grizz welcome to this forum and hope you enjoy your time here, but i am going to steal your idea of the "Tree Bashing" and test it for a while. ThanksJake

[delivi 0]

I train when ever I get free time, but not just before eating or at least an hour after eating.usually I workout a lot to my maximum capability, this helps build endurance and stamina.i love working out in Gym and planning to join Kun Fu, the Shaolin style