Exercise
- cardiovascular training
- resistance/strength training
- attribute training
- skill building
Cardiovascular Training
Developing your cardiovascular fitness is the first level of martial fitness for most: you throw lots of punches and kicks (until they don’t wear your body out in less than 30 seconds). Yes, fights can be brief, but the adrenaline boost and post adrenaline dump you will experience can be scary and throw your performance way off.
Resistance/Strength Training
Its the age old argument: can a smaller opponent beat a much larger one? What’s more important, speed or size? Strength training is about making the most of your explosive fast-twitch muscles, so that in your moment of need you will be able to perform complex movements under enormous stress.
Definition: Strength training is the use of resistance to muscular contraction to build the strength, anaerobic endurance, and size of skeletal muscles. There are many different methods of strength training, the most common being the use of gravity or elastic/hydraulic forces to oppose muscle contraction. See the resistance training article for information about elastic/hydraulic training, but note that the terms “strength training” and “resistance training” are often used interchangeably.
Attribute Training
Training specifically for violence or competition requires that that the practicioner of martial arts pays attention to those attributes that will affect the outcomes of the engagement. If being faster, or having better hand-eye coordination improves your chances of not going to the emergency room, or allows you to survive the encounter- you need to add this kind of work into your training.
