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Absolute Speed & Power Training For Martial Arts |
By:
Mark Sias, Bionicplyometrics.com |
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It hardly takes much convincing to conclude that having
blinding speed of punches or bone-cracking power in kicks are
the most desireable assets for Martial Artists to posess.
Remember Miyamoto Musashi stated in his famous text "A Book of
Five Rings" that one ultimate goal of the warrior is to learn to
end the fight with a single blow! That's exactly where speed &
power come in! The idea is to make them as specific as possible
so as to achieve the most applicable results. In this article we
will attempt to explore some of the best methods available to
get those results. Economy of Motion. Basically the more you
practice your peticular techniques, the more your nervous system
becomes familiar & you naturally get faster. Its a really good
idea to use mirrors because you can self-coach so to say & strip
away wasted movements as well as learn to utilize power centers
(like the hips & legs). For example you can immediately make
your punch will be twice as powerful by springing off the
slightly bent legs when you execute it. Think of your body akin
to a coiled up snake about to strike! Think SPEED! Sounds simple
but when you start thinking you are fast you will actually start
moving faster. Get over any preconceived mental limitations you
may have. The other aspect of this notion is to keep the thought
of speed on the forefront of your mind. As you train to do those
skills you wish to be faster & stronger at make a conscious
effort to do them with your best speed & power efforts! Time
yourself. Count down how many strikes or roundhouses you can
land on a target or heavy bag in a 10 second period. Seek to
improve your numbers every session. Overspeed methods A.K.A.
Forcing faster muscle memory! The abridged version goes like
this:You have an innate speed at which muscles can fire off &
move any given limb. Factors like motor unit recruitment, neural
efficiency/capacity, & strength ratios effect this. What we are
going to do is teach the nervous system to coordinate movement &
build muscle memory at faster speeds! To speed up punches wrap a
tubular resistance band or even bungee cord around your wrists
and anchor the other end or have a partner stretch it out. Now
release & throw the arm into motion with the added speed. Relax
the opposing muscles to avoid any "braking" effects. The same
proceedure can be performed on kicks by binding the band to the
foot.10-20 reps 2 times aweek will be enough to develop
noticeable results. Specific drills to build power. Much can be
done with a simple medicineball & even bodyweight outside of
what you are already familiar with. Here are some to get started
on: Power absorbtion exercises:How the theory works is that you
can't create more power than you can absorb. So it only makes
sense to start here before we start "jumping" into plyometrics!
For upperbody power, drop push-ups are king! Assume a position
upright but on your knees with both arms at chest level slightly
more than shoulder width apart bend aprox 90°, now drop to your
hands without hesitation and forcefully contract when the hands
touch the floor as to limit the amount of arm bend. The higher
the "drop" the more force is absorbed, thus the more power
potential to develop. The same concept is easily adapted to the
lowerbody by doing drops from a 4'-5' surface landing in a 1/4
squat. For pulling power, hold yourself at the top of a pull up
position & fall to "catch" yourself about 1/2 through the pull
ups range of motion.You'll find after performing as little as 10
reps each you'll be plenty sore! Its a good idea to work these
4-8 weeks, 2 times a week before progressing to the next
phase... Plyometric Kung Fu:Okay to begin lets start with
punching/pushing power. Clapping push-ups work great but I feel
the need to mention that the idea is to "bounce" off of each
rep. Not just get the clap in! In fact forget the clap, just
repetitively hop off the floor from this position. Its the fast
reaction off the landing that matters so focus on that. One idea
that will work good on the legs is to depth jump right into a
kick. Peticularly a jump-kick! Now these are good
starters...ready to leave elementary onto High School? Get a
partner & medicineball (start with light ball, please!). Have
him Throw it (throw, not toss) at you. The first step its to
rebound it as soon as it touches your hands. Next level of
progress is to actually strike the oncoming ball out of the air
with a chop, punch, palm, & even any various kicks you desire to
build power onto. This drill works some serious plyo-power into
your martial arts! Start with a light 3 lb. ball & slow throws
gradually working up to faster throws & heavier balls.Obviosly
the further you are able to displace the ball/target the more
power you have gained(Like a baseball batter). Kind of works as
a measuring devise as well. For you solo practitioners get a
bouncy type med-ball & react off the rebound of a wall throw.
Please exercise caution as this last one is alot more difficult
than it sounds & takes some serious getting used to.The great
thing is you can build accuracy at the same time you get faster
& more powerful techniques. Lastly plyometrics like these are
intense, so only work out with them 2 times a week. If you'd
like to learn more about speed,the science of power training, &
plyometrics stop by our site Bionicplyometrics.com & read up. If
you have any specific question you'll be able to contact me here
as well.
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Article Source: http://www.PopularArticles.com/article48919.html |
Article: Absolute Speed & Power Training for Martial Arts
Author: Mark Sias, Bionicplyometrics.com
Total Views: 46
Word Count: 888
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