Martial Arts

Martial Arts: Karate, Taekwondo, Kung Fu, Judo, Jiu Jitsu, Boxing, Wrestling, Mixed Martial Arts & the Tao

In quantum physics, we learn that the second law of thermodynamics states that the amount of activity cannot decrease; it can only increase. Therefore the only constant in life we all face is change; to live is to grow, learn and adapt on a daily basis. How fast and to what degree we develop is largely due to the choices we make and based on our ever evolving beliefs about who we are and what we will become. In the bigger picture, there is no right or wrong path to how fast we get to where we want to be. After all, the tortoise in the end out ran the hare. It’s not important how fast we get there…as long as we stay on course…to becoming who we are meant to be.

Desire, determination, perseverance and continual practice are the keys to becoming good at anything…and anyone who has these qualities can progress in martial arts. As the mind progresses as a result of studying the wisdom of ancient shaolin and tao philosophies on  how to live a useful and constructive life (the foundation principles and root of all martial arts forms), so does the body also progress with this knowledge and the physical exercises that go with them. The mind and body are transformed together…and become one. This is the goal of all martial arts forms.

 

Martial arts teach discipline, coordination and confidence replacing fear and anger with balance and control. One studies the object and the subject, which are the same thing–oneself. Self knowledge and acting purposefully become something we get better at when we master control of our mind and body. A benefit of martial arts is to teach one to have the power to see all the alternatives and act according to his own free will rather than feeling trapped in the whims of other people or events. It teaches not only kicks, punches and principles of self defense, but more importantly strategies that affect all areas of our lives.

 

My interest in martial arts (taekwondo, karate and kung fu) evolved out of a growing interest in learning not only various fighting techniques, but learning the ancient philosophies that refine human movement and promote relaxation.  The purpose of any self study of mastery of the body is to improve the quality of your existence and learn how to develop your full potential.  Kung Fu, which literally means “to know what to do”, is a philosophy that originated in 6 A.D. when Bodhidharma, a wandering monk travelling through northern China came across a Shaolin monastery in the Shangshon mountains. The monk stopped at a taoist temple that had spiritually and mentally superior developed monks there, but they lacked physical strength. Bodhidarma taught the monks a modified physically active meditation to strengthen their bodies so they would be more in balance. He talked to them about Gautama Siddhartha [Buddha] who had been born in 560 B.C. who proposed a way of life based on simplicity and usefulness. Bodhidharma’s discipline and buddhist philosophies that incorporated taoism became what is known as Kung Fu—from which all forms of martial arts eventually evolved. All systems and styles of karate, taekwondo, judo and other forms of martial arts are contained somewhere in kung fu.

Mastering others requires force; mastering the self requires enlightenment. – Lao tzu

The drills of various forms of martial arts function to connect our mental to our physical selves so that we can find strength and peace when the mind and body learn to function as a whole. Every movement empowers us by teaching us that we have choice—choosing positive over negative, choosing courage instead of fear, choosing to find solutions to deal with problems instead of giving up without hope. Martial arts teach one to move into a better position when faced with crisis and confrontation—and to deal with it immediately and not put it off.  It makes us more able to adapt to challenges in life. It also helps one to become stronger while developing fortitude and patience.

Martial arts develop spirituality and faith leading to paying more attention to our instincts and inspirations as one learns to express himself with speed and rhythm. Lao Tzu teaches “he who knows how to live can walk abroad without fear of rhinoceros or tiger. He will not be wounded in battle, for in him rhinoceroses can find no place to thrust their horn, tigers no place to use their claws and weapons no place to pierce. Why is this so? Because he has no place for death to enter.” This is the kind of strength and knowledge a master teaches his students—knowing how to live.  The knowledge that is learned extends beyond self defense and includes the true goal of doing good, improving yourself and others, healing and passing on what you learn yourself.  The difference between the real masters who are good and the ones who merely open a shop to teach fighting techniques only is that the real masters include the spiritual and philosophical aspects in their training. This goes for other sports and exercises including yoga as well.

Proper mind body training develops chi, the vital internal strength and life force energy within every living thing which flows through meridian pathways and chakras maintaining health and wellness.  Chi is one of the most mysterious and wonderous aspect of martial arts training.

The most beautiful thing we can experience is mystery. He who does not know it, marvel at it, is one might say, dead; and his vision extinct. – Albert Eintein

 

Luke Chan, certified Chi-Lel master said, “Chi is the source of everything, the building block of all things. Human beings are made of living cells, and when we look into each cell we see a membrane, the nucleus and so on. Then if you look further into that structure you’ll see atoms – electrons, protons, and neutrons. And if you look even further, scientists now tell us that they can see energy there. However, according to the 5,000-year-old Chinese Qigong theory, if you go beyond scientific measurement – this is called the chi level. We can communicate with the chi level using our minds to do different things, such as healing.”

Without chi strength, life diminishes and ceases to exist. With an abundance of chi, one becomes powerful. Yoga, tai chi chuan, many martial arts forms stemming from kung fu are based on the use of chi. When pathways are clear and in good condition, chi flows smoothly and health and strength follow. Corrective and healing movements and stances combined with meditative and divination mystical disciplines benefit organs and problematic conditions. Herbal tinctures such as tieh teh jieuw is used by many martial artists to alleviate sore muscles, tendons, joints and ligaments resulting from hard training.

At the foundation of martial arts drills are basic stances. From these you will derive your strength, stability and speed. Practicing stances leads to a meditative state of mind and is absolutely necessary to establish the basis from which to develop the techniques that follow. You can’t kick if you can’t stand. Practice moving from one stance to another fluidly.

The Horse Stance

Keep your feet apart a little wider than shoulder width, toes slightly spread, legs bent, back straight, shoulders down, arms at your sides slightly bent, fists clenched at the waist, eyes straight ahead. Curl the pelvis forward so your behind doesn’t stick out and you achieve a state of balance. Look down and make sure your feet are hidden by your knees.

Forward Stance

Turn body to the right, bend the forward knee and straighten the rear leg. Tyrn the front foot to about a 45 degree angle and the read a little less. Center the body over the two legs, still kepping the cback straight, shoulders down and head up. Check to see that you feet are hidden by your knees

Reverse Forward Stance

Same as above but face the other way. Shift from one stance to the other without disturbing your balance. Pass through the horse stance along the way and keep it flowing smoothly.

Heel Stance

From the forward stance, straighten the front leg transferring all the weight to the back leg. Lift the toe of the leading foot. Keep your heel on the ground.

Toe Stance

Keep all of your weight on the back leg keeping it slightly bent. Extend the front leg slightly forward keeping it slightly bent as well with your toe touching the floor in front. This stance has the most potential to shift, move or jump in any direction.

The Crane Stance

Lift the front leg, point the toe down and keep the raised foreleg perpendicular close to the body. Your arms are held out at your side for balance and

There are many more, but these are the foundation that give you strength, stability and balance so you can proceed to learn everything else.

As I write this post, I am doing a film that involves a sport that has become increasingly popular in the past several years called Mixed Martial Arts (MMA).

Here is a basic strength training routine for MMA athletes and fans who need a simply overall body workout.  Perform 2-3 sets of 10-12 reps for each exercise. Rest 30-60 seconds between sets.

Workout 1 (Chest, Shoulders, Triceps)

Chest-Pushups/Dumbell flies
Shoulders-Overhead Press/Lateral Raise
Tricept-Dips/Triceps Pushdowns

Workout 2 (Legs, Back, Biceps)

Legs-Squats/Step-ups
Back-Romanian Dead lifts/Leg Curl
Biceps-C1-Bent Over Row/Rear Lateral Raise

Workout 3 (Calves, Biceps, Abs)

Calves-Standing Calf Raise/Seated Calf Raise
Biceps-Standing Barbell Curl/Preacher Curl
Abs-Stability Ball Crunches/Leg Lifts

Workout 1

Pushups:
Begin with your hands flat on the floor a little wider than shoulder width apart. Put your toes on the floor with your legs straight so your knees are off the floor. Your hands should be directly below your shoulders and your body should be one straight line from your shoulders to your ankles. Lower your body toward the floor in one solid mass. Once your chest is almost touching the floor, press against the floor to press yourself back up. Doing the pushup from your knees will modify the exercise.

 

Dumbell Flies:
Sit on an inclined bench with dumbbells held at arms length. Your palms should be facing each other. Slowly lower to the sides of your body and then bring them back up in an arc like motion as if you were hugging a tree.
Overhead Press:
Sit in a seat with a back support. Hold dumbbells by shoulders with your elbows bent 90 degrees. Press weights overhead until your arms are straight but not locked. Slowly lower and repeat.

 

Lateral Raise:
Start standing with feet shoulder width apart and knees slightly bent. Hold a dumbbell in each hand with palms facing your outer thighs. Using your shoulder muscles, pull the weights up to your sides until they are parallel to the floor.
Bench Dips:
Support your weight on two chairs or benches by your hands and feet with your arms extended. Lower your body until there is a right angle at your elbow joint. Use your triceps to push back up and repeat.
Triceps Pushdown:
Begin with a high pulley and a straight bar. Stand close to the machine with your hands 6-12 inches apart and your elbows bent at 90 degrees. Press the bar with your triceps down to the front of your thighs and squeeze.

Workout 2

Squats:
Begin in a standing position with your feet shoulder width apart and your toes pointed slightly outward. Slowly flex at the hips and knee. Descend until your thighs are parallel to the ground while keeping your back straight and your chest up and out. Return back up and repeat.

 

This exercise can also be performed with dumbbells.

Step Ups:
Step up onto a bench and down with your right foot for a given amount of repetitions. Switch legs and do the same on the other side. Use the muscles in your thigh of the leg that is up on the bench to bring your body to an upright position

 

Romanian Dead lifts (dumbbell):
Begin holding a dumbbell in each hand with feet 6-8 inches apart and back arched. Your legs should be straight but not locked. Slowly bend forward without bending knees too much and without losing the arch in your back. As you feel tension in the hamstrings and you feel like going any lower will cause your back to lose it’s arched position, use your hamstring muscles to push your hips forward and return to an upright position.
Keeping your back arched throughout the movement will minimize tension in lower back.

Seated Leg Curl:
Sit on the seat of a seated leg curl machine with back of lower legs on the pads. Lap pad should be secured just above your knees. Using your hamstrings, pull lever to back of your thighs. Return slowly and repeat.

 

Bent Over Row:
Begin with your feet shoulder width apart and knees moderately flexed. Lean forward so your back is slightly above parallel to the floor. Grip the bar with an overhand grip slightly wider than shoulder width. Keeping your head up and back straight, lift the bar up to your lower chest or upper abdomen. Slowly lower and repeat.

 

Do not rock or use momentum

Rear Lateral Raise:
Bend over so that your back is almost parallel with the floor and your head resting on a bench. Grasping a dumbbell in each hand let your arms hang straight down to the floor. Using your shoulder muscles, raise the weights to shoulder height, even with your ears.

 

Workout 3

1-Legged Standing Calf Raise:
Stand on the balls of your foot on a step or platform with your heel hanging off the platform. Rise up onto the balls of your foot as high as you can. Slowly lower until heel is back down and repeat. Switch sides.

 

Hold onto a railing or other stable object with hand on the same side as non-working leg. To add resistance, hold a dumbbell in the hand of the same side you are working.

Seated Calf Raise:
Sit in a seated calf raise machine with pads just above your knees. Release weight lock and lower heels toward the floor. Rise up onto your toes as high as you can, squeezing the calves. Slowly lower and repeat.

 

Standing Dumbbell Curl:
Grip a dumbbell in each hand letting the weights hang by your sides. Curl the dumbbell upward toward your shoulder using your biceps. Slowly lower and repeat. Do not swing the dumbbells or use momentum. Only your lower arm (from your elbow down should move. Alternate sides; so as one dumbbell comes up, the other is coming down.

*photo here

 

For extra forearm action, start with your palms facing behind you. This can help improve your MMA fitness by strengthening your muscles that help with gripping (forearm).

Preacher Curl:
Use a preacher bench and an EZ curl bar. Use a shoulder width grip on the bar. Curl the bar in an upward arc without using momentum. Bring the bar up to your chin, squeeze your biceps, and lower slowly.

 

Stability Ball Crunches:
Lie on a stability ball with your knees bent and feet flat on the floor. Your feet should be directly below your knees. Place your hands on opposite sides of your head with elbows pointing out. Raises your shoulders off the ball like you would if you were doing crunches on the floor. Slowly lower and repeat keeping the abdominal muscles tense the whole time.
Stability ball Leg Lifts:
Lie flat on the floor with your hands on the floor and palms facing down. Keeping your legs only slightly flexed, raise your legs all the way up and then all the way down squeezing onto the ball the whole time. This squeezing action will help your MMA fitness by working your adductors which will be helpful when playing guard.

Make sure your back is firmly pressed into the floor and is not arched. Arching your back will cause extra stress on your lower back