Stretch Yourself

Practical Application of Principles of Training, Part IV

by Thomas Kurz, author of Stretching Scientifically, Secrets of Stretching, Science of Sports Training, and co-author of Basic Instincts of Self-Defense.

This is the forty-sixth installment of my column on training.

To read the previous installment click here.

The principle of continuity and systematicness of the training process states that any training must be continuous and systematic, i.e., have a goal or a set of goals for every stage of training (each workout, each week, etc.), be controlled and planned according to results of the control tests, that new material must be based on the previously done material (skills mastered, fitness achieved), and the training process must be rhythmical and not sporadic. Training process must also be continuous because any level of athletic form achieved is fleeting. Every interruption of the training process causes a regression of form. Stabilization of morphological and functional adaptations requires continuity of training.

All elements of training—both skill acquisition and developing conditioning abilities—are tightly connected. For example, learning high kicks demands back and leg strength to withstand forces that act on them as one kicks. Learning each skill is tied to learning its prerequisites—learning grappling throws depends on learning breakfalls and on getting strong enough to stabilize all joints stressed in the throw. One has to have enough endurance to do as many reps as it takes to get a skill right and then to do many more reps in each workout to engrave it into one's muscle memory for good.

Below are systematic progressions of skills and conditioning for both striking and grappling martial arts. These examples are in the form of questions and answers that were posted on Stadion's Sports and Martial Arts Training Discussion Forum (http://stadion.com/phpBB2/).

First the punch-and-kick arts:

Question: You suggest that martial artists obtain enough back strength to deadlift twice their body weight before doing serious kicking training. From my experience, I agree with you. What sort of martial arts skill training could you recommend before obtaining that level of strength? Say, if a person can only lift 1 x or 1.5 x their body weight.

Answer: These few months when the most of beginner's training time is spent on conditioning are for learning and mastering basics. Before the beginners are strong enough for techniques that stress the spine as much as high kicks and have enough endurance for long sets of complex technical drills, they should master fundamental skills. All respectable teachers of m.a. that stress striking and kicking teach those skills and the sequence is obvious. Here are those fundamental skills beginners must learn, within about two years, in that order:

1. Standard conditioning exercises

2. Fist (or various forms of fist)

3. Stances

3. Punches

4. Blocks and deflections with arms

5. Footwork (including evasion)

6. Combinations of hand techniques
7. Foot (various forms of foot position for kicks)

8. Kicks
Note: Knee kick and groin kick do not stress lower back as much as correctly performed thrust kicks or roundhouse kicks so beginners can practice them before they can deadlift 2 x their body weight. But if the teacher and students have high standards then mastering the basics up to the foot positions takes enough time to build strength for deadlifting 2 x body weight. The reason is given in my seventh column: “Each skill should be mastered to the point of being stable and reliable in contact sparring (except such skills as eye gouges or groin kicks, of course, which are forbidden in any kind of sparring), even under great fatigue, before the next skill is taught.”

9. Blocks and deflections with legs
Etc...

Another view of the sequence of techniques beginners should learn is in my article at http://www.stadion.com/column_stretch7.html.

Now, the grappling arts:

Question: Thanks for the detailed reply Mr. Kurz. I was also wondering about other non-kicking styles like jiu-jitsu or judo. [...] If I'm looking at a school for one of the grappling arts, what should I look for in terms of teaching only the moves that students are strong enough to safely execute.

Answer: Here is the rational sequence of teaching Judo and Sambo techniques to beginners, similar to that developed by Anton Geesink:

1. Standard conditioning exercises (calisthenics, etc.) and basics of groundwork (Ne-waza) beginning with simple holds

2. Stances (Shizentai and Jigotai), and basics of striking (Atemi)

3. Basic hold (Kumi-kata)
Note: Other holds are to be taught later, together with throws and sweeps in which they can be used.
Note: Shuai-chiao has systematized techniques of obtaining and breaking grips.

4. Footwork (Shintai and Tai-sabaki), joint locks (Kansetsu-waza) in stand-up (for students over the age of 16), and fighting for the grip. Groundwork drills and free grappling with one partner standing and the other on the ground (helps perfect moving in the low stance [Jigotai]).

5. Off-balancing (Kuzushi) and choking and strangling (Shime-waza) in stand-up (for students over the age of 12)
Note: Judo teaches eight principal directions of off-balancing (Happo-no-Kuzushi), however, each stand-up technique may have more than one way of off-balancing, which are taught together with that technique—when students are ready. Sambo teaches 51 ways of off-balancing as a separate division of technique, but many of those ways are best taught when students know how to fall.

6. Breakfalls (Ukemi) beginning with side falls and progressing to flying falls. One simple and very effective teaching sequence for breakfalls is shown on the video Basic Instincts of Self-Defense.

7. Leg sweeps (De-ashi-barai, Okuri-ashi-barai, Ko-soto-gari) and hand sweeps (Kibisu-gaeshi)—in all these techniques uke (the fall guy) slides down (at least in the beginner's version of those sweeps) and lands on his or her side. For info on De-ashi-barai see Tip 32: Stand-up grappling drills for striking skills—Forward foot sweep at http://www.real-self-defense.com/sd_tips.html.

8. Leg rips (Kouchi-gari, Ouchi-gari)—landings are harder and more on one's back so these techniques are taught to students who have mastered back falls. For info on Ouchi-gari see Tip 33: Stand-up grappling drills for striking skills—Large inner reap at http://www.real-self-defense.com/sd_tips.html.

After that, follow throws in which the uke falls from a considerable height because he or she is flipped or thrown overhead. Each division of throws has its teaching sequence that best instills the movement habits common to the whole group. Some groundwork techniques (defenses, entries) require mastering of back falls and rolling falls so their teaching must follow teaching of those falls.

Question: I remember you saying somewhere that grapplers might find the 2 x body weight recommendation to be excessive. However, it would still take a robust back to pick up an opponent or grab an opponent and throw him (or her, but I try to be a gentleman).

Answer: I know only one Judo technique in which one carries the full weight of an opponent and that is Daki-age. It is prohibited in competition but can be useful in self-defense. I could do it easily as a young boy to people in my weight class long before I could comfortably deadlift 2 x my body weight. As far as other techniques are concerned, if one supports or carries the opponent's full weight, then it means that one does not do the technique correctly—I mean messes up in a major way. . . .

Question: How much back strength would you recommend for one of these arts?

Answer: Norms for grapplers, for example for Sambo wrestlers, stress muscular endurance rather than maximal strength, for example, 25 reps of leaning forward (like a “good morning” lift) with 1 x body weight on a barbell. You will see that leaning forward with such weight until the trunk is horizontal, while keeping knees from bending more than in a 3/4 squat, requires similar back and leg strength as deadlifting 2 x body weight.

Question: Is there a safe way of finding 1RM for the deadlift without supervision?

Answer: One simple and safe method of testing one's 1 RM is described in Science of Sports Training on page 360. But why test? If one keeps on training, doing deadlifts in sets of 6 to 12 repetitions each, gradually increasing the weight, then eventually one day there will be 2 x one's body weight on the bar and one will have no problem doing several such sets with this weight.

If you have any questions on training you can post them at Stadion's Sports and Martial Arts Training Discussion Forum at http://www.stadion.com/phpBB2.

To read the next installment of this column click here.

This article is based on the Stadion book Science of Sports Training: How to Plan and Control Training for Peak Performance. Get it now and have all of the info—not just the crumbs! Order now!

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