Hope this finds everyone safe and happy during the holiday season. 2008 is coming to a close (NSA will be closed for the holidays beginning Friday, December 19th), and the year has been filled with ups and downs, new lessons and reminders of old ones. This'll probably be the last official post of the year, so I'll start by wishing everyone a safe and happy holiday season and New Year celebration.
While the pun in the title of this post is intended, I'm not going to run down a list of what I think makes someone a good student. I will, however, focus on one thing that I feel separates some martial artists or athletes from their peers, regardless of genetic gifts. One of the most useful things a student can have, and therefore one of the most important things I feel an instructor can provide for his/her students, is/are conceptual model(s).
Many of us cross-train in at least one or two different martial arts. And very often, those arts themselves (sunch as Jun Fan Gung Fu) are made up of combined tactics from several systems. The thing that ties these elements together, and also helps to classify and categorize them, is a conceptual model. You can think of the model as a map, so that even and especially if you find yourself exploring unfamiliar territory, you still have a guide to finding your way around.
One of the most common conceptual models that has been around in martial arts is the 4 Ranges model, that asserts that empty hand fights take place in kicking, punching, trapping, and grappling range. Many of those who subscribe to a sport/MMA type of training have shortened this to the Stand Up/Clinch/Ground model.
It is also helpful to have models within each area that you train. For example, on the ground, the positions commonly identified in most grappling systems, as well as the "position before submission" mantra are both examples of conceptual models.
Having trained with several different grappling instructors, I've found that while some instructors may be very talented and knowledgable in terms of technique or grappling ability, far fewer have a clear-cut conceptual model to hand over to their students. However, what distinguishes some of the more exceptional grappling coaches out there, like Roy Harris, Matt Thornton, Erik Paulson, John Will, and Nathan Leverton, is that they can teach their craft in the simplest of terms. One of the quotes I've heard recently that sums this up came from grappling great Rigan Machado, who said, "Jiu-Jitsu isn't complicated...it's the people that make it complicated."
One advantage of having a conceptual model is that you are able to tap into your own intelligence and problem-solving ability, rather than being a technique junky. What I mean by that is that you can use the models that you have, along with some personal exploration, to solve some of the problems you encounter on the mat, rather than always having to learn a new technique or run to your coach to get the answer. At a recent seminar with Guro Dan Inosanto, we were training some tie-up and clinch material, while Guro explained to us that the techniques themselves came from personal exploration on the part of himself and his Sifu (Bruce Lee), and not from formal grappling training. I was struck by this quote from him:
"People ask me, 'Did Bruce Lee teach you that?' and I say, 'No. He taught me the method I used to figure it out for myself." That is instruction at the highest level.
Some great examples of conceptual models are found within both Jeet Kune Do and Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu. For example, JKD has the 5 Ways of Attack, which are a great way of organizing your offensive tactics and helping to discover what your particular "style" is. Also in JKD, though slightly less well known, are the 6 modes of defense:
1. Defend using distance (i.e. footwork)
2. Defend using evasive tactics (ex. duck, slip, bob n weave)
3. Defend by covering/blocking
4. Defend by parrying or deflecting
5. Simultaneous attack and defense
6. Intercept or Stop Hit
In grappling, conceptual models help take some of the guesswork out of various positions or situations. For example, despite all of the different variations of guard passes, there are ultimately only 3 ways to pass the guard:
1. Under the legs
2. Over the legs
3. Around the legs
And, from the guard player's perspective, there are really only three attacking options as well (often referred to as the 3 S's):
1. Sweep
2. Submit
3. Stand up (or Sit out)
But, before I go crazy spouting all the different conceptual models I've accumulated in my training, let's get back to the general topic.
As I mature in the martial arts and as an instructor, I seem to find myself spending less time thinking about specific techniques, and more and more about conceptual models or ways of organizing those techniques in my mind. I do this both for personal reasons and because I feel it makes me a more effective instructor.
It's so easy to get lost in a sea of all these different tools, techniques, and tactics, and lose sight of what they are all for. It's like being in a kitchen stocked full of food, but not having any recipes.
So, both as a challenge to students and to myself, I highly encourage all of you to try and take a step back every now and then in your training, and look beyond the techniques. Try to see the conceptual structure behind what you're learning. And, if you don't think you have it figured out, feel free to ask your instructor. I know that in my case, if I don't have an answer on the spot, the question will challenge me enough to think about it and get my head around it in my own time, and eventually you WILL GET an answer. That way, we can all challenge ourselves and each other to become "model" students.
Monday, December 15, 2008
Thursday, September 18, 2008
In my previous 30 years.....
Some of you may know that, back in July of this year, I reached the not-quite-ripe age of 30. While I certainly do not consider myself "old," I am definitely not the same kid I used to be, and I do feel I've learned quite a bit up until this point in my life. To this end, I don't feel the least bit bad about not being in my 20's anymore. It's because of what I've learned about life and about myself (much of it in my 20's) that I love being 30. So, here is a short list of things I've learned up until this point. I'll no doubt be adding to this list, so even after you've read this post, you may wish to check back to see if I've added any updates. But I'll start with the ones that are the most obvious off the top of my head (in no particular order of importance):
1. Life's too short to spend with people who make you feel like crap.
2. It's fine to have goals, but it's so much better to enjoy the process without having an agenda or a place to "get to." Ask yourself, once you do get there, then what happens?
3. That whole "pain is temporary, glory is forever" thing....totally backwards.
4. It's far better to be a "good man" than it is to be a "nice guy."
5. An addendum to number 1: Technically, feelings are effects, and thoughts are causes. Therefore, to the degree with which you can control your thoughts (including which ones you "let in" from other people), you can also control your feelings, and thus no one ever really makes you feel like crap, you make yourself feel like crap. You can choose to not feel like crap if you don't want to.
6. Though I've voted in several elections, I still don't know how the Electoral College works...
7. Your body and your car are both machines. Both can be pushed to amazing lengths, but both require regular refueling, maintenance, rest, and occasional repair.
8. Eat whole foods and drink lots of water, rather than worrying so much about supplements and other "short cuts"....trust Mother Nature, she knew what she was doing.
9. Sleep is a precious commodity.
10. I'd rather hit pads than people.
11. I'd rather play than compete.
12. Greater strength, endurance, and skill are all valid training goals....but so is FUN.
1. Life's too short to spend with people who make you feel like crap.
2. It's fine to have goals, but it's so much better to enjoy the process without having an agenda or a place to "get to." Ask yourself, once you do get there, then what happens?
3. That whole "pain is temporary, glory is forever" thing....totally backwards.
4. It's far better to be a "good man" than it is to be a "nice guy."
5. An addendum to number 1: Technically, feelings are effects, and thoughts are causes. Therefore, to the degree with which you can control your thoughts (including which ones you "let in" from other people), you can also control your feelings, and thus no one ever really makes you feel like crap, you make yourself feel like crap. You can choose to not feel like crap if you don't want to.
6. Though I've voted in several elections, I still don't know how the Electoral College works...
7. Your body and your car are both machines. Both can be pushed to amazing lengths, but both require regular refueling, maintenance, rest, and occasional repair.
8. Eat whole foods and drink lots of water, rather than worrying so much about supplements and other "short cuts"....trust Mother Nature, she knew what she was doing.
9. Sleep is a precious commodity.
10. I'd rather hit pads than people.
11. I'd rather play than compete.
12. Greater strength, endurance, and skill are all valid training goals....but so is FUN.
Wednesday, August 20, 2008
On Sparring
Hey all-
You may recall that, a couple months back, your instructors at NSA handed out surveys for you to fill out. Though you were the ones answering all the questions in the survey, our intentions with doing that were to answer a few questions for ourselves:
1. Why do our students come in to train with us? What are their primary goals?
2. What do our students want us to spend more time on? What do they want us to spend less time on?
3. What the heck are we going to do with Saturday classes?
After gathering and interpreting all the answers and comments, we summed up the responses as follows:
1. The majority of you train with the primary goals of fitness and personal development (eg. stress management, focus, confidence, etc.)
2. The majority of you would like to spend more time sparring and working belt rank requirements.
3. Not too many of you are interested in training on Saturdays, but those of you who are would like to focus on Thai Boxing, perhaps with some grappling/mma thrown in.
What I'd like to focus on today is how the first two responses relate. In particular, I would like to discuss the role of sparring in our training, and how we intend to go about including more sparring.
Sparring is an essential, and IMO misunderstood mode of training in the martial arts. Typically, there are two schools of thought on sparring. Traditional martial arts in today's world tend either to focus on safer and less realistic modes of sparring, such as point sparring, or eliminate it all together for the sake of safety. The more modern, combat sports approach to sparring is to make it the basis of all training. In short, if the techniques you're learning "don't work" in sparring, then they're no good.
I sense that martial arts instructors, and especially school owners, struggle with the sparring issue all the time. Particularly from a business perspective, doing anything that is likely to cause your students injury is BAD FOR BUSINESS. This is one of the reasons why, for liability reasons, schools will often eliminate sparring from their training.
With the combat sport approach, it seems as though the coaches/instructors in those scenarios are making the assumption that all of their students have the desire to become "fighters," whatever that means. Not wanting to eliminate sparring, as to them it would be the equivalent of coaching soccer without ever scrimaging or playing a game, they typically have a "sink or swim" attitude and, as a result, the toughest, most competitive and/or most athletic students thrive, while the more timid, laid back, or less athletic students at best encounter repeated discouragement, and at worst encounter injury and eventually quit.
Having been through both of these approaches, I can tell you that neither is an effective long-term strategy, especially when keeping in perspective the goals stated above. Eliminating sparring will eventually lead to self-doubt, insecurity, and/or just plain boredom. Overemphasizing competitive sparring only serves to feed the ego, and will inevitably lead to injury.
So what are we to do in order to gain the benefits of sparring while minimizing or avoiding the drawbacks? In an effort to facilitate clearer communication on this topic, I came up with a list of 4 basic "levels" or types of sparring. These can apply no matter what "game" we're talking about, whether it's kickboxing, grappling, mma, or even stick or knife sparring. They can also apply to sparring drills as well as actual sparring. Here they are, with brief definitions:
1. Ego-less - In Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu schools, "slow-rolling" is often used as a warm-up exercise, or when teaching beginners how to spar safely. Erik Paulson uses the term "Ego-less" sparring, to emphasize that there is no ego in this type of game. He also instructs grapplers using this method to "wrestle as if you had the flu." What this means is that no strength or explosiveness is used at all, submissions are never fully put on (that way your partner can practice escaping), and there is an equal exchange of offense and defense. (Note: A great explanation of slow-rolling in a grappling context can be found on Aesopian's Awesome Blog.) In short, ego-less training is more about just continuous, flowing movement and letting your body do what it naturally wants to do, but at a slow, completely non-competitive pace. Again, this is typically used as a warm-up.
2. Light Play - In this form of sparring, attributes such as speed and power are "put on the shelf". In other words, there is no use of speed, a reach advantage, or power or aggressiveness to compensate for lack of technique. Being up one notch on the intensity scale from Ego-less, Light Play involves working on technique and "trying things out," and is especially helpful when working on your weaknesses. For example, if you have very fast evasive footwork, you might choose instead to stay in range and work on your defense. If you are particularly good at throwing deceptive hand combinations, you might opt to just work on jabs and crosses. One mantra to use to emphasize what Light Play is about might be "do more with less."
3. Medium Game - In Savate, this form of sparring, which is also used as Savate's form of amateur competition, is known as Assaut. The emphasis in Assaut is not on trying to knock the opponent out, but rather to display technique and finesse while "scoring points" with controlled contact. You may still decide to work on weak points when training in this game, particularly when working with someone less experienced, smaller, or less athletic. But Medium Game is mainly about having a "style" or "game plan" that fits your attributes, body structure, and personality. Some examples of this in kickboxing might be a "runner" or "counter puncher" style. In Medium Game, you try to be as effective as possible with the game plan you've developed. This is where, in JKD terms, you are "expressing yourself" through movement. Medium game most likely will require a step up in the level of protective gear, but for our purposes, this is still not meant to be competition.
4. Full Contact, aka Competition Speed - This is where you put it all together, and your only objective is to "win." In boxing or kickboxing, it ultimately means doing what you can to knock the other guy out. In grappling, it's all about positional dominance and setting up your go-to submissions.
In my opinion, unless you have serious concerns about being able to defend yourself, or are interested in competition, Full Contact training is pretty much unneccessary. Even for those who do choose to engage in this type of training, it must be done sparingly if longevity is of any concern. That would mean no more than 1-2 times a month for recreational martial artists, and probably no more than once or twice a week for serious competitors. Anyone engaging in Full Contact training must also be very diligent about their conditioning, nutrition, and recovery in order to avoid repeated injury.
Medium Game sparring also has the liklihood to cause injury, as it's difficult to keep it from escalating into competitive mode. For non-competitors, this type of training should also be used sparingly (no more than once a week) or not at all. More athletic non-competitors, as long as they keep a postiive, non-competitive attitude, can do this more often and more productively without incurring repeated injury. For the average student who trains a couple hours a week, however, it's largely unnecessary, particularly at the beginner level.
For persons interested in training martial arts for general health, recreation, and personal development, it's my opinion that nearly all sparring time should be spent in the Ego-Less and Light Play modes. These can be done daily without incurring sufficient wear and tear on the body, and will go a long way toward developing your skills in the long term, when done with a positive attitude consistently over time. Essentially what it's about is long term goals rather than short term. If I had to get you ready to fight in a month, you'd need to do some full contact stuff, and take the consequent bumps, bruises, stress, and emotional discomfort as par for the course. But if your objective is long term health, personal development, and HAVING FUN, why do something that incurs more emotional stress and will almost inevitably lead to injury?
For me, this is a somewhat recent develoment in my approach to martial arts training, and I cannot take sole credit for what I've written here. Listening to coaches such as Erik Paulson, Ron Balicki, Rodney King (no, not that one), Dan Inosanto, Rick Faye, and Matt Thornton all talk about their experiences with all of the above methods of training and their benefits/drawbacks has influenced my own experimentation and thinking on the subject, and a large debt of gratitude is owed to all of the above.
I would be remiss if I didn't make specific mention of Rodney King. For those of you unfamiliar with him, he's the creator of the Crazy Monkey Defense Program (which is in my links section). It's safe for me to say that no other coach has had a greater influence on my approach to training within the last year. If you've noticed any recent change in my approach to coaching, particularly stand-up, it's due to him and his ideas. For anyone looking to improve their boxing/kickboxing skills as well as their mental game while having a great time doing it, I highly recommend checking out his website and his instructional DVD's. I especially recommend the Championship Series Vol 1: For the Everyday Guy as a great introduction into the fundamentals of the boxing/kickboxing game. If you're looking for cool new combinations and tricks, you'll be disappointed. But, if you're looking to get back to basics and polish up those fundamentals that you know you've neglected, give it a try. And, if you fall in love with this material as much as I have, I also would recommend purchasing a Pro online membership to his website. There are a ton of instructional videos, seminar footage, and a host of great people who train under Rodney (as well as Rodney himself) who are available to answer questions on the Pro Forum. Don't be surprised if you see CMDP added to my list of organizations with which I'm affiliated sometime within the next couple years.
You may recall that, a couple months back, your instructors at NSA handed out surveys for you to fill out. Though you were the ones answering all the questions in the survey, our intentions with doing that were to answer a few questions for ourselves:
1. Why do our students come in to train with us? What are their primary goals?
2. What do our students want us to spend more time on? What do they want us to spend less time on?
3. What the heck are we going to do with Saturday classes?
After gathering and interpreting all the answers and comments, we summed up the responses as follows:
1. The majority of you train with the primary goals of fitness and personal development (eg. stress management, focus, confidence, etc.)
2. The majority of you would like to spend more time sparring and working belt rank requirements.
3. Not too many of you are interested in training on Saturdays, but those of you who are would like to focus on Thai Boxing, perhaps with some grappling/mma thrown in.
What I'd like to focus on today is how the first two responses relate. In particular, I would like to discuss the role of sparring in our training, and how we intend to go about including more sparring.
Sparring is an essential, and IMO misunderstood mode of training in the martial arts. Typically, there are two schools of thought on sparring. Traditional martial arts in today's world tend either to focus on safer and less realistic modes of sparring, such as point sparring, or eliminate it all together for the sake of safety. The more modern, combat sports approach to sparring is to make it the basis of all training. In short, if the techniques you're learning "don't work" in sparring, then they're no good.
I sense that martial arts instructors, and especially school owners, struggle with the sparring issue all the time. Particularly from a business perspective, doing anything that is likely to cause your students injury is BAD FOR BUSINESS. This is one of the reasons why, for liability reasons, schools will often eliminate sparring from their training.
With the combat sport approach, it seems as though the coaches/instructors in those scenarios are making the assumption that all of their students have the desire to become "fighters," whatever that means. Not wanting to eliminate sparring, as to them it would be the equivalent of coaching soccer without ever scrimaging or playing a game, they typically have a "sink or swim" attitude and, as a result, the toughest, most competitive and/or most athletic students thrive, while the more timid, laid back, or less athletic students at best encounter repeated discouragement, and at worst encounter injury and eventually quit.
Having been through both of these approaches, I can tell you that neither is an effective long-term strategy, especially when keeping in perspective the goals stated above. Eliminating sparring will eventually lead to self-doubt, insecurity, and/or just plain boredom. Overemphasizing competitive sparring only serves to feed the ego, and will inevitably lead to injury.
So what are we to do in order to gain the benefits of sparring while minimizing or avoiding the drawbacks? In an effort to facilitate clearer communication on this topic, I came up with a list of 4 basic "levels" or types of sparring. These can apply no matter what "game" we're talking about, whether it's kickboxing, grappling, mma, or even stick or knife sparring. They can also apply to sparring drills as well as actual sparring. Here they are, with brief definitions:
1. Ego-less - In Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu schools, "slow-rolling" is often used as a warm-up exercise, or when teaching beginners how to spar safely. Erik Paulson uses the term "Ego-less" sparring, to emphasize that there is no ego in this type of game. He also instructs grapplers using this method to "wrestle as if you had the flu." What this means is that no strength or explosiveness is used at all, submissions are never fully put on (that way your partner can practice escaping), and there is an equal exchange of offense and defense. (Note: A great explanation of slow-rolling in a grappling context can be found on Aesopian's Awesome Blog.) In short, ego-less training is more about just continuous, flowing movement and letting your body do what it naturally wants to do, but at a slow, completely non-competitive pace. Again, this is typically used as a warm-up.
2. Light Play - In this form of sparring, attributes such as speed and power are "put on the shelf". In other words, there is no use of speed, a reach advantage, or power or aggressiveness to compensate for lack of technique. Being up one notch on the intensity scale from Ego-less, Light Play involves working on technique and "trying things out," and is especially helpful when working on your weaknesses. For example, if you have very fast evasive footwork, you might choose instead to stay in range and work on your defense. If you are particularly good at throwing deceptive hand combinations, you might opt to just work on jabs and crosses. One mantra to use to emphasize what Light Play is about might be "do more with less."
3. Medium Game - In Savate, this form of sparring, which is also used as Savate's form of amateur competition, is known as Assaut. The emphasis in Assaut is not on trying to knock the opponent out, but rather to display technique and finesse while "scoring points" with controlled contact. You may still decide to work on weak points when training in this game, particularly when working with someone less experienced, smaller, or less athletic. But Medium Game is mainly about having a "style" or "game plan" that fits your attributes, body structure, and personality. Some examples of this in kickboxing might be a "runner" or "counter puncher" style. In Medium Game, you try to be as effective as possible with the game plan you've developed. This is where, in JKD terms, you are "expressing yourself" through movement. Medium game most likely will require a step up in the level of protective gear, but for our purposes, this is still not meant to be competition.
4. Full Contact, aka Competition Speed - This is where you put it all together, and your only objective is to "win." In boxing or kickboxing, it ultimately means doing what you can to knock the other guy out. In grappling, it's all about positional dominance and setting up your go-to submissions.
In my opinion, unless you have serious concerns about being able to defend yourself, or are interested in competition, Full Contact training is pretty much unneccessary. Even for those who do choose to engage in this type of training, it must be done sparingly if longevity is of any concern. That would mean no more than 1-2 times a month for recreational martial artists, and probably no more than once or twice a week for serious competitors. Anyone engaging in Full Contact training must also be very diligent about their conditioning, nutrition, and recovery in order to avoid repeated injury.
Medium Game sparring also has the liklihood to cause injury, as it's difficult to keep it from escalating into competitive mode. For non-competitors, this type of training should also be used sparingly (no more than once a week) or not at all. More athletic non-competitors, as long as they keep a postiive, non-competitive attitude, can do this more often and more productively without incurring repeated injury. For the average student who trains a couple hours a week, however, it's largely unnecessary, particularly at the beginner level.
For persons interested in training martial arts for general health, recreation, and personal development, it's my opinion that nearly all sparring time should be spent in the Ego-Less and Light Play modes. These can be done daily without incurring sufficient wear and tear on the body, and will go a long way toward developing your skills in the long term, when done with a positive attitude consistently over time. Essentially what it's about is long term goals rather than short term. If I had to get you ready to fight in a month, you'd need to do some full contact stuff, and take the consequent bumps, bruises, stress, and emotional discomfort as par for the course. But if your objective is long term health, personal development, and HAVING FUN, why do something that incurs more emotional stress and will almost inevitably lead to injury?
For me, this is a somewhat recent develoment in my approach to martial arts training, and I cannot take sole credit for what I've written here. Listening to coaches such as Erik Paulson, Ron Balicki, Rodney King (no, not that one), Dan Inosanto, Rick Faye, and Matt Thornton all talk about their experiences with all of the above methods of training and their benefits/drawbacks has influenced my own experimentation and thinking on the subject, and a large debt of gratitude is owed to all of the above.
I would be remiss if I didn't make specific mention of Rodney King. For those of you unfamiliar with him, he's the creator of the Crazy Monkey Defense Program (which is in my links section). It's safe for me to say that no other coach has had a greater influence on my approach to training within the last year. If you've noticed any recent change in my approach to coaching, particularly stand-up, it's due to him and his ideas. For anyone looking to improve their boxing/kickboxing skills as well as their mental game while having a great time doing it, I highly recommend checking out his website and his instructional DVD's. I especially recommend the Championship Series Vol 1: For the Everyday Guy as a great introduction into the fundamentals of the boxing/kickboxing game. If you're looking for cool new combinations and tricks, you'll be disappointed. But, if you're looking to get back to basics and polish up those fundamentals that you know you've neglected, give it a try. And, if you fall in love with this material as much as I have, I also would recommend purchasing a Pro online membership to his website. There are a ton of instructional videos, seminar footage, and a host of great people who train under Rodney (as well as Rodney himself) who are available to answer questions on the Pro Forum. Don't be surprised if you see CMDP added to my list of organizations with which I'm affiliated sometime within the next couple years.
Friday, July 25, 2008
The 23:1 Rule
Hello all-
In keeping with the theme of simple lifestyle modifications we can all make to improve our health, this post focuses on what physical therapists, chiropractors, and strength and conditioning specialists, among others, refer to as the 23:1 Rule.
The basic premise of the 23:1 rule is that your body adapts and "gets better at" whatever you practice, whether it be running, martial arts, strength training, or sitting on your butt eating potato chips and surfing the web. These adaptations fall into many different categories, as some are physiological (ex. a lower resting heart rate, lower blood pressure), some are psychological (ex. increased confidence, calmness, or ability to focus), and some are structural (ex. larger muscle size, increased flexibility and range of motion, or changes in posture).
The 23:1 Rule states that, regardless of what you do in the gym for 1 hour each day (assuming you do some sort of training every day), it's the 23 hours out of the gym that have at least as great an impact on your overall health and performance. Now, if what you focus on in the gym is the same as what you focus on for the rest of your day, this isn't a problem, and the 23:1 Rule will work in your favor. But, for many of us, what we focus on in the gym is NOT what we focus on the rest of the day, and we unwittingly suffer the consequences. Here are some examples that may hit home for you:
1. In the gym, I move around a lot, but I spend the rest of the day sitting on my butt.
2. In class, I focus on moving correctly, staying in balance, and moving efficiently. The rest of the day, I'm tense, uncoordinated, and un-focused.
3. Before and after my workout, I make sure to drink plenty of water, but the rest of the day I chug coffee, energy drinks, soda, and beer.
4. During class, I focus on staying relaxed as I know this will make my movement better and I can concentrate much easier. The rest of the day, I'm tense and STRESSED OUT!
5. During my workout/class, I focus on proper breathing. I breath deeply between rounds or sets to recover and get ready for the next round or exercise. The rest of the day, I'm barely aware of my breathing.
6. When I'm doing strength exercises like squats and deadlifts, I make sure to keep good posture so I don't hurt my back. The rest of the day, I often find myself slouching in my chair.
7. (Here's one I'm guilty of). Before and after a workout, I try to eat as clean and healthy as possible so as to properly fuel my body and properly recover. On the days I don't workout, I'm tempted to eat stuff I know is not healthy.
Did any of these hit home for you? If you're like me, you may have read some of these and not even been aware of what you weren't aware of! Things like posture, breathing, hydration, nutrition, and just plain getting up and moving around are things we quickly lose awareness of as we scramble through our daily routine. But these are the foundations of health and wellness. So no matter how good your technique is when you practice, no matter how safe your lifting posture is, and no matter how effective your workout routine is, if you disregard these things outside of the gym, YOU'RE SABOTAGING ALL OF THOSE RESULTS!
All of this comes down to habit. Getting to class or to the gym each day to train is a habit. Keeping your hands up when you kickbox, or keeping your back in neutral alignment when you squat are both habits. If these are habits you've developed, good for you, but don't stop there! What we all need to do is take a look at our habits outside of the gym or school, and make those as effective as we can. Here are some habits that I've tried or am still trying to instill in myself that I can already see as having a positive impact on my health:
1. The first thing that goes in my mouth each morning and the last thing that goes in my mouth each night...WATER! I fill a water bottle each morning and don't take a sip of my morning coffee until I've finished it. Depending on the bottle, this may be anywhere from 20 to 32 oz of water. Given that we're supposed to consume at least 64 oz of water each day, I'm practically half way there before I get to work!
2. Ever notice how small children just can't keep still? Ever wonder why it is that we as a society discourage them from this practice? Basically, the idea is we want kids to sit still so they can listen and do well in school, eventually getting a good job where they can, you guessed it, sit still and be productive. That's all well and good for the company bottom line, except when you read the statistics of people missing work and heading to their doctor due to back pain.....Guess what the most significant cause of back pain is? SITTING TOO MUCH! Simply put, get up and move around as often as possible. Get up and walk to the drinking fountain, do a lap around the office to collect your thoughts. Go to the other end of the office and talk to that associate rather than calling or emailing them. Or, if you have the luxury of working from home on occasion, you might even try working STANDING UP. It'll be a little uncomfortable at first and you may want to take "sit breaks," but your back will thank you for it! Just get up and move around as much as possible. I like to take stretch breaks and do some joint mobility work (such as Z-Health) at several points during the day.
3. Eat before you get hungry. Keep some snacks in your desk at work or in the fridge, and eat them between meals. Apples, string cheese, nuts, carrots or celery sticks, and cottage cheese are all great options.
4. Also, make sure you put some protein in your mouth every time you eat. EVERY TIME! It'll keep you feeling full until your next meal and help rev up your metabolism so that you burn more calories, even when you're not working out.
5. GO TO BED! This is a tough one for me, but getting to sleep early enough each night does wonders for the quality of your sleep, and thus the quality of recovery that your body gets. It's been said that one hour of sleep before midnight is the equivalent of two hours of sleep after midnight.
6. Unless it's immediately before or immediately following your workout, stay away from them CARBS! By carbs, I'm not talking about all carbohydrates, as even chicken has carbohydrates in it. Conventional use of this term nowadays refers to breads, pasta, crackers, chips, cookies, and anything made with flour or grains. Every time I eat a low carb meal, like some chicken and a mixed green salad, or stuffed peppers with ground buffalo, I think of it as money in the bank. I'm filling my body with what it needs and what it can use at a later time. I love pasta as much as the next Italian-American, so this one is particularly tough for me...but I'm working on it!
In keeping with the theme of simple lifestyle modifications we can all make to improve our health, this post focuses on what physical therapists, chiropractors, and strength and conditioning specialists, among others, refer to as the 23:1 Rule.
The basic premise of the 23:1 rule is that your body adapts and "gets better at" whatever you practice, whether it be running, martial arts, strength training, or sitting on your butt eating potato chips and surfing the web. These adaptations fall into many different categories, as some are physiological (ex. a lower resting heart rate, lower blood pressure), some are psychological (ex. increased confidence, calmness, or ability to focus), and some are structural (ex. larger muscle size, increased flexibility and range of motion, or changes in posture).
The 23:1 Rule states that, regardless of what you do in the gym for 1 hour each day (assuming you do some sort of training every day), it's the 23 hours out of the gym that have at least as great an impact on your overall health and performance. Now, if what you focus on in the gym is the same as what you focus on for the rest of your day, this isn't a problem, and the 23:1 Rule will work in your favor. But, for many of us, what we focus on in the gym is NOT what we focus on the rest of the day, and we unwittingly suffer the consequences. Here are some examples that may hit home for you:
1. In the gym, I move around a lot, but I spend the rest of the day sitting on my butt.
2. In class, I focus on moving correctly, staying in balance, and moving efficiently. The rest of the day, I'm tense, uncoordinated, and un-focused.
3. Before and after my workout, I make sure to drink plenty of water, but the rest of the day I chug coffee, energy drinks, soda, and beer.
4. During class, I focus on staying relaxed as I know this will make my movement better and I can concentrate much easier. The rest of the day, I'm tense and STRESSED OUT!
5. During my workout/class, I focus on proper breathing. I breath deeply between rounds or sets to recover and get ready for the next round or exercise. The rest of the day, I'm barely aware of my breathing.
6. When I'm doing strength exercises like squats and deadlifts, I make sure to keep good posture so I don't hurt my back. The rest of the day, I often find myself slouching in my chair.
7. (Here's one I'm guilty of). Before and after a workout, I try to eat as clean and healthy as possible so as to properly fuel my body and properly recover. On the days I don't workout, I'm tempted to eat stuff I know is not healthy.
Did any of these hit home for you? If you're like me, you may have read some of these and not even been aware of what you weren't aware of! Things like posture, breathing, hydration, nutrition, and just plain getting up and moving around are things we quickly lose awareness of as we scramble through our daily routine. But these are the foundations of health and wellness. So no matter how good your technique is when you practice, no matter how safe your lifting posture is, and no matter how effective your workout routine is, if you disregard these things outside of the gym, YOU'RE SABOTAGING ALL OF THOSE RESULTS!
All of this comes down to habit. Getting to class or to the gym each day to train is a habit. Keeping your hands up when you kickbox, or keeping your back in neutral alignment when you squat are both habits. If these are habits you've developed, good for you, but don't stop there! What we all need to do is take a look at our habits outside of the gym or school, and make those as effective as we can. Here are some habits that I've tried or am still trying to instill in myself that I can already see as having a positive impact on my health:
1. The first thing that goes in my mouth each morning and the last thing that goes in my mouth each night...WATER! I fill a water bottle each morning and don't take a sip of my morning coffee until I've finished it. Depending on the bottle, this may be anywhere from 20 to 32 oz of water. Given that we're supposed to consume at least 64 oz of water each day, I'm practically half way there before I get to work!
2. Ever notice how small children just can't keep still? Ever wonder why it is that we as a society discourage them from this practice? Basically, the idea is we want kids to sit still so they can listen and do well in school, eventually getting a good job where they can, you guessed it, sit still and be productive. That's all well and good for the company bottom line, except when you read the statistics of people missing work and heading to their doctor due to back pain.....Guess what the most significant cause of back pain is? SITTING TOO MUCH! Simply put, get up and move around as often as possible. Get up and walk to the drinking fountain, do a lap around the office to collect your thoughts. Go to the other end of the office and talk to that associate rather than calling or emailing them. Or, if you have the luxury of working from home on occasion, you might even try working STANDING UP. It'll be a little uncomfortable at first and you may want to take "sit breaks," but your back will thank you for it! Just get up and move around as much as possible. I like to take stretch breaks and do some joint mobility work (such as Z-Health) at several points during the day.
3. Eat before you get hungry. Keep some snacks in your desk at work or in the fridge, and eat them between meals. Apples, string cheese, nuts, carrots or celery sticks, and cottage cheese are all great options.
4. Also, make sure you put some protein in your mouth every time you eat. EVERY TIME! It'll keep you feeling full until your next meal and help rev up your metabolism so that you burn more calories, even when you're not working out.
5. GO TO BED! This is a tough one for me, but getting to sleep early enough each night does wonders for the quality of your sleep, and thus the quality of recovery that your body gets. It's been said that one hour of sleep before midnight is the equivalent of two hours of sleep after midnight.
6. Unless it's immediately before or immediately following your workout, stay away from them CARBS! By carbs, I'm not talking about all carbohydrates, as even chicken has carbohydrates in it. Conventional use of this term nowadays refers to breads, pasta, crackers, chips, cookies, and anything made with flour or grains. Every time I eat a low carb meal, like some chicken and a mixed green salad, or stuffed peppers with ground buffalo, I think of it as money in the bank. I'm filling my body with what it needs and what it can use at a later time. I love pasta as much as the next Italian-American, so this one is particularly tough for me...but I'm working on it!
Tuesday, June 3, 2008
Making the Decision to Leap
OK, so I've definitely been lazy as of late with regard to keeping this blog up to date. It's already June, but some of you may know that my girlfriend and I took a trip back in early May to Riviera Maya in Mexico. Needless to say it was a much needed vacation for me, and the resort at which we stayed was nothing short of gorgeous.
Here are a few pics of the resort, the beautiful ocean view, and even some of the local "wildlife".
One of the highlights of the trip for both of us was getting the chance to visit a local Mayan community, where we went on a zipline tour. Needless to say, this was a bid of an adrenaline rush for all involved, as the ziplines get increasingly higher off the ground, with the highest one being well above the rainforest canopy!
Here are a couple pics from our first zipline experience.
You can't see it from the pics, but Nicole was quite a bit nervous about getting on the first zipline, as were many of the participants. I had no shortage of adrenaline pumping myself, but this experience made me reflect a bit about my training and how it has benefited me. The bottom line is that, physiologically speaking, there was no difference between me and the rest of the group at that moment, i.e. all of our hearts were pounding, hands were shaking, and we all had all manner of "don't do it!" type thoughts running through our brains.
My martial arts training and competition experiences have not in any way caused me to be less susceptible to this "fight or flight" response. After all, you can't counter act thousands of years of human evolution with a mere decade or two of training! So how has this training benefited me with regard to dealing with fear?
Quite simply, various experiences I've had within my martial arts training have made me somewhat familiar with the experience of encountering a "scary" situation, but still making the decision to move forward in spite of fear. That's really all it is, a decision to move forward rather than stand still or back away. The reward for moving forward is getting a little bit more experienced in dealing with fear, as well as the reward of whatever experience made you afraid in the first place. In our case, everyone made the decision to move forward despite being scared, and we all became better people and had a great time as a result!
One other chance we each had to deal with our fears and potentially reap the benefits came after the ziplines. We had the opportunity to swim in the underground caves, but not before getting a blessing from a Mayan shaman...
The water in the caves was as clean and clear as any I'd ever swam in. IT WAS ALSO COLD!!! But, after hiking around in the heat all morning, we all welcomed the chance to cool off.
We had the opportunity to swim in a couple different caves that day. For some, the experience of diving in to the water while not even knowing how deep the pools might be or where there might be rocks to avoid was a somewhat harrowing experience. But everyone jumped in and had a great swim.
The last of the caves we entered was only accessible by climbing at least 10 feet straight down a ladder into the ground. Upon entering the cave, we were standing on a man-made wooden platform about 20 some feet above the water. Those that wanted to go for a swim had two choices: a leisurely walk down the steps into the water, or a leap off the platform! Here was another chance for several people in the group to battle their fears. Not everyone chose to take the leap off the platform, and after doing it myself, I certainly don't blame them!
There were a couple of things I noticed about the decisions we made that day.
1. Very often, we leap because we have no other choice.
Unlike the leap off the cave platform, there really was no viable way to back out of the ziplines themselves. No separate path to walk to the other side. Hence, no one backed out of this.
2. The longer we wait to make the decision to leap, the harder the decision becomes.
I noticed one thing about several of the people who eventually decided not to leap off the platform. They waited way too long to make the decision. It seemed as though the longer they waited, the more their fear grew, and the more those thoughts of doubt were able to pile up on them. Eventually, they were able to come up with more reasons not to leap than reasons to go for it, and they chose not to.
3. The scariest part is always before we make the decision to leap.
As I stood on the platform waiting to jump, I definitely had plenty of "don't do it" thoughts bubbling up into my brain. And the fear itself seemed to grow more and more just up until the moment I stepped off. Given that the drop was a good 20 feet, I had a good couple of seconds to register what I was feeling on the way down. I noticed that once I started to fall, the fear itself was gone. Granted, there's still the sensation of a long freefall, which anyone who's stepped onto a roller coaster knows all to well. But at that moment, there were no thoughts going through my head, no fear, no hesitation.
I just made the decision, stepped off, and let gravity do the rest.
Here are a few pics of the resort, the beautiful ocean view, and even some of the local "wildlife".
One of the highlights of the trip for both of us was getting the chance to visit a local Mayan community, where we went on a zipline tour. Needless to say, this was a bid of an adrenaline rush for all involved, as the ziplines get increasingly higher off the ground, with the highest one being well above the rainforest canopy!
Here are a couple pics from our first zipline experience.
You can't see it from the pics, but Nicole was quite a bit nervous about getting on the first zipline, as were many of the participants. I had no shortage of adrenaline pumping myself, but this experience made me reflect a bit about my training and how it has benefited me. The bottom line is that, physiologically speaking, there was no difference between me and the rest of the group at that moment, i.e. all of our hearts were pounding, hands were shaking, and we all had all manner of "don't do it!" type thoughts running through our brains.
My martial arts training and competition experiences have not in any way caused me to be less susceptible to this "fight or flight" response. After all, you can't counter act thousands of years of human evolution with a mere decade or two of training! So how has this training benefited me with regard to dealing with fear?
Quite simply, various experiences I've had within my martial arts training have made me somewhat familiar with the experience of encountering a "scary" situation, but still making the decision to move forward in spite of fear. That's really all it is, a decision to move forward rather than stand still or back away. The reward for moving forward is getting a little bit more experienced in dealing with fear, as well as the reward of whatever experience made you afraid in the first place. In our case, everyone made the decision to move forward despite being scared, and we all became better people and had a great time as a result!
One other chance we each had to deal with our fears and potentially reap the benefits came after the ziplines. We had the opportunity to swim in the underground caves, but not before getting a blessing from a Mayan shaman...
The water in the caves was as clean and clear as any I'd ever swam in. IT WAS ALSO COLD!!! But, after hiking around in the heat all morning, we all welcomed the chance to cool off.
We had the opportunity to swim in a couple different caves that day. For some, the experience of diving in to the water while not even knowing how deep the pools might be or where there might be rocks to avoid was a somewhat harrowing experience. But everyone jumped in and had a great swim.
The last of the caves we entered was only accessible by climbing at least 10 feet straight down a ladder into the ground. Upon entering the cave, we were standing on a man-made wooden platform about 20 some feet above the water. Those that wanted to go for a swim had two choices: a leisurely walk down the steps into the water, or a leap off the platform! Here was another chance for several people in the group to battle their fears. Not everyone chose to take the leap off the platform, and after doing it myself, I certainly don't blame them!
There were a couple of things I noticed about the decisions we made that day.
1. Very often, we leap because we have no other choice.
Unlike the leap off the cave platform, there really was no viable way to back out of the ziplines themselves. No separate path to walk to the other side. Hence, no one backed out of this.
2. The longer we wait to make the decision to leap, the harder the decision becomes.
I noticed one thing about several of the people who eventually decided not to leap off the platform. They waited way too long to make the decision. It seemed as though the longer they waited, the more their fear grew, and the more those thoughts of doubt were able to pile up on them. Eventually, they were able to come up with more reasons not to leap than reasons to go for it, and they chose not to.
3. The scariest part is always before we make the decision to leap.
As I stood on the platform waiting to jump, I definitely had plenty of "don't do it" thoughts bubbling up into my brain. And the fear itself seemed to grow more and more just up until the moment I stepped off. Given that the drop was a good 20 feet, I had a good couple of seconds to register what I was feeling on the way down. I noticed that once I started to fall, the fear itself was gone. Granted, there's still the sensation of a long freefall, which anyone who's stepped onto a roller coaster knows all to well. But at that moment, there were no thoughts going through my head, no fear, no hesitation.
I just made the decision, stepped off, and let gravity do the rest.
Wednesday, April 23, 2008
Nutrition and Rest
Every now and then I have a conversation with friends or students, and the subject of diet comes up. As an active person who considers himself in reasonably good shape, I occasionally get questions as to what my workout routine is, my diet, etc.
To be perfectly honest, for the bulk of my life I've been one of those people lucky enough to be able to eat pretty much whatever I want and not gain weight (you may now feel free to scowl or throw tomatoes at the computer screen). Granted, as I near the big 3-0 I have already noticed that this is becoming less and less the case, but losing weight has never been a concern of mine. I'm usually more concerned with maintaining or gaining enough weight given the amount of activity I get between teaching and training.
However, this does not by any stretch of the imagination mean that I do not take nutrition seriously. It's a subject I've been interested in for a long time, and, just like fitness, I'm constantly in a process of learning and re-learning what works in this area.
Also, like fitness, given that it's a subject that I'm so passionate about and immersed in all the time, it's easy for me to take for granted that many other folks may not be as well-informed. Also, the amount of so-called nutrition advice we get bombarded with on a daily basis from magazines, television, and the internet is certainly enough to make anyone's head spin in confusion.
The more I read, research, and learn about nutrition from the sources that I trust the most, the more I realize that successfully eating right, just like anything else, is about sticking to the timeless fundamentals. Sure, there are lots of different diets out there, many of which have proven very successful with regard to folks losing weight, and there are a lot of small tweaks that we could try to make to improve our diets. But I find it's mostly about the fundamentals, and many of these principles are nothing different than what Mom drilled into us as kids.
1. Always start the day with a hearty breakfast.
2. Eat your veggies.
3. When you're full, stop eating.
4. Stay away from junk food.
Nothing earth-shattering here. Ok, now let's add to this a few concepts that, while not as common as Mom's advice above, have proven consistently true.
1. Eat multiple (5 or more) smaller meals and/or snacks throughout the day, rather than three big meals.
2. Get a balance of protein, fruits/vegetables, and healthy fats at each meal or snack.
3. Try to get the bulk of your calories toward the beginning of the day, and taper off as you get closer to bedtime. The only exception is making sure to eat enough calories 2 hours or so before a workout/training session, and eating a post-workout meal or snack.
4. Limit consumption of high carbohydrate foods late in the day, unless it's right after your workout.
5. Get at least 7 hours of sleep a night, and try to go to bed and wake up consistently around the same time. Generally, the earlier you get to bed the better (i.e. 11PM is better than Midnight, 10PM is MUCH better than Midnight).
Nowadays, especially in Western society, we've become obsessed with quick-fixes and new ideas. We want our abs in 8 minutes a day, we get our food in the amount of time it takes us to head through the drive through, we stay up way too late watching TV, and then we pound cup after cup of coffee to stay awake throughout the day, only to repeat the cycle day in and day out!
By sticking to the fundamentals and paying attention to such simple concepts as how much food you're eating, what kind of food you're eating, when you're eating it, and how much rest you're getting, the vast majority of us can achieve a healthy physique, more energy throughout the day, and avoid some of the major health problems that plague our nation (heart disease, cancer, diabetes, etc.).
Here are a few resources that I've found helpful in keeping tabs on my nutrition and health.
www.johnberardi.com Website of Dr. John Berardi, creator of the Precision Nutrition program.
www.chekinstitute.com Website of Paul Chek, author of the books
To be perfectly honest, for the bulk of my life I've been one of those people lucky enough to be able to eat pretty much whatever I want and not gain weight (you may now feel free to scowl or throw tomatoes at the computer screen). Granted, as I near the big 3-0 I have already noticed that this is becoming less and less the case, but losing weight has never been a concern of mine. I'm usually more concerned with maintaining or gaining enough weight given the amount of activity I get between teaching and training.
However, this does not by any stretch of the imagination mean that I do not take nutrition seriously. It's a subject I've been interested in for a long time, and, just like fitness, I'm constantly in a process of learning and re-learning what works in this area.
Also, like fitness, given that it's a subject that I'm so passionate about and immersed in all the time, it's easy for me to take for granted that many other folks may not be as well-informed. Also, the amount of so-called nutrition advice we get bombarded with on a daily basis from magazines, television, and the internet is certainly enough to make anyone's head spin in confusion.
The more I read, research, and learn about nutrition from the sources that I trust the most, the more I realize that successfully eating right, just like anything else, is about sticking to the timeless fundamentals. Sure, there are lots of different diets out there, many of which have proven very successful with regard to folks losing weight, and there are a lot of small tweaks that we could try to make to improve our diets. But I find it's mostly about the fundamentals, and many of these principles are nothing different than what Mom drilled into us as kids.
1. Always start the day with a hearty breakfast.
2. Eat your veggies.
3. When you're full, stop eating.
4. Stay away from junk food.
Nothing earth-shattering here. Ok, now let's add to this a few concepts that, while not as common as Mom's advice above, have proven consistently true.
1. Eat multiple (5 or more) smaller meals and/or snacks throughout the day, rather than three big meals.
2. Get a balance of protein, fruits/vegetables, and healthy fats at each meal or snack.
3. Try to get the bulk of your calories toward the beginning of the day, and taper off as you get closer to bedtime. The only exception is making sure to eat enough calories 2 hours or so before a workout/training session, and eating a post-workout meal or snack.
4. Limit consumption of high carbohydrate foods late in the day, unless it's right after your workout.
5. Get at least 7 hours of sleep a night, and try to go to bed and wake up consistently around the same time. Generally, the earlier you get to bed the better (i.e. 11PM is better than Midnight, 10PM is MUCH better than Midnight).
Nowadays, especially in Western society, we've become obsessed with quick-fixes and new ideas. We want our abs in 8 minutes a day, we get our food in the amount of time it takes us to head through the drive through, we stay up way too late watching TV, and then we pound cup after cup of coffee to stay awake throughout the day, only to repeat the cycle day in and day out!
By sticking to the fundamentals and paying attention to such simple concepts as how much food you're eating, what kind of food you're eating, when you're eating it, and how much rest you're getting, the vast majority of us can achieve a healthy physique, more energy throughout the day, and avoid some of the major health problems that plague our nation (heart disease, cancer, diabetes, etc.).
Here are a few resources that I've found helpful in keeping tabs on my nutrition and health.
www.johnberardi.com Website of Dr. John Berardi, creator of the Precision Nutrition program.
www.chekinstitute.com Website of Paul Chek, author of the books
Another Quick Announcement about Saturday Classes
OK, here's another update on Saturday classes.
Classes will resume starting Saturday, May 3rd. Since it's a new month, we'll be switching back to grappling for May. This month's topic will be the guard position.
We'll be focusing on basic attacks, as well as defending against the guard pass.
Those of you getting ready for NAGA, as well as anyone who wants to improve their guard game would benefit greatly from this topic!
On another note, given that summer is rapidly approaching (though the weather right now may not give any indication), I've been toying with the notion of moving up the Saturday class to 9:30 instead of 10:30. That way we're all out of there and ready to enjoy our summers a little earlier. Let me know if this is a time that works for you, and if we have enough agreement (as well as Sifu Marc's approval), we'll reschedule.
But for now, I'll see you at 10:30 sharp!
Classes will resume starting Saturday, May 3rd. Since it's a new month, we'll be switching back to grappling for May. This month's topic will be the guard position.
We'll be focusing on basic attacks, as well as defending against the guard pass.
Those of you getting ready for NAGA, as well as anyone who wants to improve their guard game would benefit greatly from this topic!
On another note, given that summer is rapidly approaching (though the weather right now may not give any indication), I've been toying with the notion of moving up the Saturday class to 9:30 instead of 10:30. That way we're all out of there and ready to enjoy our summers a little earlier. Let me know if this is a time that works for you, and if we have enough agreement (as well as Sifu Marc's approval), we'll reschedule.
But for now, I'll see you at 10:30 sharp!
Wednesday, March 12, 2008
Blending Practice with Conditioning
OK, so since my last few posts have been of the "Matt on a soapbox" variety, I figured it was about time I gave you some practical training advice.
I recently purchased a set of training DVDs by strength coach Dan John. Most people who are into heavy strength training, powerlifting, and/or Olympic Weightlifting have probably heard of Dan. Dan is a former competetive weightlifter and track and field athlete, and currently competes in the Highland Games (you know, that thing where the guys all wear kilts and see who can throw a heavy rock or log the farthest?). Those familiar with Dan John know him for his sense of humor, his salt of the earth personality, and his ability to very simply coach and convey seemingly complex skills like the Olympic lifts, particularly the barbell snatch.
Anyway, long story short, the DVD's were a steal at $39.95 for the set of three, and the content was excellent. I came away with a better understanding of lifting technique, learned some cool new exercises to play around with, and also some different ways to combine training methods into the same workout.
One such method that Dan talks about in one of these DVD's (can't remember which one) is something he stumbled upon when training for a competition. Wanting to both "practice" a certain throw (let's say, shotput for example), and also do some conditioning, Dan brought out his shotput and a kettlebell out to the field with him. He decided to alternate practice throws with sets of a kettlebell exercise. Throw...do a set...rest....throw again...do a set...rest...and so on. While the concept of mixing modes of training in the same workout (such as lifting and sprinting, or heavy bag work and calisthenics) was nothing new to me, the way Dan explained this concept definitely struck a chord.
As both a martial artist and someone who's passionate about working out, I often times am in a dilemma when it comes to making time for all of the things I want to practice or do for a workout. For example, here's a short list of the things I currently have on my list to practice:
(JKD) wooden dummmy sets, (Grappling) escapes from cross body, (Thai Boxing) clinching and kneeing, pistols a.k.a. one legged squats, handstands, muscle-ups on the gymnastic rings, kettlebell snatches, .........
Trying to prioritize and work all of these skills in to a training schedule is a difficult task. But, using Dan's idea of mixing skill training with conditioning work led me to come up with the idea of picking a few skills and exercises from my list and put them together into a circuit. Here's the one I did last Saturday after class:
5 Goblet Squats with a 70lb kettlebell (standing near the mirrors)
Shrimp down the mat (until I'm at the heavy bags)
5 curve knees each leg (on the teardrop bag)
5 round kicks each leg (on the 1st Thai heavy bag)
5 teebs each leg (on the 2nd Thai heavy bag)
fall down
1 Turkish get-up each arm with a 53lb kettlebell
jog back to start
REPEAT A TOTAL OF 5 TIMES
Here are a few ground rules/tips when trying this method of training out. The general idea here is to manage fatigue, not seek it. The point here is to practice, not to exhaust yourself:
1. Keep your reps low. You'll notice I kept the reps here at 5 or less per skill (even the "exercises"). The point is practice, not conditioning. That means, strive for perfect technique on every rep. Even strength exercises can be viewed as skills that need to be practiced, and you're more likely to do 5 perfect squats in a row than 10-20. Again, we're trying to manage fatigue, not seek it.
2. Take your time. As stated above, the more you hurry, the more your technique will suffer. The circuit above took me about 20 minutes to do 5 times. Given the number of reps of each exercise, that's not a very fast pace.
3. Limit (somewhat) the number of skills/exercises. The more skills you try to practice at once, the more confused your body/nervous system gets, and the less likely you'll make progress on all those skills. However, part of the idea here is to get practice on multiple skills in the same session in the interest of time. So, you might decide to pick skills that are simliar to each other (such as three different types of kicks, three ground movements, or three trapping combinations), or at least keep the number of skills low. I used 6 skills or stations in the above example, and I probably wouldn't want to go much beyond that. If the skills are particularly complex, I'd err on the side of practicing fewer of them in the same session. The above skills weren't all that complicated, so it's ok to do 6 different ones in one circuit.
I'm planning on instituting this type of training once a week and I'll let you know how it goes. Understand that this is not a replacement for training in class nor is it a replacement for my conditioning workouts. It's a great way to inject some variety in the training, recover from harder workouts, and get some worthwhile practice in a short time.
Give it a try.
I recently purchased a set of training DVDs by strength coach Dan John. Most people who are into heavy strength training, powerlifting, and/or Olympic Weightlifting have probably heard of Dan. Dan is a former competetive weightlifter and track and field athlete, and currently competes in the Highland Games (you know, that thing where the guys all wear kilts and see who can throw a heavy rock or log the farthest?). Those familiar with Dan John know him for his sense of humor, his salt of the earth personality, and his ability to very simply coach and convey seemingly complex skills like the Olympic lifts, particularly the barbell snatch.
Anyway, long story short, the DVD's were a steal at $39.95 for the set of three, and the content was excellent. I came away with a better understanding of lifting technique, learned some cool new exercises to play around with, and also some different ways to combine training methods into the same workout.
One such method that Dan talks about in one of these DVD's (can't remember which one) is something he stumbled upon when training for a competition. Wanting to both "practice" a certain throw (let's say, shotput for example), and also do some conditioning, Dan brought out his shotput and a kettlebell out to the field with him. He decided to alternate practice throws with sets of a kettlebell exercise. Throw...do a set...rest....throw again...do a set...rest...and so on. While the concept of mixing modes of training in the same workout (such as lifting and sprinting, or heavy bag work and calisthenics) was nothing new to me, the way Dan explained this concept definitely struck a chord.
As both a martial artist and someone who's passionate about working out, I often times am in a dilemma when it comes to making time for all of the things I want to practice or do for a workout. For example, here's a short list of the things I currently have on my list to practice:
(JKD) wooden dummmy sets, (Grappling) escapes from cross body, (Thai Boxing) clinching and kneeing, pistols a.k.a. one legged squats, handstands, muscle-ups on the gymnastic rings, kettlebell snatches, .........
Trying to prioritize and work all of these skills in to a training schedule is a difficult task. But, using Dan's idea of mixing skill training with conditioning work led me to come up with the idea of picking a few skills and exercises from my list and put them together into a circuit. Here's the one I did last Saturday after class:
5 Goblet Squats with a 70lb kettlebell (standing near the mirrors)
Shrimp down the mat (until I'm at the heavy bags)
5 curve knees each leg (on the teardrop bag)
5 round kicks each leg (on the 1st Thai heavy bag)
5 teebs each leg (on the 2nd Thai heavy bag)
fall down
1 Turkish get-up each arm with a 53lb kettlebell
jog back to start
REPEAT A TOTAL OF 5 TIMES
Here are a few ground rules/tips when trying this method of training out. The general idea here is to manage fatigue, not seek it. The point here is to practice, not to exhaust yourself:
1. Keep your reps low. You'll notice I kept the reps here at 5 or less per skill (even the "exercises"). The point is practice, not conditioning. That means, strive for perfect technique on every rep. Even strength exercises can be viewed as skills that need to be practiced, and you're more likely to do 5 perfect squats in a row than 10-20. Again, we're trying to manage fatigue, not seek it.
2. Take your time. As stated above, the more you hurry, the more your technique will suffer. The circuit above took me about 20 minutes to do 5 times. Given the number of reps of each exercise, that's not a very fast pace.
3. Limit (somewhat) the number of skills/exercises. The more skills you try to practice at once, the more confused your body/nervous system gets, and the less likely you'll make progress on all those skills. However, part of the idea here is to get practice on multiple skills in the same session in the interest of time. So, you might decide to pick skills that are simliar to each other (such as three different types of kicks, three ground movements, or three trapping combinations), or at least keep the number of skills low. I used 6 skills or stations in the above example, and I probably wouldn't want to go much beyond that. If the skills are particularly complex, I'd err on the side of practicing fewer of them in the same session. The above skills weren't all that complicated, so it's ok to do 6 different ones in one circuit.
I'm planning on instituting this type of training once a week and I'll let you know how it goes. Understand that this is not a replacement for training in class nor is it a replacement for my conditioning workouts. It's a great way to inject some variety in the training, recover from harder workouts, and get some worthwhile practice in a short time.
Give it a try.
Monday, March 3, 2008
What Size Fish Are You?
There is a lot debate going on in the martial arts on the virtues of competition-type training versus "traditional" training methods. For clarity, let's define competition-type training as sparring, especially high speed and/or heavy contact sparring. Let's put everything else: hitting pads, double stick patterns, trapping drills, etc. in the other category.
One of the virtues stressed by proponents of sport/competition style training is that, by continually testing your abilities against various other opponents, whether in the gym or in competition, you become aware of "where you're really at," which has great benefits for your character. These same folks would argue that, since most traditional training is "cooperative," you don't get the same feedback, which will inevitably will lead you to believe that you're "better" than you really are.
I'm not going to argue the values of one type of training versus the other in this post. My perspective is, as long as it's fun and you're improving, why not do both? Also, remember that improvement and success are not always measured by the number of trophies on your shelf or whether you tapped this person or that person out on a given day!
What I'd like to discuss is the supposed connection between training hard in a sport-type environment and developing character. While some would argue that the two go hand in hand, I would disagree, and I'll give two reasons for this:
1. I've met just as many, if not more, competitive martial artists (read "fighters") that were complete @$$holes as I have traditional martial artists who were @$$holes. And for the purpose of this article, I'll define an @$$hole as someone who you actually feel worse for having been around, rather than being uplifted or happy to know them.
2. If competing automatically ensured you'd become a person of higher character, then every NBA and NFL star would by that rationale be a model citizen. And we know that ain't true!!!
That being said, I do think that sport training does have beneficial aspects to one's character, and develops real-world skills in a way that pretty much no other single type of training can ilicit. But these benefits, in my opinion, are subject to the following caveats:
1. Sports are beneficial to character only in an environment wherein coaches, high level competitors, and less-experienced competitors value each other more than they value "winning." I won't elaborate on that one, I'll just let you marinate on it a while.
2. Using the "Big Fish in a Small Pond" analogy, unless the training group/team/school holds to the first caveat, you can pretty much guarantee that only the "big fish", i.e. the most genetically gifted folks, will improve at a high rate. The "small fish," on the other hand, will at best suffer frustration and the occasional humiliation, and at worst, they'll get injured and/or give the training up completely.
Having been a "small fish" in some circles and a "big fish" in others, I think I can lend a little insight into the best practices for each. Think about which one you are, answer each of these questions, and consider whether your behavior inside the gym accurately reflects your answers.
Big Fish:
What matters to you more? Winning or having good friends and healthy training partners?
When it's time to spar, do you look at it as a competition or a learning experience?
Do you only feel good about your training if you're "winning" at sparring? (i.e. tapping other people out, taking them down, hitting them without getting hit)
Do you typically feel crappy about your training if you aren't "winning" at sparring?
How many people have been injured sparring with you?
How many times have you been injured during sparring?
Small Fish:
What matters to you more? Winning or having good friends and healthy training partners?
When it's time to spar, do you look at it as a competition or a learning experience?
Do you only feel good about your training if you're "winning" at sparring? (i.e. tapping other people out, taking them down, hitting them without getting hit)
Do you typically feel crappy about your training if you aren't "winning" at sparring?
How many people have been injured sparring with you?
How many times have you been injured during sparring?
Now, if you're particularly observant, you'll notice that the list of questions were the same for Big Fish and Small Fish. And there is a reason for that.
The fact of the matter is, we all swim in different ponds in life (not just including the martial arts school). We're guaranteed that in some we'll be Big Fish, and in others, we'll be Small Fish. Whether we're a Big Fish or Small Fish in the pond, for that reason, really doesn't matter at all.
What matters is the experiences we have, how we treat each other, and the lessons we learn along the way.
One of the virtues stressed by proponents of sport/competition style training is that, by continually testing your abilities against various other opponents, whether in the gym or in competition, you become aware of "where you're really at," which has great benefits for your character. These same folks would argue that, since most traditional training is "cooperative," you don't get the same feedback, which will inevitably will lead you to believe that you're "better" than you really are.
I'm not going to argue the values of one type of training versus the other in this post. My perspective is, as long as it's fun and you're improving, why not do both? Also, remember that improvement and success are not always measured by the number of trophies on your shelf or whether you tapped this person or that person out on a given day!
What I'd like to discuss is the supposed connection between training hard in a sport-type environment and developing character. While some would argue that the two go hand in hand, I would disagree, and I'll give two reasons for this:
1. I've met just as many, if not more, competitive martial artists (read "fighters") that were complete @$$holes as I have traditional martial artists who were @$$holes. And for the purpose of this article, I'll define an @$$hole as someone who you actually feel worse for having been around, rather than being uplifted or happy to know them.
2. If competing automatically ensured you'd become a person of higher character, then every NBA and NFL star would by that rationale be a model citizen. And we know that ain't true!!!
That being said, I do think that sport training does have beneficial aspects to one's character, and develops real-world skills in a way that pretty much no other single type of training can ilicit. But these benefits, in my opinion, are subject to the following caveats:
1. Sports are beneficial to character only in an environment wherein coaches, high level competitors, and less-experienced competitors value each other more than they value "winning." I won't elaborate on that one, I'll just let you marinate on it a while.
2. Using the "Big Fish in a Small Pond" analogy, unless the training group/team/school holds to the first caveat, you can pretty much guarantee that only the "big fish", i.e. the most genetically gifted folks, will improve at a high rate. The "small fish," on the other hand, will at best suffer frustration and the occasional humiliation, and at worst, they'll get injured and/or give the training up completely.
Having been a "small fish" in some circles and a "big fish" in others, I think I can lend a little insight into the best practices for each. Think about which one you are, answer each of these questions, and consider whether your behavior inside the gym accurately reflects your answers.
Big Fish:
What matters to you more? Winning or having good friends and healthy training partners?
When it's time to spar, do you look at it as a competition or a learning experience?
Do you only feel good about your training if you're "winning" at sparring? (i.e. tapping other people out, taking them down, hitting them without getting hit)
Do you typically feel crappy about your training if you aren't "winning" at sparring?
How many people have been injured sparring with you?
How many times have you been injured during sparring?
Small Fish:
What matters to you more? Winning or having good friends and healthy training partners?
When it's time to spar, do you look at it as a competition or a learning experience?
Do you only feel good about your training if you're "winning" at sparring? (i.e. tapping other people out, taking them down, hitting them without getting hit)
Do you typically feel crappy about your training if you aren't "winning" at sparring?
How many people have been injured sparring with you?
How many times have you been injured during sparring?
Now, if you're particularly observant, you'll notice that the list of questions were the same for Big Fish and Small Fish. And there is a reason for that.
The fact of the matter is, we all swim in different ponds in life (not just including the martial arts school). We're guaranteed that in some we'll be Big Fish, and in others, we'll be Small Fish. Whether we're a Big Fish or Small Fish in the pond, for that reason, really doesn't matter at all.
What matters is the experiences we have, how we treat each other, and the lessons we learn along the way.
Wednesday, January 16, 2008
All Else Being Equal....
Question: How many times have you read or heard something similar to the following statement, whether it be in a martial arts or fitness/sports related magazine, book, interview, etc.?
"All other things being equal, the fighter/athlete/martial artist with the best ____ will win."
I cannot count the number of times I've read and/or heard martial arts instructors, competitors, and coaches of various kinds make some type of comment like this. And I know that there are some of you out there who are like me in that, a long time ago, when I was inexperienced, I took every one of these statements to heart.
If a coach/instructor I respected said, "All else being equal, the fighter with the best cardio will win," I'd take it as a hint to really invest more time in developing my endurance. If another instructor said, "All else being equal, the person with the best technique will win out," I'd go back and really hammer my fundamentals and get my technique better. I think everybody can see where I'm going with this, but let me present you with a seemingly unrelated analogy just in case:
Let's say I have two dogs. They're the same breed, came from the same litter (same age), and they're the same sex. They both get walked and fed a full bowl of food twice a day, but one of them has a bowl that's 2x the size of the other's bowl. Is it any big revelation to ANYONE that over time, the one who eats out of the bigger bowl is going to get FATTER? I SHOULD HOPE NOT!
What is my point? My point is each one of these statements which various people spout off as a priceless nugget of wisdom that we should be thankful to receive is really no less a revelation than the statment, "All else being equal, the dog that eats more food is going to get fatter."
It's a simple mathematical fact, folks, so why don't we just generalize all this into one statement that covers ALL possibilities?
ALL ELSE BEING EQUAL, WHATEVER IS LEFT WILL DECIDE THE OUTCOME.
That means that, all else being equal, the candidate who receives the most votes will win the election; all else being equal, the person who uses their credit card the most will accumulate the most debt; and all else being equal, the person who trains the hardest and the smartest will get the best results.
So, the next time you hear such a statement, I hope you do the following:
1. Nod in agreement and acknowledge the importance of whatever particular attribute the person is trying to emphasize, whether it be endurance, technique, strength, strategy, whatever. They're all important, after all.
2. Double check to make sure they're not trying to sell you something.
3. Realize that in the REAL WORLD, ALL ELSE IS RARELY, IF EVER, EQUAL.
"All other things being equal, the fighter/athlete/martial artist with the best ____ will win."
I cannot count the number of times I've read and/or heard martial arts instructors, competitors, and coaches of various kinds make some type of comment like this. And I know that there are some of you out there who are like me in that, a long time ago, when I was inexperienced, I took every one of these statements to heart.
If a coach/instructor I respected said, "All else being equal, the fighter with the best cardio will win," I'd take it as a hint to really invest more time in developing my endurance. If another instructor said, "All else being equal, the person with the best technique will win out," I'd go back and really hammer my fundamentals and get my technique better. I think everybody can see where I'm going with this, but let me present you with a seemingly unrelated analogy just in case:
Let's say I have two dogs. They're the same breed, came from the same litter (same age), and they're the same sex. They both get walked and fed a full bowl of food twice a day, but one of them has a bowl that's 2x the size of the other's bowl. Is it any big revelation to ANYONE that over time, the one who eats out of the bigger bowl is going to get FATTER? I SHOULD HOPE NOT!
What is my point? My point is each one of these statements which various people spout off as a priceless nugget of wisdom that we should be thankful to receive is really no less a revelation than the statment, "All else being equal, the dog that eats more food is going to get fatter."
It's a simple mathematical fact, folks, so why don't we just generalize all this into one statement that covers ALL possibilities?
ALL ELSE BEING EQUAL, WHATEVER IS LEFT WILL DECIDE THE OUTCOME.
That means that, all else being equal, the candidate who receives the most votes will win the election; all else being equal, the person who uses their credit card the most will accumulate the most debt; and all else being equal, the person who trains the hardest and the smartest will get the best results.
So, the next time you hear such a statement, I hope you do the following:
1. Nod in agreement and acknowledge the importance of whatever particular attribute the person is trying to emphasize, whether it be endurance, technique, strength, strategy, whatever. They're all important, after all.
2. Double check to make sure they're not trying to sell you something.
3. Realize that in the REAL WORLD, ALL ELSE IS RARELY, IF EVER, EQUAL.
Monday, January 7, 2008
Happy New Year!
Just wanted to take a moment to wish all my students, instructors, and friends a Happy New Year. 2008 is upon us and I hope this will be a year full of achievements, new lessons, and, most importantly, FUN!
One thing I hope to continue to do in this blog is give you a little insight into some of the authors and people that influence me and my training. For you students, you get a lot of this information on a daily basis from me, but know that very little (if any) of it is my own discovery. I'm simply filtering ideas and lessons that I get from other insightful people, be they martial artists or otherwise.
So, here are a couple books that I've recently finished or currently reading:
The Tipping Point: How Little Things Can Make a Big Difference by Malcolm Gladwell
Blink: The Power of Thinking without Thinking by Malcolm Gladwell
How to Eat, Move, and Be Healthy by Paul Chek
Pain Free: A Revolutionary Method for Stopping Chronic Pain by Pete Egoscue
(and, of course, a fun one)
Why Men Don't Listen and Women Can't Read Maps: How We're Different and What to Do About it by Barbara and Allan Pease
I may delve a little deeper into some of the insights and ideas I've learned from these authors in future blogs, but for now here's the list. If you ride a train to work or have a long commute (the two Gladwell books are available on CD or through iTunes), why not do something useful during those hours rather than spending them guzzling coffee and swearing in traffic?
OK, so the guzzling coffee thing is fine, but you get my point...
One thing I hope to continue to do in this blog is give you a little insight into some of the authors and people that influence me and my training. For you students, you get a lot of this information on a daily basis from me, but know that very little (if any) of it is my own discovery. I'm simply filtering ideas and lessons that I get from other insightful people, be they martial artists or otherwise.
So, here are a couple books that I've recently finished or currently reading:
The Tipping Point: How Little Things Can Make a Big Difference by Malcolm Gladwell
Blink: The Power of Thinking without Thinking by Malcolm Gladwell
How to Eat, Move, and Be Healthy by Paul Chek
Pain Free: A Revolutionary Method for Stopping Chronic Pain by Pete Egoscue
(and, of course, a fun one)
Why Men Don't Listen and Women Can't Read Maps: How We're Different and What to Do About it by Barbara and Allan Pease
I may delve a little deeper into some of the insights and ideas I've learned from these authors in future blogs, but for now here's the list. If you ride a train to work or have a long commute (the two Gladwell books are available on CD or through iTunes), why not do something useful during those hours rather than spending them guzzling coffee and swearing in traffic?
OK, so the guzzling coffee thing is fine, but you get my point...
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