VA Snow Day

Last Sunday’s view of the backyard, complete with Jeremiah Johnson-style striking equipment:

Linked Resource: Customizing your Medicine Ball

I love using medicine balls with rope handles, but they can be expensive. Take a look at this excellent article by Ross Emamait, from the always interesting RossTraining.com Blog on how to make your own own rope handles.

Customizing Your Medicine Ball

More Fun with Duct Tape: Proxy Weapons of Opportunity

In the previous post, I mentioned using padded “cell phones” and a padded bottle as simulated weapons of opportunity. These aids are very useful for rehearsing recognition and use of weapon-usable objects in the environment. Making these is pretty simple and very cheap:

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Help at the Push of a Button

This semester I agreed to teach a series of weekly self protection seminars for a women’s resource group on Ferrum College campus. Without going into too much detail here (more will follow in later posts), part of my planning for these included researching the contexts and scenarios in which violence against women tends to happen, as borne out by DOJ victimization and outcome stats and reviewing case reports. The incidence data, and conversations with friends of mine who have been victimized made it woefully clear that the “carry your keys in your hand” strategies, and “on the street/in a dark alley” conceptualizations of violence against women are pretty inadequate by themselves, because they only apply to a limited range of the situations in which a woman may find herself at risk . Since this seminar series is for college-aged women, I structured the program to explore the scenarios and types of assault that are created by social, interpersonal and predatory contexts.

Get More Out of Your Chishi With Efficient Kinematics

Back in the days when I identified myself as a karate practitioner, I enthusiastically pursued all forms of supplemental conditioning that I could find throughout the branches of the folk art. I spent a considerable amount of time researching, constructing and using various makiwara, kakiya, and weights according to the notes left by early authors such as Motobu, Funakoshi, Mabuni & Miyagi. Among these, the chishi soon became a favorite in my training regimens. The chishi is an example of a class of asymmetrical lever weights that can be found in physical culture around the world. “Indian Clubs” are another example of the concept, and Chinese martial arts may also include them in their conditioning methods (Kennedy & Guo, 2005). The early Okinawan karate culture discovered its utility as a training device, and several branches of karate adopted them as part of their “hojo undo”, or supplemental training.

Despite my enthusiasm for the chishi, my concurrent study of kinesiology eventually began to make me question the effects some of the traditional methods of usage, and my formal education in this field has only confirmed that some common practices are dangerous to the shoulder joint system.

Quality Time With the Kakiya

After a brutally hot summer the last few weekends have brought nice, mild weather here in VA, and what better way to enjoy it than working duck-to-counter setups on the training contraptions in the back yard:

DIY Electric Training Knife

FSRI students are familiar with a variety of close-range weapons evasion, control and aggressive response drills. A wooden dowel or flimsy plastic knife is typically used for simulating knives and edged weapons, as well as a variety of wiffle-ball bats and foam sticks. Although these proxies provide a good margin for safety they can encourage a few counter productive habits, particularly among newer students or people new to our methods. These include:

• grabbing at the “edge” end of the weapon
• allowing the “edge” of the weapon to rest on their body while attempting to control the attacker’s arms
• wielding the weapon like a 1930’s movie villain, ie, making threatening  gestures or non-threatening attacks, and not providing serious and committed attacks

A second set of problems is created by the nature of training itself. Knife attacks seldom happen in the ways that entertainment has conditioned us to expect. So training scenarios in which an attacker brandishes a knife from a body length away, and then artfully parries and ripostes his way in to the attack might be fun (or the dreadfully standard lunge-punch with knife from 6 feet out), but aren’t good preparation for the reality of concealed weapons and ambushes. Over the years I’ve developed a number of scenario based drills in which one partner carries a concealed “knife”, which may or may not be known to the other partner. During a verbal escalation scenario, randori or sparring, the weapon may be drawn at random and used. The defending partner usually ends up receiving multiple simulated stabs and slashes before he or she even knows the weapon was pulled, especially in close grappling encounters. It can be an eye-opener, but even with the random nature of these drills it is still very easy for the defender to slip into a complacent attitude towards the possibility of the concealed weapon, or to ignore the contact as they try to apply some cool technique. A few important elements are missing from such drills: fear and urgency. Fear is not an element that should be present in much of training, but it is useful to explore in affective training and for scenarios that attempt to include an element of surprise. In a training setting, fear usually manifests as apprehension.

A few companies make low-voltage training knives that can deliver a jolt to the partner on the receiving end, adding a measure of apprehension to a drill. The sting it delivers is also very, very useful feedback about where the training knife made contact with one’s body and how many times. Unfortunately, these commercially available models are prohibitively expensive, running into the hundreds of dollars. They just aren’t cost-effective for smaller groups, or for groups that may end up breaking them during intense training (this is why we can’t have anything nice). Fortunately, there are other options.

Fit Tip: Cardio Machines

You have seen them, the rows and rows of expensive cardio machines upon which so may people rack up countless hours. Most martial artists are more drawn to the kettlebells or dumbbells then they are to these behemoths. Few of the folks perched on theme look very fit anyway.

So why should you consider including them in your fitness program? There are a couple of good reasons actually. First, if used correctly they can provide a good cardio workout while reducing the pounding your joints take. Second, some machines, like ellipticals are designed to reduce the opportunities for you move in ways that can be harmful to your body.

Most martial artists have serious movement impairments at some time in their careers. Usually these stem from poor training programs that result in muscular recruitment patterns that are less than ideal.

I can’t tell you the number of martial artists I have talked to who complain about their knees popping and grinding, yet they never even consider that all of the thigh kicks they receive, all of the sumo squats they do, all of the crazy exaggerated stances they practice might contribute anything at all to their knee problems.

Once a pattern is loaded in, almost anything you do can reinforce that same pattern. If it is causing problems it takes dedicated intervention strategies to correct. Machines, like ellipticals reduce the opportunity to hyper-pronate by forcing your feet to stay on the platforms and move in a pre-established fashion. This can be helpful in reinforcing correct muscle action.

Every couple of months it is a good idea for all athletes to spend some time allowing their bodies to recover from all the abuse it has suffered. This should be a period of lighter activity, in which the joints are not subject to the same amount of pounding as they have received during the previous training cycles. As we age it is more and more important that we allow our bodies adequate recovery time.

Of course there are some true believers out there in the martial arts world who think they get everything they need from their kata, kihon, and kumite. For these folks this a matter of faith, and apparently nothing will disabuse them of this craziness. More rational souls will realize that their karate will benefit substantially from a more targeted approach to addressing fitness concerns that bear on their performance and health. To these people I would like to recommend giving those funny looking machines a try once in a while.

Take a break from jumping around, lifting people, and pounding stuff for a couple of weeks every now and then. During this time these machines can help you get a sufficient cardio workout without inflicting as much pounding on your feet, knees, and back (almost sounds too good to be true to many of us old timers).

I usually impress the hell out of myself when I switch over from running on grass and pavement to running on the treadmill. The treadmill is so cushy, and it always feels like I can run twice as far. Well the truth is that running on a treadmill is easier than running on either pavement or grass. There is much less to adapt to on a treadmill, so all your effort goes into the run.

Keep in mind that you will not be doing yourself much good at all if you use your arms to hold yourself up while using ellipticals, stairclimbers or treadmills. Hypertonic lats, shoulder problems (actually these are closely related), and back pain are all ubiquitous in karate. Spending thirty minutes propped up with your elbows locked, your lats tight, pretending that you are actually using the machines the way they were intended is a sure way to make your lower back creakier, and your shoulders tighter.

If you can’t keep up without bracing yourself with your arms, turn the machine down. You will burn more calories, and feel better for it.

Now go ahead and give that treadmill a go.

The Ude Makiwara Part 6: Sample Training Clip

In the final installment of the “Ude Makiwara: Notes on History, construction and Usage”, I mentioned that I would soon post some video clips of  drills and training methods. It’s been more than a year and I’m finally getting around to putting some of these videos together-yeah, so timeliness is not a strong suit. The video linked below shows a very basic progression from simple straight punching into combinations utilizing circular strikes and basic footwork. In the next few weeks I plan to get some more videos up showing different drills that progress from simple skills to more sophisticated ones .  (Ed. note: After 3 years of hard use, I broke the original model, so more training clips will be put on hold until a build and install a new one…)

DIY Square Kongoken

The kongoken is a training tool familiar to practitioners of the Goju Ryu family of karate. A simple oval made of heavy pipe or bar provides an awkward device to manipulate in ways similar to wrestling and grappling arts.  I’ve made all sorts of training equipment for myself and for our club out of a mixture of concrete, duct tape, logs and items scored through dumpster diving, so making a kongoken seemed like the next logical project.

DIY Multi-Target Grid and “Maize” Bag

When my wife and I began building our home a few years ago we needed a place to store our tools at the worksite. Living in a camper generally is not spacious as it is, and both of our cars were full of construction paraphenalia. So we decided to build a temporary lean-to out of saplings and a tarp until a more substantial shed could be built. At some point during all of this, I realized that the lean-to was in the perfect spot for an outdoor training area. It also lent itself well to serving as a framework upon which to attach all sorts of improvised punching targets. This idea took hold in my brain and mutated until I found myself with a grid work of swinging targets that provides excellent self-training for reaction skills and timing .

The more targets I added, the more difficult (read: fun) the challenge offered by the contraption became. Starting out dodging/striking one target is fairly simple. But once the other ones begin to move around, the number of objects in  the visual field multiplies. Hitting target A is the goal, but targets B, C and D may be on their way back around to smack you. Hitting any one of them changes it’s trajectory and speed, requiring the user to track objects that may be out of the visual range while also focusing on  the target at hand, hitting it and evading the ones that are moving in from several directions- a bit like overclocking the brain. Also a bit like trying to shuffle through a crowd, or deal with several people approaching at once. The targets are free to swing so the movements are fairly unpredictable, especially when several are moving at once. There are many, many possibilities for training with this setup, both solo and with partners. I will post some games and drills later on, but for now I will show the rebuilding process and it’s outcome. Obviously, saplings are a good, free building material for me- however, any suitable materials can be used indoors or out to make something that achieves the exact same goals.

The original grid.

Various targets from the grid.

 As can be seen in the pic, the original was a bit low and not in the best of shape at the end. I tore it down and pulled out the poles that were still in good shape to be reused.

Frame in place.

The new one is 7″ high and attached to four trees as opposed to three, adding several feet of space to move in. The height also allows for targets to be moved to different levels as needed.

The first new cross members in place.

New grid completed from hardwood saplings, 2-3″ diameter. Many are from the original grid.

The reinforced grid, with several targets attached, ready to use. Tennis balls provide smaller, lighter targets to be evaded and parried; the larger targets are 2-liter soda bottles wrapped in foam sheeting and duct tape, secured via a knot through the bottom of the cap and filled with plain ol’ water. The bottle targets provide a suprisingly firm surface that will actually respond with more firmness the harder they are hit. The round shape requires proper hand/knuckle alignment to provide feedback, as a grazing blow will simply roll off.  A good shot will knock it squarely away from the strike. And the best part is, they’re more or less free, easy to make and highly portable.

Detail of a 2-liter soda bottle “maize bag.” Don’t be fooled- when filled with water, these are surprisingly dense and hard to hit cleanly

Eventually I hope to have as many as a dozen different targets hanging off the grid. I’ll post more pictures as it develops. I also hope to get some good video of it being used to post as well, along with some of the games and drills- I will have several volunteers from Camp TKRI in just a few weeks….

Next up: a kakiya.