Creative ways to prepare for sparring at home

[PK_Tricky]

I'm always surprised with how many people can't do this. Even my brother had difficulty with this. I assumed that they would teach this at his gym but it doesn't look like it. I'm startto think that it's not the norm to punch like that.

Personally, my lower body lags a bit, but I noticed that particular issue so what i found works well is simply taking some time to dance my bloody head off. Synchronizing the movement of the body helps alot!

 

[PK_Tricky]

Instead of punching a mattress see if you can get a stand alone punching bag. If you can't get that then see if you can hang a tennis ball from the ceiling.

Use the tennis ball to punch the gaps when the tennis ball swings. Imagine a target is on the other side that you are trying to hit before the tennis ball swings back and hits your arms. Move around the tennis ball as it swings. Avoid getting hit by it.

now thats a good idea, for now a punching bag is out of my price range, but a tennis ball is not. What if I simply tied it to a hat?

 

[PK_Tricky]

Thank you all for your input, I appreciate it more than you think. Also, I feel alot less wierd for getting creative with my training, lol. At least you guys seem to be on the same page. Great stuff! Keep it coming!

 

[PK_Tricky]

When I first enrolled on a Karate course at the tender age of 12yrs, at a municipally run leisure centre, I had to wait for 3 months before the course started. Rather than just passively waiting I went to the library and found a book on Karate, (‘Know Karate-Do‘ by Bryn Williams) and studied it cover to cover. As it recommended, I started doing press ups (against a wall, then as I got stronger, a mantelpiece then a fireplace hearth and then ground on my knuckles). I did stretching exercises-hamstrings, leg adductors, punched at lit candles to snuff out the flame with the air pressure of my fist, bought a makiwara and hit it (ouch!….and I damaged the plaster on the wall as it was resting on the mantlepiece-my parents were not best pleased), I put dry chickpeas on a small container and thrust my knife hand into it (ouch) and I feel certain all this, if nothing else, set me up psychologically for that first day of Wado Ryu Karate!

Your enthusiasm will take you far!

That chickpeas thing is a good idea. Just out of curiousity, what is the purpose of that excersize?

 

[PK_Tricky]

If you freeze your body and only punch with your arms, no matter how many years of training that you may have put in, you are still doing wrong. The problem is after you have developed a bad habbit, it's very difficult to fix it.

Correct way to train:



Wrong way to train:

agreed, you also must be smart about it, ESPECALLY if you are doing it by yourself. Martial arts are no laughing matter, and one bad habit could cost you an important match down the road.

 

[Kung Fu Wang]

I can do a very basic jab or reverse punch in a very "advanced" way.

For all your techniques (such as a jab), if you can have 3 different levels of doing it such as:

1. beginner level - no body unification static punch.
2. intermediate level - body unification static punch (back foot is on the ground).
3. advance level - body unification dynamic punch (back foot is off the ground).

You will have deep understanding about your MA system. Whether the beginner level training should exist or not is debatable. Again, a bad habit can be hard to remove.

 

[Kung Fu Wang]

A: After 2 years of training, do I have perfect hand and foot coordination?
B: Your coordination is still 10% off.
A: After 10 years of training, do I have perfect hand and foot coordination?
B: Your coordination is still 5% off.
A: After 20 years of training, do I have perfect hand and foot coordination?
B: Your coordination is still 2% off.
A: I'm dying today, do I have perfect hand and foot coordination?
B: Your coordination is still 0.2% off.
A: I assume this is the best that I can do in my life time. Hope in my next life time, I can do better.

 

[JowGaWolf]

now thats a good idea, for now a punching bag is out of my price range, but a tennis ball is not. What if I simply tied it to a hat?

Don't tie it to a hat. You want to be able to move around it, slip it, move off it's center line. Hang it lower and you can train kicks by kicking the gaps. Long slow swings will give you time to throw combo punches between the gaps. Follow the swing of the tennis ball to work on how to pressure your opponent. Retreat from the swing to work on evading and countering. You can do any of these things if the ball is tied to your head.
Treat the gaps of the swinging tennis ball like openings in an opponent's defense. This will greatly increase your punching and kicking speed.

 

[Gyakuto]

That chickpeas thing is a good idea. Just out of curiousity, what is the purpose of that excersize?

It’s supposed to hardened the fingertips, strengthen the fingers for spear hand strikes. As you become more proficient you’re supposed to progress to gravel and ultimately sand. I wouldn’t recommend doing this or makiwara training as it’s totally unnecessary (unless you’re planning on attempting a lot of wood/concrete breaking in your MA career), they may damage the joints and the callouses are very ugly to non-MA.

 

[drop bear]

Honestly strength and cardio will prepare you for martial arts probably better than anything.

 

[Wing Woo Gar]

Don't tie it to a hat. You want to be able to move around it, slip it, move off it's center line. Hang it lower and you can train kicks by kicking the gaps. Long slow swings will give you time to throw combo punches between the gaps. Follow the swing of the tennis ball to work on how to pressure your opponent. Retreat from the swing to work on evading and countering. You can do any of these things if the ball is tied to your head.
Treat the gaps of the swinging tennis ball like openings in an opponent's defense. This will greatly increase your punching and kicking speed.

I used several small home made sand bags. I tied them to different lengths of rope and attached them in several places on the ceiling of the garage. Get them swinging in different directions at different speeds. Then try to make contact with them but don’t let them make contact with you.

 

[Wing Woo Gar]

Honestly strength and cardio will prepare you for martial arts probably better than anything.

I agree that conditioning is what I see lacking in most schools I have visited.

 

[JowGaWolf]

Honestly strength and cardio will prepare you for martial arts probably better than anything.

I'm not sure about that. I've met many people who had both and still had trouble with Martial Arts. I've met just as many who didn't have any but gained it in training. Martial Arts. The MMA guy that I train spar with is stronger and better conditioned than I am but there are things that I can tell that he will have difficulty with even though he's done TKD. The same can be said of me. But with that said strength training and cardio of any type is still a plus.

 

[Wing Woo Gar]

It’s supposed to hardened the fingertips, strengthen the fingers for spear hand strikes. As you become more proficient you’re supposed to progress to gravel and ultimately sand. I wouldn’t recommend doing this or makiwara training as it’s totally unnecessary (unless you’re planning on attempting a lot of wood/concrete breaking in your MA career), they may damage the joints and the callouses are very ugly to non-MA.

…And no woman wants to be touched by that hand...

 

[Dirty Dog]

Honestly strength and cardio will prepare you for martial arts probably better than anything.

Sort of, if you're talking about competition. And you can get more out of training if you're not sucking air and trying not to just fall over. But real fights generally last seconds, not minutes.

 

[Dirty Dog]

It’s supposed to hardened the fingertips, strengthen the fingers for spear hand strikes. As you become more proficient you’re supposed to progress to gravel and ultimately sand. I wouldn’t recommend doing this or makiwara training as it’s totally unnecessary (unless you’re planning on attempting a lot of wood/concrete breaking in your MA career), they may damage the joints and the callouses are very ugly to non-MA.

When students ask, I will teach them how to harden the hands for spear hand strikes. But I strongly discourage them from actually doing it. I did, but I have never once used a spear hand in a real strike. I do not condition for spear hands any more, and have not for many years. Happily, so far as I know, none of my students ignored my advice.

In general, spear hands just fail the risk/benefit assessment.

 

[Wing Woo Gar]

I'm not sure about that. I've met many people who had both and still had trouble with Martial Arts. I've met just as many who didn't have any but gained it in training. Martial Arts. The MMA guy that I train spar with is stronger and better conditioned than I am but there are things that I can tell that he will have difficulty with even though he's done TKD. The same can be said of me. But with that said strength training and cardio of any type is still a plus.

I think it’s hard to build much useful skill without at least the cardio conditioning. I make our guys go the full tilt in 90% of my classes. I feel like some things in training just don’t happen without some fatigue first. Being in good condition helps keep the structure longer and gets people mentally ready to push past their own perceived limits. I also believe that taking people past their exercise limit builds self confidence that will translate to durability and willingness to continue when taking shots or running low on endurance. The discipline of doing it when I don’t feel like it, or when im sick also translates to other training habits. I don’t half *** it even when half an *** is all I’ve got for that day. That said, conditioning is only part of the thing. All folks have strengths and limitations of one kind or another. My goal is to help people try to realize their true potential, whatever that is. I tell them that if they do it more than they don’t do it, they can become it. Training themselves outside the kwoon is necessary to reach that goal. Keeping themselves healthy and able are prerequisites to anything I teach.

 

[Wing Woo Gar]

Sort of, if you're talking about competition. And you can get more out of training if you're not sucking air and trying not to just fall over. But real fights generally last seconds, not minutes.

Also true, but I want to look good when I’m running away.

 

[Dirty Dog]

Also true, but I want to look good when I’m running away.

Sure. Run-Fu should be an integral part of realistic self defense.

 

[Wing Woo Gar]

Sure. Run-Fu should be an integral part of realistic self defense.

“Darling, you look marvelous. It is much better to look good than to feel good” - Billy Crystal