Don't know what to start with.

[GBlues]

I'm finally unbanned.

Can someone list pros and cons with ITF Taekwondo?

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Also, I have some questions regarding muscle training.

What muscle regions should be trained in general martial arts?

I only know that there are different kinds of muscle fibre, so would some muscle training actually be disadvantageous?

I read in an article that someone being muscular should actually drop off the muscles to gain speed. Would that only matter in extreme cases of being muscular or? I’ve started weight lifting a bit, but now I’m worried that it was a mistake.

I can’t afford modern training equipment, but I own a forest. So can anyone recommend more “natural” ways of training the specific muscle areas?

I would say train for strength not mass. Mass is what's going to slow you down. Just remember to stretch before you weightlift. That will help to keep your muscles long, instead of short, and bulky. I wouldn't try to get super big like an arnold or anything.

 

[Fimbulvinter]

What would be proper stretching?

 

[CDKJudoka]

Look for a book by Thomas Kurz called Stretching Scientifically. Great book to help you with your stretching regiment.

 

[GBlues]

What would be proper stretching?

The easiest way I would think to describe this would be DON'T BOUNCE! Alot of people trying to get that extra inch or whatever will try to bounce, and this can cause some serious injury. Your stretching should be slow and deliberate, and when you get to where you feel the stretch hold it for a few seconds or however long is comfortable, and then stop. This applies to your arms your legs etc, etc. Slow and deliberate. You start trying to stretch the neck muscles or something and you could seriously get hurt. So, everything is slow, if it hurts DON'T DO IT. If you feel that you must and your experiencing pain, don't try to force your stretch, your doing damage. I mean there is going to be some discomfort with stretching if your just starting out, but I'm talking about pain. If you feel pain doing a stretch, stop, either your not doing it right, or you need to work up to it, or you need to see a physician. Hope I made sense for you. THe other guys on here can surely expand upon this, but that's my feelings on the matter, and what I practice.:asian:

 

[teekin]

The easiest way I would think to describe this would be DON'T BOUNCE! Alot of people trying to get that extra inch or whatever will try to bounce, and this can cause some serious injury. Your stretching should be slow and deliberate, and when you get to where you feel the stretch hold it for a few seconds or however long is comfortable, and then stop. This applies to your arms your legs etc, etc. Slow and deliberate. You start trying to stretch the neck muscles or something and you could seriously get hurt. So, everything is slow, if it hurts DON'T DO IT. If you feel that you must and your experiencing pain, don't try to force your stretch, your doing damage. I mean there is going to be some discomfort with stretching if your just starting out, but I'm talking about pain. If you feel pain doing a stretch, stop, either your not doing it right, or you need to work up to it, or you need to see a physician. Hope I made sense for you. THe other guys on here can surely expand upon this, but that's my feelings on the matter, and what I practice.:asian:

As soon as I hear "discomfort" from a doctor I brace! I wonder about the no pain idea. When I can't do my full physio my damaged muscles and tendons start to shorten up within a week and I must force them to stretch. It is painful but nessessary. If I don't go well into the pain then the muscles and tendons will not stay long, contractures form. Reversing the contractures is really painful.
lori

 

[Fuzzy Foot]

Here are a few thoughts. You don't need equipment for strength training but sometimes it can be easier/faster. For instance, go half way down in a push-up and hold it (this is isometric) or stand in a horse stance or cat stance and it won't be long before those muscles start a quivering. You can build some serious strength and stamina this way. Not to mention mental discipline (you'll want to quit before your muscles do). There are many ways to make simple floor exercises harder to build strength without any equipment. Use your imagination, a little and some common sense to avoid injury. You might find some ways if you do an internet search for exercise or physical therapy exercises. As for stretching, daily is recommended but you will have to increase slowly and make sure your warmed up sufficiently especially in winter as your muscles may tend to be a little tighter. As for the pain part of stretching, athletes looking to improve flexibility need to push a little more than Joe Public who does nothing more strenous than cut the grass. Again this needs to be tempered with listening to your body signals and common sense. There will be some discomfort with moderate-agressive stretching, however you will know the difference between this "discomfort" and the "pain" of "something's wrong, or I went too far, or something's about to give". Different arts have different physical requirements and you must co-ordinate all this together (it's part of the learning curve) and a good instructor can help you with all of this. Lastly, I don't know how far from home you're willing to look but if it means travelling to get to a good school it's worth it. I travel about an hour to my sword instructor. I may not get there as often because of it but I'm in the right place when I get there. Good luck.

 

[Fimbulvinter]

Even though your responses are helpful in many way, they don't respond to my question.

is there a list over mucle areas one should train? also would be nice to know why they should be trained, how to train and stretch them properly and so on? (i.e abs should be trained with sit ups because they protect the organs)

Edit: Not sure if I should start an own thread for this instead. Since I can't edit the Original Post and it would be a misleading title and discussion until the end part.

 

[jarrod]

Even though your responses are helpful in many way, they don't respond to my question.

is there a list over mucle areas one should train? also would be nice to know why they should be trained...

all of them. not trying to be cute or anything, but your muscular system is all inter-related, & focusing on some muscles while neglecting others will lead to imbalance & possibly health problems. for instance, if you work your quads a lot but not your hamstrings, your over-developed quads may eventually pull you knees out of alignment. if you work your back but not your abs, it can mess up your spine.

try not to overthink it. if nothing else, just do push ups, pull ups, & crunches while you research more training methods. just get moving!

jf

 

[Sylo]

go with your first choice.

 

[mozzandherb]

Just to add to this, you don't need any fancy machines to have a good strength training workout. All you need is a bench, some dumbbells and maybe a barbell and that's it. From there you can train you whole body.

And of course there are certain exercises that strengthen certain parts of your body, but like was mentioned you'll want to train your enitre body, not just specific areas, especially if you are just beginning. Basic exercise programs can be found all over the internet. But if you start training with weights (or wood in your case) a good diet is just as important

 

[David Weatherly]

There's already some great advice on here, I just want to add to be sure that you observe the classes you would be enrolled in and pay attention to who actually teaches the class. It's very important that you find the right instructor.
Most schools will offer a trial class and you should take it so you can get a real feeling for the environment. Granted you'll probably have to listen to the sales pitch, but it will be worth it to find the right school.
Best of luck.

David

 

[Fimbulvinter]

I already decided on itf taekwondo for now, I'll most likely move unto something (I hope I'll find a good jujutsu school in the furure) else later. But for now I liked the instructor there and it'll help with basic flexibility, speed, strengt, balance, etc.

Just to add to this, you don't need any fancy machines to have a good strength training workout. All you need is a bench, some dumbbells and maybe a barbell and that's it. From there you can train you whole body.

And of course there are certain exercises that strengthen certain parts of your body, but like was mentioned you'll want to train your enitre body, not just specific areas, especially if you are just beginning. Basic exercise programs can be found all over the internet. But if you start training with weights (or wood in your case) a good diet is just as important

You mean those: "Get perfect abs, split, etc. in two weeks" programs?

But yeah, I recognize that most should be trained. but it's not easy knowing how to train it all when I haven't studied human muscular anatomy.

 

[AoCAdam]

Thats awesome man,
I'm interested in starting Muay Thai after one of our students came through our bootcamp and he said he started with Muay Thai and Jiu Jitsu. We talked about it for a while and he advised me to Get a good Judo or Jiu Jitsu base too. Hopefully this helps you out man!

 

[mozzandherb]

I already decided on itf taekwondo for now, I'll most likely move unto something (I hope I'll find a good jujutsu school in the furure) else later. But for now I liked the instructor there and it'll help with basic flexibility, speed, strengt, balance, etc.



You mean those: "Get perfect abs, split, etc. in two weeks" programs?

But yeah, I recognize that most should be trained. but it's not easy knowing how to train it all when I haven't studied human muscular anatomy.

No need to be an expert in human kinetics to train my friend. You have the internet at your disposal, just like those fancy machines that you dont need, well same thing, all you need here is the net. Here's a good link for you to get started

http://www.exrx.net/index.html

 

[TJ.Flare]

I highly recommend "Soo Bahk Do" if you can find one. It is very practical and isn't one of those karates where you get a black belt in a year. You have to be very dedicated and the people in the art are very kind and it has great morals and philosophy to teach. It really is an amazing art.