Martial arts tips

[Buka]

What about your nuts? Don't they deserve a little consideration and TLC too?

Bwahahaha!

Everyone I trained, or trained with, wore a cup. It’s part of their class uniform, a rule of our dojo. You don’t break a rule of the dojo.

To keep everyone honest, like I knew they would want me to, once every couple of months, there was a cup check. Everyone knew this from day one.

On sparring nights you knew everyone would be wearing one because the groin was an allowed target area. The same way it used to be in karate tournaments throughout New England in the seventies and half of the eighties.

It was on non sparring nights that you might catch them.

This is why I think this is important. Bill Wallace used to appear at tournaments as a guest. Most times he’d do an exhibition point match with last year’s tournament Grand Champion.

So he’s doing one on the East Coast, I forget where. He’s doing his best to make it interesting and not hurt or embarrass the guy too much. I’m not a big fan, but he’s a great martial artist and difficult to describe how good he actually is.

He told me he was winning the match nineteen to two. The guy didn’t pose any problem or threat, but Bill let his guard down for a second (maybe out of boredom, I dont know, he was that good) and got kicked in the groin.
He wasn’t wearing a cup. I forget why.

He told me he had to go to the hospital, had to have surgery. Had a testicle removed. Bill told me he never sparred without a cup again. He also assured me everything else works just fine.

If an undefeated World Champion fighter, an academic in fitness with a Masters Degree in Kinesiology, like Bill Wallace, can have that happen to him, I reckon it could happen to any of us. Wear a cup under your gi.

 

[Gyakuto]

When practising Karate-style straight punches, completely relax, shoulders down and even have your firsts loosely open and even your face should floppy and eyes narrowed. Now have the mindset of your fist suddenly appearing in the target rather than being thrust at it; one instant it’s by your side then next it materialises, explosively in your target

When you punch, make your elbows scrape along your side and concentrate 70% on the arm being withdrawn and 30% on the thrusting arm. Explosively tense at the very end of the punch for a brief instant and then allow all the floppiness to return.

This technique helps prevent antagonistic muscles from slowing one’s punching arm. Being tensed up might feel strong but it’s slower and less damaging to the target.

 

[Badhabits]

Instead of trying to punch hard, simply focusing on straightening the elbow of the punching arm as quickly as possible can help increase speed

 

[Gyakuto]

When learning a kata or a combination of techniques, space your training session out and repeat regularly and frequently rather than trying to get it down in one intensive session. Research shows that this more effectively turns on ‘memory genes’ and, interestingly, not just in the brain! It seems many cell types have the memory gene and they are strongly activated my spaced, mass stimuli. ‘Muscle memory’ might not just be a brain thing!

 

[JowGaWolf]

Find an old guy who used to do martial arts and ask if there is anything he would have done differently with his training. This will sometimes help you avoid the same mistakes and missed opportunities that may be of benefit to you.

The young man always thinks he is doing the things that he really wants to do. The old man learns about things that he wishes he would have done or wishes that he didn't do.

 

[drop bear]

This is a fun one I just learned. When you do an arm drag. You often get caught in this game where you are both spinning around for each other's back.

To avoid this foot sweep the leg as you do the arm drag. Then by the time they have defended that. You are where you want to be.