Beginner Practice on Zoom!

If you're curious about the style we practice but haven't been able to join one of our regular meetups, join the Zoom practice on March 6th!  This session will be a step by step introduction to the fundamental exercises of Xinyi-Dao.

Follow the link to head over to meetup.com and RSVP!

 

Good to hear a very pragmatic opinion on martial arts

A lot of excellent points in this video.  I've echoed his comments on traditional martial arts being mixed already and MMA becoming traditional. I've also experienced the change in power and overall body feeling with my own practice as well.

No virus is going to stop the training!

Everyone keep practicing barring injury or illness!  A consistent routine is the right medicine for both your mental and physical health.  I've been doing Qigong during lunch and practice more intensely  after finishing up work.  The key to progress is consistency and effort!

Social Distance Practice

We've got an Instagram page. Check it out!

We started an Instagram page where we'll be posting stuff from our regular practice.

https://www.instagram.com/seattlexinyidao/

"Must Haves" of Training for Combat or Protection, Part 2:Technique

In the last blog posted we talked about three primary aspects of combat training that can be observed across multiple modalities: military, law enforcement/protection, ring fighting (combat sports) and traditional martial arts.  The first was physical preparation which involves preparing the individual physically for the demands of the situation and their ability to perform.  Next, we will explore technique, its importance and the methods used to practice it across the various forms of combat training.

If you've ever watch an experienced fighter against a complete amateur it becomes quite obvious how technique comes into play.  Technique allows an individual to efficiently use their physical strengths against another.  This can allow a weaker person to overcome a much stronger person without technique. Good technique is essential especially in competitive fighting where the physical abilities of the fighters is evenly matched.  Bad habits are soon taken advantage of by more skilled athletes.  Good technique not only provides the maximum efficiency of effort but also minimizes the opportunities the opponent has to take advantage on offense or to counter defensively.  
Technique training essentially consists of practicing the various movements and tactics that are used in combat.  For military training, this would be akin to firearm training or practicing field maneuvers.  For wrestling and other grappling sports/arts this would be learning the various take downs, throws, pins, locks and their defenses or entries.  Striking arts would learn the various ways to punch, kick, elbow, knee and otherwise strike.  At the beginning, the focus is on simply learning the movements.  Once the movement is understood adding speed and power is typical. The techniques can then be drilled in more complex ways to form instinctual responses during a fight.  The importance of physical preparation is often noticed here.  Many techniques require a certain level of flexibility and or strength to execute.  It's far easier for an already athletic individual to learn techniques while someone not prepared will struggle.  

There are many different methods in which technique is practiced.  Chinese and Japanese martial arts (with a couple exceptions) are known for forms or kata  practice.  Forms are collections of techniques and concepts contained in the art.  It was the method by which the arts were passed down prior to the modern convenience of photos and video.  By practicing the form the trainee is learning and drilling the movements within the art  for various combat situations.  Many times movements in the form/kata may have multiple applications and should be drilled and practiced individually to learn the necessary timing and details against a resisting opponent.  Another method of technique training that is similar to form/kata practice is shadowboxing.  Most practitioners of striking based combat sports (boxing, kickboxing, etc.) include some form of shadowboxing to mentally and physically drill movements while visualizing their opponent.  Both forms and shadowboxing can be be done lightly as part of a warmup or more intensely as to replicate fighting conditions.  The aforementioned training methods allow the trainee to learn the movement and get comfortable with them.  Other methods such as mitt work and heavy bag training are used to develop speed, accuracy and/or power with techniques.  There are many different ways to perform mitt/pad work as demonstrated in the following video showing examples from Muay Thai and Boxing.  In grappling based arts such as American freestyle wrestling, judo and BJJ technique practice typically consists of drilling the techniques back and forth with a partner.  Here are some examples of wrestling  and judo  drills.  While most grappling arts require a partner, the Chinese grappling art of Shuai Jiao has a number of solo drills that mimic the movements used in throws and trips.  

A similar approach occurs in Law enforcement and security professions.  Use of a firearm and practicing drawing and shooting a target(s) is an example of technique that would apply here.  Other technique training for law enforcement could involve learning take downs and methods of restraining a non-compliant individual.  Officers are often faced with dangerous, potentially life threatening scenarios and must train techniques in order to effectively bring the situation under control before they or other civilians are injured.

Technique makes efficient use of physical preparation and provides tools to be use in combat.  This is just a quick overview of the various ways that technique can be trained, but is intended to provide insight on the commonality between forms of combat.  As shown each modality of combat training has its own method of training technique however the overall intent is the same.  To learn tools and methods to effectively operate in combat making use of the physical skills built in the previous stage. 

"Must Haves" of Training for Combat and Protection, Part 1: Physical Preparation

Training for combat whether for ring fighting, law enforcement, military or just practicing traditional methods can be split into three must have categories: physical preparation, skills and simulation.  These aspects tend to be trained in their respective order, however they are also revisited on a regular basis to continually maintain or improve each one.  All combat training emphasizes physical preparation at the beginning.  This is for good reason as combat training requires general and specific physical attributes.  General attributes are overall stamina, agility, coordination and strength. Specific attributes would be leg flexibility in kicking styles or core strength in wrestling and jiu-jitsu.  These are attributes that vary depending on the style or intent of the combat training. There various methods for accomplishing this across all disciplines.  Many methods are shared, but there are unique methods specific to each discipline as well.  Here’s comparison of ring fighting, traditional martial arts, law enforcement and military methods of physical preparation.  This is just a sampling of the wide variety of training methods used.

Boxing and and other combat sports commonly use running and skipping rope to build stamina.  There are videos of almost every well known boxer out on morning runs and doing intense jump rope workouts.   Here’s a few videos of famous fighters skipping rope.  An old school exercise for building striking power is to chop wood or hitting a tire with a sledgehammer.  Although it’s thought as an old school training method, Floyd Mayweather included chopping wood as part of his training for the Pacquiao fight.  In this video, you’ll see Fedor Emelianenko running, performing body weight exercises, hitting a tire with a sledgehammer and doing some unique exercises (holding weights in hands, spinning in circles,etc.)  In the early days, many trainers were against lifting weights as they thought it would make the fighter slow.  Although there are some that still feel this way that mindset has changed and most fighters include weight training in their training regimen to build strength and power.  A well-known case of switch to the modern method is when Michael Spinks trained to fight Larry Holmes.  Here's an article from the LA Times showing some of the reactions to his training methods which are now standard in combat sports today.  

Traditional martial arts use their own varying approaches to physical preparation.  Most schools include a fair amount of basic calisthenics (jumping jacks, push up, situps, squats, etc.) to build strength in addition to stretching for flexibility.  A method that is unique to traditional martial arts is stance training.   Stance training is commonly used build up leg strength in various positions and ranges of motion.  There is also a secondary aspect of building mental toughness since holding a deep stance for a length of time can be quite intense.  There are many other unique training methods across all the various martial arts.  Shuai Jiao is a great example of a style that has many unique exercises and tools for its training.  Karate for a long time has been associated with physically intense training.  Here’s a video of some Karate tools and exercises that are quite similar to those in the Shuai Jiao video.

A common misconception is that intense physical training is not a requirement for internal martial arts, however I would argue that physical training is even more important for internal martial arts.  However, the type of exercises is very different from other martial arts and combat sports.  Internal martial arts have a number of unique exercises for increasing strength and flexibility particularly in the waist and legs.  In addition, internal martial arts include many exercises to improve circulation, massage the internal organs and control the breath.  These are all critical to internal martial arts and are many times neglected or perceived to be only for health and relaxation.  Diligently training the body using both types of exercises is critical for executing techniques with the proper body requirements of internal martial arts.  A well known strength building exercise used in Xingyi and Taiji is pole shaking .  This Taiji video shows a number of additional strength building exercises some which use weights but in a manner to build internal strength and power.  There are also various qigong methods for improving breath control, circulation and increasing range of motion.  All of this gives internal martials arts a large foundation of physical preparation.

Military and law enforcement have standardized physical tests and requirements for all new recruits.  Both have a training period that emphasizes physical training (“boot camp”).  Typical requirements are mile runs, situps, push up, chin ups and other exercises used to demonstrate strength and stamina.  An example of unique training methods in the military and law enforcement are the use of obstacle courses for agility training and long hikes with heavy loads for endurance and mental toughness.  

As we see all combat training places heavy emphasis on physical preparation.  Although the training methods are varied, the intent is the same.   In addition to being a critical phase at the start of training it is also something that cannot be neglected afterwards.  Ring fighters must stay in top physical condition or risk being out worked or simply overpowered by their opponents.  Active-duty military have ongoing physical requirements to meet and police need to maintain a level of fitness to protect themselves and others.  If you train martial arts for self-defense this requirement is no different.  Technique is not effective in the absence of the necessary physical attributes.  The fact that putting physical training at the forefront has endured from the old traditional methods to modern day military training shows its importance.