Martial arts strength & conditioning

it is difficult to find the right balance for Martial arts S&C as we need to cover a lot of ground, agility, strength, endurance, and conditioning our training session can last anything from 60-120 mins so it is important to try to find the correct balance,

 

anaerobic endurance is important for sustainability for the session however, this has to be balanced with some agility so that we can move lighter and quicker on our feet especially when boxing or doing uchikomi & ladder footwork, we also need some strength, not force ! learning to use correct leverage for the technique, takedown, or throw we have in mind at the time I would say this is a question of repetition, and finally something we all forget conditioning, however make sure it IS relevant to your training.

• Consistency is key, turn up to your training sessions on a regular basis , find a way to make the time to achieve your goals
• Repetition, Drill techniques footwork and movements used in class, create that muscle memory
• Train clever, look at what you want goal wise, to be a good runner go running, short sprints, run longer and slower to build up endurance to be a good judo player train judo, uchikomi drills, ladder & grip work
• Stretching, after a good training session there is nothing better than to stretch off, something which many of us, including myself forget due to our busy lifestyle but this can cause injury
• Conditioning, look at how to condition your body, Karateka use Makiwara to condition their hands, boxers use a heavy bad, ju-jitsu and judo players body condition through throw ( ideally)
• Research, I often as my students how do they continue their study off the tatami, many look at me with a blank expression, but it is just as important to cultivate the mind as it is important in our physical training