Speed Training for Martial Arts

Admin July 5, 2014

Excerpted from Martial Arts After 40 by Sang H. Kim

Here are some training tips to keep in mind when developing speed in your skills:

1. The skill must be conducive to speed training.
Most martial arts skills can be done at full speed, either in the air, with a partner or against a target. Gross motor skills are more easily adapted for speed training than precision skills.

2. The skill must be physically sound.
Do not try to build speed until you have mastered the basic physical model of a skill. If you have to think about the mechanics of performing a skill or you are performing it without the correct biomechanical form, your potential for speed development is limited.

3. Relax.
Speed training requires relaxation from the point of initiation up to the point of impact. At the point of impact, the muscles should briefly tense and then relax again to facilitate quick recovery.

Vital Points: What are they and Why do they work?

Admin July 2, 2014

Excerpted from Vital Point Striking: The Art and Science of Striking Vital Targets for Self-defense and Combat Sports by Sang H. Kim

A vital point is a pressure sensitive point on or near the surface of the human body. Vital points function like gateways to the nervous system, the main controller of the body, allowing you to use pain to influence the actions and reactions of an opponent. Even a single strike can cause serious damage, unconsciousness or, in rare cases, death.

For example, a forceful strike into the Wind Mansion (GV16) at the base of the brain can result in instant death. The gallbladder (on the right side of the trunk, below the liver) and the Sauce Receptacle (CV24) on the tip of the chin are targets for potential knockout blows in boxing. The carotid artery, temple and Philtrum are common targets for striking in a selfdefense situation.

Vital Points Can Shut Down the System

Because the human body is a highly complicated interconnected system, it is vulnerable to attacks that disable key points of the system, thereby causing systemwide failure. By attacking one of the vital regions of the body, you can paralyze the entire system.

Improve your Flexibility for Martial Arts

Admin July 1, 2014

By Sang H. Kim | Ultimate Flexibility for Martial Arts

Stretch every time you exercise. The only way to improve your flexibility is through consistent stretching exercises. Every muscle is subject to the myotatic reflex (stretch reflex) which opposes changes in muscle length, especially sudden or extreme changes. When a muscle lengthens beyond a certain point, the myotatic reflex causes it to tighten and attempt to shorten. This is the tension you feel during stretching exercises.

The myotatic reflex is desirable because it prevents, in many cases, muscle strains and tears. Without it your muscles would be allowed to overextend and tear easily. But it is also undesirable in cases where it prevents you from fully using your body.

Through stretching, deconditioning of the myotatic reflex takes place. Little by little, you teach your muscles a new limit of safe extension. This is why stretching must be slow and consistent. If you overstretch and injure the muscle, you have to go back to a lower level of flexibility and start over. Set your stretching goals over a period of weeks or months, not days, for best results.

10 Strategies for Teaching Martial Arts to Children With ADHD

Admin June 29, 2014

Excerpted from Martial Arts Instructors Desk Reference by Sang H. Kim

The behavior problems associated with ADD and ADHD tend to lead to other problems. Children who are disruptive in school are quickly labeled troublemakers, ruffians, bullies or just plain dumb. Children at the other end of the ADD spectrum are labeled lazy, stupid, underachieving or spaced out. To make things worse, these children often have trouble understanding why their behavior is wrong. This explains the ADD child’s tendency to look genuinely shocked when he gets in trouble. One of the biggest challenges to improving the behavior of the ADD child is teaching him to recognize the consequences of his actions and to see things from other peoples' point of view.

There are some steps you can take to help manage the behavior of students in your class with ADD or ADHD including:

1. Identify problem behaviors.

Objectively identify what problems are the biggest impediments to the child’s learning. These may not be the most annoying behaviors or the ones you would most like to correct, so take an unemotional inventory, perhaps involving other instructors or the child’s parents. Making a chart can help. For each item, list the behavior, when it most frequently occurs, what triggers it and how disruptive it is on a scale of one to ten. Try to be as specific as possible. For each problem, write down at least one strategy from this report for eliminating or changing the behavior.

Improve your Speed for Martial Arts

Admin June 29, 2014

by Sang H. Kim | Ultimate Fitness Through Martial Arts

To develop overall speed, there are several sequential steps in training:

Basic conditioning
Explosive power development
Skill refinement
Skill loading
Full speed training

Basic condition, including flexibility, strength and agility training, is a prerequisite for speed training. The completion of basic conditioning is signaled by a level of fitness that allows the athlete to begin the more intensive exercises that develop explosive power. Once the target muscles start to develop, begin working on skill refinement. Each skill should be examined to eliminate unnecessary movements and increase biomechanical efficiency.

With highly refined movements and strong muscles, you can begin adding speed to each movement. Start skill loading gradually and observe your body's reaction. If you can add speed and still maintain semi-refined movements, continue to increase your intensity. Eventually you will reach the final stage of speed training in which you can execute skillful movements at high speed.

Taekwondo Sparring Strategies

Admin June 25, 2014

Developing a Competition Strategy

Before developing a competition strategy, each competitor must consider the following elements essential to taekwondo competition:

1) Technical structure and variations according to the competition rules. Every competitor must be able to win within the established framework of the competition rules. He must create unique offensive combinations designed to score points while avoiding penalties.

2) Economical use of energy over the duration of the match. A fighter must plan his strategy over the course of the full nine minutes of the match. He must clearly decide when it is appropriate to conserve energy and when it is necessary to press the opponent.

3) Judicial application of feinting skills. Feinting should be used wisely and sparingly, so as not to be detected by the opponent.

Once the competitor has a general plan, the following process is necessary for the accurate formulation (psychological) and execution (physical) of an individual strategy:

10 Low Cost Marketing Ideas for Martial Arts Schools

Admin June 24, 2014

Excerpted from Low Cost Marketing for the Martial Arts School

Marketing your school does not have to be expensive. The Marketing chapter of the Low Cost Marketing for the Martial Art School gies you 100s of ways to recruit new students and retain current students with little or no cash expenditure. If you implement even one third of the ideas over the course of the next year, your school will grow and thrive like never before. Below are 10 sample ideasto get you started.

2. Create a Product Display. A product display can be as simple as pinning up patches, headbands and pins on a bulletin board or as complex as furnishing a glass display case. The important part is how it looks. Use your imagination to create a low cost display of the supplies and equipment students can buy at the school. If you have time, create monthly themes in your display. Be sure to include item names, descriptions, sizes and prices. And don’t forget to secure the items (or permanently mark them in some way) so they don’t “walk away.

3. Have a free giveaway. For example, everyone who drops by to tour your school and pick up information receives a free headband, key chain, sticker, trading card, poster or patch. The gift does not have to be expensive, especially if the recipients are children.

Taegeuk Poomse Symbolism

Admin June 23, 2014

There are eight Taegeuk Poomsaes in the martial art of Taekwondo. Each Poomsae is built upon the previous one, adding more complicated movements, yet every form has unique characteristics and principles:

Taegeuk Il Jang: Keun meaning heaven: the spirit of solid foundation
Taegeuk Ee Jang: Tae meaning river: inner strength and external gentleness
Taegeuk Sam Jang: Ri meaning fi re: the spirit of enthusiasm
Taegeuk Sah Jang: Jin meaning thunder: the spirit of undeniable power and dignity
Taegeuk Oh Jang: Sohn meaning wind: the spirit of gentle power
Taegeuk Yuk Jang: Gam meaning water: the spirit of fl ow and ultimate fl exibility
Taegeuk Chil Jang: Gahn meaning mountain: the spirit of fi rmness and strength
Taegeuk Pal Jang: Gon meaning earth: the spirit of humbleness

5 Principles of Martial Arts Teaching

Admin June 23, 2014

by Sang H. Kim | Excerpted from TEACHING MARTIAL ARTS

1. Planning

The foremost element in teaching is careful planning. Plan the objectives for each class and delegate the amount of practice time you will allow for each. For effectiveness and safety, carefully consider the type and number of exercises and skills you will teach in every class. Set goals for each class. Students can perform better and learn more quickly when they have goals to work toward. In setting your classroom goals, it is best to identify each individual’s strengths and weaknesses whenever possible. This insures smooth progress and avoids unnecessary frustration. For the greatest motivational value, goals must be specific and reasonably difficult to accomplish. (For a more detailed discussion of planning, see Chapter 5)

Power Training for Martial Arts

Admin June 20, 2014

by Sang H. Kim | Ultimate Fitness Through Martial Arts

Power is a combination of strength and explosiveness. It is created by releasing maximum muscular force at maximum speed. To increase power, you must increase both speed and strength. By exerting strength with speed, you take advantage of both the force generated by the muscles and the momentum created through the speed.

Power can be described in three ways:

Explosive power - Explosive power is the ability to exert maximum force in one or a series of dynamic acts. Example: Breaking a board with a punch.
Static power - Static power is the maximum force a person can exert for a short period. Example: Bench press.
Dynamic Power - Dynamic power is the ability to exert muscular force repeatedly or continuously over time. Example: Heavy bag workout.

Q & A: Sang H. Kim on How to Improve Your Reaction Time in Sparring

Admin June 20, 2014

Reader Question:

I am a keen martial artist but when i am sparring i feel as if my reactions aren't quick enough to block some of the attacks. i would be grateful if you could recommend some ways for me to improve my reactions.

Thank you,

Dave Price, England

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