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FITNESS TO COMPETE:
ENDURANCE
The first component of fitness is, and will always be endurance. As we all know, cardiovascular exercise is the "sine qua non" of fitness. But how many days per week do you really need?
Most experts say three, but since you should also be fitting two or three strength training days into your hectic schedule, and Karate class three times per week, two days per week is enough. This is providing that you also add a 10- to 20-minute warm-up before each weight lifting session and try to add one heart pumping outdoor activity on weekends. I looked at the literature for all types of sports and decided that the Ironman contests provided a good cross section of physical needs and training, that should satisfy even the most fanatic training goals. The competitors must swim, bicycle and run at tremendous exertion levels. The people who compete in these contests are at the cutting edge of information technology regarding physical conditioning and training. I found information on Mark Allen, six-time winner of the Hawaii Ironman contest, and his recommendations for training.
According to Mark Allen, "Strength and endurance are of equal importance." So if you only have a few hours a week to work out, you should do a little bit of both.
How long should each session take? I recommend starting at about 20 to 30 minutes, but devote one day per week to pushing your endurance envelope, gradually working up to 45 minutes after six weeks and 90 minutes after 15 weeks. This gives your body a chance to adapt to the new levels of stress you're giving it while keeping you steadily progressing. Remember Karate is both aerobic and anaerobic. In a match you need the explosive movement that strength and anaerobic exercise develops but you need the endurance of the aerobic exercise.
How hard should I go? Actually, there are two answers to this question. The first has to do with the intensity level of your endurance sessions, while the second covers how to know whether you're gauging the first correctly To zero in on the former, you'll need to use a formula to determine the heart rate at which you should be working. To handle the latter, Mark Allen recommends buying what he maintains is the only piece of exercise equipment you really need—a heart-rate monitor. Allen uses his constantly: He finds it difficult to guess his heart rate, especially since how he feels at any given moment depends on such factors as his current level of fitness or how much sleep he had the night before.
MEET YOUR BEAT
While Mark Allen tends to advocate a rather come-as-you-are approach to fitness, there's one area where he's decidedly less accommodating, the intensity at which you should conduct your endurance workouts. The key is to stay within your aerobic training range at all times, avoiding the temptation to go so hard that your body is forced to deplete its meager carbohydrate stores for fuel, or so easy that you're not deriving maximum aerobic benefit. To make sure you're exercising within this range, most physiologists suggest this simple formula: Subtract your age from 220, then multiply by 0.6 and 0.8. The resulting figures, form the upper and lower heart rate limits of your preferred training range. Allen, however, insists that he has a more accurate equation: Subtract your age from 180, and then adjust that number to reflect your particular circumstances. If you're recovering from a major illness or taking medication, subtract ten; if you are just beginning a regular exercise routine, subtract five.
If you've been working out consistently for two years or less, stick with 180 minus your age; if you've been exercising without injury for more than two years, add five. Now, program the result into your heart rate monitor and stay anywhere from five to 25 ticks below it, depending on how you feel while jogging. It is also a good idea to know what your heart rate is during Karate Class to see if it is providing you with your necessary background Cardio development.
Ultimately, Allen says, he would set the aerobic training range of a 35-year-old who's been exercising regularly at somewhere between 120 and 140 beats per minute, versus the 111 to 148 derived through the traditional formula. "His approach isn't borne out by the studies," says Dr. Jody Wilkinson of the Cooper Institute for Aerobics Research. But then again, the research in this area is very weak mostly short-term studies conducted in the '50s end '60s."
What sort of workout is best for fat burning? Once you begin the karate match, and you’re running around for your life every extra pound of body weight slows you down, so we need to address weight loss even for fit young people.
There are two schools of thought. Since the average person is hoarding about 50 times more fat than carbohydrates at any given moment—and since even the trimmest athletes have enormous stores of fat in their bodies, most exercise physiologists suggests keeping your heart rate at 60 to 70 percent of its maximum to ensure that your body's preferred fuel will be fat. When you work out at high heart rates, you do burn more calories but you're also turning off the body's natural fat-burning mechanism. So when you are weight training or fighting at high intensity levels you're going anaerobic, which is pre-carbohydrate burning."
Some recent research suggests, however, that mixing in anaerobic exercise may actually burn more fat than sticking strictly with aerobic. Which is exactly what we have recommended in combining weight training, Cardio workouts and karate training. You expend more calories doing high-intensity work than you do in the aerobic 'fat burning zone." True , most of those calories are carbohydrates, but an intense workout that burns 200 calories-35 percent of which are fat still burn 70 fat calories, the same as if you do a low-intensity work that burns 100, calories 70 percent of which are fat.
The upshot? If you choose more low intensity karate training, make sure the sessions are long enough to make up for the fact that you're burning fewer calories.
What is the best way to increase speed? This is the most important aspect of karate competition. Ask any competitor what attribute they would like more of “SPEED.”
Benny “The Jet,” Urquidez, said, “speed is the most important overall development for karate competition. For both offensive and defensive techniques you must have speed. Your reaction time must be quick in order to get in and out. Speed requires quick reaction time and strength to push and pull your body and your weapons.”
When you first begin to run you should run a half-kilometre, walk a quarter kilometre, and sprint a quarter kilometre. Do this for two weeks. When adding the second kilometre, run the first kilometre, then walk a quarter kilometre, sprint a quarter kilometre, walk a quarter kilometre and sprint the last quarter kilometre.
As you get older, you will observe a loss of speed, so focus more on sprints - this is precisely what the experts recommend.
For your upper body, you must practice speed punching on the bag along with your heavy punching. Only punch the air or shadow box for form and movement, not speed. Find a trainer or write or call our Headquarters for an explanation on how to do the movements with your weight training.
You must work slow on the eccentric side and quick on the concentric side of movement.
POWER IS WORK OVER TIME . . .
SPEED IS THE ABILITY TO CONTRACT AND RELAX.
You increase your speed by increasing strength on the contracting and relaxing the opposing muscle. This is why flexibility and stretching are so important to your weight training. Remember you need to make the muscle stronger to be faster.
To be fast, move fast. Chuck Norris advised, “Practice your movements 70% of time slowly enough to do perfect body mechanics, but the other 30% you must blitz or “Redline” with the technique.”
It is extremely important that before you “Redline,” you do your karate skill drills slowly, focussing on good body mechanics, straight spine, and fluidity of movement. Then increase the speed a little see if you still can do it with all the above components.
STRENGTH
Do you really have to lift weights? Of course not. You could simply let your muscles deteriorate and create that unsightly effect of skin sagging from your bones. Every professional sports team, from football to basketball, has a weight-training program because they understand the value of strength. You can go out there and compete in your kilo division thinking you safe because your opponent is the same size as you. But what if your opponent is 30% to 40% stronger than you are? You are going to get your butt kicked.
The good news is, you don't have to spend your whole life in the weight room. Allen and his longtime strength coach, Diane Buchta, disagree with those who insist upon separating upper-body training from lower-body and working different muscle subgroups on alternating days. That'll keep you in the weight room three or four times a week and could make you so frustrated that you'll just give up. Instead, they recommend doing a full circuit twice a week, starting with one set and working up to two, which ensures a full body workout that can be done in as little as 30 minutes.
Mark Allen and his strength coach have a good approach that can be used for karate also. Our goal is not to get bigger, just stronger. "My goal is not to become huge," says Allen. "If that was my goal, I would do different muscle groups on different days. But you can always add that later, once you've developed a routine and proven you can keep to it.
Right now, your goal should be keeping your body strong and vital and not feeling pounded by life." Buchta, who has also worked extensively with eight-time Hawaii Ironman winner Paula Newby-Fraser, says that strength work is especially important after age 30, because that's when the average person starts losing half a pound of muscle mass per year. Lifting weights, she insists, actually reverses the ageing process by halting this deterioration. It also increases your bone mineral content, thus warding off osteoporosis, and helps to prevent injury.
SPEED
Quickness in movement is the key factor in athletic performance. One of the best ways to improve speed is through plyometrics. These exercises are to used in conjunction with strength training. The focus of these exercise is to shorten the amount of time it takes to generate movement and to intensify the energy of the movement.
In most sports you receive an external stimuli indicating movement. This stimuli can be yours or your opponents but the result is the same. After the stimuli the less time spent before movement is of paramount importance. Athletic trainers use a formula to assess ground reaction time. You begin jumping straight up attempting to leap as high as possible each time. The trainer measures how long you spent on the ground before you leap and how high you leap.
The efficiency is the relationship between the time spent on the ground and the vertical height achieved during jumping. The goal of plyometric training is the reduction of the amortization time phase. This phase is the amount of time between undergoing a yielding eccentric phase and initiating an overcoming concentric contraction.
I will identify a few exercises that will be helpful with this area of training. Skipping exercises or any sort. Jumping up and then down stairs are a couple of examples of rudimentary plyometric drills.
MENTAL TRAINING
The key to achievement in sports lies just as much in your mind as in your body. Dr. Charles Garfield a former world class weight lifter himself reveals the Olympic tested secrets of how to attain your peak performance and develop mental toughness. In his book Peak Performance, Mental Training Techniques of the World’s Greatest Athletes by Charles A. Garfield, Ph.D.
UNDERSTANDING THE SPORT MATCH
You must know the rules. Get a copy of the appropriate rule book
Complete at least one Referee course
Referee at least one tournament, in which you do not compete
This is my advice for competitors so they understand what the referees see and don't see.
It is vitally important that a Karate competitor clearly understands that the purpose of the match is to win.
Not prove who is the toughest.
There is only one goal. To win.
If you come to find a fight you will.
If you come to win you will.
MOST COMMON ERRORS IN KNOWLEDGE AND TRAINING
1. Not physically prepared, too many athletes wait until the last minute to begin training.
2. Uses one side of the body, fights only left or right handed
3. Technically weak. Sometimes it helps to be unorthodox. But the referees are used to seeing techniques according to the norm.
4. Uses the old method of straight ahead attack
5. Poor diet
6. Inability to use foot sweeps and throws
7. Does not know rules
8. Does not know how to win when it is critical
9. Becomes emotionally invested in the match. This is different from intensity
10. Blames errors on the referee or the opponent, does not learn
TEN BEST ATTRIBUTES OF A KARATE COMPETITOR
1. Understands fighting distance, Ma-ai
2. Remains calm in the ring.
3. Use of both sides of the body can fight equally well left and right
4. Good lateral movement in offence and defines
5. Understands his/her own abilities
6. Can use either hand to block and either hand to strike
7. Knows the rules
8. Can change strategy in match depending on circumstances
9. Physically prepared for the match, endurance, strength, diet
10. Mentally prepared, focuses completing the strategy at hand.
PRINCIPLES OF TAKING THE INITIATIVE
1. Sen is the initiative
2. Sen no Sen when you take the initiative away from the Opponents
3. Go no Sen taking the Initiative after the Initiative
4. Sen Sen no Sen take the initiative as the opponent thinks about it.
5. Kyo the void Musashi spoke of, in kamae or mental
UNDERSTANDING THE COURSE OF THE MATCH
A match can be divided into three time intervals: the beginning, middle and the end. The beginning is the feeling out period, which can be a few seconds or most of the match. The second portion is when you feel like you know what you should do, attack counter, move, etc. The last period of the match is closure. When the outcome is in doubt can you protect your lead?
When you are behind can you catch up? This last segment is very important because many matches are decided by who scores the last point.
The end of the match is when you continue to maintain your lead, or try to regain the lead. In order to do this:
1. If you are in the lead, you know they must come to you. What is your strategy as they come to you? If you are committed to countering, move forward, create tension so they come to you when you desire them. When they break that invisible barrier (invisible to them), counter with commitment.
2. If you are behind, how do you run them down to score, since they know you are coming?
a. Make a blitz attack
b. Knowing they know you are coming, fool them so they are thrown off balance
c. Illustrate a relaxed attitude, so you appear to have all the time in the world. Musashi called this passing on.
PHYSICAL SKILLS TO BE DEVELOPED
You must have competence in these areas.
You must keep a notebook and note the areas in which you are strong and the areas you need work. Add these notes to your schedule and goals. Then evaluate your progress.
1. Ma-ai: your Ma-ai and your opponents Ma-ai( Distance), learning how to dance with your partner without stepping on their toes
Work with a partner in mirroring their movements. Use this for the cornering drill.
Reverse Punch drill (right cross)
Contact hitting every day, Pads, bag or makiwara
Understand the bubble of tension as you close the gap.
2. Sweeping techniques - in full contact matches, two well executed sweeps with follow-ups with give you the match. In WKF championships, Ashibarai is also an easy weapon.
Sweep with the flat part of your foot to the ankle and below
Sweep with your shin to their thigh
When attempting a double leg sweep, use the Judo drill as you step forward sweep then pull with the opposite hand
3. Hand Techniques, using either hand equally well
Good mechanics
Avoid punching fast or powerful when you are not making contact. When you are doing basics alone or shadow boxing avoid punching with power.
Deep knee bends and one two punch
Reverse punch backhand reverse punch
4. Kicking techniques
Do not kick air, kick with a target and or partner
Mawashigeri drill for accuracy and strength
Exchange lead leg round house kicks
Shiko dachi side kicks
Drill: one two punch kerikomi mawashigeri jodan
Drill opposite leg opponent: one two punch ushiro-mawashigeri
5. Footwork or ring movement
Imagine the basketball key and place an object on each side of the key. Have the student stand in the centre. On "go," the student tries to touch each object moving laterally as many times as they can in 15 seconds.
Skipping
One leg sparring
Lateral line drill forcing the player to zig zag striking pads
6. Ring control how to understand who has the initiative, Tai Sabaki-Stepping and dodging
Movement drills
Opposite stance opponent control by pressing in on lead hand
Herding your opponent into the corner
One student with their back to wall and the other students line drill attack
7. Posture, stance
Every time hidari or migi kamae, this is a fixed memory instigator, you must take a perfect stance.
Posture recognition why it is important
8. Relaxation and breathing
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