4 MAJOR Tips to Improve Your Training

Cue Rocky theme music.

It’s the question every single martial artist wonders: how can I get better?!

Well, here you go. This cup of kick is all about training and in it I’m going to give you FOUR different tips to improve your moves (or stillness if that’s your thing…).

Ready?

Let’s do this.

#1 Prioritize Performance

First things first, one of the biggest tips I can give you is to train what you need to train.

Cut the crap and get to the essentials!

If you wanted to get better at push-ups, you wouldn’t train squats. You would work on your arm strength and maybe your core stability to hold you in the push-up position.

Same thing with your martial arts training.

Ask yourself if the exercises you are doing are actually going to help you get better performance.

There’s that keyword right there: performance. The exercises you do should be designed with performance in mind, not a picturesque beach body. Do ab exercises that train you for better twisting (thus better power direction when punching) rather than exercises that have the sole focus of building a six pack and making you look pretty.

If you want to do a higher flying side kick, train the motions and muscles for jumping.

If you want a stronger reverse punch, train the motions (uniting the body in the punch) and muscles for punching.

Functional over flowery. Performance over pretty.

#2 Go Old School

If you are looking for functional exercises specifically designed to improve performance, then turn your curious cranium to the olden days.

From the hojo undo of traditional karate to the brick standing of many kung fu styles, the traditional is

where it is at if you are looking for improving.

Even if your style is a modern style focused on just self defense and doesn’t have a history of special training, you can often still greatly benefit from the older methods.

Read books on the older ways. Look at videos. Talk with martial artists and teachers. There is some good stuff out there.

Really important though, train safely!

#3 Break It And Make It

What if you are starting to get bored with your training?

What if you can’t find the things needed for traditional training?

Two problems, one solution.

Make it your own.

This is a powerful thing that gets overlooked too often. Improvise and personalize your workout.

Improvise and substitute different things for various training tools. 

We might not be able to train exactly how the older practitioners used to but that’s ok. In that case, we simply need to work around the problem and come up with our own solution.

Break down what make the exercise (done the usual way) work and recreate it for you personally. Make it your own.

It is often within limitation that creativity can truly flourish.

•Build your own makiwara instead of buying one

•Use a kettlebell instead of an ishi sashi (stonelock)

•A large dumbbell or wide-mouth container instead of a nigiri game (gripping jar)

Now, think back to your childhood. Many of us used to be fascinated with stickers (and maybe still are). And for good reason. They would let us add color and character to the things around. They would let us personalize the world.

Do the same thing for your training. I don’t mean put stickers on your 20lb dumbbells. What I mean is, put your own spin on things.

•Practice your forms at quarter speed or blindfolded or both

•Go through your basics with a resistance band attached or in the pool

•Think of exercises based on various movements

If you have very little training space, then practice your form in small sections or with every movement going forward.

If you broke your arm but still wanted to practice a self defense tactic or two person flow drill, then take the underlying concept and/or gross movement of the way you typically perform it and apply it in a single handed approach.

If somethings wrong, switch things up.

If it’s hard to feel motivated, change things up for a bit.

Improvise and personalize.

#4 Don’t Stop!

Let’s use our brain for a minute and apply some of everybody’s “favorite” school subject, math!

Imagine a young and spry martial artist named Johnny.

Johnny wakes up everyday at 8:00am and goes to bed at 11:00pm. That means he is awake for fifteen (15) hours a day (assuming he doesn’t doze off during the day).

Johnny goes to kung fu class twice (2) every week. Each class is an intensive hour of grueling work.

If we multiply how long Johnny is awake for each day by every day of the week, we come to the conclusion that he is awake for 105 hours a week (15 x 7 = 105).

Still with me, Johnn-I mean, reader?

I’ll take that as a yes.

If the only training our dear Johnny does is the two (2) hours of classes he does each week, then he is only training 2% of the time he is awake.

Hardly any time at all.

Even if he went to four classes, that would still only be 4% of his time.

Heck, even if Johnny got his butt kicked in class and decided to do whatever he could to become stronger and is now taking two hour long classes six days a week, that would still be only a little over 11%

Not bad. But he can do better.

Now, I’m not saying that you should neglect a social life and spend your life living in the gym, spending 100% of your waking hours doing squats, push-ups, and punches. Even if you could do that, you would miss out on spending time with loved ones and other important things (like eating). And rest time should definitely not be forgotten. Sometimes you need to apply the brakes before you break.

Rather, I’m saying turn as much of your everyday ordinary stuff into training methods.

•Work your stances while doing dishes

•Make tight fists and train your grip strength while waiting in line

•Do breathing exercises while walking

•Do a workout circuit while watching tv

You get the idea. So many people complain that they don’t have time to train or practice. Nay I say!

You have the time.

It’s just about being having self disciple and being efficient with it.

Think of everyday life as karate training.

-Gichin Funakoshi