Martial Arts Tips - Stamina and Speed

In addition to strength, the martial arts requires students to develop stamina and speed. Stamina gives you the staying power to perform during a drawn-out sparring match, do roll after roll, and throw a hundred or more techniques in a row. Speed allows you to evade an on-coming opponent, block a punch or a kick, and build enough power to execute a long stunning flying kick.

Stamina and speed are great substitutes for power. What woman lack in strength, they can make up for in stamina and speed. I've seen petite women dance circles around their male opponents, and get in the last punch or kick as their exhausted partner stood too tired to block it.

Common drills for building stamina include running in place while bringing the knees up as high as possible, running back and forth across the floor while throwing punches and kicks, and performing sets of block-punch-kick combinations. During these drills, instructors, in their zeal to get students to attain their best, often count faster than students can do the moves. This is a common practice among instructors designed to push students to their maximum speed. Once in a while you'll be able to keep up; many times you won't. Don't get frustrated. Just look around you. Chances are you're doing better than a lot of the other students, including high-ranking ones.

Speed is also about timing. Developing reaction speed allows you to conserve energy and deliver fast comebacks. Ducking an on-coming technique or jumping out of its way allows you to set yourself up to deliver a follow-up technique. Had you blocked the on-coming technique, it would have taken you more time to set yourself up to throw a follow-up technique.

In addition to strength, stamina, and speed, you'll be expected to increase your flexibility. But unlike stamina and speed drills, flexibility exercises are performed slowly. Long, deliberate stretches prevent muscles and ligaments from tearing, and train your body to execute aesthetically pleasing forms and techniques.

Leg stretches are one of the most common forms of exercises to improve flexibility. But as stated earlier, you don't have to be capable of performing Russian splits to excel in the martial arts. I've never done a perfect split, and most students I've trained with can't do them either. While you're expected to work on improving your ability to master a split, don't let your instructor or anyone force you to do something your body resists.

I recall when my instructor invited a well-known martial artist to our school癒穠a common practice designed to give stu dents a chance to meet with a martial arts celebrity, and give the celebrity exposure and pocket money. This particular mar tial artist is well-known for his high kicks and ability to fall quickly into splits. During class, he asked students to attempt a Russian split. He walked around the class observing us.

Then he stopped behind a student who happened to be facing me. The celebrity martial artist placed his hands on the student's shoulders and with a force that made me grimace, pushed down until the student was in a Russian split. I never saw sweat form as quickly as it did on this student's brow癒穠 it actually popped out in big fat beads. While the student wasn't injured, I seriously doubt most instructors would approve of these methods.