100 reps
Lunge step and
double punch
with same arm
50 double punches
each side
200 reps
TOTAL: 1000 reps
Rep training is one of the most important training concepts in karate. I discuss it many more times throughout this book.
4. WORK WEAK TECHNIQUES
Let’s say you have one lousy technique. Okay, you have lots, but for our purposes here, let’s say you only have one and it’s your sidekick. Your front, round and back kicks are looking good, but that sidekick goes out crooked, lands toes first, and then drops to the floor like a sack of spuds. You rarely use it because it’s hard to execute, it looks bad, and it’s, well, it’s just a big, fat embarrassment.
Since you hate executing the kick in public, do it when you train alone in the privacy of your own home. First, make sure that you completely understand the mechanics of how the sidekick is executed. To refresh your memory, talk to your instructor about it, find a book or magazine that illustrates the sidekick step-by-step, or ask a fellow student who has a particularly good one. Once you are clear on the how-to-do process, it’s time to sweat.
Your plan is to spend two or three days a week working on the kick at home. Here is your itinerary.
• Do inside leg, groin and hip stretches so that your sidekick travels smoothly and effortlessly.
• Do three sets of 10-15 reps of only the chamber portion of the kick to build strength in the pre-launch stage. Hold for one to two seconds at its highest point.
• Perform 10 -15 reps of the kick in slow motion to strengthen all the muscles involved in its delivery.
• Work on various ways to close the distance to get to the target. Do one to two sets of 10 reps of each method.
• Once you feel you have the motion of the kick perfected, add three sets of 10 reps of fast kicking.
It’s important that you don’t progress to fast reps until you can perform the kick flawlessly. I know you will be anxious to do them fast, but control yourself until you are absolutely ready. When your form is flawless, your speed will develop seemingly overnight.
The final stage is for you to prepare to get lots of compliments from your teacher and fellow students. Be humble and say something like, “Aw, shucks. Thank yuh, thank yuh.”
5. KARATE BETWEEN WEIGHTS SETS
I try to use every second I’m in the weight gym. I’m not one who likes to sit around between sets of curls (okay, maybe I do a little posing in the mirror), but I prefer to fill the “rest” period with those karate movements I don’t normally get to work on during class time. I’m not only benefitting from some extra martial arts training, but I’m getting in some aerobic work since I’m constantly moving without a rest period.
Here are some techniques I do between weight sets and between weight exercises to get a little free karate training in. Try these or replace them with whatever you need to work on.
Exercise
In between the sets
Bench press 4 sets
Chambered leg lifts as if I were going to throw a kick 4 sets, 15 reps
Curls 4 sets
Bob and weave as if evading a head punch 4 sets, 45 seconds
Triceps press 4 sets
Practice various forms of footwork for gap closing 4 sets, 15 reps
Shoulder press 4 sets
Practice getting up from the floor fast 4 sets, 15 reps
There are others, but you get the idea. I try to incorporate fighting techniques that are rather obscure, but are nonetheless important.
6. HEAVY BAG
Here is a way to work on the heavy bag by yourself that builds power, endurance and lets you know which techniques need additional work.
Begin by placing a clock where you can see the second hand. Your objective is to strike the bag 60 times for 60 seconds, that’s one per second for those of you who are as bad at math as I am. No matter what technique you throw - punch, kick, head butt, shoulder ram - do it hard. Work to ensure that your form is perfect: your hips are rotating, your opposite hand is snapping back, your balance is solid, and your energy is going into the bag.
When you are ready, maybe in a week or two, increase the time to two minutes and throw 120 hard techniques, one for each second. Be sure to move around as if you were sparring: bobbing, weaving, shuffling and sliding. Throw singles and combinations, counting each hit on the bag as one.
You may have to stay at the two-minute count for two or more weeks until you are in shape to progress. This is quite taxing so progress wisely. When you are ready, add another one-minute set. Now you are doing one, two-minute set, hitting the bag 120 times, resting for a minute, and then hitting the bag 60 times for another minute.
For the next stage, and let me warn you again to progress slowly, add one more minute to the second round, which will increase your hits for that round to 120. Now it looks like this.
Set 1: two minutes, 120 hits
Rest: for a minute
Set 2: two minutes, 120 hits
There are a couple of ways you can increase at this point. You can continue to progressively add one and two minute sets until you work up to a 20-minute cardiovascular workout. Or, if you just want to do this exercise for only two, two-minute sets, but you want to increase your output, you can add more hits per minute. World Champion kickboxer Kathy Long likes to throw 200 - 300 hits per two-minute session, and she always strives to make each hit hard, fast and accurate.
It’s easy to get the pulse up to 90 percent of maximum heart rate with this routine. Since most trainers recommend 75 - 85 percent, 90 percent is too high, so don’t stay at that extreme too long. Progress slowly with this workout, especially if you are out of shape cardiovascularly.
7. TRAIN TO YOUR FAVORITE MUSIC
I mentioned earlier that it’s fun and beneficial to shadowbox to music. Here is another way you can train to the tunes.
Whether it’s rock music, Beethoven, Barry Manilow (sheesh!), country western, or whatever, your favorite music touches your spirit and energizes your muscles. This is your time, your solo workout, so choose whatever sparks your plug.
I like powerful Asian music. I’ve been to the Orient a few times and certain music transports me to that place where martial arts basically began. If I’m listening to Japanese music, I let my wild imagination conjure an image of a small, vulnerable village nesting at the base of Mt. Fuji. The people there have come to me, a highly-trained samurai, and asked that I give them protection against marauding bandits in the area (I know this is sort of weird, but hey, I don’t poke fun at your fantasies). I get a tremendous charge as I train with that music in my ears and that image in my mind, all of which psyches my brain and adds speed and power to my movements.
For an easy workout, choose soft, gentle music. Maybe you want to polish your kicking and punching form by doing the movements slowly and gracefully, sort of tai chi-like. This can make for a relaxing workout that will calm your spirit and mellow your psyche.
If you want a cardio workout to improve your endurance, choose music that gets you moving, that makes you want to rock and roll with punches and kicks. Turn up the volume of a tune that has a pronounced beat and just go crazy. This is fun and will energize you even on those days when you are feeling tired. It improves your endurance and flow and, when you train to hit on each pronounced beat, your rhythm and timing will improve, too.
Experiment with