Martial Arts Fitness VS Fitness

[SPJ]

Martial arts fitness exercise include Qi Gong, Zhuang Gong, Jin Gong etc. They are good for health and practical for fighting.
Modern fitness focuses on making all your muscles show. Cardio part may be o.k. weight lifting is o.k. But if the goal is to show your six pack and all, that may not be practical. This practice is in Men's Health, muscle magazines etc. even some women is training to show her muscles, too. It is right or wrong?

For more info on martial arts fitness, please refer to "The treasure book of Chinese martial arts"

[fa_jing]

Bodybuilding can be safely seperated from strength training in general. So, the above is true.

[red5angel]

fa-jing hit it, there are different kinds of "modern" training, strength, stamina, body building/sculpting. The chinese are incorrect that muscle gets in the way of martial arts ability. Too much muscle can be a problem but in general, some muscle is ok.

[IronFist]

Modern fitness focuses on making all your muscles show

Not really. What about marathon running? Powerlifting? etc.

[SPJ]

Agreed. I enjoyed swimming so much that I can swim 4 to 6 hours or more. Of course I take breaks for wringled skin.
However, Wushu training has to be focused and seriousness minded. At least, that is how I was told.
My brother built his muscles. When he stopped training for it. Guess what all the muscles were replaced with fat. He ballooned up like a whale. I swim all the time, that seems keep my body trimmed. I may swim all the way up to very old age. However, my brother ultimately quitted muscle build up.

[SevenStar]

It takes work to sustain muscle mass. when you stop training, they atrophy. that's not a case against strength training, however.

Doing compound exercises that have my body working multiple muscle groups is also applicable to my fighting, while building strength. Not to mention that I will be that much stronger than the non lifter, which depending on the situation, may be the advantage I need to win. Modern training is extremely focused - there are enough professional caliber fighters around to prove that.

[Vash]

Fitness has always been an integral part of martial training. However, these days we have a hella lot of competition. And in competetion, people generally want to win. And to win, people generally need some form of edge over the opponent. Skill is one of these edges. Fitness is another.

What everything boils down to is specificity. I initially started weight training for appearance. After I rejoined the martial arts world, my training turned from aesthetics to proper biological function. It didn't bother me that my muscles showed, though.

In regards to strength training. There is no reason a body can't lift safely for the majority of one's life. Same as with all other types of physical activity. Avoid injury, research your training methods, be careful, be careful, be careful, listen to your body (and that little voice in your head that says *oh sh!t!*), and be careful, and your life can be filled with training.

Me personally, I'm fired up to get back on the exercise bandwagon. Weight training, bagwork, karate, the hole flan.

[abobo]

Originally posted by SPJ
This practice is in Men's Health, muscle magazines etc. even some women is training to show her muscles, too. It is right or wrong?

Anything in Men's Health would be dumbed down considerably. Ditto for any other magazine that sells attitude, "secrets", and caters to people with such short attention spans that they highlight their own articles. Sounds like modern marketed fitness has affected your conception of fitness.

[SPJ]

Fittness is to condition your body and mind to specific requirements of a certain physical activity.

Fitness for swim, marathon, wrestling, weight lifting will vary. So do Wushu's.

Wai Jia-Shaolin Quan. You have to punch and kick fast and hard. Let's say 500 to 1000 times a day. You practice fast momemtum (F=MA) and deliver high kinetics energy to inflict damage on the opponent. You deliver attacks on and on till the opponent is defeated.

Nei Jia-Tai Ji. You practice movements slowly and all your body parts move at the same time. You watch your breathing, try to imagine you are moving against resistence, and yet you have to relax all the way. So that you may learn to detect minute changes in movement from yourself and the opponent. The key is slow and yet move constantly and let your Qi flow.

In fighting, you see the opponent's fast punch and movement seem slow. You detect minute movement with ease. You are able to utilize the opponent's Jin against him. You do not need a lot of force. You use only a small force in a smart way (Chiao Li). You have to practice slowly to be able to do that.

For more info, please refer to the method book. There is a whole chapter on Jin Gong.

[Vash]

Originally posted by abobo


Anything in Men's Health would be dumbed down considerably. Ditto for any other magazine that sells attitude, "secrets", and caters to people with such short attention spans that they highlight their own articles. Sounds like modern marketed fitness has affected your conception of fitness.

I've got to disagree with you on that one. Men's Health is probably one of the best resources for guys out there. yeah, some of the peeps on the writing staff kinda smell of store-bought attitude, but for the most part, the magazine is pretty high-caliber.

[Ironwind]

I believe that extremly huge bulking mucles will get in your way.
But, I also believe that it should be balanced like all other things in a mans life. You have poeple that tend to go over the edge like, alcoholics, potheads, and body builders.
The stronger you are the faster you can be.
I think it should be balanced with stretching.
Being stiff in the body with all that muscle is a waste of training unless your sport involves picking up chicks or being a beach bully.