Introduction
"Excuses are tools of the
incompetent and indolent"
Training is the key to success
in learning, practicing, and applying martial arts, whether
it is for self-defense, competition, or personal enrichment.
Without physical conditioning the ability to properly apply
and obtain the benefits of martial arts training are
extremely limited. Students who train with us are required
to maintain a supplemental training program outside of class
and the corresponding fitness level.
Too many times have I seen
martial arts instructors who are overweight, obese, and out
of shape. This lack of physical condition present that
individual with severe limitation to executing their martial
arts. It also presents a poor role model to his/her
students. The typical responses (we might call them excuses)
by the fat and out-of-shape instructors for why they do not
stay in shape are:
|
"I
train for the street, and the fight won't last
longer than a few seconds, so I don't need to be
in shape."
"I
only train for life-and-death situations" |
These excuses are sophomoric at best. The better physiological
condition one is in, the better the body handles the
sympathetic response which is associated with the stresses
of both competition and "life-and-death" situations (some
have colloquially termed this the "adrenaline dump").
Common sense tells one that all
we need to do is examine how our military prepares its men
and women for "life-and-death combat. Their emphasis is on
physical conditioning and minimizing the number of
self-defense techniques (Hick's Law). In fact, the more
likely the military group is to face "real combat" the more
they emphasize conditioning (i.e., special forces groups
have greater levels of conditioning than the regular force).
Any excuse that one
doesn't need to be in top shape because they are training
for the "street" does not hold with what our current
military and sports science research and training demonstrates. Without
question, the better shape one is in, the better able to
withstand the rigors of "life-and-death combat" as well as
competition. Science even shows us that we learn better the
better shape we are in. With that in mind, this section will allow you to
maintain a personal training blog which will keep me up to date
on your efforts and progress outside of class. Each of the
student blogs will be password-protected and only available to
you, the individual student, and myself. All instructor training blogs will be public access so that everyone can use them for
guidance.
If you do not yet have a
supplemental training program or you need to adjust your current
one, I can help you with it. In addition to my helping you with
your program development and if needed, nutritional
considerations, there are a number of others who can also help
you with various aspects of your programs including "Doc"
William Eng, Ph.D., who can offer guidance with psychological
aspects, and Joe and Justin who are both certified personal
trainers.
I will use my training blog to
illustrate some of the methods and strategies that I use in my
own training and that you may be able to use in your own
training. Feel free to ask about any aspect of my training program.
The same goes for all instructors training blogs, do not
hesitate to ask them about it as well. Finally, do not hesitate to ask for help
in developing your own supplemental program.
In the future, the Plato's Academy website will be up
and will serve as an educational website with the latest and
greatest in sports science research and application.
Training at
the Cave
If you do not understand any particular
aspects I discuss below, look over my training blog. This
may help clarify what is being presented. If it does not, or
if you have other questions, talk to me during one of our
training session.
There are three levels of
training at the Cave for both physiological development
(fitness) and for motor development (skill acquisition and
improvement). These levels are based on current sports
science research and applications. Each level has defined
criteria for measurement and achievement.
Evaluation in sports science is
critical at all levels and is the cornerstone of a
progressive training program. Without objective methods for
assessing physiological and motor changes, there are
no definitive means to know if improvement has been
achieved.
Everyone at the Cave is expected
to maintain at least a basic level of fitness. Anything
beyond that is up to you. We are here to help you, so other
than requiring you to maintain a healthy level of fitness,
we will not dictate what you should or should not do. The
three levels of physical attribute training at the Cave are:
Basic fitness training (health-related)
represents the most important level of training.
This level focuses on developing basic levels of
the following components:
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-
cardiovascular endurance
- muscular strength
- muscular endurance
- muscular flexibility
- body composition
- health-based nutrition |
A basic program
designed to develop these components would
include some form of regular aerobic
exercise, some type of resistance training,
a stretching routine, and a healthy diet
plan.
Basic field
assessments are used to establish and
re-evaluate the health-related fitness
components. A dietary analysis using state
of the art software will be
performed on the students eating patterns
and recommendations for health-based
improvement will be made. At the Cave, we
will periodically asses certain fitness
parameters and attributes.
High-level training (advanced fitness)
represents the next level in terms of both
intensity and volume of training. Here, greater
emphasis is placed on further developing
the measures identified in health-related
fitness. Training that improves such attributes
as strength and power.
Nutrition begins to be directed towards
enhancing more intense training sessions with
emphasis being on macronutrient manipulation and
stressing appropriate timing of nutritional
intakes.
Psychological
tools are used to maintain motivation and
training adherence, as well as for improved
skill acquisition.
Performance-level training represents the
highest level of training. For the most part,
this level is the purview of combat athletes. At
this level the volume and intensity of training
is maximized. Typically training is conducted
using periodization, either linear, non-linear,
or undulating, depending on the peaking needs of
the athlete.
Greater use of
advanced methods of physiological development
and skill acquisition are employed. Assessment
of physiological and skill attributes is
essential at this level of training as well.
More technologically advanced evaluation
instruments and protocols are used to provide
more precise measures of training effects and
outcomes. Assessments mare used with greater
frequency to ensure that the athlete does not
overtrain.
Nutrition becomes
a primary factor in maximizing training
outcomes. Macronutrient manipulation is further
stressed. Nutritional timing becomes essential
as the athlete is typically spending a great
amount of times and sessions in training. At
this level, supplementation with the majority of
valid research studies show are effective, safe,
and of course, legal. For the most part, there
are very few supplements which meet these
criteria. Nutrition as this level is also
periodized.
Performance/Sport
psychology strategies and techniques are
employed to a greater extent to enhance
performance and training outcomes, maintain a
high level of motivation, and prevent burnout.
Developing
Your Program
Each student is expected to maintain
a supplemental training program outside of the Cave. If you
click on my training blog below, you will be able to see my
own training program. As you will see, my program is rather
extensive and time-consuming accounting for between 4-5
hours a day, Monday through Friday, and 2-3 hours on
Saturdays and Sundays. Very few have or want to dedicate
that much time to their training. We do not expect you to
spend that kind of time on your own training.
We can help you develop a decent
supplemental training program in as little as three one-hour
sessions a week outside of class. This is, as previously
cited, is a minimum. How much more you train and what your
program will consist of will depend on several factors. To
determine these factors, you should answer the following
questions:
What are your current
physiological/fitness measures?
To better develop goals and the program to improve them you
should determine your various physiological and fitness measures
appropriate to your training. The basic measure would include
Training Goals or Objectives
What martial arts or combat sports are you training for?
What are your specific goals for your supplemental training
(i.e., fitness, weight loss, attribute development, etc).
Time Management
How much time do you have to commit to your supplemental
training, and what schedule can you keep? It is important to
have a set schedule each week, preferably the same days and
times. It is equally important that you are as specific as
possible as to what you will be doing during your training
Accessibility
What facilities and/or equipment do you have available? Do
you have access to a fitness center, pool, track, boxing gym,
etc? Do you have any training equipment at home (or are you able
to acquire any)? Do you have a training partner, either from the
Cave or outside of it?
Assessing Your
Fitness
What is your current fitness and attribute development levels?
This will influence the specifics of your program in terms of
what you can do, how much, and how hard you should be doing it.
At the Cave, we will periodically asses certain fitness
parameters and attributes. The next assessment will be in
September. The assessments ill be used for those assessments
will include the following:
- 1.5
Mile Run Vo2max estimation (cardiovascular
endurance/VO2max estimation)
- 60 sec. push up test (muscular endurance)
- 60 sec. sit-up test (muscular endurance)
- grip dynamometer assessment (muscular
strength)
- back dynamometer assessment (muscular
strength)
- leg dynamometer assessment (muscular
strength)
- sit & reach (flexibility)
- bioimpedance (body composition)
In addition to a regular 400 meter
track, stop watch, and ruler, for the basic assessments, the
following equipment will be used:
- Omron Body
Composition Analyzer (bioimpedance)
- Smedley II Hand
Grip Dynamometer
- Back/Leg/Chest
Dynamometer
For high and performance levels of
training, additional assessments may be used. These evaluate
such physiological parameters as VO2max, blood lactate level,
antagonistic tension reduction
- iMETT
Metabolic Testing System
- Lactate
Plus Lactate Analyzer
- Zipocrit
Hematocrit Analyzer
- Polar SI610 Heartrate Monitor
-
CardioChek Portable Blood
Test System
- Propper Spiro Pet Dry
Spirometer
Skill
Attribution
Analyses
In addition to regular assessment of your
fitness in the various physiological attributes, we will also be
quantitatively and qualitatively evaluating your basic
techniques. Skill attribution analyses will be
conducted on the following techniques for each individual:
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-
jab
- cross
- lead hook
- rear round kick
- rear knee
- straight lead (JKD only)
- lead round kick (JKD only)
- lead side kick (JKD only)
- stop kick (JKD only)
- [stick] backhand witik (FMA only)
- [stick] forehand labtik (FMA only)
- [stick] lawin x 3 from closed position (FMA
only)
- shoot to body tackle (MMA only) |
The schedule for this series of assessments
will be announced at a later date. Assessments at the basic
level of training will involve a primarily qualitative analysis
of techniques. At the high and performance levels of training,
kinematic software will be used to analyze movements in greater
detail. Skills will be assessed using the following methods:
- 4 -way qualitative kinematic analysis
- single technique speed assessment
- 15-second max number techniques
- single technique power assessment
- response time
Equipment that will be used to assess the following
-
Four-Way Video Analysis System
|
.
Sony DCR-TRV32O video camera
.
Sony DCR-HC2O video camera
.
DXG 505 V
video camera
.
Aiptek Action HD High Speed video
camera |
-
Innovisions
Systems MaxTRAQ Motion Analysis Software
- Pro trainer DV Sports Motion Analysis System
- Autogenic Systems AT33 Portable Surface
Electromyograph
- Technasport Speed Check Model 7700
- Hitmaster Personal Trainer 3 Zone
Target
- Hitmaster Personal Trainer Single Zone
Target
- Herman Interactive Training System
Instructor
Training Blogs
Finley, Pat
Part 1
Part 2
Hill, Rod
Singleton, Joe
Foulk, Dave
Student
/Apprentice Instructor Training Blogs
Baity, Mike
Beall, Nathan
Berry, Zack
Douglas, Rai
Dudley, Chaz
Eng, William
Eschevestre, Jeriel
Fleischer, Alex
Harris, Anthony
Judge, Chris
Kamaka, Shelli
Kenol, Frantz
Mabe, Justin
Palmer, Dan
Sekscenski, Nick
Sheain, Danny
Simon, Sarah
Stetka, Zach
Sweatman, Paul
Trent, David
White, Ryan
Yerrid, Brandon
