Fear and the fear of fear (anxiety) have great power in martial conflict. The struggle with fear relates to the internal aspect of the martial arts, or character development. Conquering fear requires that a trainee increase their capacity to weather austerity as fear can only be created when two things exist: the presence of something painful, and one's inability to end the pain.
Therefore, one conquers fear when they can either endure greater amounts of pain with dignity, or to end pain by removing the stimulus.
To endure greater amounts of pain requires control of one's breathing most importantly, as this is the first capacity to run out of control during pain or the threat of pain. Before remembering or directly facing a painful stimulus, attempt to breathe in for four seconds, hold breath for four seconds, exhale for four seconds, and then hold breath again for four seconds. After repeating this procedure three times, the heart rate, body temperature, and adrenal system will be normalized and anxiety will be physically impossible. This pattern is recommended immediately before direct confrontation with an opponent, immediately after the confrontation ceases, and whenever post traumatic stress begins to escalate. By practicing this response, calmness in the face of pain will become automatic and enable one to unemotionally resolve conflict and cope with its fallout.
One can learn to end painful stimuli by adopting a pragmatic view of conflict. Determine what things cause damage and take steps to systematically end them. The methods of ending the painful stimuli can range from an elbow strike to a tactful objection and the mark of a martial artist is ending a situation with minimal effort and damage for all individuals concerned. Improving one's ability to tactically resolve conflict will increase one's confidence and accordingly reduce fear.
The reader is advised to focus on breath control and to analyze potential conflicts tactically without emotion. This will enable full suppression and elimination of fear.
Wednesday, November 27, 2013
Martial Conditioning: The Pullup
Intro: The pullup is an important movement for upper back and thoracic spine health. It consists of hanging from a horizontal bar or similar structure by the hands and pulling with one's back and arms until the chest or throat touches the apparatus. Any range of motion less than this detracts from the health and performance benefits of the movement. The pullup acts as a perfect compliment to the handstand pushup, which trains the opposite range of motion, and the simple inclusion of both movements into a training program leaves no weak links in the upper body musculature or movement patterns.
Muscles Worked: The pullup develops the inner frame of the upper body defined as the 'armpit muscles' of the lats and biceps, in addition to the midsection, grip, and hip flexors. Simply performing hundreds of pullups alone will craft a beach-goers physique in a matter of weeks (see the photos below). Whereas the handstand pushup emphasizes outer frame muscles and facilitates extension, the pullup emphasizes the inner frame and facilitates upper body flexion. For that reason, the pullup lends well to building mass in the most aesthetically important muscle groups, though such development will not necessarily portray martial competence to an attacker.
Why do Pullups? Unlike the handstand pushup, the pullup has limited carryover to other movements. A trainee could theoretically be strong at pullups and weak at everything else, as this author used to be before beginning a more martially comprehensive training regimen. On the other hand, pullups balance out the shoulder girdle for martial artists in addition to potentially strengthening one's grip for techniques. Pullup performance is also a reliable test for what might be called 'functional obesity' or moving like a fat person. A person who can perform 10 or more truly strict pullups is not fat in any sense of the word.
Grapplers and artists of a water element often find more use for pullups due to the emphasis on clinching and drawing in an opponent. For striking arts, the pullup is useful for shoulder health above any obvious performance advantages. How to use the pullup as a tool depends on whether a fighter is likely to spend more time grabbing and grappling an opponent, or striking them.
Progression: The pullup can be difficult to perform for even one repetition, particularly for female trainees, who may be tempted or instructed to kip their hips to cheat the movement. This blog recommends only strict pullups. Using kipping pullups for strength is ineffective, and for metabolic conditioning is much like using a hammer for screwing: inefficient and potentially injurious. As such, this author recommends starting with momentum-free easy steps which progress into the proper pullup and beyond.
Pullups can be graded, with horizontal pullups being the easiest, followed by assisted pullups, then regular pullups, then one handed pullups, then assisted one arm pullups, then one arm pullups. This is the progression recommended for general martial strength. In practice, a martial artist will never need to be stronger than the one handed pullup for repetitions, though some personality types will strive for the one armed variant to enhance their skill. This pursuit is positive, but irrelevant to self defense or health.
Programming: When the trainee has selected their progression level, there are different ways to play with these movements to elicit different physical results.
High reps with momentum will improve very little other than metabolic conditioning, which has already been established as a questionable rationale for programming the pullup. However, this method is most common in military, gyms, and martial arts schools where number of repetitions is the desired bench mark. Use high reps only for finishing workouts and when compelled to in training. Maintaining strict form for sets of pullups longer than 15 repetitions is nearly impossible, resulting in a faint, nearly invisible hip thrust from those thus engaged which incrementally degrades form. Jumping pullups may be a more effective metabolic stimulus than kipping pullups and far safer for the shoulder girdle if the trainee desires to incorporate high repetition pullups for conditioning purposes.
Low reps with slow speed and full range of motion is best for strength building, performance, and health, especially when the trainee progresses to the highest level they can maintain. Low reps does not imply low sets. A trainee should endeavor to complete as many low rep sets as possible on a pullup training day with ample rest periods in between.
Different points of contact will allow a trainee to incorporate martially relevant gripping into pullup practice. For example, hanging a gi over the pullup bar can simulate gripping an opponent during a throw or clinch. Using odd objects or different hand positions may also strengthen the grip.
The weighted pullup may be a good tool for mass building, but is largely irrelevant to self defense and can be replaced by progressing to one armed variants.
Likely Results of Pullups: The pullup will develop overall leanness and lightness for those who chase maximum repetitions and back size for those who chase maximum tension and weight. Below are pictures of a regular pullup record setter and a one armed pullup practitioner. Both body types are much the same with deemphasized chest muscles, broad lats, ripped core, low bodyfat, and exceptional arm development. (Also notice the distinct atrophy of leg muscle which is incentivized by disproportionate use of the pullup and may prove to be a detriment to martial practice where lower body strength is crucial.)
Muscles Worked: The pullup develops the inner frame of the upper body defined as the 'armpit muscles' of the lats and biceps, in addition to the midsection, grip, and hip flexors. Simply performing hundreds of pullups alone will craft a beach-goers physique in a matter of weeks (see the photos below). Whereas the handstand pushup emphasizes outer frame muscles and facilitates extension, the pullup emphasizes the inner frame and facilitates upper body flexion. For that reason, the pullup lends well to building mass in the most aesthetically important muscle groups, though such development will not necessarily portray martial competence to an attacker.
Why do Pullups? Unlike the handstand pushup, the pullup has limited carryover to other movements. A trainee could theoretically be strong at pullups and weak at everything else, as this author used to be before beginning a more martially comprehensive training regimen. On the other hand, pullups balance out the shoulder girdle for martial artists in addition to potentially strengthening one's grip for techniques. Pullup performance is also a reliable test for what might be called 'functional obesity' or moving like a fat person. A person who can perform 10 or more truly strict pullups is not fat in any sense of the word.
Grapplers and artists of a water element often find more use for pullups due to the emphasis on clinching and drawing in an opponent. For striking arts, the pullup is useful for shoulder health above any obvious performance advantages. How to use the pullup as a tool depends on whether a fighter is likely to spend more time grabbing and grappling an opponent, or striking them.
Progression: The pullup can be difficult to perform for even one repetition, particularly for female trainees, who may be tempted or instructed to kip their hips to cheat the movement. This blog recommends only strict pullups. Using kipping pullups for strength is ineffective, and for metabolic conditioning is much like using a hammer for screwing: inefficient and potentially injurious. As such, this author recommends starting with momentum-free easy steps which progress into the proper pullup and beyond.
Pullups can be graded, with horizontal pullups being the easiest, followed by assisted pullups, then regular pullups, then one handed pullups, then assisted one arm pullups, then one arm pullups. This is the progression recommended for general martial strength. In practice, a martial artist will never need to be stronger than the one handed pullup for repetitions, though some personality types will strive for the one armed variant to enhance their skill. This pursuit is positive, but irrelevant to self defense or health.
Programming: When the trainee has selected their progression level, there are different ways to play with these movements to elicit different physical results.
High reps with momentum will improve very little other than metabolic conditioning, which has already been established as a questionable rationale for programming the pullup. However, this method is most common in military, gyms, and martial arts schools where number of repetitions is the desired bench mark. Use high reps only for finishing workouts and when compelled to in training. Maintaining strict form for sets of pullups longer than 15 repetitions is nearly impossible, resulting in a faint, nearly invisible hip thrust from those thus engaged which incrementally degrades form. Jumping pullups may be a more effective metabolic stimulus than kipping pullups and far safer for the shoulder girdle if the trainee desires to incorporate high repetition pullups for conditioning purposes.
Low reps with slow speed and full range of motion is best for strength building, performance, and health, especially when the trainee progresses to the highest level they can maintain. Low reps does not imply low sets. A trainee should endeavor to complete as many low rep sets as possible on a pullup training day with ample rest periods in between.
Different points of contact will allow a trainee to incorporate martially relevant gripping into pullup practice. For example, hanging a gi over the pullup bar can simulate gripping an opponent during a throw or clinch. Using odd objects or different hand positions may also strengthen the grip.
The weighted pullup may be a good tool for mass building, but is largely irrelevant to self defense and can be replaced by progressing to one armed variants.
Likely Results of Pullups: The pullup will develop overall leanness and lightness for those who chase maximum repetitions and back size for those who chase maximum tension and weight. Below are pictures of a regular pullup record setter and a one armed pullup practitioner. Both body types are much the same with deemphasized chest muscles, broad lats, ripped core, low bodyfat, and exceptional arm development. (Also notice the distinct atrophy of leg muscle which is incentivized by disproportionate use of the pullup and may prove to be a detriment to martial practice where lower body strength is crucial.)
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