Conditioning is by far one of the most important attributes that a martial artist can possess. The most proficient martial artists spend a lot of time training. No athlete has ever become an expert without investing time and energy.
Unfortunately, in most martial arts schools the most important element of the martial arts is neglected – attribute development. Too much time is spent developing skill in techniques and not enough in actual development of the attributes that will make those techniques actually work.
Practicing your technical skills is important, but so is the development and maintenance of your over all physical conditioning. Training is a skill of disciplining your mind, practicing proper technique and developing a conditioned body.
Stamina and endurance are the primary benefits of good conditioning. Stamina is a natural response to training; therefore, it is not necessary to spend time developing it before you begin training in the martial arts – it will be developed. In its own way, stamina- or the ability to work over a period of time – is a natural product of your training, so just let it happen.
To get into shape takes time, but not as much as some of you may fear. Lawrence Morehouse, a UCLA researcher, along with other colleagues found that in six weeks of inactivity, you can lose 80 percent of your conditioning – and in six more weeks of progressive training, you can also regain 80 percent of your peak condition. That is only a month and a half of smart, consistent and progressive training.
You don’t have to hurt in order to develop stamina.
We have a creed that we use in our training – Don’t Train Harder, Train Smarter. Always start your training slowly, learn how to develop stamina gradually. You’ll inevitably reach whatever level of fitness you want, depending on how smart and consistent you continue progressive training – not how fast you do it. Doing the martial arts and “getting into shape” is thoroughly invigorating and fun when it is done right. It will require some adjustments and even some discomfort as your body adapts to the increased demand, but if you are hurting a lot, you’re not training smart. Remember, proper training is for the purpose of building your body and avoiding activities that will deteriorate or injure it.
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