| Should You Add Supplementary Weight Training | | | | to be a good martial artist, so if you do decide to |
| to your Martial Arts Training? | | | | add supplemental training, it should be to improve |
| There are four things you should consider before | | | | this balance. Is there a part of your body that is |
| you add supplementary weight training into your | | | | not up to par with the rest of your body? Do |
| workout schedule: | | | | you have plenty of endurance but lack speed? |
| Speed | | | | Here's an example of what I mean. I had a |
| Flexibility | | | | student at my Bellevue Academy of Kempo |
| Endurance | | | | Martial Arts school that had perfect form. She |
| Strength | | | | was worried that her technique wouldn't work in a |
| Martial arts training will naturally help you improve | | | | real situation. She practiced slow and accurate |
| in all of these areas, but many people wonder if | | | | movements, so the answer for her was to start |
| they need to add supplementary weight training | | | | training for power or speed to make her |
| to increase these areas. The answer is maybe. | | | | movements more real-world applicable. |
| The first determination of whether or not you | | | | In the "old days" martial artists were not purists if |
| should do separate weight training is how it will | | | | they did strength training along with it. The thing |
| affect your martial arts training. If weight training | | | | is, even in the Shaolin temples, the Kung Fu |
| will take the place of your martial arts training, | | | | practitioners had exercises like moving granite balls |
| then I don't recommend it (especially for | | | | and doing hundreds of movements with iron rings |
| beginners). Advanced martial arts students can | | | | on their arms it sounds like a form of weight |
| make the determination depending on their | | | | training to me. |
| personal goals. | | | | If anyone tells you that weight training will harm |
| When you're making the decision, consider this: | | | | your kung fu or martial arts training, they are only |
| You can add weights if you have your martial | | | | right if you stop or reduce your martial arts |
| arts training regime down cold you don't want | | | | training to weight train. If you break your training |
| your martial arts training to suffer so that you | | | | down into sections and focus on the parts of |
| can weight train on the side. | | | | your body or goals that you need to balance your |
| If you do choose to weight train, educate | | | | body, then you can train accordingly without |
| yourself or get a trainer so that you get the | | | | affecting your martial arts training. If you're still |
| most out of your training. | | | | not sure whether or not you're weight training |
| Make a plan before you begin anything. | | | | affectively, just make sure you do an hour and a |
| To make a plan, you need to figure out where | | | | half of martial arts training for every hour of |
| you want to improve. You need a balanced body | | | | weight training you do. |