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MARTIAL ARTS APPLIED TO WEIGHT TRAINING
According to my understanding the principles of the martial arts can be applied to all facets of an individual's life. When the beginner in the art learns the basic techniques, the individual through his own experience understands the following five principles. This realization comes from sincere practice and one's own experiential understanding.
The understandings of the five basic elements are balance, coordination, speed, distance and focus. Let us try to understand how these elements can be applied or reflected at the physical level in the science of weight training?BALANCE
In the martial arts the adept practices various postures (movable and immovable), from which various techniques are executed. These various postures give the sense of balance, due to the shift in the body's center of gravity during each of the postures. The understanding of balance gives the experience of stability. This is the relation to the element of 'earth'. When training with weights, balance is of basic importance. The sense of being rooted while lifting weights must be stressed before progressing to the further training practices. The body's own sense of centeredness is extended to the extra weight that is added to the individuals own body weight. I have observed many beginners and some intermediate trainees, in a bid to lift more weight, compromise on their body balance. This often leads to injury, or an imbalanced development at the physical level.
COORDINATION
Along with the sense of balance another dimension, which is an extension of and an interdependent element, is that of coordination. By diligent and coordinated practice, the body, the limbs, and the six senses, all are fine-tuned to perform in harmony. Coordination is a flow. For example a simple act of walking becomes effortless because of coordination. If the leg hits a stone the body loses its flow of the act and coordination is disturbed. Coordination is the element of water. Similarly during weight training, it is very crucial that all the muscles function in harmony and support the movement and trajectory of the weight. If the supporting muscle(s) are weak they will lead to an injury. We come across many trainees who train only their biceps and chest muscles, overlooking the development of the back or the triceps. This imbalance leads to lack of coordinated movement, leading to a non-alignment and disharmony.SPEED
Speed is characteristic of the element of fire. During the training of martial art, speed is a very crucial factor in the execution of technique. Speed can disrupt or harmonize the balance as well as the coordination of the individual. Too much speed can lead the body out of control because of the excess momentum leading to non-coordination in the flow of techniques. During weight training there are many trainees who follow the principle 'to grow more muscle lift heavy weights'. In their bid to lift heavier weight they cheat using lot of speed to generate momentum. More often than not they land up getting injured. It has been proved scientifically that it is the intensity and not the weight, which is essential for muscle growth. The muscle does not know how much weight is lifted but feels the intensity. For the maximum intensity in training the muscle the speed of movement plays a very crucial role. This is understood only through training.
DISTANCE
For the maximum affectivity of the technique the distance covered during the execution is of vital importance. Lets take an isolated example: - the distance of a punch in stationery postures, the complete range of its length and the angle at which it is performed decides its affectivity. The punch will have maximum impact at its fullest extension at a 90-degree angle to the striking area. If it is stopped just at the beginning of its execution it has no purpose. Many times during weight-training sessions I have seen trainees perform movements, where the complete range of muscle is not applied. This incomplete movement does not engage all the muscle fibers in the muscle that is trained. Thus it is very important that the exercise performed for the specific muscle to be executed through the complete distance (muscle length) in the proper alignment.FOCUS
Without focus any act or action is a waste of energy. It's like shooting arrows in the dark. In the martial arts it is not just the technique but also the movement, the posture, the mind, the senses, the breath, the whole organism, coming together at the point of execution. In Karate it is called 'Kime' (key-may) or focus. This feeling of unity through focus should be experienced and applied even in weight training. This is rarely seen even in advanced weight-trainers. This quality of training, if applied, then weight-training can be meditative in nature. This synergy is definitely for the experiencer to experience. |
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