Happy 2011, guys!

Thank you guys so much for reading. This has been our best year yet at Real Anime Training and it's gonna keep getting better. You guys are the best and I hope you've enjoyed everything we've done so far and everything we're going to do.

If you have a requests for 2011, drop them in the comments! Until next year, good luck and train hard!

Daily Training Update- 12/29/2010

Lunch
Real Anime Training Warm-up
Kamishiro Yuu's Basic Training- Level 2

Notes:

• 2nd Completion of the workout. One more will be a Level Up.
• I think I literally threw so many jabs I made myself dizzy.
• Legs were pretty sore from yesterday, so it was harder to incorporate my footwork into the jab.

Daily Training Update- 12/28/2010

Break
Real Anime Training Warm-up


Lunch
Good Luck, Takeda

1 Mile Run- 7:47
100 Hindu Squats- 3:35
1 Mile Run- 8:43

Total Time- 20:05

Notes:

• Completed this level today, which is awesome, because it shows my running is improving. I've never been the best runner, so it's good to see some growth.
• My last attempt at this workout saw a time of like 23 or 24 minutes, I can't remember.

Daily Training Update- 12/26/2010

Lifted weights with my dad today, which was fun. Fortunately, it is also some research for an upcoming workout series. Yay, two birds with one stone!

1. Incline Bench Warm-up- 135# x 10 Reps
2. Pull-up Warm-up- 5 Reps
3. Incline Bench- 175# x 3
4. Incline Bench- 195# x 2
5. Pull-ups- 15 Reps
6. Incline Bench- 215# x 1
7. Incline Bench- 235# x 1
8. Pull-ups- 14 Reps
9. Incline Bench- 235# x 1 (assisted)
10. Dumbbell Lawnmower Rows- 40# x 10 Reps
11. Dumbbell Incline Bench- 50#/hand x 12 Reps
12. Dumbbell Lawnmower Rows- 50# x 10 Reps
13. Dumbbell Incline Bench- 70#/hand x 10 Reps
14. Dumbbell Pullover 70# x 6 Reps
15. One Arm Upper Chest Flyes w/Band- 12 Reps
16. Dumbbell Pullover 70# x 8 Reps
17. One Arm Upper Chest Flyes w/Band- 10 Reps
18. Plank to Failure
19. Side Plank to Failure (each side)
20. Inverted Hanging Leg Raises x 8

"Why I Like Kung Fu"

Excellent lecture on kung fu and some cool Taiji demonstrations by my friend, James Whelan. He's the author of Martial Arts and Rainbow Magic and a really cool guy!

Enjoy!

Merry Christmas!

Thanks to all my readers! Merry Christmas, guys!

And, for those of you who've not had the pleasure of watching the Team Four Star Dragonball Z Abridged Christmas Special....

ENJOY!

Daily Training Update- 11/23/2010

Break
"Sweeping with an Iron Broom" Stage 1 Training- 5 Minutes

Lunch
Real Anime Training Warm-up
"Sweeping with an Iron Broom" Stage 1 Training- 15 Minutes
Hanging Leg Raises to Inversion- 10 Reps
"Windshield Wipers"- 5 Reps Each Side
Oblique Leg Raises- 5 Reps Each Side

Notes:

• Surprised I did as well with the horse stance training, considering the leg work recently.
• Wish I had more time to train, but with my schedule, I'm stuck with these micro workouts here.
• Honestly, I can't imagine what an extended period of time in that horse stance is like.
• Windshield Wipers are when you make an L of your body, legs pointing up, during the hanging leg raises and then go as far left and as far right as you can. It's very much what it sounds like.

Daily Training Update- 12/22/2010

Break
5 Minutes Shadowboxing- Footwork Intensive

Lunch
Real Anime Training Warm-up
Waddle-Walking w/resistance bands
Kamishiro Yuu's Kick Training


Notes:

• Sliced my finger open yesterday, so probably going to be doing stuff not hand-related for a few days. Damn spagetti sauce cans!
• Waddle-Walking is probably called something else, but I had a resistance band strapped in between my ankles and, with my feet spread out wide, I squatted down a little and walked forward. I've seen several fighters do this exercise, so I thought I'd give it a try.
• Kicked a heavy bag (B.O.B.- Body Opponent Bag) for the workout.

You guys are more than welcome to post your daily workouts in the comments of my Daily Training Updates! I would love to see which Real Anime Training Workouts you are doing (if you are doing them) and watch your progress!

We're getting closer to 100 fans on Facebook, which means some cool stuff is on the way.  Also, guess what happens when you type http://www.realanimetraining.com/ into your browser (or just click that link).

Daily Training Update-- 12/20/2010

Last Night
2-Finger Pull-ups- 1 on the first minute, 2 on the second minute, 3 on the third minute, 4 on the fourth minute, 5 on the fifth minute, 6 on the sixth minute... then 7 Regular Pull-ups

Break
Real Anime Training Warm-up

Lunch
Kiichi's Basic Training Training
1. Run 1 Mile- 7:32
2. Handwalk 100 Yards (Did not complete in one go)
3. 50 Fingertip Push-ups- 26, 10, 10, 4
4. 10 Minutes Bagwork (Ran out of time at 5:30)
5. 5 Minutes Mixed Sparring (Skipped, no partner)

Notes:

• Legs still a little sore.
• Had to do that handwalking in sets, because I was inside... also, 100 yards is a long ass way.
• Ran out of lunch break during my bagwork... blegh.

Ultra Red Workout- Sumeragi Sen's Basic Training

Ultra Red is a great manga... that ends way too early. It needs a sequel, so if anyone has connections in Japan-- make it happen!! The story follows Sumeragi Sen, who is a thirteen year-old kid trained in an ancient martial art called Haikaiken, which utilizes finger strikes to the joints of the opponent, dislocating them in an extremely painful fashion. That's gotta suck. 

Anyway, here's the workout!

Sumeragi Sen's Basic Training
(Remember to check out the notes)
1. 50 Fingertip Push-ups+
2. 50 Sit-ups
3. Practice Gymnastics- 15 Minutes
4. Practice Handwalking- 15 Minutes
5. 4 x 50 Meter Sprints

Notes:

• For the fingertip push-ups, use all five fingers until you can get to 50 without stopping, then drop the use of the pinky and do 10 more. That's 60. Then drop the ring finger and do 10 more. That's 70. Then drop the middle finger and do 10 more. That's 80. Now, bring the middle finger back in and do 10 more. That's 90. Lastly, do 10 with just the index finger on each hand. This will take a very, very long time to get to the point where you can do this. Do not drop a finger until you can complete all previous reps without stopping. That means if you can do 50 with five and then 9 with four, without stopping, go ahead and complete that 10th rep, but stop right there. At any point, though, you should stop if you feel real pain. You don't want to break your fingers.
• With the sit-ups, when you get to the point you can do 50 without stopping, you should use a declined bench, gradually increasing the angle each time you get back up to 50 reps. Eventually, you'll be doing hanging sit-ups, which for this instance, I'm going to make an exception to a rule about looping your legs over a bar or a tree limb. When you get to this point (please have a spotter and a mat under you), you may hook your legs over a tree limb (that's obviously big enough to hold you) or a bar (preferrably with a pad on it) and hold yourself there as long as possible. Although your abs may be tough enough to take this, your hamstrings and backs of your knees will not be ready. So, hang for a while and rest, hang for a while and rest... then do your sit-ups back on the declined bench. When you feel strong enough, you can attempt the hanging sit-ups like this. Otherwise, use gravity boots or something.
• By "Gymnastics," I don't necessarily mean to go and take a gymnastics class... although you are certainly welcome to do so. Mainly, what I mean is to practice various jumps, flips, and other gymnastic-like movements. You should have a mat to practice on, for safety's sake. If you know nothing about this stuff, I recommend seeking the guidance of a professional gymnastics instructor.
• With the handwalking, you'll just go as far as you can in 15 minutes. Eventually, you'll be very very good at walking on your hands and (eventually) you'll also have fairly decent finger strength because of the fingertip push-ups. At this point, you can start practicing fingertip handwalking and then decrease fingers (over a long, long time) until you are using only the index and middle fingers. This is something that will require dedication, patience, and a knowledge of your body. Know when to stop-- and know the difference between uncomfortable and painful in your training.
• With the sprints, put absolutely everything you have left into it.
• This workout starts simple, but can be as hard as you make it.

That's all for today. I'm sure you guys see some similarity between this and the Tough workout from a couple of days ago. That's not on purpose, that just happens to be how the training goes in the series.

Hope you enjoy it! Until next time, good luck and train hard!

Daily Training Update- 12/17/2010

Break
5 Minutes Heavy Bagwork

Lunch Time
Boxing Practice- 25 Minutes
1. Boxing Heavy Bagwork- Footwork, Straight Lead, Jab, Liver Blow
2. Punching Heavy Bag while standing on half-balance ball
3. Balancing on knees on balance ball.

Random "Twin Lock" and "Diamond Finger" training throughout the day.

Notes:

• Hamstrings are sore from yesterday.
• Didn't use gloves for the heavy bagwork.
• This training is research for a future Real Anime Training workout

Koko Tekken-den TOUGH Workout #1: Kiichi's Basic Training

This is a really good manga for anyone interested in the martial arts. It's sort of a less serious Grappler Baki, but is great because the author really likes to draw grappling situations, which is not often found in manga. The training that we see Kiichi doing toward the beginning portion of the series is simple, but can be taken to extremes.

Kiichi's Basic Training

LEVEL ONE

1. Run 1 Mile
2. Handwalk 100 Yards
3. 50 Fingertip Push-ups
4. 10 Minutes Bagwork
5. 5 Minutes Mixed Sparring

LEVEL TWO

1. Run 3 Miles
2. Handwalk on Fingertips 25 yards
3. Handwalk 75 Yards
4. 15 Minutes Bagwork
5. 2 x 5 Minutes Mixed Sparring

LEVEL THREE

1. Run 5 Miles
2. Handwalk up 100 Steps
3. Handwalk on Fingertips 50 Yards
4. 15 Minutes Bagwork
5. 3 x 5 Minutes Mixed Sparring

LEVEL FOUR

1. Run 5 Miles with 20lb weighted vest
2. Handwalk up 100 steps on fingertips*
3. 15 Minutes Bagwork
4. 5 x 5 Minutes Mixed Sparring

Notes:

• For the handwalking, you need to be able to complete the whole 100 yards without fail before you can move to the next level. Same for all the other levels. You can't advance if you fall even once.
• Handwalking on your fingertips is going to be brutal. This will take you a long, long time, so that's why the 50 Fingertip Push-ups are there for the first level. You need to do those all at once, also. I'm serious when I say it will take a long time. Eventually, when you are on the last level, if you are able to walk the 100 steps without falling, you can attempt to use less fingers, until you are just using your thumb and forefinger.
• For mixed sparring, I recommend MMA gloves or practice MMA gloves (more padding), so you can strike while grappling. I recommend going light on contact, especially at first, just because things can get out of hand in a hurry with mixed sparring. If you're going full contact, wear more gear, like shin guards, elbow pads and such.
• I don't recommend a backpack in substitution for the weighted vest, because you should have a fairly even and centered distribution of the weight. You can start at less than 20lbs, of course.

That's all for today. Hope you guys enjoy this one! Until next time, good luck and train hard!

Daily Training Update- 12/16/2010

Sick for two days! Yay! I knew something was up with my run the other day. Felt it today, too, but at least I was able to train.

Valkyrie's Training Level One

Notes:

• A little coughing during the run, but it wasn't bad.
• Stupid glute-ham tie-in injury was a little rough with my kicking practice, but I think toward the end, it actually started gaining more mobility.
• Balance training was on a half-balance ball. Stood on the flat side with both feet for half of the time and then each leg for the remaining time. One leg was difficult, but it got better when I thought about "rooting" myself, by really focusing on my weight pushing down through the half-ball to the ground.

Daily Training Update- 12/13/2010

Ryouzanpaku Fundamental Workout (Modified)

Break Time
-Deep Horse Stance- 5 Minutes Total (3 Failures)

Lunch Time
-2.5 Mile Run (21 minutes, 15 seconds)

Notes:

• Had to do these exercises on my work breaks, so I didn't really get to finish the whole workout or do it in order.
• Sore all over from yesterday's training, so I'm sure that didn't play into my run going well.
• Felt like I was having a little trouble breathing in the later part of the run. Hopefully, I'm not getting sick... was in the biting cold wind demonstrating some techniques yesterday.

Daily Training Update- 12/12/2010

Today I got to spar/grapple with a good friend of mine, James, the author of Martial Arts and Rainbow Magic. The grappling session was a great learning experience, as I've not had a lot of practice recently with my jiu-jitsu, just because of a general lack of training partners. By learning experience, I mostly mean that James managed to pretty much tap me out at will. It was humbling and I will attempt to seek out as many training partners as I can in order to correct my weaknesses.

Our sparring session was a light one, but was still very nice. In general, it was good to shake off the rust as far as distance and timing were concerned.

James also showed me several very nice Taiji (Tai Chi) techniques and talked a lot about kung fu in general. There is so much to learn out there in regards to the martial arts and I urge anyone who takes a martial art to cross train in another one, just so you can experience the subtle differences and see what you can take from one and apply to your own style of combat.

Probably going to be a little sore tomorrow, but it was a good day. Hopefully I can find some good sparring partners, soon.

Goku's Gravity Room Workout- Demonstration Video

Here's our latest video from our YouTube account. Subscribe to Real Anime Training so you can get all our video updates as soon as they're posted!

Daily Training Update- Day 2

1. Break Time Training
-Roundhouse Kicks for Balance - 2 Sets of 20 on each side
-Practice some blocking from Wing Chun
-Practice Thai Kick
Total Time: 5 Minutes

2. Lunch Time Training
-Baki's Trainer Workout- 5 Rounds

Notes:

• Still sore from previous training days.
• Average incline on treadmill 6%, average speed 9.5
• 20lb Dumbbells used for curls
• Decline bench used for sit-ups
• Tomorrow is an off day.

New Endeavor-- Daily Training Updates

In the spirit of showing you that I'm not all talk. I'm going to start posting my daily training for you guys. Not sure if I'll include commentary... maybe some days yes, some days no.  I don't claim to be in amazing shape, so if you're already past me in a certain workout or something, bravo!  Keep up the good work.

Daily Training Update- Day 1

1. 5 Minutes Heavy Bagwork on B.O.B. (Body Opponent Bag), no gloves.


2. Kenichi's Vacation Workout- Getting There
Concept 2 Rowing Machine on MAX difficulty 30 minutes non-stop.
-Total Distance (6056 Meters)

3. Random "Twin Lock" training throughout the day. (Reference Retsu Kaioh's training)

Notes:

• Sore from past couple days of training, but overall, not too bad.
• Tried to hit myself in the abs with the Rowing Machine's handle on every stroke.
• Slight blister on right hand from Rowing Machine.
• Right thumb is slighty sore from catching it on focus mitts yesterday, but it hasn't really affected my grip or ability to make a fist.

Let me know if you guys enjoy these updates along with our workouts and other things.

Video Update and Other Thoughts

So... I finished editing the new video for the YouTube account and it... Will. Not. Render.

Not to mention the fact that Sony Vegas was freezing on me every two minutes (more like every time I'd move a clip, towards the end of the editing process)... needless to say, I'm stuck in an odd place. I'm going to attempt to convert the files to a different format and then edit the video one more time. That is, if I can keep my brain from exploding in a fit of irritation. 

Speaking of irritations, Nam Phan got robbed!! Anyone who had the pleasure of watching Nam Phan's glorious use of punching and parrying against Leonard Garcia on the Ultimate Fighter 12 Finale also had the displeasure of watching Phan LOSE a split decision. Even Garcia admitted that it was strange! Serious props to Joe Rogan for going on a little rant during the event about the quality of judges provided to the UFC by a certain athletic commission. And so ends my own short rant.

Hopefully, I can get the video done for you guys within the next few days. Until then, good luck and train hard!

Kenichi's Vacation Workout- Getting There

Looking back through the anime, I realized there was another opportunity for a workout when Kenichi, also called Engine-kun during this little trip, went to Furinji Hayato's island for summer vacation (What? The Invincible Superman can't have his own island?!)

The scene is a glorious day at sea, with everybody cruising along on the boat built by Apachai. As we go below deck, we see that Kenichi is actually moving the boat across the water by moving hand and feet pedals. Initially, I skipped over this little bit for a workout because I thought, "Hey, who the heck has a big-ass boat they can just pedal around?"  

However, upon further meditation, I came up with this:

Kenichi's Vacation Workout- Getting There

Pick One:

• Elliptical Machine at MAX difficulty for 30 Minutes total.
• Rowing Machine at MAX difficulty for for 30 Minutes total.
• Stationary Bike at MAX difficulty for 30 Minutes total.
• Hand Bike Machine at MAX for 30 Minutes total.

Notes:

• By 30 minutes total, I mean that if you have to stop, by all means stop, but the total time that you spend on the peace of equipment should be 30 minutes.
• I've given a lot of options for you because I know a lot of place have different kinds of cardio equipment.
• If you have questions about proper form for the Rowing Machine, there should be directions on the machine itself. In general, though, you should be pushing with your legs as well as pulling with your arms. Try to make it all one motion instead of two separate ones.

That's all for today. I think this is a good one to throw in there every now and again, because it includes some movements we don't normally do.

Until next time, good luck and train hard!

Ideas for a Real Anime Training slogan?

This one just popped in my head,

"Just because we watch anime, doesn't mean we can't kick your ass."

If you've got a good one, leave it in the comments!

Ippo vs. Sendo- Redux (Workout)

This workout is nasty hard. It's the culmination of everything Ippo has done up to the point. Truthfully, I wouldn't even touch it unless you've been very comfortable with all the other things we've done up till now, but if you feel so inclined, you can scale it down if you'd still like to try it on for size.

So, here it is!

Ippo vs. Sendo- Redux

Morning

• 3 Mile Run, 7 Sprints Throughout (Shadowbox 15 seconds at the end of each sprint)
• One-Arm Alternating Cable Press- 30 Reps (Each Side)
• Dumbbell Shoulder Press- 2 Sets x 15 Reps
• Alternating Dumbbell Biceps Curls- 2 Sets x 15 Reps

4-6 Hours Later
-OPTION 1

• 20 Push-ups
• 20 Sit-ups
• 20 Squats

--10 Rounds OR
-OPTION 2

• MAX One Arm Push-ups (Each Side)
• MAX Decline Sit-ups
• MAX Jumping Hindu Squats

--5 Rounds, then

• 10 x 800 Meter Sprints (Goal: 3:00 Minutes/Sprint)
• 3 x 3 Minutes Heavy Bagwork
• 3 x 3 Minutes Mitt Work
• 3 x 3 Minutes Shadowboxing
• 3 x 3 Minutes Jump Rope
• 3 x 3 Minutes Double-End Bag or Heavy Bagwork
• 3 x 3 Sparring or Sledgehammer to Tire
• Neck Bridging- 3 Minutes
• Headstand Work- 3 Minutes

Notes:

• For Dumbbell Shoulder Press, you should stand with your feet approximately shoulder-width apart, hold the dumbbells in your hands at shoulder height, palms facing away. As you press up, bring the weights together in an arching motion over your head. You should pick a weight you barely get 15 reps with.
• For Alternating Dumbbell Biceps Curls, you hold the dumbbells at your side and then, alternating each side, curl your arm up until your palm is close to your body. Don't cheat the motion. The weight is too heavy if you have to use your hips or move your elbow away from your body to lift it. You should also barely get 15 reps here, as well.
• For the Sledgehammer to Tire, you can either use a tire or (like I sometimes do) a fallen tree. Try to put maximum force into each swing. You can alternate your grip each round, if you like. I would say that an 8-lb sledge is a good place to start. You would be surprised the training equipment you can buy and/or make using things at your local home-improvement store.

That's all for this workout! Since this is a good stopping place for a bit for Ippo, the next thing I'm going to do with this anime will concern ranking the workouts according to difficulty, so it's a little easier to build yourself up to the hard stuff.

Until next time, good luck and train hard!

On Mastery (Part 1?)

It's that time again. The time where I sit down and write the sort of philosophical diatribe that makes people go, "Seriously, wtf?!" In the past few months, I've put a lot of thought into the term "Master." What does it really mean and who is worthy of the title?

Maybe, though, it's not necessary to get caught up in the word itself, so much as the concept. Words are merely vehicles on which human beings transport thought. In Japanese, words like "tatsujin" or "shishou" might be applied to a person to denote Mastery.

But, what does it mean? Merriam-Webster defines "Mastery" as:

a: possession or display of great skill or technique
b: skill or knowledge that makes one master of a subject

And, it defines "Master" as a lot of things, but here are a few of the interesting ones:

a: an artist, performer, or player of consummate skill
b: one having control
c: one that conquers or masters

Apparently, "Mastery" is not something easily pinned down. It doesn't necessarily mean being the best at something, but it does mean that you possess a great deal of skill. I am convinced that Mastery (notice I dropped the quotes) is not a destination or a final  acquisition, but a journey; not necessarily a status, but an attitude or way of life.

At some point, when there is sufficient experience in something, the subject (whether a language, a physical skill or mental skill, or understanding) becomes less and less "outside" ourselves. It becomes a second nature. Specifically in the martial arts, it is difficult (read "impossible") to say that someone has master of a style or skill if it is not immediately available to them without the poison of having to think about it. If a man throws a punch and a boxer (assuming he is aware of the incoming attack) does not slip it and/or counter, but instead is hit because he was not "ready" for the punch-- Mastery does not yet exist for this man. Or, if a jujitsu practitioner is grabbed forcefully and he does not break the hold, move to a better position, or submit his attacker, how can he be said to have Mastery? I will not bore you with countless permutations of the same scenario, because the concept is relatively easy to understand.

Mastery is about becoming. It is that transformative path to the superhuman that tests the boundaries of our limits as people. It is not all-inclusive, but can be limited to a single pursuit or ability. You can possess Mastery on levels-- Mastery of a concept, technique, or style. I would say the more specific the endeavor, the higher the degree of skill necessary to attain Mastery. One can be the Master of a martial art and one can possess Mastery of a certain skill within that art. To be certain, to be called the Master of a style, one must have a very high degree of knowledge and skill concerning the fighting method. However, I believe if one were to be called the Master of a particular skill (say armbars, for instance) it might be necessary for him to possess a level of skill in that technique greater than the man who is called the Master of a style. Certainly, this must be the case if the two men were to try to meet on equal terms in battle.

This is fun to think about, but I bring it up not to be purposefully confusing or philosophical, but because at some point, everyone who practices a particular style of martial arts or who fights, must make a decision like this. Do I attempt to become what is called a "complete" fighter or do I dredge on through the fires of hellish training to find the uttermost of a specific kind of fighting or specific technique? Surely, most fall somewhere in between.

I've said this before, but if you are the latter of the two types that I mentioned above, it is your duty to discover things about and do things with your skill that have never been done before. If you say, "I will defeat all opponents with only jujitsu/judo/boxing/muay thai/hung gar/karate/my left hand," then you will need to train to defeat those other style with your own instead of making excuses about rules or the shortcomings of your own style. Mastery is about finding The Way--

So, find it.

Kung Fu Training Book and Training Camp

Hey, guys!

A friend of mine has had the opportunity to spend a good deal of time in China training with a Taiji Master named Master Zhang. In his studies, he's learned a lot of really interesting things and Master Zhang has put a lot of that into a new book, which I find extraordinarily interesting.

First of all, anyone who reads this blog knows that I love fighting, training, MMA, traditional martial arts, getting punched in the face (etc.) and it seems like I'm not the only one. Master Zhang's book is called "How to Win Your First MMA Fight" and it is filled with the combative knowledge of a man who loves all of the things I've listed above (although, I'm not sure how often he gets punched in the face...) and has a treasure trove of experience in the martial arts.

So, if you guys are interested, here's the link to the book:
"How to Win Your First MMA Fight"

If you're considering getting into MMA or if you are just curious about what goes through the mind of a Kung Fu Master, I would really recommend this book.

(End of commercial-- No, but seriously, check it out!)


FANG MOUNTAIN KUNG FU TRAINING CAMP

In related news, Master Zhang and two other Kung Fu masters are planning a special training camp in China. You can find the details here. Essentially, the breakdown is that the students will train full-time for about three months and then enter some form of combat martial arts competition. The idea is to hearken back to the badass days of Kung Fu.

It's supposed to be intense and it's an amazing opportunity! If you think about it, in terms of hours, it's the equivalent of spending three nights a week at a local martial arts school for two and a half years. That's pretty hardcore. Plus, you get to go to CHINA! If you're going to learn Kung Fu-- there's not really much of a better place to go, right?

Check out the above links and certainly check out the rest of James' blog. Also, leave a comment with your thoughts about the training camp.

That's all for today, guys! Until next time, good luck and train hard!

Ippo's Mountain Training Camp

Before the fight with Sendo, Ippo's training camp takes him not to the beach, but to a secluded cabin in the mountains of Japan. Here he trains to increase his power and deliver feints with sakki or "bloodthirst" to make them more realistic. The training he does for this week is simple, but very effective. The training camp is described as seeds that will grow until they blossom at the Sendo fight.

So, here's the workout.

Ippo's Mountain Training Camp

Morning
Run 3 Miles on Hilly Terrain. (Sprint up every hill, jog lightly down the other side, and run flat areas),
Woodchopping- 100 Downward Swings
Mitt Hitting- 3 x 3 Minutes
Woodchopping- 100 Downward Swings


Afternoon (4-6 hours later)
Run 3 Miles on Hilly Terrain. (Same as above.)
Woodchopping- 100 Downward Swings
Mitt Hitting- 3 x 3 Minutes
Woodchopping- 100 Downward Swings
Sparring- 3 x3 Minutes
Woodchopping- 100 Downward Swings
Mitt Hitting- 3 x 3 Minutes

Notes:

• You're doing one of three things in this workout: Running, chopping wood, or punching something. It's basic, but that's the point.
• Be careful about blisters on your hands if you are not used to chopping wood. You may wear gloves to keep them from forming.
• When sparring, practice using feints with sakki. You need to make your opponent feel the pressure like a punch is really coming and, when he reacts, you do something entirely different. You normally don't use such a feint unless you are already in the midst of throwing punches. You would hardly lead with something like that.
• If you are in the mountains for this workout, please be careful of wild animals. It is best you not go out alone and make sure you have some sort of protection if you do. I doubt you'll be able to KO a bear like Takamura.

That's all for today. Until next time, good luck and train hard!

Sorry for the delay!

Hey, guys!

Sorry for the delay in some of the posts and the video for this week. Having to take care of some things right now, so it's taking up a lot of my spare time.

I'm going to try to put up an Ippo workout tomorrow, so look forward to that.

Until next time, good luck and train hard!

Good Luck, Takeda

This workout is for Takeda Ikki of History's Strongest Disciple Kenichi. After the fight with Ragnarok, Takeda goes in search of a Master of his own and comes across James Shiba, the world of Underground Boxing's God of Destruction. He is a monster in his own right and wanted no part of training Takeda. However, Takeda stayed outside Shiba's home and completed a few tasks of pure luck... one which was finding a rare double-pachiko ball outside James Shiba's home... even though the Master boxer just made the whole thing up on the spot.

The second task he gives to Takeda is to run to the ocean to find two rare sea creatures and bring them back. Not only that, but he had to pull a tire the whole distance and do 100 Hindu Squats while singing a song at a police box. Although rather silly and, mostly impossible to complete, Takeda did just that. After learning that Takeda has the same best punch as himself, Shiba decides to finally take Takeda as a disciple.

This workout is based on the second test that James Shiba gave to Takeda.

Good Luck, Takeda!

LEVEL ONE

Run 1 Mile
100 Hindu Squats
Run 1 Mile
--Goal Time: 21 Minutes


LEVEL TWO

Run 2 Miles
100 Hindu Squats
Run 2 Miles
--Goal Time: 35 Minutes


LEVEL THREE

Run 3.5 Miles
100 Hindu Squats
Run 3.5 Miles
--Goal Time: 54 Minutes


LEVEL FOUR

Run 5 Miles
100 Hindu Squats
Run 5 Miles
--Goal Time: 65 Minutes

BONUS LEVEL: If you can complete level four with the given time, you can start pulling a tire on the run. You may not want to do it every time you do the workout, but you could drop back down to Level 1 or 2 for the tire pull, or you can continue with Level 4 and attempt to complete the workout with the tire.

Notes:

• You may not advance to the next level until you complete the time listed.
• Your legs will hate you. End of story.
• Although you don't have to sing to anyone, it may be a good idea to take an MP3 player with you on your run.
• We've covered Hindu Squats before-- but you need to focus on cranking them out. Get into a rhythm, get them done, and get back to the run.
• Good luck!

That's all for today. Truthfully, I'm quite fond of this workout, so I really hope you enjoy it. I made it a long time ago and now I get to share it. Yay!

Until next time, good luck and train hard!

Real Anime Training Warm-up Demo Video- Part II

Here's Part 2 of the Real Anime Training Warm-up Demo!



Enjoy! Until next time, good luck and train hard!!

Retsu Kaioh's Training- Part 5

Here are a few more of the 72 Arts of Shaolin. I really hope you guys are enjoying these!

#11: Exercise "Sweeping with an Iron Broom"- This skill is about strengthening the legs or, more specifically, the shin for which the purpose is to sweep an opponent's legs or disarm an opponent. The first stage of the training is to sit motionless in a horse stance. Your leg positioning should be approximately one and half times your shoulder width, feet pointed forward, knees bent, your butt low enough to be uncomfortable (but not below parallel), back naturally straight, and your arms loosely held up in front of your body.

As an example, go to page 5 of this document-http://home.earthlink.net/~wushujia/articles/bashi2009final1.pdf

Stand in this stance as long as you comfortably can and stand when fatiqued and take a little walk. Come back to it later in the day and continue training. This training should be accomplished day after day, the author says. When you can stand in the horse stance for 2 hours without stopping, you have mastered the first stage of the training.

The next stage of the training requires you to place a wooden pole (or several) in the ground and to make sweeping blows at it with your legs. You are to use all four sides of your leg and it will hurt initially, but your legs will become tougher. There is no definite succession of blows to be delivered, you may kick at any height, any frequency, any number of targets.

When you can shake the poles loose from the ground and break the end off, it will be necessary to put a larger pole in the ground and continue the training. The author says eventually, you should work your way up to a tree of some size. At this point, you should be very careful. You will not be able to deliver the same types of blows to the tree, but continue your training in this fashion for three years and leaves will be shaken from the tree. Continue your training, the author gives no time frame, and the trunk itself will shake. Remember that results do not come overnight and that it will be painful. Finally, the trunk will move when you kick it and eventually will fall. You can probably move to another tree after the first one falls. At this point, you will be able to break the limbs of your opponents. This training is difficult, but the author urges a strong spirit.

#12: Exercise "Hand- Bamboo Leaf"- For this training, the author says you need to fill a linen (I'm sure it could be something else, too) bag with iron filings and deliver palm strikes to it. He also says it will cut you, so you should be ready with medicinal tinctures... I think we're just going to skip that altogether and just move onto steel shot. Tie the bag with a rope to strong tree branch or hang it where you can hit it easily from a horse stance. The initial weight of the bag should be approximately 15kg (33lbs). You should strike repeatedly, driving your power to throw the bag back and you can also catch it on its return. If you hit the bag so that it spins, strike it oppositely so that it returns to its normal position.

When you feel during the practice of this exercise, that it is becoming relatively easy (meaning you can strike at it for a long period of time without tiring), add 10kg (22lbs) to the bag and continue your training. Make sure your bag is tough enough to take the beating. You may need to replace it with canvas. When the training once again becomes relatively easy, add 10 more kg and keep training. Repeat this cycle until you reach 60kg (132lbs) and when you can freely deliver blows to the bag without tiring, you will have achieved mastership of this art. It should take 3-4 years, says the author, by which time you should be able to break an object in front of you and seriously injure your opponent.

#13: Exercise "Jumping Centipede"- The starting position of the exercise is much like a push-up. Palms on the ground, raised on your toes, body 2-3 inches off the ground. You will bend slightly at the hips and push off explosively with your arms and toes so that you "hang over the ground" and then, moving forward as well, land back in the starting position.

When a certain level of skill has been attained, you can also do this on your fists and your fingertips (using less fingers as you get better-- until just your forefingers are used) and even raise one leg. You will build explosiveness, stamina, finger and toe strength, and agility--especially on the ground. You can even jump in mulitiple directions with you get better at the exercise.


That's all for today! Let me know if you guys are doing any of these arts so far. I'd love to have you document any and all of the training that you do. Until next time, good luck and train hard!

Workout later today, Part 2 of Demo Video tomorrow

Later tonight, I'm going to post another workout for you guys and then tomorrow I'm going to post Part 2 of the Warm-up Demo Video.   I hope you guys enjoy the video, because we're doing a lot more of them in the coming weeks.

Real Anime Training Warm-up Demo Video- Part I

 Hope you enjoyed it! More is on the way! Until next time, good luck and train hard!

Kenichi's Seikuuken Training

Kenichi's Seikuuken training is extremely brutal and, truthfully, difficult to replicate. At the very least, we can offer up an imitation of the training and try to capture the essence of what the Seikuuken is. Essentially, the Seikuuken (at least the first stage of it) is an imaginary circle around your body the represents the range of your movement. Ideally, you shouldn't allow anything to enter the realm of your Seikuuken (at the first stage). It is meeting an attacker at the gate, so to speak.

The training below is designed with this concept in mind. There are a few options for the levels of the training, but the concepts remain the same. The Seikuuken is said to require a calm, mirror-like, mind. Keep that in your thoughts as you train. You'll need to empty and calm your mind in order to use this skill as it is expressed in the anime.

Kenichi's Seikuuken Training

Level One: Grabbing the Fish  
   >If you have access to a stream where you can stand and attempt to grab or slap fish out of the water, by all means, do so. Remember that the concept here is not to go for where the fist is, but where it will be. However, if you do not (like most) have access to a stream as previously mentioned, there are other methods available to you.
   >The alternate method of "Grabbing the Fish" is done with a tennis ball. A partner will stand at the furthest point of your reach, where you can still grasp the ball, and then drop the ball. You will then attempt to snatch the ball out of the air. It is, I think, not a direct correlation nor as effective as actually catching a fish with your bare hands, but it will have to do. You could also try to catch a fly or another bug that has landed. This has more of a parallel to catching a fish, because you are making the first move. When you have regular success with this training, you can move to the second level.

Level Two: Blocking the Fist
   >The second level is a partner will circle around you and toss out random attacks. You'll have to block the attacks as they come and your partner can increase in speed as you get better at it. The strikes should be tossed out at the extent of the striking partner's reach and should be intercepted as early on in the movement as possible. For instance, if a punch comes, it should be blocked or deflected before it is extended out or just as it begins to move, but not before.

Level Three: Bees' Hell
    >This training is one of the things that is not really capable of being imitated. In the manga, it shows Kenichi undertaking this part of the training by balancing on one leg on three rocks stacked on one another, while bees attacked him. The Elder told him he should brush off the bees before they stung him. Although I do not recommend doing this at all, I think it is worthwhile to note that it is not the dangerous thing for a bee to fly next to you or even land on you-- it is the act of the been stinging you that is dangerous.
    >I think the key here is that you need not worry about attacks that you either perceive to be coming and are not or feints that the enemy may throw at you. You only need worry about the committed attack that is actually coming toward you. This is, obviously, easier said than done. I have a couple of training methods hear the can be useful. The first will require two partners tossing (once again) tennis balls at or around you. Your goal is to only react to the ones that are going to hit you and either catch or deflect them. To make it more difficult, you can stand on one foot, so balance is a factor. If you need to increase the difficulty, you can stand on one foot while on a half-balance ball.
    >The second training method is similar, but will be a partner tossing out attacks at you, while your goal is to only respond to the ones that are going to hit you. It is recommended that you wear gear for this, so you are not unnecessarily injured in training. Your partner should also be including feints during this training. You can include the balance training here as well. After reasonable success with this training, you can move to the next level.

Level Four: Dodging or Redirecting Large Force
   >The previous levels have mainly been things that aren't really going to hurt you if they connect (either because it's a tennis ball or because you are wearing gear); however, now it's going to get just slightly more dangerous. I still recommend that you wear gear, but this is going to be more of a sparring scenario. Your opponent can strike at you, attempt to grab you, or use a practice weapon (padded preferably) while you attempt to dodge or parry anything that is sent at you. The goal, again, is to intercept it on the outside edges of your "Seikuuken" (that invisible circle I was talking about). So, if it's a punch, kick, or an attempted double leg takedown-- you need to parry, dodge, or redirect it. In general, the parrying or the redirecting will come before the dodge. You really only dodge if you miss the parrying or redirecting.  Don't focus so much on technique when doing this training, but focus on the concept of the Seikuuken and really clear your mind. I think you'll be suprised at what happens when you just allow your body to move as is necessary.

Notes:

• You can spend as much time as you like training: 10, 20, 30 minutes... 2 hours. I left this one intentionally open.

That's all for the Seikuuken Stage 1 training. The rest of the training will come in time, but just focus on this for now. Until next time, good luck and train hard!

On a side note, we added another FB fan. Good work, guys! Keep inviting your friends and spreading the word!

Sponsors

I'm going to post the first demonstration video for Real Anime Training on Monday, hopefully. After that, we'll try to have one at least once a week amidst our workouts and other things on the blog.

I know the videos are long overdue, but it's better late than never.

On a side note, if you feel so inclined, you can donate to Real Anime Training to help offset my training expenses or, if you know someone who would like to Sponsor us, we'd love to have them.

No workout tonight, but I'll definitely have one up for tomorrow.

Thanks, guys! Until next time, good luck and train hard!

Who Would Win #6: Sakaki Shio vs. Orochi Doppo

In these things, I tend to like to match people up based on their commonalities. This time, we've matched up two Karate masters from two different anime. Sakaki Shio is the "100 Dan Brawler" from History's Strongest Disciple Kenichi (I still refuse to call it Kenichi: The Mightiest Disciple) and Orochi Doppo, the tiger-slaying "God of Karate" from Grappler Baki. Let's begin!

Truthfully, this would be a brutal fight, because both of these men know the deepest secrets of Karate and would, thus, anticipate each other's moves with amazing accuracy. The fight would likely be long and arduous and neither man would walk away unharmed. Their experiences are different, with Sakaki being involved in both underground fighting and government missions and Orochi Doppo's life almost fully committed to the day-to-day practice of Karate... and having badass fights in his own brand of underground matches.

I think speed and power go to Sakaki, but experience and sheer toughness go to Orochi. The other thing is that Doppo is not at all afraid to kill his opponent, if necessary, while Sakaki belongs to the "Katsujinken" or "Life Giving Fist." In the end, the fight would most likely end with a single full-power blow from both men, with Sakaki barely snatching victory away from the Tiger Killer.

That's two HSDK vs. Grappler Baki matches we've had. Don't know if there will be more of those, but I've got a couple more ideas for Random Who Would Win bouts.

In a side note, this is the 100th post we've done this year! To match that, if you haven't joined us on Facebook yet, we're still looking to get to 100 fans. We're only 39 shy of that and I've got some cool stuff planned for the blog when we get there!

I'm going to try to get a workout up sometime during the latter part of Wednesday and maybe another one on Thursday. If you have a request for Thursday, leave it in the comments!

Thanks, guys! Until next time, good luck and train hard!

Retsu Kaioh's Training- Part 4

In this edition of Retsu Kaioh's Training, we're going to look at some very interesting Shaolin training methods. The three methods are partially defensive and partially offensive and are, for the most part, a hard-type training method. The first of these is--

#8: Exercise- "Iron Head"- Yeah, this is pretty much exactly what it sounds like. You begin by wrapping your head in several layers of cloth or maybe a towel. Preferably it should be something that you can remove in layers. You will, at this point, hit your head against a wall. That, is, the top of your head. You shouldn't try to go really hard, just focus on getting used to the force and you only need to do it a few times a day, initially.

After a year of training in this fashion, you may remove a few layers (see why the layers are important?) and continue your training. After 100 more days of training, remove more layers and then, you gradually remove layers as is comfortable. After the end of the second year, the layers should be completely removed.

At this point, you will continue the training with a bare head. It will be painful, so proceed with caution, says the author. However, the head will eventually become harder than stone and can be used as a weapon and, obviously, if someone tries to hit you over the head, the damage will be greatly reduced. The author explains that this skill should only be used in defense and never as a first strike.

#9: Exercise "Iron Shirt"- This skill takes a little longer to develop, but you begin in a similar fashion. Wrap your torso in several layers of fabric and massage your chest, stomach, and back (I guess get someone to do this) with force. The author advises you to unbend your elbows from time to time as you do this. He also advises that you sleep on a hard bed in order for your body to get used to hard surfaces. Lastly, you will dig out a little pit and put a bar above it, so you can hold yourself up. Fill the bottom of the pit with about 1/4 inch of fine sand and, holding the bar, drop a body part (back, shoulder, butt, chest, etc) onto the sand with force. You will also have the fabric on your body in this training. Each body part should be hit twice during a training session. This first stage will take three years to attain.

The second stage involves the removal of the fabric from your body as you continue your training and add to your training regimen, striking your upper body with a wooden hammer (I would say with a larger striking surface... not like a framing hammer or something... more like a mallet) and finally an metal one. This training should also take you three years... I would make sure I was comfortable with the wooden mallet before I moved to its metal counterpart.

When the skill is acquired, your body will be able to fend off strikes from human bodies and lighter blunt weapons, the author says, but you should avoid heavier weapons all the same.

#10: A Series of Blows- This is sort of like "Iron Shirt," except you'll start with a flat piece of wood-- a wooden "brick," if you will-- and hit your body with it, lightly at first. You will train this skill once in the morning and once in the evening, picking a portion of your body every time to which you will deliver at least 100 blows (example: both arms, both legs, your chest and stomach, or your sides).

After a year of training, you can move to a normal clay brick and continue training in this fashion. After six months of training, you can move to a metal "brick" and finally after another six months of training, the first stage of mastery for this skill is reached. Obviously, you must continue on with this training in order to develop higher levels of mastery, but at two years of training, this is one of the arts that has the shortest time constraints on it.


Hope you enjoyed these three Arts! There's more on the way in the coming weeks. Until next time, good luck and train hard!

Ippo's Comeback Workout

This workout is for the training Ippo did for his comeback fight with Ponchai. Ippo was just coming off a three month rest period, so he had to build his stamina and rhythm back for the fight. Not to mention, Coach Kamogawa also spent some time in the hospital, so it threw another wrench in the training. The purpose of the skill training during the time, was to build a simultaneous offense and defense. The workout will be slightly different because Ippo is just coming off a rest period.

The result: The Dempsey Roll.

So, here's the workout!

Ippo's Comeback Workout

Morning

• 3 Mile Run

4-6 Hours Later

• 20 Push-ups
• 20 Sit-ups
• 20 Squats

4 Rounds, then

• 3 Minutes Jump Rope
• 2 Minutes Dodging Tennis Balls
• 1 Minute Rope Drill

3 Rounds, then

• Run 2 Miles
• 5 Sets of 100 Yard Wheelbarrow Push or Other Push

Then,

• 3 x 3 Minute Rounds Mitt Hitting
• 3 x 3 Minute Rounds Bagwork
• 3 x 3 Minute Rounds Shadowboxing
• 3 x 3 Minute Rounds Sparring

Notes:

• For Dodging Tennis Balls, you'll have a partner bounce tennis balls at your upper body as you bob and weave to dodge them. It's best to do it, where there is a wall that is about four or five feet behind you so you can be mindful of the balls bouncing off the wall, as well.
• For the Rope Drill, you'll want to have a rope tied at about shoulder height, preferably at a length of about 15-20 feet, so you have enough room to move. First, you'll just move forward, while ducking underneath the rope and slipping to the other side. Then, you'll need to work on throwing a punch with that movement, like a hook or uppercut.
• This workout is intentionally a little easier than some of the recent Ippo workouts, but don't worry, they'll pick up the pace again soon enough.

That's all for today, hope you enjoyed it! Until next time, good luck and train hard!

Donations

If you haven't already seen it, I added a donation button on the right side of the blog. Feel free to donate however much you like, because every little bit helps! With the growth we've had in the past few months, it seems an appropriate time to branch out, so I'm working on some more things for you guys.

Thanks so much for reading!!

Ideas

I just want to remind you guys that if you have any ideas or suggestions or just things you'd like to see, let me know in the comments or shoot me an email at realanimetraining@gmail.com.

Good luck and train hard!

Retsu Kaioh's Training- Part 3

As a continuation of Retsu Kaioh's Training, here are some more of the 72 Arts of Shaolin.

#6: The Four-Part Exercise- This exercise is a little more extensive than most of the other arts, if only because there are, as the name suggests, four parts to it. the first part is

>Supporting the Sky, Raising the Earth, Adjustment of "Three Heaters"
  -Stand up straight, stick out your chest, draw in your buttocks, and look straight ahead intently. Your arms are at your sides, fingers straight and your feets and knees are together. You will raise your arms up at the your sides, but do not bend your elbows. As the arms reach above your head, form your arms into a circle  and interlock your fingers and turn your palms upward, pushing up to the sky with all of your might. Tilt your head back and look at the back of your hands, while clenching your jaw tightly. Next you will bend at the waist and attempt to put your palms on the ground, without bending your knees at all. You may not be able to do so at first, but this is the ultimate goal. Then, you slowly come back to the original position, pushing up with all of your might. This exercise is to be done slowly.

>Five Damages, Seven Harms, Looking Back
  -Stand up straight and turn your head slowly to the right, attempting to look at the heel of your left foot. When you turn your head, your chest sticks out, the torso stays still, and your shoulders should not tilt. Then, return to the starting position and turn your head to the left, trying to look at your right heel. Finally, return to the initial position. This should also be done slowly.

>Opening the Window to Admire the Moon, Drive Away Fire from the Heart
  -Adopt a horse stance, (you may take whichever form you like), but your chest must be forward a little. Your hands are clenched into fists and pressed to the waist, palms up. Look forward and then push with your left leg and straighten it, as your left arm comes up, elbow pointing away from your body and palm facing out. Then take a step out to the right, toes pointing in that direction now with the knee still bent, and forcefully push your right palm out, your body also turning to the right. Keep your eyes on your right hand. Then, you will make the same movement to the left, the left palm out, stepping with the left, turning to the left, your right leg straightened. Return to the starting position.

>Catching Emptiness, Striking at Emptiness, the Strength will not Give Out
  -Adopt a horse stance again, the fists clenched at the waist again. Throw out a strong punch with your right fist at shoulder level, palm down. The left remains at the waist. The right hands opens and immediately clenches inot a fist again as if catching something, before snapping back to your waist. At the same time the right returns to your waist, the left strikes out now, opening and clenching just as the right did just a moment ago. Alternate this process until your legs are too tired to stay in this position.

For this Art, you can do each of the portions for a time limit in progression or in a cycle for a time period. For instance, you can do them each for 5 minutes or cycle through them as many times as you can in 20 minutes. In general, these are done slowly and are meant to build strength, range of motion, and body awareness. This Art's abilities will manifest naturally in your other skills. You must exhale deeply when bending down and for the first, it is best if you can raise up on your toes a little when pressing your palms into the air. Your breath should not be held, but kept in steady rhythm with your body's movements. This is a further foundation for the rest of your training.

#7: Exercise "One Finger of Chan Meditation"- I, personally, find this skill questionable. Up to the mastery of the first level, it seems practical enough, but after that, I'm not sure if I fully support what the author says. However, if you wish to train this art, by all means, practice with the full intent of success and maybe you can acheive something most think is impossible. The method of practice is from the story of a "well-known master of the Shouther Shaolin school" who apparently studied Martial Arts for 40 years and was never beaten.

This training begins with hanging a weight, assumably at about chest or shoulder height. I would say this weight should be considerable, maybe 40-50lbs or so. The master put the weight in a place he often would pass by and, as he did so, he would poke the weight with his finger. Initially, the weight remained motionless, but after a while it began to move and then it moved easier and easier. Here is where my belief begins to get shaky.

After a while, he would poke at the weight a little distance away (I'm guessing just a few inches at first) and the weight would move without him touching it. He then further increased the distance. After this, the master apparently placed a few lamps in the court and lit them in the evening. He would stand about 25 feet away from the lamps and delivered a blow at the flame with his finger. The flame apparently swayed at first, but after some time of practice, would go out immediately at the strike of the master.

The next stage after this was to cover the lamp with a paper shade and deliver blows at it until a single finger blow delivered in the direction of the flame tore the paper and extinguished the flame. The final stage has the paper shades replaced with glass and finger strikes are delivered in the direction of the flame so that the flame goes out without the glass breaking. With regular practice, (I'm supposing every day practice) the author says that this stage can be reached in 10 years and that if a strike is directed at a man, no wound will be seen but his internal organs will be seriously injured.

Like I said, hard to believe, but train it if you want to train it. I'm just relaying the information.

That's all for today. Retsu Kaioh's Training is going to take a while to complete because there are so many Arts, however it should be a fun ride. Until next time, good luck and train hard!

Ippo's Recovery Time

This workout corresponds to the recovery time after Ippo's title fight. He wasnt' allowed to come back to the gym for 3 months. While I think this is a little extreme, because I think you'd lose a lot of strength/speed/stamina, the concept of rest is very important to the athlete or anyone who does hard training. This is a light workout to throw in amidst the hellish training that we sometimes put ourselves through.

Ippo's Recovery Time

1. Run 1 Mile at a light pace
2. 20 Push-ups
3. 20 Sit-ups
4. 20 Squats
5. 3 Minutes Shadowboxing
6. Extra Stretching

Notes:

• For extra stretching, you can do as you like, but I would say just do another round of the Real Anime Training Stretching Routine and maybe massage your muscles with your hands to work out the tension and lactic acid.

This is super simple, but it's supposed to be. This will give you an opportunity to have a very easy day every now and again, but still to keep your body moving.

That's number one for today-- up next is more of Retsu Kaioh's Training. Hope you enjoy! Good luck and train hard!

Later on today...

Gonna try to put two things up later today-- one Retsu Kaioh's Training and one Hajime no Ippo workout... you know, to make up for my recent slowness. :)

Yu Yu Hakusho- Genkai's Training for Yusuke

There's not a whole lot of training that we can apply from Yu Yu Hakusho, because there's a lot of energy based things. However, there are some things we can take from it, both directly and for inspiration. This workout is based on the times that Genkai trained Yusuke. We don't see much, but what we do see is pretty interesting.  So, here it is!

Genkai's Training for Yusuke

1. Practice Handstands for 30 Minutes
2. Practice Rock Climbing for 30 Minutes
3. Taking Punches- 3 x 1 Minute Rounds
4. Pushing against an opponent- 3 x 1 Minute Rounds

Notes:

• This is simple, but easily varied and increased in difficulty.
• For handstands, just try to stay in a handstand as long as possible. Eventually, practice one handed handstand and fingertip handstands. The absolute limit of this training is being able to do a one-finger handstand. I'm fairly certain this is an ability that would require years and years of training, if you ever acheived it at all. So, for the sake of your sanity, try to focus on the task at hand and just practice the living hell of your handstands.
• For rock climbing, it's best if you have gear and a rockwall made for training. If you're new and unless you are under the direct supervision of a rock climbing instructor, I wouldn't recommend actually going and training your rock climbing out in the wilderness, because you may die. Seriously-- death is forever. Anyway, if you have access to a rock climbing gym, then go for it! You need to work on speed and mobility on the wall. After you feel very comfortable, you can even race an opponent up the wall. To increase the difficulty, you can also wear ankle weights or a weighted vest.
• For taking punches, you'll mainly be taking them to your midsection, preferably all the way around. Start with light blows and work our way up to harder ones.
• For pushing against an opponent, you can put your hands, shoulders, chests, or backs together and try to push one another as hard as you can. The point here is maximum exertion, although you'll probably be pretty wasted from the rest of the workout at this point.
• The exercises are mostly open so you can train on the principles and the movements, just so you're not always set in a certain way of doing things, because the world is never static and is always bringing you new challenges. Increase the difficulty as you get better at each thing.
• Try to have fun!

That's all for today. I'm not sure if I can get anything else out of Yu Yu Hakusho, but I'm currently taking a second look at a few series I'd previously written off, so expect to see some newer things coming in the next few weeks, amidst our regulars.

Until next time, good luck and train hard!

Retsu Kaioh's Training- Part 2

Here are the first five of the 72 Arts of Shaolin for Retsu Kaioh's Training. There are a lot more, so be prepared to see Retsu's name for a while (I'll spare you from every post). Remember, the author cautions, these Arts are not to be used to harm, but to defend yourself and others. And I wholeheartedly agree.

1. Diamond Finger: Up first, we have the Diamond Finger. This Art is designed to turn the fore fingers of your hands into lethal weapons. The training is simple, but not easy. You'll need to continually poke your finger into hard objects, such as a tree trunks or a wall. Various other objects can, and should, be used. If you have a spare moment, poke something.

You'll have to start with light blows at first and build your way up to hitting harder. This training will take a long time and results will come slowly. Remember not to go too quickly or you may injure your fingertip and be unable to train for a short while, which can slow you even more. These Arts are not something acquired over night, so remember to be diligent in your training. Your fingers will be sore and you may find excuses not to train, but train every day even if it's just lightly tapping objects.

It takes approximately three years, according to the author, to say that you have acquired this skill. That is not to say you have Mastered it, but you have successfully acquired it. When the Art has become your own, the author conveys that you have leave imprints in wood and cause serious harm to a human being.


2. Twin Lock: Twin lock is also a simple exercise, but painful and not easy to continue for long periods of time, both because it is painful and partially embarassing to practice in front of others. To begin, you simply strike your forearms together. You do this bone on bone, bone on muscle, and muscle on muscle. It will hurt and the process will be slow. However, after a year or so of purposeful training, you should here a hollow knock and feel very little to no pain and it is possible to move on to the next stage.

The second stage includes the striking together of the wrists, fists, palms, two fingers held tightly together, and your straightened forefinger. A similar hollow knocking sound and diminished pain should bring to conclusion the second stage-- after approximate two years of total training.

The final stage includes striking at the feet and shins and upper legs with your forearms in the same fashion as the other stages of training. After at least another year of training, you'll have acquired this skill.


3. Striking with Foot: This Art requires that you take an stroll in the morning and evening. That's it... no, I'm kidding. You do take a morning and evening stroll, but on those walks, you go barefoot and kick at small stones or other small objects with your big toe. Gradually, you will work your way up to larger and larger stones and when you can toss a sizeable stone a fair distance, you'll have achieved the first stage. This, of course, is rather vague, so when you can toss a stone around the size of (or maybe a little bigger than) your fist, then you can move on to the next stage.

The second stage of this art requires you to take aiming blows at stones. So, instead of just kicking a larger stone with your toe, you will attempt to kick it at something. If you can regulary aim a large stone with a kick, then you will see that your kicking skill has greatly increased and you will have gained the ability to move even a large opponent with a kick.



4. Pulling Out Nails: This next skill builds your finger, hand, forearm, and shoulder strength. You will take 108 nails that are about 4" long (I suppose a 16d nail should work) and drive them part-ways into a thick board. You will then practice pulling all 108 nails out of the board with your thumb and forefinger. First focus on pulling out the 108 for as long as it takes you, even if it's 6 months. Then, drive another 108 and see how long that takes you. When you can pull them out (on both sides) in a single sitting, you have mastered the first stage.

The second stage requires driving the nails, sprinkling them with water, and then allowing them to rust. So, you may want to have a second set of the nails already rusting, while you're training your first stage. When you can remove all 108 rusty nails on with your left and right (108 each side) in a single sitting, you've gained this ability. The final stage of the training, and the one that leads to Mastery, is when you can pull 1,000 rusty nails on each side. I'm sure you could further complicate this training with thicker nails, but one thing at a time.


5. Ringing Round a Tree: This training requires you to hug trees. I'm not kidding this time. You'll go outside and find a tree that you can reach your arms around and clasp them together. Then you'll attempt to lift and pull with all of your might until you are absolutely exhausted. Do this several times throughout the day. After a year, you should be able to shake the tree.

After two years of training, you'll find your body muscles becoming hard as stone and the tree will move more and more. After three years of constant training, the author says that you should be able to uproot the tree. This makes me believe that you are supposed to use the same tree for three years and it should be one you can easily grasp your hands together or grab your own wrists. However, I'm slightly skeptical of this, however other people have practiced trying to throw or lift trees and have become very strong as a result, so even if you never uproot the tree, you'll build an amazing level of strength.


That's all for today. Just 67 more arts to go! Hope you enjoyed this one. Until next time, good luck and train hard!

Retsu Kaioh's Training- Part 1

The training for the Master of Chinese Kung Fu in Grappler Baki is not necessarily a workout, so much as it is a way of life. You can do a lot of these things throughout the day or you can have a time set aside to do them. Truthfully, Retsu Kaioh's Training is going to be split up into several posts, because there is so much here. My main resources for this training were some documentaries on the Shaolin Temple (previously used on Ma Kensei's Training) and a book called Training Methods of 72 Arts of Shaolin, written by Jin Jing Zhong.

The author states that "[i]t is impossible to perfect oneself in all 72 Arts" and that is probably because there are just so many of them it would take more years than a person has to live. So, we are either stuck with trying to develop a low to moderate skill in 72 different skills or a Mastery in just a handful over the course of a lifetime. The great thing about this is that you have your base set of skill and then, essentially, these 72 Arts are specialized skill sets or abilities. It's reminds me a lot of distributing skill points in video games, if that makes it easier to understand. You have a maximum of skill points you can spend, so choose wisely, because redistributing them at a later time is not really an option. So, in general, pick Arts that you like or find attractive for whatever reason, and then practice them relentlessly.

We're going to start with the basics. These exercises are to be done no matter which Arts you select and are to be practiced on a regular basis and are never abandoned. So this will be the subject of this first post on the 72 Arts of Shaolin-- the basics.

Retsu Kaioh's Training- The Basics
(Note: To be done before any and all 72 Arts training sessions.)

1. Suspending the Golden Coin -This art requires either a coin with a hole in it (or you could use a larger washer) to be suspended from a string.
             >The First Stage- Stand close to the coin and push it away from you gently. As it comes close to your eye, try not to blink. When the coin can come very close to your eye without blinking, you can move to the next stage. However, you must practice the first stage even if you attain the second stage.
             >The Second Stage- Stand with the coin behind your back and listen for the sound of its movement. Really focus on the sound. You don't have to react, merely focus. After a time, the author says, the skill with spontaneously reveal itself. It's half meditation, half ear training.

2. Hanging Pearl of Buddha- This art requires a pearl (or a small sphere) to be placed on a string in front of you and behind you while in a seated position. You could use a heavy bead on a string, for example. Have both of them swinging from side to side, one behind you and one in front. Try not to blink and also listen to the sound of the one behind you. Randomly reach out an attempt to grasp a "pearl" with two fingers. When you can successfully do this for both "pearls" you will have acheived a high level of skill with this exercise.

3. 1,000 Layers of Paper- This art requires 1,000 sheets of paper to be attached to a wooden block at waist height. Hand and elbow techniques are to be employed. However, I believe that a good substitute for the 1,000 shees of paper is a heavy bag. You make your own decision, though.

Attempt to deliver as many different kinds of strikes as you can think of-- slaps, punches, elbows, forearms, chops-- from as many angles as you can think-- from the side, front, behind you-- whatever. The author says if you train this skill (I'm assuming almost every day) for six months, the first stage will be complete. The second after a year and the third after two years. "Punches will be rapid like rain drops during wind blasts," the author says.

4. Circle RUYI- This exercise is for gripping. It involves two metal rings of varying weights. Initially, the metal rings should weight approximately 3-5 lbs a piece and held in each hand by the fingers. You will make circles with the ring in your fingers. Essentially, you hold the ring and shift your fingers like you're rubbing them together in order for the circle to turn.

You'll work your way to only being able to do it with your thumb and forefinger and you've completed the first stage. You shouldn't neglect your other fingers if you can do it with just the thumb and forefingers, practice with all five every time and take one finger away every so often. After you complete the first stage, you increase the weight of the circles to 8 or 9 lbs and start over. The third stage is 15-17 lbs and is the final stage. You'll stay here after you've reached this level.

Doing both hands at once also build coordination. The "rings" do not have to be circular and don't have to have a hole in the center. You could use a flat piece of metal or something like it as long as it weighs about what you need it to weigh.

5. Striking at Cotton-Wool Ball- Take a cotton ball or a piece of wool and hang it from a string.  Punch, kick, finger strike, kick, elbow, or palm strike at the cotton ball. The point is to develop pinpoint striking. You can strike continuously at the cotton, but be careful about overextending your joints. Eventually, you can do two cotton balls and do simultaneous attacks to each.

6. Striking at Wooden Dummy- You need a thick log in the ground, like a telephone pole or something and you need to attach cross arms to it to make it look more like a person. Wrap the arms and the body with wool and leather. Employ as many different kinds of strikes, pushes, or grab attacks as you can think. You can strike with your shoulder, hip, fist, or whatever body part you like.An alternative is if you have access to a real wooden dummy.

7. Kicking at Wooden Pole- Pretty much the same as the wooden dummy, but no cross arms. Also, this comes in stages.
             >Stage One- Deliver kicks from a stationary position and try not to shift your weight too much.
             >Stage Two- Deliver kicks from simple stepping motions or turns. Includes Stage One.
             >Stage Three- Deliver kicks from jumping or spinning. Includes Stages One and Two.

The author says that when you can break a thick pole by kicking, it shows the emergence of gong fu. Whether or not you can break the pole by kicking is not certain, but it's a goal!

8. Kicking at Flying Meteor- Hang three or four goose-egg size stones from a beam. Kick the stones to make them swing in different directions. You can hang them directly in front of you or one at each side, front, and back. You can have them at varying heights or all at one height and raise them as you get better at kicking. Employ many different kicks and when you can kick all of them without any of them swinging back and hitting you, you have acheived a high level of kicking skill.



Notes:

• Ok, I know this seems like a lot, but it's only eight exercises. If you devoted 5-10 minutes to each before you trained you're 2-4 Arts selections, your total training time for a day would be approximately 2 hours. That is a long time to be training, but you can work up to that level or only work on perfecting a single Art if you lack time.
• If you have to choose between practicing an Art and doing the basics, please do the basics.
• Take your time and practice-- you'll see results soon enough.

That's all for today. I hope you enjoyed the foray into more gong fu training. It's always a pleasure because the training is so different. In any case, until next time, good luck and train hard!

Frequency of Real Anime Training Workouts (A Prelude)

I was going to post a workout for you guys tonight, but instead I'm going to take a step back and look at all the workouts we have. In general, there are a lot of workouts that we've had in Real Anime Training and, of those, many are either very high in intensity or volume... sometimes both.

Unfortunately, training at such a high level for a long period of time can lead to overtraining. Not just your body can be affected, in terms of sickness or injury, but your mind as well. It's when your mind is affected, you find that you've taken two months off training and you don't know why. You get burnt out. Training is just "one more thing" you have to do in the laundry list of things you have to do. Especially with workouts that may be a little longer or are day workouts.

Apart from the Level-oriented workouts, there's nothing that says you can't take a longer workout and turn it into three training sessions over three days. Now, I'm not telling you to take a workout and turn it into ten training sessions for ten days, because at that point you're breaking it up too much. However, taking a very high volume workout and breaking up over a two or three day period is fine, especially if you are just starting that workout.

You have to remember that Real Anime Training is about having fun with your training and adapting it to yourself. It's about finding inspiration from the characters and stories. I am going to put up a workout next, but in the next few days, I'm going to attempt to share some more thoughts on training frequency and schedules.

That's all for today. Until next time, good luck and train hard!

Updates

Hey, guys. It's been a busy week for me, so I haven't been able to put much up, but I'm hoping to get something up for you guys tonight!

Until then, good luck and train hard!

Body Conditioning- The Hands (Part 3)

This will be the last post on hand conditioning in this series. I'll pick up the series in a couple of weeks with another type of body conditioning, but it's time to get back to the workouts and such. These last types of hand conditioning are not entirely different than the previous versions. In general, hand conditioning requires that you strike something that is hard in order to increase bone density and skin toughness.

Hand Conditioning Method #4: Makiwara (Striking Post)

A makiwara is a striking post used in Karate. There are actually striking posts or dummies in other martial arts, but I'm just using this as a reference. Essentially, you just need something hard that would imitate, like a heavy bag, an opponent. You will not be able to hit it hard at first, but you can work your way up to it. In general, if you are going to be doing any kind of makiwara-type training, I would recommend trying to condition your whole hand and not just the knuckles. Punch, knife hand, ridge hand, backfist, hammer fist, finger poke-- whatever.  You may do conditioning for a length of time every day or for a number of repetitions, but don't go overboard. You have to remember that this is on top of any other training you might be doing. 10-15 minutes on hand conditioning isn't much, but it's time well-spent.

Here are some links for reference:

http://www.okinawagoju.com/OkinawaGoju/images/rd_hojoundo_equipment/hojoundoequip_09.JPG
http://www.okinawagoju.com/OkinawaGoju/images/rd_hojoundo_equipment/hojoundoequip_10.JPG
http://www.wle.com/products/W558.html

Hand Conditioning Method #5: "Giving" Materials

By "giving" materials, I mean materials that are going to "give" when you strike them. For instance, if you punch sand, gravel, steel shot, or dry bean, they will move out of your way. It's a way for you to punch something that has a certain hardness, but also for it to give like a human body. For instance, if you punch someone in the stomach, the rest of your hand will touch the person's body, not just the knuckles used for striking. Start with sand or dry beans and then work up from there. You can use tree bark, small gravel, medium size gravel... I think you get the picture. Use many different strikes here, as well.

I hope the options I've given you in these last three posts will be useful for your training in whatever martial arts style you practice (or, even, wish to practice). There will be more body conditioning following, but I think it would be good to start with this and perhaps add more later.

That's all for now. Until next time, good luck and train hard!!

Body Conditioning- The Hands (Part 2)

Hand Conditioning Method #2: Hit Random Stuff


In the previous post regarding hand conditioning, we looked over some Iron Palm-type training. However, if that's not your thing, rest assured there are other methods of hand conditioning available. For instance, a very simple way of conditioning your hands is to merely hit them up against random things throughout the day. A tree, a wall, a board, your car (ok, not that one)-- lots of things will suffice. So, that's our second way of hand conditioning. It's not as cut-and-dry as the previous method and there is a possibility that it can get you into trouble if you break something or if the constant pounding on everything you pass by with your fists and hands gets annoying to other people (my wife, for instance).
 
The good thing about this method is that is requires no special equipment and, included in this method, is a "sub-method" where you hit your hands against one another or hit your knuckles against one another. You will have to go easy at first, but you'll be able to hit harder eventually. As in all things, go slowly and build gradually and, if it hurts, then stop and come back to it another day.
 
Hand Conditioning Method #3: Bagwork
 
There is already bagwork in a lot of the Real Anime Training workouts, but if you have a heavy bag, hitting it with no gloves or just very thin bag gloves is an excellent way to condition your hands. If you have a canvas bag, you can also condition the skin on your hands. Be careful on heavy bags with slippery surfaces, as it can be easy to tear skin on them with glancing blows, especially if you're sweating. If you're not too tired from your workout or if your workout doesn't involve much punching, it can be a good idea to spend a few minutes a day just really laying into it in order to build your wrist and hand strength. However, remember to hold your fist properly according to whatever style you practice.
 
Thats all for today guys. I might put something else up tonight, but it depends on how much time I have. Until next time, good luck and train hard!
 
P.S.- Thanks to all you who have been spreading the word on Facebook and otherwise, we've got a lot of new fans and a few more followers on Blogger-- so, thank you! And to all the new readers, welcome!

Body Conditioning- The Hands (Part 1)

This is going to be the start of a small side project on body conditioning. The point to body conditioning is to hardened the skin, muscle, and bone-- conditioning them to take damage. There's not much point for any of you to undertake such training if the martial arts are just a hobby or a passing interest. However, any serious martial artist must at least consider body conditioning. The process is long and often painful at times, but can be useful in increasing the hardness of striking surfaces (such as knuckles, feet, or shins) and your ability to take a strike without being injured. Like anything else worth having, attaining a high-level of body conditioning will take a long time, but is worth it in order to reduced the risk of broken bones and injuries in the long run.

The first body part we are going to consider will be the hands. Not just the knuckles, but the entire hand. So, whether it's slapping, punching, knife-handing, or spear-handing, the hand should be ready to use those techniques. Performing a technique with a weapon that is not forged for the purpose of performing that technique can be dangerous. Sure, a punch from an unconditioned hand can hurt and may even knock someone out if it lands in the right spot, but there is more of a possibility that the person who threw the punch will injure himself if his hands are not conditioned.

So, how do we condition our hands? Truthfully, it is an open subject. Your hands become conditioned punching a heavy bag, but also when punching a tree. The difference is the quality of the punch and the hardness of the material. You are going to be putting more force into the punch on the heavy bag, so there will be more compression of the bones and joints in the hand and wrist. However, you won't be able to hit as hard on the tree, because you will break your hand. Therefore, you hit as hard as is comfortable and slowly build as the bones strengthen. I'm not here to argue that one is better than the other... on the contrary, I think hitting varying materials builds a higher quality conditioned hand.

There is some hand conditioning in Real Anime Training, as it is, but it's not enough if you want to build your conditioning level effectively. There is heavy bagwork, Iron Palm Training, knuckle push-ups, punching trees, hitting stones, fingertip push-ups, Diamond Finger Training, and sparring. (What? Punching people doesn't count?)  To build effective conditioning, something needs to be done every day. If there is already hand conditioning in the Real Anime Training workout you have scheduled for a day, that's great! However, if there isn't any hand conditioning in it and you are training in the martial arts for sport or self-defense, I think you need to have a supplement hand-training regimen. Below, I've made a list of some hand conditioning exercises and routines that can be done in addition to a Real Anime Training workout that doesn't have any hand conditioning. They are not particularly strenuous, so you don't have to worry about your muscles being worn out or being super tired and they are specifically for conditioning your hands.

Supplemental Hand Conditioning

1. Iron Palm Training- 120 Strikes (Each Side)
         >10 Slaps
         >10 Back Slaps
         >10 Knife Hands
         >10 Palm Heel Strikes (Strike with open hand, bottom of hand, near where palm meets wrist.)
         >10 Hammerfists (Hand in fist, strike with bottom of fist)
         >10 Backfists
         >10 "Knocking" Fists (Hand in fist, thumb on side of fist, strike with palm side on fingers)
         >10 Leopard Fists (Fingers pull in tight, fist clenched to second joint, strike with second joints)
         >10 Punches
         >10 Finger Strikes (All 5 Fingers)
         >10 Sunfists/Forefists/Wing Chun Punches
         >10 Ridgehands (Pretty much a Knife Hand, but the other side of the hand)

Notes on Iron Palm Training:

• The first level is sand. Fill a canvas bag tight with sand (you can find Iron Palm bags online) and use it as your Level 1 training. You can stay on Level 1 as long as you like. You may find that you bruise at first, but it goes away. I also recommend purchasing some Dit Da Jow, because it helps you heal a little faster, but it's not required. With this and your workouts, you will probably be ready to move on in a month.
• On Level 2, you can put some very small gravel in your bag. Alternatively, you can just follow the levels of bag on whichever you purchase your bag. Level 3, you can put in some larger gravel. Level 4, you can do larger rock or steel shot, or alternate the two. Levels 2 and 3 should be about a month a piece and then Level 4 is where you stay after that.
• You may stand in a horse stance and do these, if you like, striking downward for all of them. You may also have one down and one on a wall, so you can do some of the strikes like the punches out in front of you.
• Be easy and do not rush yourself. You don't want to injure your hands, because then you can't train at all!

I know there are probably people out there who're going to say hand conditioning is stupid, but it's done some good things for my hands. Also, it's not like I'm standing on a soap box saying that hitting a heavy bag is dumb and doesn't make your hands tough... sure it does! Your knuckles can be very hard, but if your wrist folds when you hit something because it isn't trained to take the power of your punch, it's not going to be very effective.

I try to keep an open mind as far as my own training and I encourage that in you, as well. That's all for today. Until next time, good luck and train hard!

P.S.- A lot of anime characters do hand conditioning... not sure if that helped or hurt my case. I guess it depends on who's reading it. :)

The Chained Patriot's Training (Karelin)

This workout is from Grappler Baki and is patterned after the training of the fictional Andre Arlov Garland from the anime and the real-life Alexander Karelin, one of the baddest men of his day... and probably ever-- alright, I don't know that, but still-- he's pretty badass. He was completely dominate as a Greco-Roman wrestler and has more gold medals than he could possibly know what do to with. He's quoted as saying, "I train every day of my life as they have never trained a day in theirs."

Sounds like my kind of guy. So, here's the Chained Patriot workout-- the ball-busting, full force, unrelenting training of a world-class, powerhouse athlete. There's only so much known about his training, so I'm going off what is known and what is put in the anime for Garland. This is also set up slightly different than other workouts.

The Chained Patriot's Training

Morning

• 6 Mile Run (as hilly as possible)
• 100 Sledgehammer Swings (each side)

4-6 Hours Later

• 50 Pull-ups
• 100 Push-ups
• Pulling/Throwing w/Bands 5 x 5 Minute Rounds
• Chest Expander w/Bands 3 x 20 Reps
• Rowing- 30 Minutes
• Grappling (see notes)
• Land Clearing (see notes)

Notes:

• On your run, you need to find very hilly areas.
• On the sledge work, you can hit a tire or a downed tree or something.
• Do all 50 Pull-ups and 100 Push-ups before moving on to the rest of the workout.
• For Pulling/Throwing Bands, if you have any kind of workout bands (I recommend ones used for powerlifting), loop them over something very sturdy and pull on them in different directions, practice throwing movements with tension on the bands, and just generally work them in different angles.
• LifeLineUSA's Chest Expander is a great product for the Chest Expander exercise. It's a series of three bands with a handle at each end. You hold it out in front of you and spread your arms as wide as you can. It can be really tough.
• You'll need a rowing machine... or a rowboat, I suppose, to do the rowing. Go as hard as you can for 30 minutes. I realize that can be a long time, so I realize you will have to pace yourself.
• There is no time limit for Grappling and no restriction as far as only doing Greco-Roman, just so it can give you a little more freedom in practice. Essentially, you practice grappling until you or your partner is done for the day.
• Land Clearing is a little tough to pin down. Ideally, if you had an axe, a pick-axe, a shovel, wheelbarrow, and a stretch of land with a large number of trees you could legally and safely chop down, chop up, and haul off, you'd be in business. However, if you do not have that luxury, you may attempt to do these movements with bands, cables, or what have you. You can carry weights to mimic moving logs, you can dig a hole and move the dirt in a wheelbarrow and fill the hole back up, and you can chop on any tree that needs chopping that you can get to. In general, there are no restrictions to this part of the training-- the main idea is, "Do hard physical labor revolving around explosive movements or heavy lifts for long periods of time."  So, if you have a patch of land to clear-- you've got a hell of a workout ready for the taking.
• In general, this workout is open toward the end, allowing you to gear it toward your level of fitness. I'm not telling you to bust your ass on everything up to the Land Clearing and then work 8 hours doing that kind of labor-- unless of course you are at that level of fitness. Use common sense. You train to stimulate growth by tearing your body down... not by annihilating yourself every time you train and not recovering properly. That's how injuries happen.

This workout is a little different. I wanted to give you guys something that wasn't just a remix of some of the things we've already done, so hopefully this is slightly refreshing... and maybe terrifying. Until next time, good luck and train hard!