Earthbending Strength and Conditioning

Earthbending is based on Hung Gar kung fu (except for Toph, which is Praying Mantis based, apparently).  Hung Gar trains in low stances and has large powerful movements. Practitioners build tough bodies for combat through years and years of training. 

Earthbenders are tough and powerful.  They can launch stones at high speed or move slabs of earth with just a few movements.  And it's not just rocks and dirt-- there are earthbenders who can manipulate sand and even metal.  Their training forces them to be sturdy and unbending against oncoming forces. They move the earth and so, they become like it.

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Behold! A rock!

Warm-up and Stretch (Follow Stretches in Order)

1. 1 Mile Easy Jog
2. Neck Turning- 15 Reps Each Way
3. Forward Bend and Stretch- 1 Minute
4. Palms-up Overhead Reach- 1 Minute
5. Palms-in Arms Behind Reach- 1 Minute 
6. Waist Twisting- 15 Reps Each Way
7. Side Bends- 15 Reps Each Way
8. Standing Back Bend to Forward Bend and Stretch- 15 Reps
9. Wide-Leg Back Bend to Forward Bend and Stretch- 15 Reps
10. Wide-Leg Standing Hamstring Stretch- 1 Minute Each Side
11. Side-Lunge Groin Stretch- 1 Minute Each Side
12. Forward Lunge/Runner's Stretch- 1 Minute Each Side
13. Low Lunge Stretch- 1 Minute Each Side
14. Standing Side Split Stretch- 1 Minute
15. Seated Side Split Stretch- 1 Minute
16. Butterfly Stretch- 1 Minute
17. One-Leg Seated Hamstring Stretch- 1 Minute Each Side
18. Seated Turn and Stretch- 1 Minute Each Side
19. Lying Knee-Pull- 1 Minute Each Side
20. Front Splits Stretch- 1 Minute Each Side
21. Standing Quad Stretch- 1 Minute Each Side
22. High Foot Hold- 1 Minute Each Side

Then Choose 1 of the Following (see notes for exception)

1. Stance Training    (Rest 30 seconds between each stance)

1. Horse Stance- MAX Time
2. Long Stance- MAX Time Each Side
3. Scissor Stance- MAX Time Each Side
4. Cat Stance- MAX Time Each Side
5. Crane Stance- MAX Time Each Side

2.  Combat Training

1. Taming the Tiger Fist- 3 Sets
2. Tiger Crane Double Style Fist- 3 Sets
3. Five Animals/Five Elements Fist- 3 Sets
4. Iron Wire Fist- 3 Sets
5. Heavy Bagwork- 20 Minutes
6. Sparring- 10 Minutes

3. Physical Conditioning and Iron Body (Choose 3)

1. Horse Stance w/Gripping Jars to Side- 10 Minutes
2. Horse Stance w/Gripping Jars to Front- 10 Minutes
3. Three Star Training- 10 Minutes
4. Turn and Punch (Slow) w/Kettlebells- 100 Each Side
5. Front-Overhead-Lateral Circles with Kettlebells- 100 Each Way
6. Spearhand into beans/sand/steel shot- 100 Each Side (notes)
7. Forms Practice with Iron Rings- 20 Minutes
8. Iron Palm Practice- 20 Minutes
9. 100 Push-ups/One-Arm Push-ups
10. 100 Squats/One-Leg Squats
11. 50 Pull-ups
12. Heavy Stone Lifting- 50 Lifts
13. Barbell Ground-to-Overhead- 50 Lifts

Notes:

• I have provided links to the stretching, stances and forms for your convenience.
• There is quite a lot of stretching, but it will be necessary to build the supple body necessary to handle all of the stances. 
• After the warm-up and stretching, beginners should pick one of the three workouts below to train for the day. The progression and inclusion of other workouts will follow the same progression as the Firebending Strength and Conditioning.
• The heavy bagwork can be broken up into rounds or you can push straight through. Work a single technique or combination or work your conditioning through High Intensity Intervals. 
• As always, wear gear during your sparring and try not to strike vital areas. 
• Your gripping jars will be held at shoulder height either in front or out to the side. If you cannot hold it for the whole 10 minutes, hold it for as long as you can during the 10 minute time period, resting when needed. After you can complete the whole time without stopping, add a cup of sand to the jars. Do this every time you can hold the position for 10 minutes. 
• Three star training can be done with a partner or a pole. Please start light and work your way up to hitting harder. The first hit is on the inner arm low, the second is on the inner arm high, as if performing an outside middle block, and the last is outer arm low, as if performing a low block. This training can be done standing or in a horse stance.
• The Turn and Punch with the kettlebells starts with a kettlebell in each hand, with a vertical fist so that the handle is vertical. You arms start at your waist and then, as you shift your weight to one leg and move into a bow stance, slowly punch out with the same vertical fist with the opposite arm of whichever leg has weight on it. Your punch will go in the same direction you were facing in horse stance, even though you have shifted to a forward bow stance facing another direction. Repeat on the other side without returning to horse stance. Start with a very light weight and only raise the weight when you can complete all 100 punches/side without stopping.
• Front-Overhead-Lateral Circles are performed with a kettlebell in each hand. Perform a front delt raise until the kettlebells are overhead, then lower them as if performing a side-lateral raise. When the kettlebells return to the bottom, reverse the motion, beginning with a side-lateral raise up, until the weights are overhead and then lowering them in the fashion of a front delt raise until they are in front of you. That is one rep. Only raise the weight when you can perform all 100 reps in each direction without stopping.
• The spearhands into beans/sand/steel shot can be done while standing or in a horse stance. Using a five-gallon bucket or large drum, fill it with the appropriate material and make sure that you cannot reach the bottom of the container with a strike. You will start with dry beans, thrusting your fingers into the container over and over until the reps are completed. You will not advance to the sand until you have performed this training at least 50 separate times. At this point, you will have two containers. One with beans and one with sand. You will do 100 reps on each hand in both of the materials from this point forward. You may not advance to steel shot until you have performed this training at least 50 separate times. At this point, you will have three containers. You will do 100 reps on each hand in all three of the materials from this point forward. 
• The Iron Rings for your forms practice can be found here. The rings are worn on your forearms. You should start slow and gradually add weight over time. 
• Here's an article I previously wrote on Iron Palm training.
• For the Push-ups and Squats, the idea is to do as many one-arm push-ups and one-leg squats as you can and then finish up the workout with normal push-ups and squats. This way you can work strength first and then work endurance after. 
• I recommend using many different hand positions for pull-ups throughout your training.
• The heavy stone lifting is very open. Find as heavy a stone as you can and attempt to lift it. If you can lift it even just a little bit, that's great!  Spend as much time as you need on the training session and lift it 50 times. Rest as often as needed. If it's a little bit lighter of a stone and you can lift it to chest height or over your head, that's fine, too. The idea is to find a heavy stone and lift it as high as possible 50 times. Once you can lift it over your head, though, you might want to find a heavier stone. I recommend that you find a smooth stone or make an atlas stone or you can wear long sleeves if you can't find a smooth stone. 
• Ground-to-overhead means you can use whatever technique you need to get a weight overhead. You can deadlift it, then curl it, then press it. You could even do that with just one arm.  You can clean and press/push press/jerk the weight. You can snatch it with both hands or just one. If the weight is lighter, you can use more muscle. If the weight is heavier, you may need to employ more technical lifts like the clean and jerk or snatch. Do this in however many sets with however much rest you need to get through it. Do yourself a favor and try to lift the weight in many different ways, so you can understand how the same weight can feel different in a very similar movement (i.e.- Ground-to-Overhead).

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

Random Who Would Win #7: King Bumi vs. Toph Bei Fong

I normally don't pull people from the same series to do a Random Who Would Win, but I just had to do this one! King Bumi is a badass and, arguably, the strongest Earthbender on the planet.  Toph is innovative, forceful, and can bend metal, which is something that no other Earthbender on the planet can do. I can't imagine that these two would be enemies, so I would imagine the fight would come about as a product of Toph wanting to test her abilities against the Master of Earthbending, which I'm sure Bumi would be inclined to accept the challenge.

The fight would most likely take place in the giant arena where Bumi fought Aang, so there would be quite a bit of ammunition for both of the fighters. Bumi would, in my opinion, take an early lead, due to his sheer strength. Toph, though a powerful Earthbender, would most likely not be able to whether Bumi's onslaught if she continued to take it head-on. Toph would take to using her unconventional Earthbending style to redirect some of Bumi's attacks until she could figure out what to do. The benefit here is that Bumi would not be able to sneak up on Toph by going underground, because she can "see" everything in the ground through her feet.

This is how most of the fight would go and there wouldn't be much opportunity for Toph to use her Metalbending, because the arena appears to be entirely cut from stone. However, after a time, Toph would notice something as Bumi moved about... the vibration he put off having a familiar ring to it. As she got close to the old Master, Toph would reach out with her powerful hands and fingers and in the midst of the two's close-quarter combat, Toph would Metalbend the metal studs on Bumi's arm and leg bands to each other, maybe one arm to each leg or both legs together, before knocking Bumi on his ass.

Ordinarily, this would not be something that would stop the All-powerful King Bumi, but I'm fairly certain that once Bumi saw the young Toph's special skill, he would be so intrigued with it that he would immediately forget they were having a match and want to know more, thus making Toph the winner by default.

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I honestly thought Bumi would win the fight, but the votes took it the other way! If Toph won the fight, it would most likely be in this fashion.

Hope you enjoyed the play-by-play!

TOPH BEI FONG - FIGHT SCENES ULTIMATE TRIBUTE

In case you were wondering what exactly I'm doing for Avatar: The Last Airbender, I'm doing Earthbending. :P

Regular Earthbending is based on Hung Gar, but Toph's is Southern Praying Mantis, so I'll be looking into both of them for training purposes. And Toph is quite the badass, for the record.

1/19/2012 Training

-Iyengar Yoga Poses: (5 breaths each)

• Utthita Trikonasana
• Utthita Parsvakonasana
• Ardha Chandrasana
• Prasarita Padottanasana
• Adhomukha Svanasana
• Uttanasana

-30 Minute Run

-50 Push-ups

-"Earthbending" 

• Hung Gar Horse Stance Training
• "Earthbending" Scroll Moves (The first "Earthbending" move)
• Isometric Fist Holds
• "Iron Wire" Practice

Today's training is surrounding my research for completing some workouts for Avatar: The Last Airbender, for which I've had a few requests. Initially, I wasn't going to do it, because it's technically not anime, but it's Amer-ime, so I figured I'd go ahead and give it a go. Since it's going to take a while to do the research, I figured I'd keep you guys updated on my progress.