Waterbending Strength and Conditioning

Dear Reader,

I thought about trying to take advantage of you, but I’ve been through some profound life changing experiences recently and it’s altered my moral outlook. After having my perspective altered, by a series of painful near death experiences, I have changed and grown. Just like Aang and Korra probably did in their respective cartoon narratives. Which leads me to my point. With my new found maturity comes the understanding that this relationship is not going to work unless we are totally honest with each other.

The following exercise regime is based on a lie. I don’t actually know any “water bending,” and I don’t know very much about “The Legend of Korra.” More or less everything I do know was a learned in the process of researching this article. I can’t move water with my mind despite the fact that I do know some Tai Chi Chuan (which is a Chinese martial art that uses movements similar to those involved in water bending). I don’t even know who Kya is, or how her water bending prowess fits into the overall narrative, but I do know this: Korra would not want you to be out of shape! Korra would want you keep the promises you made to yourself not to eat things that you know are bad for you and she would want you to enjoy the social and health benefits that come from regular exercise.

So please, for Korra’s sake, give this workout a try. It might be hard at first, but when the Lion Turtle withdrew it’s protection from the people of the Water Tribe, that must have been pretty hard for them too. I bet it wasn’t easy for them to learn the secrets of water bending by observing the relationship between the moon and the tides. They probably had tons of other things they could have been doing besides staring at the ocean, but they kept up the effort. Why? Because the ancient people of the Water Tribe knew what Korra knows, and what we all need to learn: Short term pleasures must be put aside, so that we can achieve our long term goals!

And our goals are to get as close to Waterbending as possible.

The Moon Spirits don’t reveal their secrets easily, but don’t forget the powerful metaphor that I assume was referenced at some point in an episode of “Legend of Korra” involving Water Bending. “Water is the softest thing in the world, but with enough time it can wear down mountains or dig out the Grand Canyon. It always finds the most efficient path as it flows towards its destination, but if you struck it spontaneously becomes hard.” After reading that I think you’ll have to admit that water has great intrinsic value, and that so does physical health. Therefore, and without further disclaimer. I present to you this low impact but highly effective “Water Bending Workout!”

Please do it! I told the Lion Turtle you would. You wouldn’t want to make me a liar would you? Did I mention that I almost died?

Yours,

James

Water Bending Workout

Fighting Back With Water:

It’s a common misconception that water bending makes you vulnerable to electrical attacks. Nothing could be further from the truth. It’s actually the impurities in water that conduct electricity, master water benders learn to remove the impurities in water thus making it an effective insulator. Therefore, let us honor the legacy of the Moon Spirit by drinking lots of pure water throughout the day and cutting out all sodas and energy drinks. Dehydration often feels like fatigue, and many of us find that by simply staying hydrated we can avoid tired feelings that we previously fought with caffeine.

Caffeine is dehydrating, and only makes you more tired in the long run. That’s a vicious cycle, of destruction unlike the life giving cycle of the moon and the tides which form the basis of water bending. So when you are in training, drink water not beer, not soda, not energy drinks, and not fruit juice which is loaded with calories, has no protein and doesn’t alleviate hunger. Water does alleviate hunger, so when you feel like having a snack, fight the urge with water. Water Benders know that the cycle of nature will bring lunch to them in the fullness of time, and they know the power of water. That’s why they don’t need to give up on their dreams just to feel full now and guilty later. Even if you can’t fight entire armies with water, you can use water to fight hunger and fatigue!

What fatigue?

Balance and Fluidity:

Water bending requires balance, fluidity, and core strength. The following routine will allow you develop those attributes while getting a surprisingly strenuous cardio vascular workout. All you need is two Dixie cups, some open space, and a piece of string.

Fill your cups with water and hold one in each hand. Hold them out at arm’s length. Now take three steps backwards and three steps forwards. Try not to spill any water.

Close your eyes and repeat your steps without spilling any water.

Hold your arms out to sides, and stand on one leg. Close your eyes and lower your foot to the floor and switch legs. Try to switch legs 10 times without opening your eyes or spilling the water. It should take you about a month to get the hang of doing this right. After a month, you can vary your hand positions to make it harder. For example holding both arms straight overhead.

Sit down on the floor without spilling your cups of water. The only rule is that you cannot spill the water. You can use any motions you want. This will be very hard at first but it will also teach you a lot about balance and mobility.

Now stand up without spilling the water. If you find it easy to do this progress to the next level by doing it with closed eyes. Sit down and stand up 10 times.

Now put your water aside and stand with your toes touching a wall and your feet touching. Now squat down as far as you can without falling backward. At first your body will hit the wall and push your back. As you become more flexible you will be able to perform squats in this way. It takes very high level balance and flexibility to do this, which is why it is a staple of traditional Tai Chi training. The beauty of this is that the knees never go past your toes so there is never a risk of knee injury. Try to do 10 wall squats, but be aware that you will have to practice every day until you can get one wall squat. If you can do all ten easily then close your eyes. If you can do ten with your eyes closed try to work your way up to 20. However, doing 10 wall squats already puts you in pretty rare company. The only secret is regular practice.

Regular practice yields results.

Next, tie a rope to something sturdy that weight at least 45 lbs. Traditionally we would just use a tree, but feel free to be creative. Stand naturally (feet parallel) with your eyes closed, and pull on the rope as hard as you can with one hand without moving your feet or leaning your head forward or backward. Gradually pull harder until you lose your balance then switch hands. Try to pull the object towards you even if the object is immobile. Perform this exercise 10 times on each side. Then turn so the tree is behind you and perform the same exercise 10 times each side.

Next, stand on your right leg and touch your left big toe with your right hand alternate between your left and right legs. See how many switches you can make without falling and try to beat your number next time. Now have some water.

Unfortunately, the last part of this workout is a bit harsh. However, it is necessary to push your limits a little bit in order to extend your limits.

To get ready close your eyes and lie down on your back. Stand up without using your right arm or opening your eyes, then lie back down on your back and stand up again without using your left arm or opening your eyes. This counts as one rep for the last exercise. Your goal is to perform 100 reps to end your workout.

There are only two rules eyes closes and only one arm at a time. Besides those two rules you can rest as much as you want between reps or use any technique you want to stand up. You will find that standing up and sitting down with your eyes closed is very hard and that it will test your entire nervous system as well as ware your entire body out in a matter of minutes. You will find that your brain has to work overtime to discover new motor patters to help your keep your balance and use your body efficiently. You will also be shocked and how hard this workout is on your abdominal muscles. However, because this workout trains both your mind and body, you will make rapid gains as your brain adapts to the challenge and you will keep the extra physical confidence you acquire for the rest of your life.

Take the Water Bending challenge and try this routine and the diet recommendations above every day for a month. Then, switch to doing it the routine three times a week to maintain your coordination, mobility, and core strength as you use them to pursue other goes. If you do this routine all the way through even once you will never see your body the same way again and will have a solid foundation for internal Kung Fu training (the poor man’s air bending) as a collateral benefit.  

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(Edit from Stephen:  Support us on Patreon!

Start with the above training before you begin any of the things I am about to write. Do it for 1 month, three times a week. At the end of the month, you may do the above training, plus one of the following trainings.  You will continue to train three days a week for at least another month. 

After that, you may attempt to add more days of training, until you reach 6 days of training (this should be gradual and take you about a year).   After a year, you will be doing the above training with one of the following groups of exercises six days a week. 

Over the next year, you can experiment with doing 2 of the following or all three of the following during the week in addition to the above training.  However, please start slowly and don't overdo it. 

1. Combat Training:

Here is a video of the Yang Style Tai Chi Short Form (Part 1) and Long Form.  Practice these forms starting at 15 minutes a day, adding time gradually. Eventually, I've been told the Long Form should take you about 45 minutes to complete because will be doing the form so slowly. If the videos I have linked are not the correct forms for Yang Style Tai Chi, I apologize.

I can certainly add more for reference, if needed.)

2. Stance Training:

Here is also a list of the stances of Tai Chi. If you're looking to mimic the style of the other workouts, you may practice each of these stances for 10 minutes a piece. 

3. Additional Conditioning: (Choose 2)

1. Swim for 1 Hour (any stroke, take breaks if needed)
2. 200 Kettlebell Swings (start at a light weight and build up)
3. 200 Side Switch Kettlebell Swings (see picture below)
4. 50 Sets of Atlas Stone Lift and Carry for 20 Meters (start light)
5. 25 Butterfly Stretch Squats  (about half way down the page)
6. Low Horse Stance for 2 Hours Max

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

(James has written several articles for various Martial Arts resources and has trained in Tai Chi, Karate, and Brazilian Jiu-jitsu.)

Airbending Strength and Conditioning

Airbending is based on the real-life martial art of Bagua Zhang.  Apparently, Bagua Zhang was never meant to be taught to beginners (Source).  Most people who would come to learn the art would have already trained extensively in another art. I think that is a testament to how technical Bagua actually is and that lines up pretty well with the fluidity and power present in the Airbenders, themselves.

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Just look at the little guy, concentratin' and stuff.

It is recommended that you find a qualified instructor to help you along in your training, just as with the Earthbending and Firebending versions. This workout, like the others, is not an exhaustive list of training for this martial art, but is merely a place to begin.


Airbending Strength and Conditioning

Warm-up and Stretch (Examples of from #3 on: Part 1/Part 2)

1. Walk- 5 Minutes
2. Basic Movements- 15 Minutes Total
3. Waist Twists- 20 Each Side
4. Waist Twists with Heel Turn- 20 Each Side
5. Front-to-Back Arm Swings- 20 Reps
6. Small Arm Circles- 20 Each Way
7. Big Arm Circles- 20 Each Way
8. Forward Bend Arm Swing to Overhead Arm Swing- 20 Reps
9. Bounce and Shake- 20 Reps
10. Forward-to-Back Quick Weight Shifts- 20 Reps Each Side
11. Look Up and Down- 20 Reps
12. Ear to Shoulder- 20 Reps Each Side
13. Neck Circles- 10 Each Way
14. Shoulder Shrugs- 10 Reps
15. Open and Close the Chest- 10 Reps
16. Forearm Wave- 10 Reps Each Way
17. Wrist Twist- 10 Reps Each Way
18. Palm-in Wrist Stretch- 10 Reps Each Side
19. Patting the Air- 5 Reps Each Side
20. Hip Circles- 10 Each Way
21. Torso Circles- 10 Each Way
22. Knee Circles- 10 Each Way
23. Knee Rotations- 10 Each Way
24. Knee Slap and Hip Raise- 10 Reps
25. Ankle Rotations- 10 Each Way
26. Standing Single Leg Hamstring Stretch- 30 Seconds Each Side
27. Palms-up Overhead Stretch to Forward Bend and Stretch- 1 Rep
28. Standing Meditation- 1 Minute

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

1. Stance and Movement Training

1. Walking the Circle- 20 Minutes (References: One/Two/Three)
2. Bow Stance- 2 Minutes Each Side
3. Horse Stance- 2 Minutes 
4. Kneeling Stance- 2 Minutes Each Side
5. Cat Stance- 2 Minutes Each Side
6. Single Leg Stance- 2 Minutes Each Side
7. Low Side Stance- 2 Minutes Each Side
8. Twisting Stance- 2 Minutes Each Side
9. Bladed Stance- 2 Minutes Each Side
10. Stance Flow- 5 Minutes

2. Combat Training

1. Palm Change Practice- 5 Minutes
2. Reeling Silk- 5 Minutes
3. Forms Practice (One/Two/Three/Four/Five/Six/Seven)- 30 Minutes Total
4. Two Person Form Practice- 10 Minutes 
5. Bagua Sparring- 10 Minutes

3. Physical Conditioning (Choose 3)

1. 100 Squats
2. Plank- 3 Sets x MAX Time
3. Straight Bridge- 3 Sets of MAX Time
4. Planche- 3 Sets of MAX Time
5. Practice forms with Weights (bricks, hang weights from arms, weighted vest)- 30 Minutes
6. Walk the Circle with Weights (shot put/heavy bag over head/bricks/weighted vest)- 30 Minutes
7. Climbing- 20 Minutes (Rock, Rope, or Tree)
8. Distance Running/Walking- 2 Hours 
9. Run an Obstacle Race- At least 30 Minutes

Notes:

• I've listed a great deal of video sources for forms and the warm-up exercises, so please make use of them. 
• This workout will always start with the warm-up and stretch section and then you will choose one of the workouts below to begin. You will advance in the same fashion as the Firebending and Earthbending workouts. Eventually, you may get to the point where you are training all three workout sections in a single day, moving up to training all three sections most days of the week. 
• In the Stance and Movement section, you can increase the difficulty of walking the circle like in the History's Strongest Disciple Kenichi workout.  Please walk the circle for several months before attempting to make walking the circle any more difficult. Make the movement second nature.
• Add weight to any exercise you are doing at an extremely slow pace. Practice your forms and circle walking and know them extremely well before you even attempt to add external resistance. Maintaining the form is more important than the amount of weight you are holding. If your form is degrading, the weight is too heavy. 
• For the Stance Flow, you will merely attempt to flow from one stance in the training list to another. You can stay in each stance for a few breaths or just a moment. It's your time to experiment with how the movement flow into one another. Do it slowly at first and until you become more comfortable with the movements and positions in general.
• You may add weight to the squats when you feel relatively comfortable doing 100 full-depth repetitions. Add only 1 to 2 pounds at a time, however. 
• The Planche is performed by placing your hands down toward your hips, while fulling extended, and raising yourself off the ground completely, with nothing touching the ground but your hands. If you cannot do this, you can start with a Tuck Planche, which means you curl your body up into a ball and raise yourself off the ground. In this way, you will not need as much core strength to get into the position. Eventually, you will be able to extend your legs more and more until you are able to hold the Planche normally. This, however, may take some time. 
• The last three exercises are taken more from the show than actual Bagua training methods.
• For climbing, you can break it into sets, if need be. Always climb with a partner, whether you are using a rope, a rock wall, or a tree. If possible, wear a helmet and use some sort of pad underneath where you are climbing to keep yourself as safe as possible. Ideally, you should be using climbing equipment in case you slip and fall. 
• Distance running is to build massive endurance so that you get used to continuous movement for a long period of time. Also, endurance training will give you the lean body type that most Airbenders seem to have, as well as building your "air" as many old-fashioned trainers would say.
• The Obstacle Course training is right out of the show. The new Airbenders in Legend of Korra are shown to run through numerous obstacles that push their ability to move and dodge. If you have a short obstacle course, just repeat it for the time listed.  You could also run a Spartan Race or a Tough Mudder, as well. If you are lacking an obstacle course, make do with what you have by trying to navigate around natural or man-made obstacles as best you can. However, please be cautious. 

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

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!

Firebending Strength and Conditioning

In the world of Avatar: The Last Airbender and Avatar: The Legend of Korra, firebenders are fast, explosive, and hot-headed (see what I did there?).  Their style of combat is based on Northern Shaolin, which relies on flexibility, power, and speed in combat.  It is very beautiful, but it can also be very brutal.

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That's fire.
Coming out of his foot.

And a brutal style of combat needs an equally brutal level of training. This training is based on the training a young martial artist at the Shaolin temple would receive in order to master his or her kung fu properly.


Warm-up and Stretch

1. 1 Mile Easy Jog
2. Stretch Kicking- 15 Each Side
3. Forward Bend and Stretch- 1 Minute
4. Side Splits Stretch- 1 Minute
5. Front Splits Stretch- 1 Minute/side
6. Big Arm Circles- 15 Each Way
7. Arms Overhead Side Bends- 15 Each Side
8. Trunk Rotations- 15 Each Way
9. Choice of Stretching- 5 Minutes (see notes)
10. Run Up Stairs and Bear Crawl Down- 10 Minutes

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

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

1. Horse Stance- MAX Time
2. Bow Stance- MAX Time Each Side
3. Sliding Stance- MAX Time Each Side
4. Cat Stance- MAX Time Each Side
5. Twisting Stance-MAX Time Each Side

2. Combat Training

1. Forms Practice/Shadowboxing- 30 Minutes
2. Heavy Bagwork- 10 Minutes
3. Two Person Forms/No Contact Sparring- 10 Minutes
4. Sparring- 10 Minutes
5. Body Conditioning- 20 Minutes

3. Physical Power and Conditioning (Choose 3)

1. 100 Push-ups w/Feet and Hands on Blocks
2. 50 Lengths Wrist Roller w/20# while in Horse Stance
3. 25 Clap Push-ups/15 Pullups x 3
4. 50 Pull-ups
5. 300 Sit-ups
6. 100 Sit-ups, 100 Side Bends, 100 Back Extensions
7. 100 Strict Toes-to-Bar
8. 50 Pistol Squats/side
9. 200 Jump Squats
10. 200 Squats w/partner
11. Handstand Hold Practice- 15 Minutes Total
12. 5 x 100 Meter Walk w/Gripping Jars

Notes:

• If you are a beginner, please do the warm-up and stretch portion and only 1 of the three workouts.  If you want to do the other workouts, you may do so on another day. I recommend a beginner train three days a week for the first couple of months. After that, you can move to four for a couple of months and then five days a week.  You can even move to six days a week if you feel up to it, but that may be too much for you.  You will not want to do the same workout back to back in the beginning. #1 on Monday, #2 on Wednesday, and #3 on Friday, for example. This will allow you to practice each of the disciplines and advance in them without beating yourself to death or injuring yourself right off the bat. 
• If you have been training for several months, you can do two of the workouts together, if you like. 
• After a year or more of training, if you have grown comfortable to doing two of the workouts in one day, you may try all three in one day. 
• I have linked a description of all the stances for the first workout, in case you are not familiar with them. 
• If you are just beginning with the stances and cannot hold them for very long, put 5 minutes on the clock for each stance and hold each stance for as long as possible during that time limit. Once you can hold each stance for five minutes without stopping, you can revert to doing one set for maximum time.
• In the second workout, if you don't know any Northern Shaolin forms, you can just shadowbox. You can also look up forms from that style on Youtube and practice them as best you can.
• I recommend that you at least wrap your hands for the bag work to keep your skin from ripping.
• Once again, if you don't have any knowledge of two person forms, you can just do no-contact sparring with a partner. This means that you will practice your techniques without making any contact with your partner and keeping an appropriate distance not to accidentally make contact. 
• For sparring, it can be light to heavy, but try to wear gear to keep yourself and your partner from getting hurt.
• Your body conditioning can be a variety of things from hitting and getting hit by your partner, to lightly hitting stones or wooden posts, doing knuckle push-ups, or anything that puts hard force on your body. Please start light and both volume and intensity over a long period of time. If you rush, you will hurt yourself.
• The calisthenics do not need to be done in a single set. Just complete the total number in as few sets as possible before moving on to the next exercise.
• It is good to vary your hand position on the push-ups and pull-ups.
• The push-ups on blocks will increase the range of motion of the movement for you.
• The wrist roller will be held out in front of you at shoulder height as you move the weight up and down. Make sure your horse stance is tops of thighs parallel.
• Your side bends should have your fingers interlaced and raised above your head, palms facing up. 1 rep is bending in each direction.
• Don't swing your body on the toes-to-bar. Raise your legs slowly until they touch the bar and then lower them slowly to the starting position. If you cannot touch the bar, raise them as high as possible.
• Do assisted pistol squats at the beginning if you have to. You could also do very high step ups.
• Make sure you are squatting as low as possible on all of these squats.
• Be very careful with the jump squats and the weighted squats. If your form is not good on your squat, you could easily hurt yourself, so please stop short of the listed number of squats as a beginner.
• For your handstand hold practice, put time on the clock and try to hold the handstand for as long as possible. It doesn't matter how many times you fall, just keep practicing. If you can get to the point of holding the position for the whole time, then try holding the handstand on your fists or fingertips sometimes just to change it up. 
• The gripping jars should start with no more than about 20# in each jar and weight should be added slowly over time in the form of sand or steel shot. 

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

Astraea's "Kill Tomoki" Training (Sora no Otoshimono)

Balance, Speed, Technique, Power,

Balancing on poles
Balancing on poles while holding pails of water
Slacklining/Tightrope walking
Gymnastic Bridge
Standing Cable Alternating Chest Press
Hanging Sit-ups
Sparring/Heavy Bag

Retsu Kaioh's Training- Part 13

After a very long break, we're back for some more training of Retsu Kaioh's. More and more, as I look into these methods, I find it incredible that a man could master them all.

#35: The Force of Eagle's Claws (Ying Zhao Li)- The author says that this skill is "nothing else but the skill of grips."  He says that this training can help you gain the strength to grip your opponent, causing him unbearable pain.  The beginning part of this training starts with a small jug, weighing about 5kg. You grip the jug on "its neck on the outer side" with all five fingers and raise it. Honestly, I'm not sure if that means that you lift it by putting your hand over the top, gripping around the lip of the jug OR if it means that you put your index finger and thumb of the hand underneath the lip and grasp around the bottom part of the jug. If it was me, I would alternate the methods every time I trained this skill. This is to be trained daily.

Moving forward, you raise the jug repeatedly on both arms during your training session. Raise it on one side until you are tired and then switch. This will give your arms time to rest before you change back. At the point you are unable to raise the jug anymore, I'd say it's time to stop the training for the day. The author says that when you are able to raise and lower the jug freely and easily during your training session, it will be time to advance to the next portion of training. He says this will take a few months.

The next portion of the training will be to add a cup of grain (I'll say sand) per week until you fill the jug to the top. When you reach this point, dump out all the sand and start over by adding a cup of steel shot to the jug every week. This will give you a little bit of a deload period from the weight of the full jug of sand to whenever the weight of the steel shot equals that. After this, the author says to add "pieces of iron," but I'm not sure how that would be heavier than the steel shot, because the shot fills up the jug quite evenly. I might add a cup of water to the full steel shot every week instead. It wouldn't be much more weight, but it would still be a progression.

The last portion of the training is the "soft" portion, that involves spreading your five fingers out wide, extending your arm straight out in front of you, with your palm facing out. Focus on making a gripping motion with your fingers and then pull your hand in deliberately like you are pulling on a rope. Use your imagination. Do each arm one after the other, making your movements slow and deliberate. The author is of the opinion that mastering this stage of the skill can give you super-human abilities to move things without touching them. I do not share this opinion. I feel like it's just a good way to stretch out your hands after training them so roughly. I might use this last portion of the training as both a warm-up and a cool-down session during your grip training sessions.


#36: Technique "Iron Bull" (Tie Niu Gong)

This technique explanation begins with a quote that a person must not speak unless he or she is prepared to answer for his or her words in the future. You shouldn't say everything you want thoughtlessly. If you want to gain a skill, you must first learn to command your speech.

The purpose of learning this skill is to repel enemy attacks. The first stage of "Iron Bull" is pretty  simple and seems easy enough. Focus your attention (qi) in your stomach and make circular motions with your fingers all across your stomach area, perhaps the whole midsection. You won't really use any force at the beginning, but just move easily across the skin several times per day, even when resting. After a while (it doesn't say how long, but I would say maybe a couple of weeks), you should rub your palms over your stomach area in a scraping motion with increasing force. Press a little harder each day. I recommend, as you do this, to sometimes do the motion while flexing your abdominal muscles and sometimes while not flexing. Since you are not striking, but rubbing, it will serve as a good massage. After your skin and abdominal muscles begin to toughen up, you can move to the next phase.

You may use the previous phase of training as your daily warm-up before beginning this next phase. Punch easily against your abdominal muscles several times a day. You may feel soreness for the first few days and that is okay. Do not increase the strength of your blows immediately. A few sessions a day of the light strikes against the midsection for a couple of weeks will condition your body to begin gradually increasing the power of the blows. Focus on increasing the power a little bit every week. Don't focus on a single point of the stomach/midsection area. Instead, make sure you are applying these blows to the whole surface area.

When you reach the point where you are able to bear several sessions per day of hard strikes to your midsection, it is time to advance to the use of a wooden mallet/hammer to apply the strikes. Once again, start out easily and gradually add force. You definitely do not want to end up with a broken rib or bruised organ. When, after several weeks or months, you are striking with much force, it is time to move to a metal mallet or hammer. Try to think of a mini-sledge, perhaps 2 pounds, that you would hold in one hand. Please start very easily! When you begin with the metal hammer, the author says, you will hear a dull sound, like hitting a tree. After you continue to train as in the other phases of the skill, you will eventually hear a metal clang, says the author. I am not entirely sure this is true, but the advancement will once again be based on your feeling of strength and pain tolerance.

The next phase of training involves placing a stone slab of about 90 kg or about 200 pounds on your stomach. The author says you could even sleep with the stone on you, but I'm not sure how safe that is. I would recommend that you continue training with the hammer and then spend a little time each day with the stone slab placed on your abdominal area.

Upon the completion of this skill, the author says that you will eventually brush off just about any opponent's attacks, possibly even with sharp weapons. I would not test this last theory, as it is not likely.


#37: Skill of Eagle Wings (Ying Yi Gong)

This technique builds power in the arms to deflect attacks and is supposed to increase your striking power as well. You will need to suspend two bags of sand from a ceiling, tree branch, or overhead beam by a strong cord. The bags will be about a meter or a little more than 3 feet above the ground and about 2 feet apart. The top of the bags should be at about the level of your head in your horse stance (ma bu) and the lower part of the bags should be a bit lower than your shoulder line. The bags should weigh about 5 kg or about 12 pounds.

While in your horse stance, bend your arms in at the elbow so that they are in front of you at shoulder height and clench your fists. Your fists will be in front of each side of your chest, palms facing down. The outer portion of your elbows and arms are facing up. You will raise the weight of the sandbags until exhaustion using your elbows, take a break, and then start again. This should apparently be trained in the morning every day. You raise and hold the weight 30 times at the beginning, increasing the time you hold each repetition every month, moving to 100 repetitions by the end of your first year of training. You will also increase the weight by about 1 kg or 2 pounds every month until you reach 17 kg or about 40 pounds. Your first month will be 30 repetitions of 5 kg each held as long as a possible. The next month, you raise the weight 1 kg and add 5 or 6 repetitions for that month. This gradual increase will allow you to become used the the movement and the slow increase will make the adaptation easier. Remember that you are staying in a horse stance this whole time.

After the first year of training, you can move to the next stage. The sand bags will each by about 10 kg this time. You will press your elbows against your body slightly and then swing your elbows up and hit the bags with quick force. Don't just hit the weight, but drive through, attempting to raise the weight as high as possible with each strike. The bags will probably move about 6 cm or about 2.5 inches with each strike, but you will eventually be able to move them up to 60 cm or 2 feet. I recommend you continue striking at 100 repetitions. You should occasionally add 5 pounds or so of weight to each bag. The author does not give a recommendation, so I would say either once a month or whenever you can hit the bags 2 feet in the air. Whenever you are hitting a weight of 25 kg or about 55 pounds 2 feet into the air for 100 repetitions, you will have reached mastership of this skill. At this point the strength of your arms, shoulders, and elbows will have increased tremendously, allowing you to beat of enemy attacks with ease, deliver powerful strikes, and "stop (falling, rolling) stones."  I'm not sure of all of the claims, but you will definitely have some well-developed shoulders.


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

Baki's Technique Workout- "50 Reps"

One of my very good friends and occasional training partners, James Whelan, (you can find his blog in the "Stuff I'm Reading" side panel) does this workout every now and again and I thought it was applicable to Baki, considering the type of fighter that he is and the various kinds of training that he does. This workout is solely dependent upon how many martial arts techniques you know, so it could be very short or it could be very, very long. 

This is a very important technique.

Baki's Technique Workout- "50 Reps"

1. Do 50 Reps of every martial arts technique you know on each side of your body. 
2. 50 Push-ups
3. 50 Pull-ups

Notes:

• 50 reps of every martial arts technique you know is a very tall order for some. It's also hard to define what is a "technique." A seiken or a jab or a front kick are obviously techniques, but some people would list combinations like the jab-cross or self defense techniques like "Thundering Hammers" from American Kenpo as techniques. If you have a partner, that adds another dimension and can allow for grappling and submission techniques. It's entirely up to you how in depth you want to make this workout, so choose wisely!
• It would be smart to make a list of all the techniques you know before you begin the workout, because you will not remember them all in the midst of the workout, especially when your brain is telling you to quit out of boredom or fatigue. 
• 50 push-ups and pull-ups at the end of the workout may also be difficult due to fatigue. 
• My friend says that this workout takes him around 4 hours to complete so keep water and a carb source, like a sports drink or gel with you to keep yourself going. 

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

Tekken: Lei Wulong's Modern Training

As time has progressed, Jackie Chan's movie counterparts have not stuck with the ancient kung fu brutality on which he was brought up. Instead, we see a modern representation of Wushu training that resembles some more Western styles of training.  We see this in a few movies, namely Wheels on Meals, Gorgeous, and Rumble in the Bronx. 

Look how modern this crap is!!

Fortunately, since these are so modern, a lot of the equipment you need for this workout can be found in a Boxing or MMA gym, a dojo, or many normal gyms. Even though Lei Wulong's style is overtly kung fu, since he's patterned after Jackie, I figured it would be good to throw this in here for both authenticity and to keep you guys from getting bored. Here we go!

Lei Wulong's Modern Training

1. Wing Chun Dummy*- 5 Minutes
2. Running Hills- 15 Minutes
3. Decline Push-ups- 3 x 20 Reps
4. Cable Chest Flys- 3 x 15 Reps
5. Cable Overhead Press- 3 x 15 Reps
6. Ab Wheel- 2 Sets MAX Reps
7. Sit-ups w/Twist- 3 x 25 Reps
8. Jump Rope- 5 Minutes
9. Jogging w/Jump Rope- 5 Minutes
10. Speed Bag Work- 5 Minutes
11. Double End Bag Work- 5 Minutes
12. Run 1 Mile
13. Sparring- 3 x 5 Minutes

Notes:

1. If you don't have access to a Wing Chun Dummy or you have no idea how to use one, feel free to sub out any other martial arts training, such as Kata practice, throwing individual techniques, or even additional bag work. 
2. When running hills, after you reach the top, you should be completely spent.  Naturally, if the hill is longer, you'll run slower and if it's shorter, you'll run faster, up to full speed. Walk down after each length up the hill. 
3. For the decline push-ups, you can start with your feet on a small bench and gradually work your way up to something taller.
4. If you don't have access to cable machines, you are welcome to use dumbbells for the flys and overhead press. Your 15th rep should be the last rep you can do. If you can do more than 15 reps with the weight, you need to increase the weight. 
5. If you are unable to do the ab wheel exercise from standing, you may do it on your knees. If you are unable to do it on your knees, you can do only partial reps and work your way up to full reps. 

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

A tie AND fighting gloves?
Somebody was gunning for a promotion.

Tekken: Lei Wulong's Old School Training

Lei Wulong, from the game and anime movie Tekken, is based on the real life kung fu movie superstar Jackie Chan. The training is broken up into three sections and will focus on the three different types of training that you generally see Jackie Chan doing in his movies as well as his real life. This particular workout is based on Jackie's "Old School" training in his kung fu movies, so you're likely to see some unconventional things, but you can rest easy knowing that the intensity will be nice and easy...

Wait, what am I saying? It's training from kung fu movies!  You'll be lucky to survive!!!

Workout comes with complimentary creep to screw with you during training.
(Don't ask about the thing under his butt. O_O)  

But that's why we break things into levels sometimes. :D

They're like twins!

Lei Wulong's Old School Training

LEVEL ONE

1. Horse Stance- 2 Minutes
2. Practice Handstands- 3 Minutes
3. 50 Push-ups
4. 100 Sit-ups
5. Hold Top of Push-up Position on Fingertips- 1 Minute
6. Hold Top of Push-up Position on Backs of Wrists- 1 Minute
7. Gymnastic Bridge- 1 Minute
8. Balance Walking- 3 Minutes (see notes)
9. Shoulder-to-Feet Reverse Plank- 2 x 1 Minute
10. Practice Cracking Nuts- 3 x 2 Minutes 
11. Pull 50# Sled with Various Arm Movements- 10 Yards
12. Practice Martial Arts- 30 Minutes

LEVEL TWO

1. Horse Stance- 5 Minutes
2. Handstand- 1 Minute (see notes)
3. 50 Push-ups w/15#
4. 100 Decline Sit-ups
5. Hold Top of Push-up Position on Fingertips- 3 Minutes
6. 20 Wrist Jumps on Pads
7. Gymnastic Bridge- 3 Minutes
8. Balance Walking w/Dumping Water- 3 Minutes
9. Neck-to-Feet Reverse Plank- 2 x 1 Minute
10. Practice Cracking Nuts- 3 x 2 Minutes
11. Pull 100# Sled with Various Arm Movements- 20 Yards
12. Practice Martial Arts- 30 Minutes

LEVEL THREE

1. Horse Stance w/2# on each wrist- 5 Minutes
2. 5 Handstand Push-ups
3. 50 Push-ups w/45#
4. 50 Hanging Sit-ups
5. Hold Top of Push-up Position on Fingertips w/25#- 3 Minutes
6. 25 Wrist Jumps on Soft Dirt
7. Moving in a Gymnastic Bridge- 10 Yards Forwards and Backwards
8. Balance Walking w/Dumping Water- 5 Minutes
9. Neck-to-Feet Reverse Plank to Hip Drive- MAX Reps in 3 Minutes
10. Practice Cracking Nuts- 3 x 2 Minutes
11. Pull 150# Sled with Various Arm Movements- 35 Yards
12. Practice Martial Arts- 30 Minutes

LEVEL FOUR

1. Horse Stance w/5# on each wrist- 5 Minutes
2. 5 Handstand Push-ups on fists
3. 50 Push-ups w/65#
4. 100 Hanging Sit-ups
5. Hold Top of Push-up Position on Fingertips w/50#- 3 Minutes
6. 50 Wrist Jumps on Soft Dirt
7. Moving in a Gymnastic Bridge- 50 Yards Forwards and Backwards
8. Balance Walking w/Dumping Water- 5 Minutes
9. Neck-to-Feet Reverse Plank to Hip Drive w/50#- MAX Reps in 3 Minutes
10. Practice Cracking Nuts- 3 x 2 Minutes
11. Pull 200# Sled with Various Arm Movements- 50 Yards
12. Practice Martial Arts- 30 Minutes

Notes:

• Don't do more than you can and always stop if you feel pain. You are not here to hurt yourself. 
• When on the backs of your wrists, the fingers of each hand should be facing the center line of your body and, therefore, each other.  The wrist jumps are shown here. 
• In the second level, you must do the handstand non-stop for 1 minute. If you cannot hold it for one minute, you must continue practicing for that session for an additional two minutes. If you cannot complete the reps of handstand push-ups listed, you must also go back and complete 3 minutes of handstand practice. 
• The balance walking should ideally be on the tops of giant jars, full of water (for authenticity's sake), but if you don't have access to that, I recommend laying on their sides a series of CMUs (concrete masonry units-- otherwise known as a concrete block) in a grid pattern. Essentially, you'll have three lines of blocks going in each direction, leaving a total of four open spaces. You'll walk like Jackie did in Drunken Master on top of the jars. In the later levels, you'll place a bucket in each of the spaces, one filled with water. At this point, you will dump the water from the first bucket into one of the others while walking, replace the empty bucket, pick up the full bucket and empty that new bucket into one of the other buckets for the allotted time period. The video is here.
• For the Shoulder-to-Feet Reverse Plank, you'll have two chairs facing one another underneath your shoulder blades (place your hands behind your head) and a chair at your heels. You'll stay completely straight during this exercise. Later, when you move up in levels, the two chairs will be underneath your neck only with your hands still in place underneath your head. The "hip drive" is done from this position as well. You'll lower your hips and then lift them back to the starting position. You may have to move the chair under your feet in just a little for this one. For an example, see here. 
• The technique for cracking nuts is shown here. This is very hard to do. 
• The example of the various types of arm movements for the sled pull are here. You can row or curl or pull while twisting. Lots of options here. 
• For practicing martial arts, you may do forms, techniques, work with the wooden dummy or a heavy bag, or shadowbox. 

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

Hokuto Shinken's Handstand and Finger Training

The first real training scene we see for Kenshiro has him balancing upside down on just two finger of one hand. While that is not a lot of training for us to look at, just the process of getting to that level of skill and strength is far more training than many people will ever do in their entire lives. The progression is pain-staking and it is uncertain whether or not the average person can ever attain such a feat or if it is merely relegated to the realm of monsters like Kenshiro, Shaolin Monks, or Vass- The Super Saiyan. In any case, if you put the work in, you'll definitely get stronger. How much so is between you and your genetics. Don't worry, if you fail, I don't think you'll explode.

Hokuto Shinken's Handstand and Finger Training 

LEVEL ONE:

• GOAL: Continuous handstand for 1 Minute
• Practice Handstands for 15 Minutes or until you complete the goal. Every time you fall, do as many fingertip push-ups as you can. Try to keep working the entire 15 minutes. 

LEVEL TWO:

• GOAL: Continuous fingertip handstand for 1 Minute
• Practice Handstands on fingertips for 15 Minutes or complete the goal. Every time you fall, do as many fingertip push-ups as you can. If you are unable to stay up on your fingers during the handstand, continue practice using normal handstands. Remember, every time you fall, you must do as many fingertip push-ups as you can.

LEVEL THREE:

• GOAL: Continuous One-Arm Handstand on each side for 1 Minute
• Practice One-Arm Handstands for 15 Minutes or until you complete the goal. Every time you fall, do as many fingertip push-ups as you can. If you feel like you are unable to stay up very long on one arm, continue practice using fingertip handstands. If your fingers get tired, continue practice using normal handstands. Remember, every time you fall, you must do as many fingertip push-ups as you can.

LEVEL FOUR:

• GOAL: Continuous One-Arm Fingertip Handstand on each side for 1 Minute
• Practice One-Arm Fingertip Handstands for 15 Minutes or until you complete the goal. Every time you fall, do as many fingertip push-ups as you can. If you feel like you are unable to stay up on the fingertips of one hand for very long, continue practice using one-arm handstands. Make sure to train both sides. If your strength starts to fail, continue practice with fingertip handstands. If your fingers start to get tired, continue practice using normal handstands. Remember, every time you fall, you must do as many fingertip push-ups as you can.

LEVEL FIVE:

• GOAL: Continuous Two-Finger Handstand on each side for 1 Minute
• Practice One-Arm Fingertip Handstands for 15 Minutes, removing fingers as you are able, until you are using only your index and middle finger on one hand to support yourself. Every time you fall, do as many fingertip push-ups as you can. Utilize the previous method to continue practicing as you get tired. 

See? Doesn't look hard at all!

Notes:

• This is a long term workout. It will take years to get the strength and balance for you to be able to complete this feat. Do not train this every day. At the very most, train it three times per week and that's if you've been training for a while. 
• I would recommend practicing on a non-slip surface, but preferably not one that is super hard and definitely not a slick surface. 
• You're going to feel this in your hands, your chest, your shoulders, your back and your entire midsection. You may even feel it in your legs, as you get used to balancing. 
• This will not be easy. It will take a large amount of work and a great deal of time. 

Today's workout is a fun one! Until next time, good luck and train hard!

Request: Mulan's Training (AKA: The "I'll Make a Man Out of You" Workout)

I got a request for a workout based on Mulan's training and I though, "Why the hell not?!"

Mulan is a legendary figure from ancient China and the subject of a number of poems and stories, as well as a Disney movie.

Somebody's about to catch a beat down.

Mulan becomes an amazing warrior, but like any good warrior, she needs a training montage and that's where this workout comes in. Really hope you enjoy this one!!

Mulan's Training (AKA: The "I'll Make a Man Out of You" Workout)

1. 30 Minutes Martial Arts Practice
2. 10 Minutes Blocking Practice (Strikes or Tennis Balls)
3. 10 Minutes Dodging Practice (Strikes or Tennis Balls)
4. 3 Mile Hike/Trail Run with 20lb Weighted Pole on Shoulders*
5. 10 Minutes Sparring Practice
6. 20 Minutes "Breaking" Practice/Body Conditioning

Notes:

• The martial arts practice can be reps of techniques, shadowboxing, bag work, mitt work, forms,  two-man sets, or weapons practice. 
• Use whatever blocking techniques you have for the blocking practice, but your primary goal is to  deflect or stop the incoming attack (or tennis ball) with an arm/hand or leg/foot.
• In the dodging practice you can stand against a wall or run around while your partner throws tennis balls at you. Alternatively, you can merely practice dodging incoming blows by swaying, bobbing, weaving, using your footwork, jumping, or any other movement. 
• Reference the video for an example of the Weighted Pole. You could also use a backpack or a weighted vest.
• Sparring can be No-Contact Sparring, Light to Full Contact Sparring, a two-man set, point sparring, grappling, or mixed sparring. If you're doing an kind of contact, it's better to wear gear for safety's sake, since it's just practice.
• For "Breaking" or Body Conditioning you can use an Iron Palm Bag, an Iron Claw Bag, do 3-Star Training on a pole or tree, hit a canvas bag, hit a hard heavy bag bare-handed, use a body-conditioning bar, or actually practice breaking pine boards or concrete blocks. Whatever you do, start slow and remember that this kind of training takes a long time, because bone hardens very slowly.

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

Real Anime Training Demonstrations: Hermit's Training- Arm Swings

Exercise demonstration for Hermit's Training.

I know some of you have been waiting a while for this and I appreciate your patience. I'll be better about posting videos.

Retsu Kaioh's Training- Part 12

It's been a while, so I thought I'd get back into the 72 Arts for you guys!

#32: Exercise "Soft Bones" (Rou Gu Gong)- This training is relatively simple and is centered around flexibility. The first stage of the training utilizes a dynamic kicking motion. The kicking leg is kept straight and swung up in front of your body as high as it will comfortably go. Don't push yourself to the point of injury. You should do 100 kicks on each leg in the morning and evening. You can do them in a row on each leg or alternate legs in a kind of walking motion. After a year of training, the first stage of training will be complete.

The second stage is working on splits. The exercise is called "Bench Facing the Sky." Your supporting leg will be straight and you will lift your other leg as high as you can in front of you. After you cannot raise it anymore, pull your leg up with your arms as high as you can. At the end of the movement, you should be standing up straight, your raised leg flat against your chest and the sole of your foot facing the sky and near your ear. Train both of your legs in this fashion. The author doesn't give a time limit or number of sets for the training, so I suggest holding the position for no more than 2 minutes at a time and alternate your legs in this training. I would spend anywhere from 15-30 minutes on this training, depending on your soreness from other training. The author says that after several months, you should be able to start training for a split.

For a front split and a side split, you will spread your feet out as far as they will go on either the front or the side and the lower yourself as far as possible, keeping your upper body vertical all the while. When you are able to completely lower yourself into both positions, you'll focus on staying in the position for up to 30 minutes at a time. After you are able to hold these positions for these extended periods with your body vertical, you'll focus on lowering yourself into a bridge position from standing. You'll bend backwards and place both palms on the ground and stay in this position for a while. You'll also begin bending your body at the waist from side to side, in order to increase the flexibility of your upper body. The author says you'll be able to "roll yourself up into a ball in a lying position." You can also warm up your body with a hot cloth or a warm bath before training.


#33: Exercise "Frog" (Hama Gong)


The author calls this "Lifting a Stone Block." It's actually not described very well, in my opinion, and that might be due to the author or the translator. Either way, this one is a little vague. I'm going to try my best to give you my understanding of it. It appears that you will try to lift a stone block, in between your hands, off the ground for many repetitions. Like, a cinder block for instance or even an atlas stone. You'll start with 30 or 40lbs and work your way up once you can lift that weight, as the author says, "without appreciable effort." You can lift it like a Deadlift or Squat Clean or Clean and Press. I'm giving some leeway in that. He says when you can lift 100-110lbs "without appreciable effort",  you can move to the next stage of the exercise, which does not include any apparatus. I would be hesitant to completely eliminate your previous training, so I would still utilize the 100-110lbs for your lifting.

The next stage of the training, starts with the hands, wrists, and forearms. You will clench your fists together and squeeze the muscles in those three areas with maximal effort and then release a short while later. You will then clench your fists with the backs of your fists facing the ground and tighten your arms and the neck and head muscles. Next is your shoulders. Then pull your shoulders back and tighten your chest. You should train in this order until you gain the ability to fully contract all the muscles of your arms, shoulders, neck, and chest with maximal effort on command numerous times (I wish the author was a little more specific sometimes).

The next stage is training your midsection by contracting your core muscles on every side with maximal effort. I imagine that the core training is in addition to the the upper body training. The last stage of the training is merely staying in the horse riding stance for extended periods of time, while practicing "concentrating force" in various parts of your body, which is squeezing the muscles as previously indicated. The author says that this ability will make you capable of repelling blows by "concentrating force" into areas of your body upon impact.

#34: Exercise "Piercing the Curtain" (Chuan Lian Gong)


This training is about acrobatics and leaping. The first stage of this training involves leaping from about 20ft over a long pit filled with about 4 feet of sand. There is a stake driven in each corner of the pit, with a net of thick cords draped about 2 feet above the sand. It appears as though you will squat down and leap with your hands out in front of you, almost like Superman in flight, over the pit and land in the net. This is kind of crazy to me, so if you get wild enough to try it, be very careful and make sure you have safety equipment. I wouldn't really recommend this one, myself.

The next stage is placing a plank (like a 2 x 4) at about 40 inches high in between two poles. This should be placed in front of the pit from the previous stage. You'll start about 20-30 feet away from the plank, start running and leap over the plank in a completely horizontal fashion, like in the previous training. After you are able to leap over the plank with relative ease, you should replace the plank with a board about 2-3 feet wide, so you have more to clear in your horizontal leap. After you are able to do this, you should encircle the board with a circular frame so that you have to jump straight through, instead of just jumping high. You'll be "piercing" through the center (thus the name) and you'll add additional frames as you get better at flying through the section until you get to 6 or 7 frames. The author also mentions something about adding knives to the inside of the frames but DO NOT DO THAT! No, seriously, that's like the least intelligent thing I've seen this guy say. If you screw up once, you're done for good!

In general this skill would be good for an acrobatic feat of leaping through a small hole as straight as possible or through a window without breaking the glass or hurting yourself. However, it's kind of a dangerous training.

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

Martial Arts and Rainbow-Magic: Kung Fu Leg Training Part 1: The Horse Stance vs. ...

Martial Arts and Rainbow-Magic: Kung Fu Leg Training Part 1: The Horse Stance vs. ...: Message boards and the internet are a great way to connect to the online kung fu community, but sometimes I find things that make me uncom...

This is my buddy James' blog. He has a lot of really interesting things to say. He's a Tai Chi practitioner with a hell of Brazilian Jiu-jitsu game. This is a really great article on Horse Stance Training. Check it out!

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.

Baki's Worldwide Training Menu

In the manga, before Baki fights Shinogi Koushou, he is shown training in his basement gym. It shows him using (or owning) various training equipment from around the world. I imagine he learned these training methods while traveling the world before coming back to Japan. The workout is a bit extreme, because (well) it is Baki we're talking about here. Please feel free to scale it down. Hope you guys like it!

Baki's Worldwide Training Menu 

1. Run 18.5 Miles*
2. Wing Chun Dummy Practice*- 10 Minutes
3. 3 Sets of MAX Reps Pull-ups
4. Bench Press- 3 x 5 Reps 
5. Alternating Dumbbell Curls- 3 x 10 Reps
6. Indian Club Training- 5 Minutes
7. 3 Sets of MAX Reps Decline Sit-ups
8. Double-end Bagwork- 10 Minutes
9. Makiwara Punching- 50 per hand
10. L-Rope Climb- 10 Laps
11. Speed Bagwork- 10 Minutes
12. Conditioning Bag Striking- 50 Strikes per hand
13. Heavy Bagwork- 10 Minutes

Notes:

• For the run, you have a few options. You can just do the run, you can run and shadowbox, you can alternate sprinting and jogging, you can carry a weight (preferably not a dog... if you've actually read the manga, you know what I'm talking about), or pull a tire. Of course, 18.5 miles is a long, long way, but you don't have to start there. Start where you are comfortable and work your way up. This is the routine for the Champion of the Underground Fighting Arena, after all. 
• More than likely, you do not have access to a Wing Chun Dummy on a regular basis and, if you do, you may not know the forms for using it, so... here's my solution. You can do a Karate kata, a kung fu form, shadowbox, or just practice techniques. You really want to focus on your form here, making sure that every aspect of it is absolutely perfect. 
• You can use any grip you like for the pull-ups. You can even add weight with a vest or a belt. 
• For the bench press, we're going for power. You want to be struggling to complete the fifth rep on these sets. Please use a spotter for this. I'd hate for you to drop a barbell on your neck or face or chest.
• We've previously covered Alternating Dumbbell Curls.
• Here is what Indian Club Training looks like. It is all about circular movement with the weights. If you don't have Indian Clubs, you can substitute them with anything of a similar shape. You don't need much weight to get a great workout. 
• We've covered decline sit-ups before. 
• If you'll remember, a double-end bag is a bag with an elastic cable at the top and bottom and, when you hit it, it bounces all over the place. It will train your accuracy and your dodging ability. 
• We've covered Makiwara punching before.
• For the L-Rope Climb, you only use your hands to climb the rope. You start out seated on the ground, with your legs straight out in front of you. As you climb, your legs will stay out in front of you, with your body in a "L" position. This will tax your arms and your core. You will climb up and down ten times, without resting at the bottom. Your rope should have about 10 feet worth of climbing room. 
• For the speed bag, focus on getting a rhythm and remember that it's all about timing. 
• With the conditioning bag, you can fill it with sand, pebbles, river rocks, or steel shot. Start with softer materials and work your way up. When you can hit the softer materials with almost full force, you can move up to the harder ones. 
• You guys know the drill for the Heavy Bag. Go hard, go fast, and use lots of different techniques. This is your time to practice combinations and movement, so use it wisely. 
• This workout is so insane, I imagine at first, you may even have to break it up between a couple of days. If you can actually complete the workout, I would say you'd have some world-class fitness to brag about. 
• If you have any questions about exercises not explained, use the search function on the side of the blog. :D

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

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. 

MMA in Anime and Manga

Unfortunately, mixed martial arts does not always receive the warmest of welcomes in anime or manga. There are plainly some biases against it, even to the point of contradiction. Mixed martial artists are often portrayed as mere sportsmen, just playing at real combat (which I will allow this argument to a degree, but I will qualify it) or that they are strong, but have horrible attitudes and are beaten out of principle it seems.
In History's Strongest Disciple Kenichi, there is a scene that shows Odin, right before he meets Ogata Isshinsai, where he had just won a martial arts match that looks very similar to an MMA competition. He appears to make light of the competition and you do not see him use any common MMA skills in his later fights. Ryouzanpaku itself is set up to be for pure non-sport Masters. While there is nothing inherently wrong with this, the problem lies in the fact that it dismisses the combat effectiveness of MMA or its components just because they are used in sport.

Even Judo and Brazilian Jiu-jitsu are made to seem less than other martial arts. Ukita is a judoka, but always seems to be the weakest fighter in the group. And during the D of D tournament, the BJJ team got slaughtered by the Ancient Pancration team... Which should include wrestling as part of its skill set, but is never showcased. This is challenged slightly by the Command Sambo users, but it is an exception to the rule.
In Karate Shoukoushi Kohinata Minoru, Minoru learns Karate and a little BJJ and does very well and then Mutou just does Karate and is ridiculously more powerful; however, a fighter from the MMA club is taken down by a single front kick (mind you, from a very strong karateka, but all the same). In general, if someone does MMA in manga or anime, expect to see them get slaughtered.

There are exceptions to this in Grappler Baki, Tough, Teppu, All-Rounder Meguru, and some others, but in general, MMA catches a bad rap in anime and manga. There's nothing wrong with just Karate or just a style of kung fu or just boxing or whatever, but the problem is when an author belittles the fact that MMA has fundamentally changed martial arts for the better (another article) and that mixed martial artists defeat traditional martial artists on a regular basis. I've said this before and I'll say it again, if you want to be a pure karateka or boxer or wrestler or whatever you have got to push the limits of your fitness and strength and find ways to deal with your style's shortcomings. Don't blame your art. Pick your path and charge full speed ahead, but prepare for the trials and tribulations and don't expect to win just because you train hard. Scissors always beat paper, no matter how much you don't want it to.

Retsu Kaioh's Training- Part 11

More of the 72 Arts today. At some point, we're gonna actually get half way through this thing! Retsu Kaioh, if you mastered all of these things, you might just be the scariest guy in history.

#29: The Art of the Stone Padlock- The author goes to some pretty serious lengths, describing what a stone padlock is: a U-shaped bar attached to a stone padlock. It's heavy and you lift it, and (by God!) it is pretty much the same thing as a kettlebell, so if you can't (or don't want to) create an exact replica of an old stone padlock, then you can very easily find kettlebells at most sporting goods stores and most definitely online. I won't waste too much time with further description of the apparatus.

You'll start with a kettlebell somewhere around the size of 10kg (approx 22 lbs) and then gradually increasing to 30-35kg (approx 66-77 lbs). The first start of the training is very simple. You will lift the kettlebell at arm's length, and chest height and then bending at the wrist, much like doing a reverse wrist curl. The fist will start with the palm facing down and, as you lift, your palm will face out in front of you. Focus on keeping a tight grip on the weight. Repeat this exercise "many times" according to the author. That's not exactly the most descriptive rep count, so I'll just go ahead and say that you should do three sets on each arm until failure. Start on one arm, do reps until failure, and then switch arms.

Then, move to the next phase of the training. (This is still the same level of training as the above prescription.) You'll then start lifting the weights out in front of you in a vertical line, alternating arms, and stopping when your arm is even with the top of your shoulder. There is not a rep count or anything for this one either, so I will go ahead and say three sets to failure again.

The next part of the training, once you've gotten to a point where you are easily manipulating very heavy kettlebells, will be to start including "turns of you body and other movements simultaneously." As this is very vague, I'm going to attempt to elaborate. What I suggest, is practicing lifting the kettlebells while doing a slow twist of the waist or maybe trying to walk forward, sideways, or backward. Eventually, you could try to coordinate yourself a little more with a crossover step or a squat or alternating leg lifts while you are lifting the weights. Essentially, what I gather from this training is that you should be able to move the rest of your body with relative ease while performing your repetitions. This will increase your balance immensely, as well as your coordination.

After you have gotten the hang of this, you should begin to include slight tosses of the kettlebells into your movements (I imagine you will not be able to move quite as fluidly while tossing a kettlebell). At first, just toss it into the air a little and catch it by the handle.  After you've done this effectively for a while, try to get the kettlebell to make a single revolution when you release the handle and then catch it. Work toward increasing the number of revolutions with each toss.  The author says, at this point, while you are manipulating a weight of about 22lbs, while moving, and tossing it into the air, you should be able to control how many revolutions the weight makes at will. This designates control over the weight.

Finally, you can begin "accepting" the falling weight. Essentially, after a great deal of training and where you are sufficiently comfortable (note, I say "comfortable," because I don't want you getting to the previous stage and then just jumping to this one) What you'll do, is that on one of your tosses, where the weight will reach the height of the top of your head, you will catch the flat part of the kettlebell on the top side of your fist, while the other hand grabs the handle. It has the potential to be rather painful, so maybe start this with a lower weight and without the movement at first. The top hand is only for balance and the majority of the weight should land directly on your fist.

But, there's more!! You can now begin tossing the weight up behind your back, turning your body, and then catching it with the opposite hand, sort of like a basketball player... but with a heavy piece of metal.  The use of body movement will be very important in the execution of this technique. Remember to alternate sides and just practice until tired.

And... nope, we aren't done,  yet... this last part is not very clear, but what I can gather is that the weight should be held at your side and then, using the twisting of the waist and the movement of your arm, toss up the weight and catch it with your other arm. Alternate sides. This is supposed to increase the power of your mid-section.

Your end routine can start with some wrist work from the beginning, then the lateral raises while moving and tossing and spinning the weight randomly, then "accepting" the weight,and finally ending on the back and waist training.

And here's the kicker-- after you get to the end of this training with the lowest weight, you have to start over with a heavier one! However, I doubt you'll spend as much time on learning movements as you did with the first one. Just make sure you are comfortable on each stage before continuing. The author says when you complete this training, you will be able to lift a weight of 50-150kg (approx 110-330 lbs... note he does not say with ease).  Also, your punching, pushing, and throwing should show a marked improvement.


#30: "Skill of the Iron Arm" (Tie bi gong)-  The first stage of this training involves striking at poles with the inside and outside of your arms. Every day, if you are not sufficiently bruised, you should increase the force of your strikes gradually. Eventually, you can move to harder poles and trees with rough bark, preferably uneven in some places.

After a year of training, you should be able to break wooden objects and some stone objects. You should strike side-to-side, downward, diagonally, and even upward into various uneven, hard objects. The ultimate goal is to be able to swing with full force with your arm into an object and, if it does not break, at least you will be uninjured.

This skill can be acquired in one year and mastered in three and you will be able to break bones with ease and push past your opponent's defenses without regard for their set-up.


#31: "Fist Like a Bullet" (Danzi Quan)- This training method trains the joints of the second finger phalanges set in a flat surface. The fist is not completely closed, but the inside of the palm is a flat surface and your finger are bent at the first joint with the thumb placed on the outside of the hand, bent to the center of the hand. The first stage of this training is just forming the appropriate fist.

The next stage of the training is to deliver blows to a flat, wooden board. When you make contact, your elbow should still be bent. You will need to work up to delivering harder strikes, because you can really injure your hands. You should also use some form of hand salve or dit da jow. The first stage of training will be accomplished when you can make a depression in the wood. Then, you can move to a stone until it makes a depression in the stone. Finally, a piece of steel. The author says that it takes up to 4 or 5 years of "stubborn" training to achieve this skill.

At the end of your training, it is possible to deliver a fatal blow to an enemy with a strike like this. Your hand essentially becomes a bullet. If you acquire this skill, please do not employ with, unless absolutely necessary!  You don't want to kill anyone and have that on your conscience.


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