Tenacity for Ten Rounds (Hajime no Ippo)

In his next bout, Ippo goes up against a veteran, with around 30 fights under his belt. According to Coach Kamogawa, this is to be Ippo's last fight before he battles Miyata. Ippo was originally not focusing on the this match, until Date brought to Ippo's attention that this particular fighter Take Keiichi, has a wealth of experience and a history of being able to wear fighters down, because he is notoriously difficult to knock out. After that conversation, Ippo kicks it into high gear for the next month to build the stamina to punch continuously for 10 rounds straight.

Tenacity for Ten Rounds




Morning

• 3 Mile Run, 7 Sprints Throughout (Shadowbox for 15 seconds at the end of each sprint)
• Weaving Practice- 5 x 1 Minute Rounds
• Shadowboxing- 3 x 3 Minute Rounds

4-6 Hours Later

-OPTION 1

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

--10 Rounds OR

-OPTION 2

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

--5 Rounds, then

• 10 x 800 Meter Sprints (Goal: < 3 Minutes/sprint)
• 5 x 100 Meter Hill Pushing
• 2 Mile Run with Tire(s)
• 3 x 3 Minute Rounds Mitt Work 
• 3 x 3 Minute Rounds Heavy Bagwork
• 3 x 3 Minute Rounds Shadowboxing
• 10 x 3 Minute Rounds Mitt Work
• 10 x 3 Minute Rounds Heavy Bagwork 
• Neck Bridging- 3 Minutes
• Horizontal Sledgehammering- 100 Strikes Left, 100 Strikes Right
• Vertical Sledgehammering- 100 Strikes Left, 100 Strikes Right, 100 Strikes Together

Notes:

• This is very similar to the last workout, except for those two little 10 Rounders thrown in there. You can use your normal pace for the 3 Rounders, but on the 10 Rounders, I want you to focus on going non-stop. Don't think, just punch. 
• Once again, like last time, this stuff is getting ridiculous. So, on that note, I am currently developing a plan for you guys to build up to this level. Ippo is one of those series that you can't really pick a workout and just do it-- you need to have the foundations built from the earlier training in order to complete or succeed in the later training.

I have been really, really busy recently, so I apologize for the delay. However, like I said, I have been working on a pretty cool project that I think you guys will enjoy. I am currently modifying my own training for the project as well. I really hope you guys enjoy it, when it's done. 

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

Bowling King- Shautei Lei's Basic Training

Shautei Lei, a kid with an enormously strong left arm and a knack for bowling (although he doesn't know it) takes up the sport to help the girl he like and has some hilarious matches against various professional bowlers. Eventually, Shautei Lei ends up being drafted by a rich tycoon and is trained by two world-class bowling coaches.  They put him through training specifically designed to make his lower body stable and able to effectively utilize the power of his left arm.

This is enormously leg intensive, so you probably shouldn't do it in conjunction with any other hard leg day.

Shautei Lei's Basic Training


Morning
-Run 30 Minutes
-Walk 5 Minutes
--As Many Rounds As Possible, Max Time 4 Hours

4-6 Hours Later
-Static Half Squat- 30 Minutes (Count times you fall, less times equals better score)
-Practice bowling at least 2 games.


Notes:

• I realize this workout is a bit much for basic training, so you are more than welcome to scale it down. If you are done after 30 minutes of running-- then stop. Pick up with the rest of the workout after the prescribed rest period. 
• Really focus on recovery during the walking periods: breathe deep and move your upper body around to loosen up. 
• The Static Half Squat is kind of like standing in a horse stance, but instead you'll take a basic air squat, go half way down (where the tops of your thighs are about 45 degrees with the ground) and hold it for as long as you can. Whatever you do, don't come up. You can fall all day long, just don't come up from the position. The point is to train yourself to absolute failure.
• The running combined with the static squat stance will help to build stability in your lower half. Also, don't expect to do much the next day. :D
• You are welcome to bowl as many games as you like at the end of the workout, but do at least two, so you can see what it's like to toss the ball when your lower body is completely trashed. 

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

Bri-utiful

Here  is a friend of mine's blog. She's very insightful and has some different viewpoints that you may find interesting. Check it out!

On Mastery (Part 2)

(Part 1)

When I sat down to type out my thoughts on Mastery last time, I wasn't sure that I was going to continue. Not because I said all there was to be said (certainly not), but because I was quite certain that whatever I said next (if anything) ought to be worth saying. This is far from an obvious conclusion, for people often ramble on about a subject far longer than necessary, in much the same fashion as I am currently doing. However, this is not without purpose, and serves as an example of what Mastery is not.

Primarily, Mastery is not superfluous. It does no more than is necessary. It does not write a paragraph when a sentence or a single word will do. Mastery is not just the ability to know what is necessary, but the ability to do that very thing at will. In fact, they are one and the same to the person in possession of Mastery.

That leads me to the second thing Mastery is not: contemplative (with exception). It is possible to reason over time what is the necessary action and then complete that action based upon the outcome of your contemplation, but that is not Mastery. If asked a question, a Master mathematician does not ponder the problem at length and then give sufficient answer.  He merely answers, because the rules of the mathematics are so deeply ingrained in him, he cannot help it. It is the same as tossing a ball to someone and seeing them catch it without thought. They did not calculate the trajectory and position themselves in such a fashion to be able to catch the ball-- they just caught it. To be fair, I'm certain there are Master mathematicians who use calculators or must consider a problem shortly before answering extraordinarily complex problems.  Indeed, things of sufficient difficulty can force any Master to struggle or even fail. This may seem like a contradiction, but only if you think of Mastery in completely finite and blanketing terms. Depending on the subject or the method, Mastery may mean different things. I use such a complex thing as math to lay out my next point.

Mastery is not definitive. What I mean here is that Mastery can change over time. In the scope of an overarching concept such as math, which is constantly evolving, it is only possible to attain Mastery if one has Mastery over the concept's parts. Math can be as basic as adding and subtracting or simple algebra or as complex as is necessary to explain the most detailed of physical or non-physical representations. This then means that if you can count to 100 without thought, you've gained Mastery of the ability to count to 100. It seems overly simple, I realize, but it is necessary to think in these terms because of the sheer vastness of the concept of mathematics (granted, math is not the only thing that is horribly, horribly complex).  To have Mastery of such a thing, one must be expected to be enormously skilled at a variety of different mathematical procedures, often without having to really think about them. The other side of Mastery not being definitive is that, Masters often expand the field in which they specialize. The Master mathematicians or martial artists of 500 years ago are not the same, for things that exist today did not exist at that time (though are the product of those men and women's pursuits).  In this way, Mastery is not definitive, because it expands and develops as it goes.

This post and its predecessor are not the be-all, end-all word on Mastery. There is much more that has can be said and has been said by far better men than myself. As far as your own journeys go, I hope I have been able to shed some light to whatever paths you are following.

Back to Basics (Hajime no Ippo)

For Ippo's next fight against Karasawa he decides to put a hold on the Dempsey Roll and "start over" by building the basics and pushing his training even further (as always). Ippo's goal is to build a body strong enough to handle an evolved Dempsey Roll and so he just focuses on the basics. And, for the record, I include some things even though they are not always shown, just because they are likely to be included in basic training.

Back to Basics


Morning

• 3 Mile Run, 7 Sprints Throughout (Shadowbox 15 Seconds and the End of Each Sprint)
• Weaving Practice- 5 x 1 Minute Rounds
• Shadowboxing- 3 x 3 Minute Rounds

4-6 Hours Later

-OPTION 1

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

--10 Rounds OR

-OPTION 2

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

--5 Rounds, then

• 10 x 800 Meter Sprints (Goal: < 3 Minutes/Sprint)
• 5 x 100 Meter Hill Pushing
• 2 Mile Run w/Tire(s)
• 3 x 3 Minute Rounds Heavy Bagwork
• 3 x 3 Minute Rounds Mittwork
• 3 x 3 Minute Rounds Shadowboxing
• 3 x 3 Minute Rounds Mittwork
• Neck Bridging- 3 Minutes
• Horizontal Sledgehammering- 100 Strikes Left, 100 Strikes Right
• Vertical Sledgehammering- 100 Strikes Left, 100 Strikes Right, 100 Strikes Together

Notes:

• If you weren't aware that this stuff is getting really, really hard-- this should remind you. Lots of reps, lots of rounds, lots of running and sprints. Of course, if you've been training with Ippo up to this point, you might be ready for it. Then again...
• Hill Pushing can be done with a wheelbarrow, a person (or two) in a shopping cart, or even a small vehicle. Obviously the steeper the hill the harder it will be, so please be careful.
• Start with 1 tire on the 2 mile run and then add as you need to.
• For Horizontal Sledgehammering, you wanna make sure that you have a good base and enough room to turn into the strike. Make sure you hit squarely so it doesn't bounce off and hurt you. I would recommend just hitting a standing tree rather than burying logs in a hillside... because you'll probably get in trouble, too.

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

Evolving the Dempsey Roll (Hajime no Ippo)

Ippo's next fight is against Sawamura Ryuuhei, a powerful counter-puncher with a penchant for torturing his opponents and no real qualms about illegal techniques. Makunouchi does not accept Sawamura's boxing and vows to defeat him. To prepare for this bout, Ippo works on developing the Dempsey Roll even further-- to a point of evolution. In order to push this already destructive technique to new heights, Ippo pushes himself even further in his training.

Evolving the Dempsey Roll

Morning

• 3 Mile Run, 7 Sprints Throughout (Shadowbox 15 seconds at the end of each sprint)
• Weaving Practice- 5 x 1 Minute Rounds
• Shadowboxing 3 x 3 Minute Rounds

4-6 Hours Later

• 100 Push-ups
• 100 Sit-ups
• 100 Squats
• 3 Minutes Neck Bridging
• 3 Minutes Headstand Work
• 3 x 3 Minute Rounds of Jump Rope
• 3 x 3 Minute Rounds of Heavy Bagwork
• 3 x 3 Minute Rounds of Mitt Work
• Running with Tire(s)- 2 Sets (5 Minutes Rest in Between)*
• Practice Stopping and Reversing Dempsey Roll- 10 Reps Each Direction
• 3 x 3 Minute Rounds Hard Sparring
• Sledgehammer Swings- 100 Left, 100 Right, 100 Both Hands

Notes:

• You'll start pulling one tire on your run and will eventually get to point where you are pulling three. The pace is going to be a hard run for the entire set. Not a sprint, but not a jog, either. You'll keep up this pace until you are just barely able to jog, then that will end the set. Rest five minutes and start the second set in the same fashion. Since the point is to build stamina, there is not a time limit, nor a distance to this training.
• For the Dempsey Roll Practice, you will start in the the typical Dempsey Roll figure-8 pattern and will suddenly stop and reverse the direction. You can even start punching, stop mid-punch, and reverse it. You'll do this ten time in each direction.
• For the Hard Sparring, it is recommended you wear headgear, even though Ippo and Vorg did not.
• For the left and right swings, you will swing the sledgehammer one-handed. It is recommended that you start with a 2lb sledge and eventually move to a 4lb, a 6lb, and so forth. However, you want to be very comfortable with the weight of the sledge before moving up at all. You will be striking down into a tire for this training. This will build the muscles in your hands, forearms, arms, and back. 

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

Super Mario Workout (Submission)

You guys can thank Blackeroni on YouTube for this one. I'm going to post his exact workout and then my modified version, so you can pick which one you'd like to do.

Super Mario Workout (Submission Version)

1. Running- 6 Minutes
2. Jump Squats- 3 x 10 Reps
3. Jumping over obstacles- 10 Minutes
4. Gymnastics Training- 30 Minutes

Notes:

• On the run, you should be going full speed. You've only got six minutes to go as far as you possibly can, so get moving!
• These can be any version of jump squat you like- sumo, conventional, hindu... whatever. Rest for 30 seconds in between sets.
• For jumping over obstacles, you can use bricks, buckets, stairs, boxes or whatever. You want to push yourself, but don't try something so tall or long that you can't make the jump and end up hurting yourself. You can try static jumps from standing or you can get a running start. Just practice jumping over things.
• For gymnastics training, if you have access to a gymnastics facility, use it. However, if you do not, please use mats if you are going to be flipping around. Broken necks don't heal quickly...

Super Mario Workout (Real Anime Training Version)

1. As many rounds in 6 minutes as possible

-Sprint 100 Yards

-10 High Jump Squats

Rest 5 Minutes

2. 21-15-9 Reps

-24" Box Jumps

-Sledgehammer Swings to tire

Rest 5 Minutes

3. Jump and Pull Climb- 5 Minutes

4. Practice Gymnastics- 10 Minutes

Notes:

• This is designed to be relatively intense for the time period you are doing it. 
• We've covered high jump squats, box jumps, and sledgehammer stuff previously.
• For Jump and Pull Climb, you'll need to have a wall or small structure that you can jump and pull your self onto. It's essentially like in Mario 64, when you have to jump and climb on obstacles. You'll climb onto the obstacle, climb back down, and repeat for the time limit.
• See the other versions notes for gymnastics practice. 

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