There was a time when the karate man was looked upon with respect and feared. A time when, if someone said they were a black belt, it caused others to be impressed. You can say that karate has become outdated. But what has really happened is that karate has become exposed. here has been an interesting development in the martial arts in the late 20th Century and into the 21st. Martial arts have evolved and become much more true to life than ever.
If you are one of those people who like to question things then maybe this thought has gone through your mind. Why are there so many different martial arts systems in the world. We all have two arms and two legs don't we? So why all the different systems of self defense? I know that systems were usually born out of a need such as one group of people having to fight another group who were better armed. So they developed systems to fight those men who used certain weapons a certain way. Unfortunately these men thought their system more effectual than they should.
So let's look at what we have in the world without going into a deep history lesson. You basically have karate and ju-jitsu from Okinawa and Japan. You have a multitude of kung fu systems from China. You have Tae Kwon Do and a few others like Tang Soo Do from Korea; boxing and wrestling from Europe of course. Of these there is every variation under the sun. You name it and someone has tried to develop it into a fighting system. But what do we really have. Remember that all we really have is three men out there. It all boils down to those three. You have boxers or people who fight predominantly with their hands, kickers who like to use kicks as their main weapon and grapplers who like to take people to the ground and finish them there. That's really it. Just those three. Now there are people who are good at one, two or even three of those methods. Those guys are now known as mixed martial artists.
Someone once asked, what is truth? I think we can ask that same question here. I mean how can the average guy deal with someone who is skilled in one or even three of the main fighting methods? You know, the grappler who can kick and box. If this person is skilled as a mixed martial artist, will I have to employ his methods? Do I have to fight in the same manner? I know karate won't do the job. Definitely Tae Kwon Do will not do. How about adding a self defense class or two. Will that help? I don't think so. What about kung fu and all the various animal styles? No. You can pretend to be an animal but that won't beat the skilled boxer, kicker, grappler. So how do we deal with this guy. It can't be using his own methods. You can't box a boxer and expect to win if he's really good at what he does. Let's just assume this guy is a really good mixed martial artist who happens to be a thug and wants to rob and maybe even kill you. What's the answer if you don't have a weapon at hand?
The answer is elementory yet intricate. In order to effectively deal with a skilled thug you must first put away all your preconceived ideas about what real combat is. Forget the ring. Forget what you see on TV. How can an older man; say middle-aged, defend against a group of younger, stronger and faster opponents. It will not be by speed and power. If he is to win; and he must, he has to do something all together different. Yes the older man is a master of self-defense. But his system is highly evolved. He relies on a core group of concepts rather than techniques. Of course he uses proper technique but it is all grounded in his core principals. He also has the amazing ability to fight in a very apropos manner because he is guided by highly developed contact reflexes. In other words, if he is touched by an aggressor, the older man instantly knows all about him and deals with him in proper time with super preparatory application. That means he stops the first attack and all future attacks immediately. He also uses skeletal alignment to enhance his power. He is able to hit much harder than his younger counterparts who use muscle to deliver their blows. The skilled older man delivers his strikes with his bones which feels like being hit with the end of an iron rod.
The answer is to unite with the opponent's energy. No struggling or resisting but moving according to "the now". To be able to discharge a highly potent "motion martial art". Not static or choppy, muscular movements but relaxed yet aligned motions that can deal with an attack as if it were just a crude language. Yes, the answer is to have a highly developed and fluent martial language as a complete and elaborate communication. Yes, self defense can be like this. The only martial art I know that achieves this elevated dexterity is Wing Chun.
If a person truly dedicates him or herself to only doing and developing a system that is fit for the 21st Century real world self defense, then he must use external defenses guided by internal faculty. A system that encompasses the most effective techniques a person can deliver with the most advanced internal concepts one can make manifest. Now I mentioned Wing Chun earlier but not every Wing Chun teacher has developed in this manner or to this level. It is rare to find people who have this high level skill. But they are out there.
If you really want to get involved with a martial art and want to find verity, then take a few steps back. Get back far enough away from what is traditionally known and taught. Take an honest look around and see if the martial art before you justifies itself intellectually. Ask the hard questions. Will it work against the boxer, kicker, grappler guy? Can it be done effortlessly? What makes the most sense? Study and do research before you join a school. I can tell you right now, forget karate and Tae Kwon Do unless you just want to do a sport. Don't be too reverent with any martial art system. Be honest with yourself and hopefully you'll find a good teacher.
In the past I've had friends in the fitness modeling industry that used liposuction as a way to get rid of unwanted body fat. The goal of this undertaking was to have a more toned appearance and to get rid of fat in areas like the back of the legs or stomach area. While this method worked temporarily eventually fat begin to creep up in unwanted areas in other parts of the body.
When a person does liposuction, they get rid of fat cells in certain areas around the body. The good news is that fat cells do not regenerate. So, once you get rid of them in that area, they don't come back. The bad news is that if you are eating a daily, weekly, and monthly calorie surplus that energy has to be stored somewhere. Eventually, you begin storing body fat in weird places on your body. For instance, I have a female friend that does a lot of fitness modeling and wanted to shave off unwanted pounds of body fat around her thighs. She went and had liposuction done. Well, one year later around Christmas time, like most people around the holidays, she ate way too much food over the course of 2 to 3 months. Because she ate more calories then she could burn, she gained weight.
Think about food as energy. If you eat too much, your body has to store that excess energy somewhere. In her case, it wasn't't the thigh region, it was her arms and face which completely blew up. She never had that problem before, but now that there were less fat cells in the thigh region, that excess energy had to be stored somewhere. In her case, where did it go? It went to her face and arms. It was an odd sight. I felt really bad for her and advised her to go on a specific diet and training program. She lost the weight and then some.
The point of this story is that Liposuction is a temporary quick fix. Instead of spending $6,000 to $10,000 on Liposuction, you are much better off by hiring a nutritionist and personal trainer. This way you can learn about healthier strategies to lose weight safely and to keep it off permanently. Unfortunately our society has been plagued by quick fix solutions. While initially appealing, a person should really think about what is going to be best strategy for the long run. A healthy diet and exercise program will not only help you tone and shape your body, but will also help you to be more productive, healthier and stay younger.
Remember, you are what you eat and the best way to maintain youthful appearance is to give your body all the resources it needs to maintain health skin, hair, bones, and muscles. Here are a few tips to get you started:
Diet and Nutrition
Drink lots of water. Your body will hold less excess water weight.
80% or more of your carbohydrates should be from oatmeal, vegetables, fruits, and beans.
Eat enough protein. This tip would be in relation to your body weight and how active you are. Athletes should consume about 1 gm for every pound of body weight. If you're working out 2 to 3 days a week, then you would need within the range of .5 to .7 grams of protein per pound of body weight.
Eat 5 to 6 times a day or every 3 to 4 hours. Don't skip meals.
Keep a food journal. If you have a trainer, have them review it weekly. If you don't have a trainer, still keep a food journal. Having a journal will keep you aware and accountable with respect to your eating habits.
Your diet should be broken up into the following macro nutrients - approximately 25% Protein, 50% Carbs, and 25% fat.
Strength Training and Weight Lifting
Rest time in between weight lifting sets should vary between 60 to 120 seconds. There are cases where you should wait longer in between sets, but for most this is the "ideal" rest period for muscle growth.
Change your workouts every 4 to 10 weeks. Your body can grow accustomed to training with the same routine. In order for it to continuing adapting and growing you should change your workout routines. Keep a workout journal. This tip is avoided by most people. Most people can't remember exactly what they did in their last workout which had 10 to 15 sets. The workout journal will help you keep track of the weights that you've lifted in previous workouts.
Also, you need to either buy a stop watch or consistently use the clock to monitor time in between sets.
Lift more weight. Now that you're keeping a workout journal, you know exactly how much you lifted last week and the week before. One of the fundamental principles of growing muscle is simply adding more weight at your next workout. Every time or every other time you workout you should be a little bit stronger than the last workout. Thereby, your next workout you should be able to go up in weight on various sets in your routine. Try increasing the weight by increments of 2.5 to 5 pounds. Eat immediately after your weight training session. Your body will need the nutrition.
Many women do not lift weights and primarily focus on cardio and diet. While those two categories are important, you must not forget to do strength training at least twice a week. Building some muscle will add shape to your body. It tones your arms, legs, and of course your backside. Trust me, you won't look like a body builder or too masculine if you lift weights. Gaining muscle is a lot harder than you think.
Cardio
Switch up your cardio routines consistently. For example, on one day perform sprint training for 20 minutes; the next cardio routine try walking on an incline treadmill. Next workout use the stair master or spin classes, or elliptical, or the bike. Also, you can use 2 or 3 different cardio exercises in one workout. For example, 20 minutes workout on the bike, then 20 minutes on the stair master, then 20 minutes of boxing or kick boxing. Your body is an efficient machine. It will get used to habitual cardio workout routines. By changing it up, your body will continue to burn more calories then if you keep performing the same cardio routine month after month.
Both Armando Sainz & Shawn Phillips are contributors for EditorialToday. The above articles have been edited for relevancy and timeliness. All write-ups, reviews, tips and guides published by EditorialToday.com and its partners or affiliates are for informational purposes only. They should not be used for any legal or any other type of advice. We do not endorse any author, contributor, writer or article posted by our team.
Armando Sainz has sinced written about articles on various topics from Boxing, Web Development and Boxing. Armando Sainz has been involved in martial arts since 1979. His school is highly recognized in the industry as being one of the top Wing Chun schools in the country.