Hi all,

Just found something that is working particularly well for me and wanted to compare notes to see who else has tried something similar or has suggestions.

In experimenting with different ways to stay in shape for sparring/fighting, I started playing with a combination of exercises that seemes to work particularly well for me. Nothing fancy or new, I just do a calisthenic immediately followed by an isometric equivalent--for example, I'll do squats (usually "hindu") and then when I start to poop out I immediately hold a traditional horse stance for as long as I can (which isn't more than a min. or two after that), or I'll do "hindu" pushups and then hold "the plank" (pushup position) for as long as I can. I usually pick a group of exercises that hits all the bases (push/pull, arm/legs, core/posterior chain) and do one set of each followed by the isometric with as little rest in between as I can stand.

The amount of benefit I am getting from spending maybe 1/2 hr a day doing this has been really nice. My heart really gets going and I've found very good strength gains but absolutely wonderful muscular endurance and stamina gains. I can now do multiple Shuai Chiao matches back to back without getting so tired that I'm defensless!

Has anyone tried a similar training or know why it may be working so well for me? Better yet, any stuggestions on how to improve it?

I use to run 3-5 miles every other day with pullups, chinups, pushups and shuaijiao pulling and auxiliary exercises daily. It seems that body size influences the type of daily training since running was my forte.

Weights were far too strenous for me so I didn't pay too much attention to it. Bang (short stick) seemed to help my wrist/forearm rangement and dao work (10-15 repetitions daily).

No longer do that level of work.
reason; kids and desk work

any type of strenuous cardiovascular exercise, combined with some isometric stance training excercises work great for me, and maybe some stuff like chi gung, meditation and just plain sparring help too.
and if you know how to circle walk, do that... i also find myself making up new moves playing offense and defense during a basketball game. cheers.

read books about sport specific training methods for athletes of all kinds, but most especially the sports whose motor qualities most resemble your own style.

Example: If you do Tae Kwon Do which is focused on kicking and a lot of unilateral leg balance, why not find out how soccer players condition their legs, or what methods they may use for endurance training. To improve your flexibility, maybe find out what Gymnastics coaches use most. Admire the power of football players? Is there something they do in a weightroom or otherwise that increases this power? There's a lot of training info on the web from Boxers and MMA fighters, and some of it is good. Take some guesswork out of it.

The Science of Martial Arts Training by Charles Staley, and many of the books by Pavel Tsatsouline were a major breakthrough for me. I didn't realise there was more than just fitness and bodybuilding out there until I found these materials from these men and some others like them.

Maybe Backarcher will chime in with his Bibliography. He has in the past, I recommend that you search the forum records for his posts on Strength and Conditioning, they will be most helpful to you.

There is so much more to supplementary training for the martial arts than some crunches and some push ups. There will come a day in most styles, when no amount of technical practice is going to change the fact that you are not strong, coordinated, fast or flexible enough to do a particular move. You owe it to yourself to open that door for yourself to greater potential.

If you go to a shaolin school in china today, most will have you 'training' about 7 hours a day. However, only about half of this time is spent repeating forms. The other half is spent on endurance, strength, power and flexibility exercises, (cross-training or hitting the gym if you will) whether it be running stairs up the mountain, lifting weights of many varieties, practicing plyometrics or gymnastics, or grueling forced stretching exercises.
In the beginning, the kids are not allowed to learn more than one or two of the traditional forms for their first year or two. They spend the majority of their time doing these exercises instead, in essence to develop a body that can withstand and adapt to these training protocols, which are honestly too voluminous to encourage long term adaptation. If you've ever had a tough day at a martial arts class, where you gave your all for 2 or 3 hours, imagine doing that 2-3 times a day for 6-7 days a week, from age 8 to age 18.

Jason,..."I couldn't of said it any better than that.

"...If you do Tae Kwon Do which is focused on kicking and a lot of unilateral leg balance, why not find out how soccer players condition their legs..."

Interesting, for I've been doing some soccer conditioning research to improve my footsweeps.

If you just want to be a martial artist, then condition yourself like one. Yet, if you want to be a combative artist you must condition yourself like an athlete.