Part Two of a Five Part Series

 

Improve Your Speed

 To develop overall speed, there are several sequential steps in training:

• Basic conditioning
• Explosive power development
• Skill refinement
• Skill loading
• Full speed training

Basic condition, including flexibility, strength and agility training, is a prerequisite for speed training. The completion of basic conditioning is signaled by a level of fitness that allows the athlete to begin the more intensive exercises that develop explosive power. Exercises for developing explosive power are detailed in “Chapter 2: Power” and the execution speed section of this chapter. Once the target muscles start to develop, begin working on skill refinement. Each skill should be examined to eliminate unnecessary movements and increase bio-mechanical efficiency.

 

With highly refined movements and strong muscles, you can begin adding speed to each movement. Start skill loading gradually and observe your body’s reaction. If you can add speed and still maintain semi-refined movements, continue to increase your intensity. Eventually you will reach the final stage of speed training in which you can execute skillful movements at high speed.



Now let’s examine the four types of speed individually.

Perception speed can be increased by repeatedly exposing yourself to situations that require instant analysis. Law enforcement officers do this by participating in mock confrontations that require them to quickly analyze who demands to be responded to and how. The best drill for developing perception speed in martial artists is sparring.

Sparring teaches you what an attack looks like before it happens. Sparring also teaches you to be alert at all times by placing you in imminent physical danger. Alertness is one of the keys to perception speed. You cannot analyze the situation if you do not realize it exists.

Reaction speed is improved by a two pronged approach. First, you have to be aware of what types of situations may arise in any given environment. In sparring, your opponent does one of several things, which are predetermined by the rules of the sparring match. You know in advance what is allowed and what is not.

In a self-defense situation, you also have some idea what to expect. You can reasonably expect your assailant to try to harm you in some way. You do not expect him to start singing songs or reciting poetry. By estimating what to expect from the given environment, you narrow down your choice of possible responses.

Second, you have to have experienced an identical or similar situation before. If you have been attacked hundreds of times by a front kick in sparring, your reaction becomes almost reflexive. If you are sparring for the first time, your reaction time is longer because you must formulate a response without a basis for comparison. If you have practiced self-defense techniques in a realistic way hundreds of times, you are much better prepared than if you spend all of your time beating up a stationary heavy bag.

Execution speed is the type of speed that most martial arts training focuses on. Executing techniques like kicks and punches with speed takes up a large part of the intermediate and advanced stages of training. Execution speed can best be improved through attention to detail. Shifting into a ready posture at the last minute wastes time. Begin each movement with a ready and relaxed posture. If you are going to punch, have your hands up and ready. If you are going to kick, shift your weight to supporting leg and relax your kicking leg. Shifting your weight and positioning your hands can take more time than the actual striking or kicking. Anticipate what is necessary and be prepared.

When you learn a new skill, practice slowly at first to train your muscles in the correct execution of the movement. When you can execute with little thought about the segments of the movement, speed up gradually. In speeding up the movement, take care not to loose the precision you learned in the beginner stage. Strong basics are essential for speed training.



Observing the laws of motion is also important to execution speed. If you flail your arms and head wildly about when kicking, your kick will be slow. If you stabilize your posture, your kicking speed will increase. If you punch with your arm, your punching will be slow. If you punch from your hips, your punching speed and power will increase. If you spin with your upper body tilted to one side, you will lose kick, however, creates a continuous circle of whirling force, increasing the speed of the second kick.

Finally, relax to create speed. Tense muscles have more difficulty responding to your intense demands than relaxed muscles. Relax just prior to the movement and maintain a minimum amount of tension during the movement. Relaxation conserves energy and lessens the amount of force necessary to move your body quickly.

Recovery speed is the result of execution speed. The old adage “what goes up must come down” applies in other directions as well. If your fist shoots out in a punching motion, it must return along the same path to be efficient and effective. If you execute a sidekick and drop your leg to the ground immediately following impact, you will be off balance and in danger. You must re-chamber the leg and then return to a natural stance.

If you do not execute the recovery portion of the technique, the action becomes “dead.” It does not have the dynamic quality associated with speedy movement. It also increases the risk of joint injury tremendously. A fast strike or kick that ends in a locked out position is a common case of knee and elbow injuries.
A complete technique has an initiation, execution, impact and recovery. Each phase must be executed correctly to create dynamic speed.



CAUTIONS:
• Never use complex skills for speed training.
• Always master the basics before moving to speed training.
• Never tense your muscles before executing a speed skill.
• Muscles must be well trained before engaging in speed training. Weak muscles that cannot bear the intense requirements of speed training are easily injured.

The Optimal Method of Breathing for Martial Artists

We have seen that mind and body are intertwined. Just as the mind moves the body, the body can move the mind. The key aspect of physiologic control of the mind is breath control. Respiration is truly the mirror of the psycho-physiologic state. While many people have developed a proverbial “poker face” with little clues to their emotions portrayed as facial expressions, their true mental state is always reflected in their breathing pattern. Anger is characterized by rapid breaths with forced exhalations.

Anxiety is demonstrated by an erratic, fitful breathing pattern with breaths taken from high in the chest. While respiration reflects your emotional and physiologic state, it can also be utilized to change the state within seconds.

In the Western world we have been taught to breathe from high in the chest. These stems from the Western ideal of proper posture characterized by a puffed out chest with the stomach sucked in. Take a moment and assume this position. Notice how much energy is expended maintaining this posture. Hold this position for any length of time and soon you will notice how much tension is present. Maintain this position for fifteen to twenty minutes and fatigue will soon follow. While the martial arts teaches us to breathe from the abdomen, with states of tension, fear and anxiety, most students soon revert back to the shallow thoracic (chest) breaths which serve only to perpetuate sub-optimal states. In order to fully comprehend proper
breath control, the mechanics of respiration must be understood.

The diaphragm is the primary muscle of respiration. This is the large, flat muscle separating the abdominal from the chest cavities. The diaphragm contracts thus lengthening the chest cavity creating a vacuum, which draws air into the lungs. The secondary or so called accessory muscles of respiration include the intercostal muscles (between the ribs), and to a lesser extent, the neck muscles. The accessory muscles function to increase the anterior-posterior diameter of the chest cavity as well as to lift and spread the rib cage.

With good “Western” posture we use our accessory musculature to lift the chest. Using the accessory muscles without proper use of the diaphragm serves to keep air high in the chest and does not expand the lungs to their capacity. A normal thoracic breath draws only 500 to 700 cc of air in the average adult. This results in less efficient oxygen delivery to your circulatory system and subsequently less potential for physical action. On the other hand, a deep, abdominal breath typically draws 2500cc to 3000cc of air, expanding the entire lungs for optimal oxygen delivery.

Proper Respiration

With this background we can now approach the process of proper respiration. Normal, quiet respiration uses only the diaphragm. This is what is termed abdominal breathing. The chest is kept completely still and the accessory muscles are not utilized. This is the proper way to breathe. It is the way infants normally breathe before they become conditioned and are taught “proper posture.” It is the way a cat or other predatory animal breathes when stealthily stalking game.

Breathing should be accomplished by allowing the abdomen to inflate like a balloon creating the sensation of air being pulled deep into the lower body. When you have reached a maximum comfortable breath, press the air even further down towards the pelvis by tensing the abdomen slightly. Expiration is then accomplished in a gradual, controlled manner. Keeping slight tension in the abdominal muscles, the air is slowly released. The accessory muscles should come into play only when winded, contracting only after a full diaphragmatic breath has been accomplished. The accessory muscles are then utilized to expand and lift the chest to more fully inflate the very top portions of the lungs.

All breathing should be done through the nose with the exception of when vocalizing as when a martial artist performs a kiai. Nose breathing is most efficient for oxygen delivery and preserves the moisture of the airways. This becomes extremely important when involved in lengthy, dehydrating workouts.

Benefits of Proper Respiration

Proper respiration has four major benefits for the martial artist. First, through a neuro-physiologic feedback loop, it keeps the mind calm and “grounded.” Just try to become extremely angry or hysterical while taking slow, deep, abdominal breaths. It simply cannot be done. In competitive or confrontational situations, some athletes become so anxious and hyperactive that they are bouncing off the walls. This is the sympathetic nervous system in action. An activated sympathetic nervous system releases a flood of adrenaline resulting in the “fight or flight” response. The adrenaline surge is taxing on both the body and the mind wasting enormous energy reserves.

Deep, abdominal breathing with slight tension in the abdomen dampens the sympathetic response in favor of the parasympathetic nervous system. The parasympathetic nervous system fosters relaxation, lowering of the pulse, slowing of respiration and conservation of energy. You are then able to respond to a threat appropriately rather than reacting anxiously. The preservation of energy reserves with parasympathetic system dominance becomes very important in endurance activities.
Secondly, proper breathing allows superior oxygen exchange in the lungs resulting in improved muscle performance during activity requiring maximal effort. Third, keeping the breath low in the abdomen automatically keeps your center of gravity low for improved balance. The fourth and probably the most important quality of proper respiration is its ability to assist in keeping the mind focused on the present moment. This will be discussed in detail in Chapter Three.



Developing the habit of diaphragmatic breathing takes considerable practice. It has taken years to condition your breathing to your current pattern so don’t expect miraculous change overnight. It will take time to condition your body back to the normal respiration that it knew as an infant, but it will be well worth the effort.

Summary of the Benefits of Proper Respiration
1. Calms the mind by calming the body
2. Allows superior oxygen exchange
3. Lowers the center of gravity for better balance
4. Enhances focus

Part Three of this series will cover stretching, why too much is not beneficial, increasing your flexibility and a introduction to Plyometrics, click here.