Or anyone can help with this knowledgeable on the subject.
My next step in my martial arts training at some point will involve Kyokushin karate. Since I can find a Kyokushin dojo nearby, I was thinking about at least getting by body conditioned to that level. I was wondering what drills a can utilize on my own to harden my frame (I dont have access to someone who will hit me over and over with a bokken. Spending a year in the mountains kicking trees and punching snow isnt practical either) My shins are pretty conditioned. Fists not so much. Knuckle pushups maybe? I do have access to a heavy bag and a medicine ball. Any drills for forearmes, torso, fists etc? Mostly concerned with increasing bone density.
Building muscles helps. A lot. But without impact training to get those muscles used to receiving hits, it is useless.
You can have an abdomen built like Arnold in his prime, and still not being able to take a single bodyshot.
To learn to cope with being hit, you need to get hit. There is no way around it.
Get a buddy. have him punch you in the body and kick you to the legs (do not forget to condition the legs). Start with little power and work your way up to a lot of power as you learn how to cope. For conditioning, it is better with a lot of medium power strikes, than just one or two high power strikes.
It is not fun, but it is the only way to get past the pain of getting hit.
Sadly, there are no shortcuts.
And while you are at it you might want to condition your arms to be able to use them to block kicks. This is a traditional karate arm (and leg) conditioning exercise from gojuryu (I have done it in kyokushin often enough aswell, but cannot find a decent youtube clip of it done in a knockdown karate dojo):
When you can do this stuff you are ready to try a kyokushin tournament
(actually. I have never done the instructor-standing-on-the-head bit myself. I think you can skip that)
__________________
Most people canīt think, most of the remainder won't think, the small fraction who do think mostly can't do it very well.
-R.A.Heinlein
Shinkyoku, your posts have been spot on today. Great videos across the threads.
My teacher took a lot from Kyokushin. We do a lot of this sort of training, almost every class (the impact conditioning).
The main difference is that we are more structured I guess. I'm not sure I like the mock sparring aspect they do in impact conditioning. It looks like a breeding ground for bad habits to me. I like the way we do it, where you focus on maintaining exact technique through the pain of the hit. We do a lot of "alive training" but impact conditioning isn't where that is.
When we do hit one another in drills, it is to the extent that the most correct sparring technique can be done. Looking like you are sparring but leading with your face because you won't be hit back when it isn't their turn to hit is less optimal to me.
That's just a nit picky opinion though. I love Kyokushin. I think it is amazing, all of those videos.
Shinkyoku, your posts have been spot on today. Great videos across the threads.
THankyou.
Quote:
Originally Posted by SummerStriker
I'm not sure I like the mock sparring aspect they do in impact conditioning. It looks like a breeding ground for bad habits to me. I like the way we do it, where you focus on maintaining exact technique through the pain of the hit. We do a lot of "alive training" but impact conditioning isn't where that is.
When we do hit one another in drills, it is to the extent that the most correct sparring technique can be done. Looking like you are sparring but leading with your face because you won't be hit back when it isn't their turn to hit is less optimal to me.
I agree to a point. I am sure that it can cause bad habits. But the thing is that it is a exercise for the one receiving the attacks, not the one doing the attacking. None of these exercises are done for the benefit of the attacker (and usually the attacker do pretty substandard techniques, as he is not exactly doing his best to put the other down).
The point of the "mock sparring" is to learn to take hits while doing footwork and being mobile. Because that is the way you will take a hit in a fight. Not standing still and bracing for each blow.
__________________
Most people canīt think, most of the remainder won't think, the small fraction who do think mostly can't do it very well.
-R.A.Heinlein
I agree to a point. I am sure that it can cause bad habits. But the thing is that it is a exercise for the one receiving the attacks, not the one doing the attacking. None of these exercises are done for the benefit of the attacker (and usually the attacker do pretty substandard techniques, as he is not exactly doing his best to put the other down).
The point of the "mock sparring" is to learn to take hits while doing footwork and being mobile. Because that is the way you will take a hit in a fight. Not standing still and bracing for each blow.
That makes sense.
I suppose our way can breed bad habits on the other end. We move with the blows during other training, but let the impact hit perfectly without moving during the conditioning. The idea being that if you can take a perfect 60% hit (or better) 10 times no problem, without adrenaline flowing, you can take about anything someone will dish out fighting because hits are rarely perfect when you are moving around. I still puss out and move with it sometimes, but that's instinct and I don't have the right mental discipline.
I do think our way encourages people to show off and just take hits. A lot of time new people, once they get strong, will show off their hit taking ability, which just motivated their opponent to hit hard enough to move them. It is intellectually dishonest, and nothing pisses someone off in sparring more than acting like a good hit didn't count because you didn't try to kill them with it.
