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Today’s New York Times Fitness and Nutrition section featured an article titles “Does Weight Lifting Make a Better Athlete”. Here’s the link to the entire article”http://www.nytimes.com/2008/02/28/health/nutrition/28BEST.html?pagewanted=1&th&emc=th

Naturally, the article is slanted to “stir the pot” and ultimately gives no definitive answer to the question.

I think a better title is “Does Weight TRAINING Make a Better Athlete?”

As a personal trainer and believer in the benefits of core and functional weight training for athletes, my opinion is that the majority of men and women I see “lifting” make two big mistakes”

1. Wrong program
2. Bad technique

For martial artists, your body is the tool of your craft. Like the master carpenter of plumber, we must keep the tools of our trade in peak condition. Most martial arts are lacking in two areas- strength and aerobic conditioning.

The Right Program

Bruce Lee was a huge believer in weight and other esoteric methods of physical conditioning. My Teacher has always been a devotee of the now in-vogue functional bodyweight fitness programs. Bodyweight exercises, lifting boulders, training to build sinew as well as muscular strength- all of these as well as traditional weights have been a core aspect of his training regimen as long as he has been my Teacher. There are a number of good bodyweight programs on the market- check out the link on my sidebar for one I use and recommend.

Bad Technique

I am going to make a gross generalization here- ready?

1. Many men try to lift too much weight
2. Many women use way too little

I bet you’ve seen this in the gym- some guy trying to curl dumbbells way too heavy for him so he flings his body back and forth while making contorted grunts and groans like a wounded hippo. Two words: dumb and dangerous.

Here’s another common occurrence: you’re standing next to a stick-thin women curling 8 lb dumbbells in slow-motion with perfect form- 30 times! When asked why she’s using so little weight, she says “I don’t want big muscles- I just want to “tone”. Two more words: ignorant and ineffective.

OK, that’s my rant. Now it’s your turn to “weigh in”. Do you use weight training as part of your martial arts regimen? If so, what benefits do you get? If not, why not?

Read the article belowthe photo and tell me what YOU think.

Really?

The Claim: Stretching Can Prevent Soreness and Injury

By ANAHAD O’CONNOR

THE FACTS

Stretching - long promoted as a way to prevent injury, to reduce soreness and to speed post-exercise recovery - may not fulfill its promise. Over the years, scientists have found that stretching before or after a workout has little effect on either risk of injury or what is commonly known as delayed onset of muscle soreness, the discomfort that comes a day or more after challenging physical activity.

Numerous studies have reached this conclusion. One of the most recent and extensive reports was published in October in The Cochrane Database of Systematic Reviews. The report reviewed 10 randomized studies, which over all looked at the impact of stretching before and after exercise, in repeated sessions and in intervals ranging from 40 seconds to 10 minutes. The authors concluded that stretching had little or no effect on post-exercise soreness.

Another systematic review, by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, was published in the journal Medicine and Science in Sports and Exercise in 2004. It looked at multiple studies and found that stretching “was not significantly associated with a reduction in total injuries,” but also concluded that more research was needed.

For now, many experts say that what may work is a quick warm-up, like low-impact aerobics or walking. It also helps to ease into an activity by starting off slow and then increasing speed, intensity or weight (for lifting).

THE BOTTOM LINE

Research suggests that stretching does not affect soreness or risk of injury during exercise.

Chin Na is a Chinese term describing techniques used in the Chinese martial arts that control or lock an opponent’s joints or muscles/tendons so he cannot move, thus neutralizing their fighting ability. Also chin na su, su meaning technique. Chin na su literally means technique of catching and locking in Chinese.Villari’s Shaolin Kempo Karate incorporates White Tiger Chin Na. Long before either the Chinese or the Okinawans practiced and developed their arts, the Tibetans and Mongolians had their own form of combat from which the venerable art of Chin Na, or the art of the White Tiger, was further developed - a devastating form of locking, seizing, holding and grappling. The Tibetans and the Mongols were masters of grappling.

The secret Art of the White Tiger is the ultimate form of neutralizing an opponent, utilizing holding, seizing, locking, throwing, felling and delivering controlled pain. No other martial art gives such control over an attacker.

For street defense, I believe possessing the knowledge and skill in this art offers these four powerful advantages over other grappling arts including mixed martial arts, Brazilian jiu jitsu, and other wrestling and grappling sports:

Advantage Number One- Yielding

Chin Na does not require overwhelming strength. Yielding (not retreating, which I will address in future video lessons) equips a smaller individual with the ability to control and immobilize a bigger, stronger opponent;

Advantage Number Two

Seizing and controlling blood vessels, breathing and nerve centers. This differs from mere chokes and strangulation in that it may be applied not only to the windpipe directly but also to muscles surrounding the lungs, supposedly to shock the system into a contraction which impairs breathing. Seizing requires sinew strength, not muscular strength, which can be developed by women and children as well as males. Applying a tiger claw or eagle’s talon to a nerve center “paralyzes” your opponent and gives you full control over how much pain you deliver.

Advantage Number Three

Not generally going to the ground. Although Chin Na teaches devastating ground technique, the trapping and felling skills give you the advantage of taking your opponent to the ground while maintaining the superior standing position. This is vital for effective defense in multiple attacker street scenarios.

Advantage Number Four

Mongol Locks. The Mongols perfected the art of holding, locking and throwing. These incredibly powerful techniques completely immobilize your opponent and give those with the strength the ability to break the neck, spine, and other joints. A deadly art not taught until only to very advanced students.

Watch Grandmaster Fred Villari teach White Tiger Chin Na. Contact me directly for more information on how to obtain the complete Chin NA: The Art of the White Tiger.

10th Degree Black Belt Fred Villari, Grandmaster of the 20th century and founder of Shaolin Kempo Karate, gave an impromptu class in Mongol locking techniques to 60 of his studio operators attending the 2nd Annual Villari Summit in Fort Lauderdale, FL.

For more than 45 minutes, Grandmaster Villari taught multiple variations of these amazingly powerful locking techniques, focusing on how to implement them in a practical, “on the street” encounter.

After 36 years with Villari’s I am continually humbled and amazed by the Grandmaster’s skill and depth of knowledge. When people ask me why I am still as enamored with the martial arts as when I was a White Belt, I point to events such as this.

Yes, it is wonderful to feel like a beginner again!