Here are three ways.
1000 Punches
This is a fun drill (well, maybe not too fun) that not only improves your punches when done twice weekly for four weeks, but also improves your mental fortitude and leaves you with a feeling of accomplishment. First break the 1000 punches into sets.
Here is one example. If you don’t like this break down, create your own. You might want to do them all in just five sets or break them into 20 sets. It doesn’t matter how you do them and how many reps you do in each set as long as you get in the 1000.
METHOD
SETS
REPS
Lead leg lunge
50 reps each side
100 reps
On one knee
50 reps each side
100 reps
Moving backwards
50 reps each side
100 reps
On stairs
50 reps each side
100 reps
Horse stance
50 reps each arm
100 reps
Sitting in a chair
50 reps each arm
100 reps
Combination
roundhouse
kick and punch
50 reps each side
100 reps
Backfist and punch
50 reps each side
100 reps
Lunge step and
double punch
with same arm
50 double punches
each side
200 reps
TOTAL: 1000 reps
Rep training is one of the most important training concepts in karate. I discuss it many more times throughout this book.
4. WORK WEAK TECHNIQUES
Let’s say you have one lousy technique. Okay, you have lots, but for our purposes here, let’s say you only have one and it’s your sidekick. Your front, round and back kicks are looking good, but that sidekick goes out crooked, lands toes first, and then drops to the floor like a sack of spuds. You rarely use it because it’s hard to execute, it looks bad, and it’s, well, it’s just a big, fat embarrassment.
Since you hate executing the kick in public, do it when you train alone in the privacy of your own home. First, make sure that you completely understand the mechanics of how the sidekick is executed. To refresh your memory, talk to your instructor about it, find a book or magazine that illustrates the sidekick step-by-step, or ask a fellow student who has a particularly good one. Once you are clear on the how-to-do process, it’s time to sweat.
Your plan is to spend two or three days a week working on the kick at home. Here is your itinerary.
• Do inside leg, groin and hip stretches so that your sidekick travels smoothly and effortlessly.
• Do three sets of 10-15 reps of only the chamber portion of the kick to build strength in the pre-launch stage. Hold for one to two seconds at its highest point.
• Perform 10 -15 reps of the kick in slow motion to strengthen all the muscles involved in its delivery.
• Work on various ways to close the distance to get to the target. Do one to two sets of 10 reps of each method.
• Once you feel you have the motion of the kick perfected, add three sets of 10 reps of fast kicking.
It’s important that you don’t progress to fast reps until you can perform the kick flawlessly. I know you will be anxious to do them fast, but control yourself until you are absolutely ready. When your form is flawless, your speed will develop seemingly overnight.
The final stage is for you to prepare to get lots of compliments from your teacher and fellow students. Be humble and say something like, “Aw, shucks. Thank yuh, thank yuh.”
5. KARATE BETWEEN WEIGHTS SETS
I try to use every second I’m in the weight gym. I’m not one who likes to sit around between sets of curls (okay, maybe I do a little posing in the mirror), but I prefer to fill the “rest” period with those karate movements I don’t normally get to work on during class time. I’m not only benefitting from some extra martial arts training, but I’m getting in some aerobic work since I’m constantly moving without a rest period.
Here are some techniques I do between weight sets and between weight exercises to get a little free karate training in. Try these or replace them with whatever you need to work on.
Exercise
In between the sets
Bench press 4 sets
Chambered leg lifts as if I were going to throw a kick 4 sets, 15 reps
Curls 4 sets
Bob and weave as if evading a head punch 4 sets, 45 seconds
Triceps press 4 sets
Practice various forms of footwork for gap closing 4 sets, 15 reps
Shoulder press 4 sets
Practice getting up from the floor fast 4 sets, 15 reps
There are others, but you get the idea. I try to incorporate fighting techniques that are rather obscure, but are nonetheless important.
6. HEAVY BAG
Here is a way to work on the heavy bag by yourself that builds power, endurance and lets you know which techniques need additional work.
Begin by placing a clock where you can see the second hand. Your objective is to strike the bag 60 times for 60 seconds, that’s one per second for those of you who are as bad at math as I am. No matter what technique you throw - punch, kick, head butt, shoulder ram - do it hard. Work to ensure that your form is perfect: your hips are rotating, your opposite hand is snapping back, your balance is solid, and your energy is going into the bag.
When you are ready, maybe in a week or two, increase the time to two minutes and throw 120 hard techniques, one for each
