Speed training

Bill Glasheen · Post by **Bill Glasheen** » Fri Jan 30, 2004 10:04 pm

Fajin indeed invokes neuromuscular reflexes.

I have to disagree with the following:

Drop down slow and then blast yourself up hard and fast...that would be a plyometric pushup.

That's a good strength exercise, and it is a particularly good way to do a weight exercise like a bench press or squat. But what you recommend is strictly a strength (muscular) thing. This absolutely is NOT a plyometric exercise. Plyometrics work on power, which is a NEUROmuscular phenomenon.

By definition, you must maximize the rate of lengthening (high dL/dt) of the muscle to invoke the dynamic stretch reflex. It doesn't matter how deep you go down in a plyometric rep; it matters more how quickly you go down - and then - rebound back up. Your legs or arms must act like pogo sticks.

- Bill

Walkman · Post by **Walkman** » Fri Jan 30, 2004 10:18 pm

Would a form of resistance training work as well? Something akin to swimmers not shaving their legs until the meet so they are swimming against less resistance than when the train.

For us, working on forms or bag training with small hand/foot wieghts.

Would this do anything?

-Walkman

Bill Glasheen · Post by **Bill Glasheen** » Fri Jan 30, 2004 11:11 pm

Resistance training will improve speed as long as you simultaneously work on flexibility so as to prevent "internal resistence" to movement. Ideally though you want a balance between the high rep vs. the high resistance stuff so you work all the muscle fibers - slow and fast. Resistance training also galvanizes the body against injury, which will slow you down big time both in the short and the long run.

- Bill

Sonnon · Post by **Sonnon** » Fri Jan 30, 2004 11:48 pm

From a physiological standpoint, the CNS registers a weighted movement as a NEW SKILL. This is why in strength and conditioning (particularly Specific Physical Preparedness, or increasing work sophistication, as opposed to General Physical Preparedness, or increasing work capacity) one should follow the guideline of Stimulation not Simulation. IOW: one can build attributes in the range and depth of the skills, as well as render the physiological profile of the activity, but one should not add weight to the movement... since this will COMPETE internally with the well-grooved ("unloaded") skill. Two skills (or a new skill for each different load) vying for dominance. When this happens, accuracy, precision, and even worse (due to Hick's Law of the more choices the greater the reactionary gap)... decreased reaction speed.

This is the PRIMARY emphasis of why I created Circular Strength Training to aid martial artists in strength and conditioning specific to their unique needs.

Bill Glasheen · Post by **Bill Glasheen** » Sat Jan 31, 2004 3:05 am

If I read you correctly, Scott, what you are saying is that - for example - you shouldn't do punching and kicking with weights on your wrists and ankles, or run on sand vs. the track, because you are developing a different skill that won't transfer to (and may compete with) the unweighted or unresisted athletic movement. One should practice when you practice (do kata, spar, grapple, run, etc.), and train when you train (weights, etc.).

Am I missing anything?

- Bill

Sonnon · Post by **Sonnon** » Sat Jan 31, 2004 3:10 am

Yes. But there is a cross-over "grey area" called SPP - Specific Physical Preparedness.

How to train SPP has been a MAJOR focus of my work.

Karateka · Post by **Karateka** » Sat Jan 31, 2004 3:20 am

Bill, I have to disagree with your comment on 'my push.'

Plyometrics are any exercise where the muscle is contracted eccentricly then immediately, concentricly. In plain English, the muscle is stretched (i.e. loaded) before it is contracted. A good example is push-ups with a clap in-between each push-up. Your muscle (pectorals in this case) is elongated and loaded by the downward force of your body, then immediately you must contract the muscle to push yourself back up.

http://www.weightsnet.com/Docs/plyometrics.html#what
http://www.readysetgofitness.com/newsle ... Power.html

I'm no expert, but this was exactly what I was taught in dojo training.

OSU!

Sonnon · Post by **Sonnon** » Sat Jan 31, 2004 5:29 am

An example of a plyometric exercise I created called Spiderman from my Maximology course. It demonstrates the loading eccentric action phase releasing the stored elastic energy in an explosive concentric action phase.

Yes, I had a blonde phase.

Bill Glasheen · Post by **Bill Glasheen** » Sat Jan 31, 2004 11:46 pm

Karateka

The definition you quoted is absolutely correct. But read it very carefully. You cannot "load" a muscle very well by going down slowly. You do that best with "the downward force of your body" and "then immediately you must contract the muscle to push yourself back up." Going down slowly isn't very much downward force. Going down quickly is much more.

Chu talks about this stretch-shortening cycle in his book "Jumping into plyometrics."

the muscles can briefly store the tension developed by rapid stretching so that they possess a sort of potential elastic energy. ... The stretch reflex is another mechanism integral to the stretch-shortening cycle. ... The stretch, or myostatic, reflex responds to the rate at which a muscle is stretched and is among the fastest in the human body.

I first came across the idea of the importance of the speed of the eccentric/concentric cycle in Kulund's book "The injured athlete." That reference states it isn't how far you go down that is important, but how quickly you go down.

The definition isn't arbitrary. Stimulating the stretch reflex is the whole raison d'etre of the exercise. Learning how to invoke and use it gives you power that is more than what you can get with a simple concentric movement (a simple muscle contraction).

The whole idea of fajin is learning how to take maximum advantage of a rapid stretch-shortening cycle. Experienced athletes learn to cause these movements to happen in a wave from one end of the body to another.

Just watch a baseball batter swing a bat. The stretching starts low at the legs, moves to the hips and waist, and goes through the shoulders to the wrists. At each point in "the wave," you are invoking that neuromuscular response. By making this happen from one end of the body to the next, you add to the power at each muscle group. By the time it hits the wrists, they become the crack on the end of the whip.

A martial artist can do the same with a good thrust.

Please understand that I am not "dissing" the exercise you suggested. Going down slowly and then exploding up is a very, very good STRENGTH exercise, and is exactly what you should be doing in the weight room. It helps to develop the MUSCLES through the full range of motion.

- Bill

Karateka · Post by **Karateka** » Sun Feb 01, 2004 12:10 am

I see your point Bill.

Bill Glasheen · Post by **Bill Glasheen** » Sun Feb 01, 2004 12:12 am

Thanks...

Good definition, by the way.

- Bill

Bill Glasheen · Post by **Bill Glasheen** » Sun Feb 01, 2004 1:20 am

Scott

I couldn't get your Spiderman video to load. I got the following message when my Windows Media Player 9 went online to Microsoft to get a missing file.

The required codec cannot be found

Windows Media Player cannot play the file because the required codec cannot be found. To determine how to obtain the codec identified as 45, contact the content provider.

Anyhow, it doesn't surprise me you are familiar with the plyometric concept. At one time, the Soviets were way ahead of us on the use of such training methods. It's one reason why they had such great sprinters and Olympic weight lifters compared to our own athletes.

These days it seems everyone (internationally) is catching on.

- Bill

Bill Glasheen · Post by **Bill Glasheen** » Sun Feb 01, 2004 1:29 am

How to train SPP {specific physical preparedness} has been a MAJOR focus of my work.

I am gathering that from your teasers online. Sounds very interesting.

- Bill

Sonnon · Post by **Sonnon** » Sun Feb 01, 2004 7:22 pm

Bill Glasheen wrote:I couldn't get your Spiderman video to load. I got the following message when my Windows Media Player 9 went online to Microsoft to get a missing file.

Sorry about the software problems... The primary exercise in the "complex" is the "Quad Hop" (or "Frog hop"): http://www.circularstrengthmag.com/17/gannon.html

Michael L.E. Court · Post by **Michael L.E. Court** » Sat Feb 07, 2004 8:46 am

In addition to the training of your different muscle fiber types (fast and slow twitch) by doing various exercises, as mentioned in this thread, there are some other ways to help your 'speed': (as there are different types of speeds):

Speed in Awareness: your mental capabilities of quickly 'analyzing' any given situation. Concious drills of doing this can help you become more adept at it ... and in turn you get faster in your actions/reactions/adaptations.

Speed in Sensitivity: this will come with the more 'hands on' and 'partner' training you have. You can simulate with some innovative training ideas as well.

Speed in Adaptation: again, this will come with more and more practice, particularily in training with more 'flowing' drills with partners ... where you do not know what the other will do. You gain speed in adapting to any given situation. (hand in hand with the awareness speed)(adapting your root, stance, hands, defense/offense ... etc...)

Just some of my initial thoughts when I was reading this interesting thread