Gung Fu Goal-Setting: Improve Your Martial Arts in 30 Days!

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Gung Fu Goal-Setting: Improve Your Martial Arts in 30 Days!

“	<div class="flexinode-body flexinode-1"> Author: Keith Pascal <div class="flexinode-textarea-5"><div class="form-item"> Article: <div id=&quot;post_message_90622&quot;>Oh no, not another article on goals! <br /> <br /> Don't click away just yet. <br /> <br /> Last month, my in-box filled with article after article about setting goals. <br /> <br /> My computer tells me when it's the beginning of a new year -- not by the date in the upper, right-hand corner, but by loading my in-box with more than a few reports on setting goals and New Year's resolutions. <br /> <br /> And here I am, adding yet another goal-setting article to the pile. <br /> <br /> But, thanks to The Dragons List, this article is destined to be archived. So now, goals can be set and enjoyed throughout the whole year. <br /> <br /> Are you still with me <br /> <br /> Good. Goals 'are' important. Without them, many flounder around with only minor improvement in their training. With clearly defined goals, you can speed your path towards proficiency, or greater proficiency, in the martial arts. <br /> <br /> Here are five exercises to help speed you towards achievement in your art: <br /> <br /> <br /> <br /> <strong>1) Goal: Add strength to your technique ... and speed too.</strong> <br /> <br /> Would you like to punch and kick with more power 30 days from now All you have to do is add some intensity to the end of your set. <br /> <br /> I do this anyway. So do my students. <br /> <br /> It's a simple, effective tip. <br /> <br /> Whenever you are practicing a repetitive exercise -- like punching 200 times, or rhythmically throwing out the same kick over and over, why don't you make the last ten repetitions more intense <br /> <br /> Many of you do this already. <br /> <br /> At a certain point in our punching routine, for example, I yell &quot;Last 10 coming up.&quot; <br /> <br /> Then I count them off much faster than our normal pace. <br /> <br /> Everyone matches my pace. <br /> <br /> They know to punch harder and faster. <br /> <br /> Eventually, we increase the intensity on the last twenty. <br /> <br /> You want it to be a small enough amount that you can do a 'final burst of energy.' On the other hand, you want a big enough number that you can add some extra burn to your muscles. <br /> <br /> Try it. For the next thirty days, commit to 100 kicks a day with each leg. Up the intensity with the last ten kicks on each side. <br /> <br /> Maybe you'd rather work on harder punches. <br /> <br /> Or you could increase the intensity on both your kicks and punches. <br /> <br /> <br /> <br /> <strong>2) Goal: Add Precision to All of Your Martial Arts Techniques</strong> <br /> <br /> As martial artists, we practice the same technique over and over. We are training our brains and our muscles to know precisely where to go, in order to defend ourselves and others. <br /> <br /> One of the best principles that I learned from wing chun gung fu is to do my form (kata) slowly. I do the first form of wing chun, Sil Lum Tao, about twenty times slowly for every one time that I do it at full speed. <br /> <br /> I can't believe the improvement. It's like giving your muscles an extra dose of training. <br /> <br /> Once, my teacher had us do the form 'painfully' slow. It took us over an hour and a half to go through the form once. <br /> <br /> He slowly corrected our positions. As our muscles cramped, we shook them out, and then went right back into position. <br /> <br /> Would you like to trick your mind into believing that it has had hundreds of practices of proper technique Try doing a form painfully slow everyday for a month. You'll be amazed at your improvement. <br /> <br /> And no, you don't have to take an hour to go through it once. You be the judge. Experiment. <br /> <br /> <br /> <br /> <strong>3) Goal: Build Your &quot;Punch Stamina&quot;</strong> <br /> <br /> Here's another training exercise to try for just thirty days. <br /> <br /> Before you start your thirty days do a 'pre-test.' Assess your starting point. The test is to see how many punches you can do comfortably. <br /> <br /> OK, the test is to see how many punches you can do -- period. <br /> <br /> Punch too exhaustion -- more or less (maybe a little 'less'). Just start punching, and continue, until you can't. Be sure to count your punches. <br /> <br /> Now, tomorrow, punch to your starting number, plus FIFTY more. <br /> <br /> The next day, up the level by fifty, yet again (100 more than the pre-test). <br /> <br /> Each day, add fifty. <br /> <br /> Don't worry if you can't do them all at once. Just keep going as long as you can on that first set. Then take a rest and do some more. <br /> <br /> Need another rest Fine -- as long as you complete the total number -- eventually. <br /> <br /> Just think about it -- if you were to add 50 punches a day for a month, even taking one day a week off, you'd still be able to ... punch 1200 times more than your starting number. <br /> <br /> Note: Don't injure yourself. I am doing vertical punches, which don't stress the elbows as much. Don't over-train. Build -- don't destroy. <br /> <br /> <br /> <br /> <strong>4) Goal: Improve Your Kicks</strong> <br /> <br /> Is &quot;Enter the Dragon&quot; your favorite martial arts movie of all time Isn't it great (awesome, cool, and 'nifty-groovy'), when Bruce Lee is in his room and throws out a side kick and just holds it there. <br /> <br /> Did you notice the tribute that 'The Matrix' gave by having Keanu Reeves execute the same kick <br /> <br /> Why not spend five minutes a day, for the next 30 days, practicing your balance. Throw a kick out in the air and hold it. <br /> <br /> Don't waiver. Don't wobble. Hold your position. Be as motionless as a statue. <br /> <br /> Practice. You'll get better as the month progresses. <br /> <br /> And for those of you who have mastered this technique, why not expand your repertoire -- practice holding a different kick in the air. Hold your kick at a different height, or at a different angle. <br /> <br /> Hold it out there even longer. <br /> <br /> And don't shift your body weight, once you have extended the leg. No fair adjusting. <br /> <br /> Achieve the perfect balance 'before' you actually kick. <br /> <br /> <br /> <br /> <strong>5) Goal: To Live a Long, Healthy Life</strong> <br /> <br /> Looking out my window, as I type, I can see two men walking up and down our hill. Both can walk faster than I can, for a longer period of time. <br /> <br /> And both men are at least 30 years older than I am. They are in their 70s. <br /> <br /> Across the street, Ruth is doing her gardening. She's 90. There is nothing geriatric about her. She hauls her own dirt. She drives her car to the garden shop. She digs and plants her flowers by herself. And she is 90 years old. <br /> <br /> OK, so I am dropping the weight. And I know I need to start walking -- I have three models in front of me. And Ruth takes walks too, when she isn't gardening. <br /> <br /> Did you know that martial artists have a secret weapon against aging <br /> <br /> No, I am not talking about doing Tai Chi, although I have heard of the wonderful anti-aging benefits of doing the form. <br /> <br /> I am talking about weapons practice. <br /> <br /> No, I haven't lost my mind. I am serious. <br /> <br /> Follow my logic: <br /> <br /> Orchestra conductors are known to live a long time. A scientific study found evidence that the raising and waiving of the arms to conduct has benefit to the heart muscle. You get aerobic benefit and a massaging of the organs too. <br /> <br /> And conducting with a baton, even though weighing only a couple of ounces, adds to the effect. <br /> <br /> Now, here's the connection to martial arts -- The Filipino Ecrimadors (stick fighters), when not dying in death matches, also lived a very long time. <br /> <br /> And guess what They shadow box with their stick, sticks, knife, or sword -- every day. <br /> <br /> They too are getting aerobic benefit from waiving their arms around. But they move their legs too. They practice footwork. <br /> <br /> So, I need to start shadow boxing with a weapon for the next 30 days. <br /> <br /> Why 30 Days Maxwell Maltz posited that it takes 21 days to create a habit. He believes that this is the minimum amount of time necessary. He based his study of Pyscho-Cybernetics on this theory. <br /> <br /> For me, 21 days flies by. A month has a more solid feel. Or maybe my body needs more time to develop a habit. <br /> <br /> Either way, 30 days from now, I will see marked improvement in at least one area of my martial arts. <br /> <br /> Now, the most important question -- was this article just a 'good read,' or are you going to improve too <br /> <br /> <em>Keith Pascal is a full-time martial arts author and senior editor of the Free ezine, &quot;Martial Arts Mastery: A Tell All of Tips, Tactics, and Techniques&quot; Join now and receive a free martial arts eBook, valuable tips, sample issues, and more. <a target=&quot;_blank&quot; href=&quot;http://www.kerwinbenson.com/&quot;>http://www.kerwinbenson.com/</a> PS Your name and address will never be sold or traded. We respect your privacy.</em></div>	”

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“	Question Authority. Question Society. Question Reality. Question Yourself. Question your conclusions, your judgments, your answers. Question this. If you question everything thoroughly enough, the truth will eventually hit you upside the head and you will know. But here’s a warning: It won’t be what you imagined. It won’t be even close.	”

all hail Martyr Fakka

this article is posted 2 times already in DL If I remember right.
-TkdWarrior-

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Weight Loss Help Center

It never hurts to read this again.

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"I say, if you want to find out where the road goes, get in the fast lane and hit the gas." Calvin and Hobbes

I really enjoyed this. I will try out by doing my last 20-30 repetitions of drills with increased intensity.

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“	Originally Posted By: KungFuMan I also learned a praying mantis fist style from watching the actual insect itself. This was before I actually learned some seven star mantis.	”