Training
for Combat Sports
For
hundreds of years warriors of all kinds, both private and
military, have trained themselves for combat. Whether it be
for a private dispute of honor or all out war, men practiced
the skills of combat for hours on end, day in and day out.
Several different methods were used. Early on they would tie
stones to their arms during sword training to build strength,
endurance, and speed. They would hit a black thorn stick,
or similar stout stick, against a boulder to build strength
in the hands and to enable the hands and arms to get use to
the percussion of crashing into bone or steel. Traveling on
foot you didn't need to worry much about your cardio. They
would practice on pells and other moving or stable objects
for targeting. I could go on and on but I won't :) There is
too much to cover and we, being modern men, can afford some
luxury in our training. But your still going to need to bust
your butt to be good :)
What
we are going to cover in this section is personal training
for combat sports. Weight training and drill exercises with
the western martial artist in mind. Specialized training for
individual weapon handling, ie. Rapier, Longsword, Sword and
Shield, and more. We will also touch on visualization during
exercise and drills. Visualization is an important factor
that we need to add to the mix. For years top athletes from
all sports have been using visualization to help achieve their
goals. So enough talk, let's get started!
Stretching
and Warming Up
Reguardless
of age or experience, it is always important to stretch and
warm up before rigorous exercise. Also if you feel you need
to, or you haven't done a whole lot of exercising in a while,
please get yourself check out by your doctor.
Start
by stretching the major muscle groups. Stretch each group
for at least 30 seconds or more.
Stretch pecs, shoulders, and biceps by bringing your arms
behind your back, interlocking your fingers and straightening
your arms. If this is uncomfortable for you, try this. Go
to an out corner of a wall or a tall piece of equipment in
your gym. Stand sideways, arms length away, reach your arm
out with your hand in a fist and pronated, or palm facing
down. Put the thumb side of your fist on the corner, or gym
equip., and move forward slightly. With both of these stretches
you'll feel it from your wrist to your inner pec. If your
stretching one arm at a time go for no less that 30 seconds
and switch to the other side. Using the two arm stretch, stretch
for thirty seconds or a little more.
Next
stretch your triceps and lats by putting you arm up in the
air by your head, bending your arm in a 45 degree angle, now
with your opposite hand reach over your head and pull the
elbow backward slightly until you feel a comfortable stretch
in your tricep. By turning your arm so your elbow and forearm
hang over your head, then pulling it with your opposite hand
toward your head, you are now stretching your lats as well.
Switch to the opposite arm and do the same.
Put
your arm straight out in front of you. With the opposite hand
grasp your elbow and pull your arm across your body until
you feel a comfortable stretch in your shoulder. Switch arms
and do it again.
One
stretch that is often over look but important to us swordsmen
is the stetching of the hand, wrist, and forearms. Put your
arm out straight in front of you. Put your hand up in the
"stop" position. With your opposite hand, pull the
fingers back toward your forearm. Hold. Now bend your hand
down, finger pointing toward the ground. With the opposite
hand pull your fingers under toward your forearm. Hold. Do
both positions over again, this time just pulling your thumb.
Switch arms and do it all over again :) This stretching exercise
can also help prevent tennis elbow and the like.
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