| teresting trend has gained traction in the martial arts | | | | in doing so, you'll set yourself up for failure. Here's why |
| field. More and more sbeginnerss are relying upon | | | | : to use your muscle as leverage against your |
| power to perform takedowns, strikes, and to a smaller | | | | opponent, your intelligence instinctively causes your |
| extent, blocks. This is a misguided approach. It relies on | | | | body to hold a specific, grounded position. Mostly, that |
| a misunderstanding regarding how these methods | | | | position will restrict the efficacy of whatever move |
| developed. Sadly, as problematic as this approach is, its | | | | you are making an attempt to perform. |
| execution seems to give it more credibility ( I may | | | | If that move proves ineffectual, you will start to believe |
| explain this in a moment ). | | | | that it doesn't work. Actually, it does work with better |
| In this piece, we'll explore the difference between using | | | | strategy. However the seed will have been stitched. |
| muscle and relying upon a well-honed methodology. I | | | | You will either retire that move or focus on performing |
| will explain when the former works and when it can | | | | it with more muscle. Your consciousness will never |
| cause issues. I'll also explain how relying upon your | | | | give you the opportunity to perfect your strategy. |
| strength when executing moves hampers your | | | | The Limitation Of Muscle |
| long-term development as a karate skills student. | | | | Above, we touched on the most important limitation of |
| Lastly, we'll have a look at the biggest limitation of using | | | | using strength while performing martial arts : your |
| strength. | | | | position. When you prepare to use raw force to strike, |
| Brawn Versus Strategy In Martial Arts | | | | block, or take down your opponent, your mind inspires |
| Most self-defense skills students have a tendency to | | | | your body to find a base. Your feet will position |
| rely on their muscle as a backup option. That is, they | | | | themselves at shoulder width, you could spontaneously |
| will use it to compensate for poor technique. For | | | | lower into a sophisticated crouch, and your body will |
| instance, imagine you are attempting to perform a | | | | flex. |
| takedown on your contestant in a tournament. If your | | | | In this position, you'll lack pliability and fluidity. You'll also |
| execution is defective, and you are unable to take | | | | lack striking range because your reach will be limited. |
| your competitor down, you may naturally use your | | | | These factors will significantly scale back your power ( |
| strength to'force it' to work. That's a dangerous | | | | not the same as strength ) and efficacy. You will be |
| precedent to set as it occurs without thinking. Likewise, | | | | able to perform a takedown if your opponent is |
| it reinforces itself as a viable option over a period of | | | | positioned properly within your range, but that is a lot to |
| time. | | | | leave to risk. |
| Relying on your muscle can work in some | | | | So, is muscle significant in your martial arts training and |
| circumstances. As an example, if your adversary is | | | | competition? Yes, but only in a limited fashion. You |
| smaller or weaker than you, it'll be comparatively | | | | could have the strength that a person your size and |
| simple to suppress him or her. On the other hand, even | | | | build would normally possess. However bear in mind |
| a smaller adversary with actual methodology (and a | | | | that being valuable in the self-defense skills is about |
| little aggression) can most likely beat you. That makes | | | | achieving mastery of style and technique. That needs |
| relying on your muscle dangerous. | | | | flexibleness and range. If you're only trying to force |
| Preparing For Failure | | | | your moves to work by applying muscle, you will be |
| One of the most unfortunate results of using strength | | | | far less successful. |
| as a compensatory measure for poor method is that, | | | | |