T
he potential for injury exists in all physical
pursuits. You can sprain an ankle by
inadvertently stepping in a pothole while
crossing the street just as easily as you can
by putting a foot down incorrectly after
executing a kick. You can experience an
overuse injury that stems from spending hours in front
of a computer screen just as easily as you can from
repeatedly sweeping an opponent with the same leg.
BOTTOM LINE: When we use our bodies, anything
can happen. When we repetitively use our bodies in a
specific manner, we subject ourselves to potential muscle
imbalances that can lead to chronic pain and instability.
For martial artists, the stakes tend to be higher than for
sedentary people. In the dojo, there are lots of impacts
and plenty of resistance, not to mention training sessions
that are by design highly repetitive. For example,
striking, grappling and wielding weapons are actions
driven by force and frequently met with opposition.
Training to execute techniques forces you to spend
countless hours practicing the exact same patterns of
movement. This can place you at a higher risk for acute
injuries in addition to overuse injuries.
But because you’re an active martial artist — why else
would you be reading Black Belt? — you know this. You
accept it. You consciously decided that the rewards of
training — self-defense, fitness, confidence, awareness
and discipline, to name a few — far outweigh the risks.
You know that just because an activity incurs a liability,
you need not stop doing it. It’s much better to build your
knowledge base and take actions to mitigate the risks of,
in this case, sustaining a training injury. The key to doing
that is having a plan and adopting an exercise routine that
will help you steer clear of injury in the long run.
P revent Injury With Strength Training
Having spent two decades in the martial arts — on both
the fitness side and the self-defense side — I can safely say
that most practitioners get it wrong when they adopt the
notion that adding strength and conditioning training to
their daily routine will just wear down their body. In fact,
supplementing your martial arts workouts with exercises
designed to boost strength and improve conditioning will
do just the opposite. In a nutshell, if you want to maximize
the likelihood of being able to practice your art far into
the future, start doing strength and conditioning
exercises now.
One reason to do this is performance enhancement.
Following a solid exercise program will improve your
ability in your martial art, just as it does in other
physical pursuits. Those who compete in triathlon,
basketball, tennis, swimming and virtually all
sports regularly engage in regimented strength and
conditioning routines.
Another reason is injury prevention. The right strength
and conditioning workout will fortify your body and help
balance its components. The key is to keep things simple
when you lift weights. Done properly, your workout will
be general-purpose. The exercises should not parallel
specific martial arts moves; they should address your
whole body and the variety of motion that’s typical for
you. In other words, avoid mimicking martial arts moves
like kicking with weights on your ankles and punching
against a resistance.
Instead, focus on basic strength-building exercises
that incorporate pushing, pulling, hip hinging and knee
bending. Load weight on the bar progressively to avoid
trying to lift too much too soon.
One more caveat: In the martial arts, it’s OK to
concentrate on stances and positions that favor one side
of your body. (If you’re a southpaw, you shouldn’t force
yourself to adopt a conventional stance.) However, when
it comes to strength and conditioning, you should strive
to keep things balanced. Make sure you work all the
muscle groups on both sides of your body equally.Prevent Injury With Consistency
Your body adapts to repetitive stress. If you want to
become faster, stronger or more flexible, you must apply
the necessary stress in a suitable dose, then wait for your
body to adjust to this new normal. The biggest problem
in this equation? The erratic training many martial
artists put in both on and off the mat.
Your body is far more likely to experience injury and
overuse issues when it’s pushed to the max one week
and then allowed to skip training altogether the next
week. Yo-yo training is the No. 1 reason martial artists are
held back in terms of progress. They miss class for a few
weeks, then dive back in and go all-out.
The truth is that the snail will beat the rabbit in the
martial arts. Translated, that means longevity and
consistency will override intensity, and while it’s nice to
be able to give it 100 percent at certain times, it’s more
important to be consistent. Make sure your body isn’t
shocked and is never overloaded by the sudden stress of
training you haven’t done for a while.Prevent Injury With Downtime
One of my greatest mentors in the martial arts is Dan
Inosanto. I’ve spent the past 15 years meeting with him
every August at the academy I run with my husband.
During one of those meetings, he said something that
spurred me to develop a whole new perspective on
martial arts:
“The most difficult part of your training — at this point
in your life and going forward — will be knowing when to
sit out.”
His words stunned me because until then, I’d been
accustomed to pushing myself to the edge in everything
I did. Even so, I had begun to wonder whether this was
wise. Inosanto’s advice was the confirmation I needed to
make a change.
In the martial arts, it’s crucial to develop a routine.
As noted, it’s not good to train sporadically and then
disappear from class. However, training every day and
going all-out every single time — and pushing through
pain, ignoring overuse issues and going past the point of
exhaustion — is a surefire way to get injured.
In sports, athletes often go through an injury cycle. If
they don’t address a certain pain, it can travel throughAUGUST/SEPTEMBER 2019 § BLACKBELTMAG.COM 57