By Paige Waehner, About.com Guide
Updated May 31, 2006
Your first step is to determine if what you're gaining is actually fat or muscle. Muscle is more dense than fat, but it takes up less space...if you gain muscle, your scale weight may go up even as you're slimming down. Rather than just using a scale to measure your progress, you can get your body fat tested on a regular basis to get a better idea of what you're gaining and/or losing. If that isn't an option, you can take measurements at different areas of the body...if you're losing inches, you're on the right track. For more, check out 4 Ways to Track Your Weight Loss Progress.
If you've measured yourself in different ways and realized you are gaining fat, take some time to go through the following possibilities - you may need to make some small changes in your diet to see better results.
1. Eating too many calories. It may seem obvious, but eating more calories than you burn causes weight gain. What some people don't realize is that, after they start exercising, they may start eating more without being aware of it. Most people think they're eating a healthy, low-calorie diet but, unless you're keeping a detailed food journal, you just don't know how many calories you're really eating. Most people are surprised when they start keeping a journal and adding up the calories--it almost always turns out to be more than they thought. Before you quit exercising, take a week to keep a food journal. Add up your calories to get a sense of exactly what you're eating...if it's too much, you can start to make some changes in your diet to reduce your calories. And try to avoid the mindset that says you can eat whatever you want since you're doing all this great exercise...to lose weight, you still need to monitor your calories.
2. Not eating enough calories. It may seem counterintuitive, but eating too little can actually stall your efforts to lose fat. As Cathy Leman, a registered dietician and creator of NutriFit! says, "...if there is a severe restriction in calories, the body may counteract this reduction by slowing down its metabolism." Be sure you're eating enough calories to sustain your body if you've increased your activity.
3. Not giving your body time to respond. Just because you start exercising doesn't always mean your body will respond to that immediately. As Cathy Leman puts it, "...in some instances the body needs to sort of "recalibrate"' itself. Increased activity and new eating habits (taking in more or less calories) require the body to make adjustments." Cathy recommends that you give yourself several weeks or months for your body to respond to what you're doing.
4. Rule out any medical conditions. While thyroid problems are rare, they can definitely make weight loss difficult. There can also be medications you're taking that could affect your body's ability to lose weight. If you feel your food intake is reasonable and you've given your body enough time to see results and haven't seen any (or are seeing unexplainable weight gain) see your doctor to rule any other causes.
5. You're gaining muscle faster than you're losing fat. If it seems that you're getting bigger after you've started a weight training routine, it may be because you aren't losing body fat as fast as you're building muscle, which is a problem some people experience when they start exercising. Genetics could also be playing a role here...some people put on muscle more easily than others. If that's the case for you, don't stop training! Instead, you might simply adjust your program to make sure you're getting enough cardio exercise to promote weight loss and focus your strength training workouts on muscular endurance by keeping the reps between 12-16.
Whatever the cause of your weight gain, don't give up on exercise. It's not only your ticket to weight loss, it's also important for your health.
Exercise Data
Main Muscle Worked: Lats
Other Muscles Worked: Biceps
Equipment: Kettlebells
Mechanics Type: Compound
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Tips: Get into the top position of the pushup holding on to two kettlebells that are less than shoulder width apart. Push one kettlebell into the floor and pull the other kettlebell. Hold the kettlebell in the working arm in the top position. Lower it to the floor and push it into the floor. At the same time pull the kettlebell in the opposite hand. Repeat for several reps on each side.
Pictures Courtesy Of artofstrength.com.Exercise Data
Main Muscle Worked: Shoulders
Other Muscles Worked: Abdominals
Equipment: Kettlebells
Mechanics Type: Compound
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Tips: Clean two kettlebells to your shoulders. Stand up on an indoboard and get balanced. Press one kettlebell overhead. While you lower the pressed kettlebell, press the other kettlebell from the shoulder.
Pictures Courtesy Of artofstrength.com.Exercise Data
Main Muscle Worked: Lats
Other Muscles Worked: Biceps
Equipment: Kettlebells
Mechanics Type: Compound
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Tips: Place two kettlebells between your feet. Bend your knees slightly and push your butt out as much as possible. As you bend over to get into the starting position. Grab both kettlebells. Pull one kettlebell off of the floor while holding on to the other kettlebell. Hold the kettlebell in the working arm at the stomach for a second. Lower the kettlebell in the working arm and pull the kettlebell with your other arm.
Pictures artofstrength.com.Exercise Data
Main Muscle Worked: Shoulders
Other Muscles Worked: Triceps
Equipment: Kettlebells
Mechanics Type: Compound
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Tips: Clean two kettlebells to your shoulders. Holding both kettlebells in the top position, press one while holding the other kettlebell stationary. Lower the pressed kettlebell and immediately press with the kettlebell with your other arm.
Pictures Courtesy Of artofstrength.com.Exercise Data
Main Muscle Worked: Hamstrings
Other Muscles Worked: Lower Back,Traps,Calves
Equipment: Kettlebells
Mechanics Type: Compound
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Tips: Place two kettlebells between your feet. To get in the starting position, push your butt back and look straight ahead. Clean one kettlebell to your shoulder and hold on to the other kettlebell. Take the cleaned kettlebell back to the floor and then clean the other kettlebell.
Pictures And Videos Courtesy Of artofstrength.com.Exercise Data
Main Muscle Worked: Hamstrings
Other Muscles Worked: Lower Back,Traps,Calves
Equipment: Kettlebells
Mechanics Type: Compound
 |  |
Tips: Place two kettlebells between your feet. To get in the starting position, push your butt back and look straight ahead. Clean one kettlebell to your shoulder and hold on to the other kettlebell in a hanging position. Drop the cleaned kettlebell to a hanging position and clean the alternate kettlebell. Repeat.
Pictures And Videos Courtesy Of artofstrength.com.Exercise Data
Main Muscle Worked: Chest
Other Muscles Worked: Triceps,Abdominals,Shoulders
Equipment: Kettlebells
Mechanics Type: Compound
 |  |
Tips: Lie on the floor with two kettlebells next to your shoulders. Position one in place on your chest and then the other. Press one and turn in the direction of the locked out kettlebell. Lower the kettlebell and repeat on the opposite side.
You can also use a medicine ball or hand weights, if you don't have a kettlebell.
Exercise DataTips: Works mainly the obliques. Clean and press a kettlebell overhead with one arm. Keeping the kettlebell locked out at all times, push your butt out in the direction of the locked out kettlebell. Keep the non-working arm behind your back and turn your feet out at a forty-five degree angle from the arm with the kettlebell. Lower yourself as far as possible. Pause for a second and reverse the motion back to the starting position. Pictures And Videos Courtesy Of artofstrength.com. |
Jeet Kune Do (JKD) is the name Bruce Lee gave to his combat system and philosophy in 1967. Originally, when Lee began researching various fighting styles, he gave his martial art his own name of Jun Fan Gung Fu. However not wanting to create another style that would share the limitations that all styles have, he instead gave us the process that created it.
Bruce Lee said:
I have not invented a "new style," composite, modified or otherwise that is set within distinct form as apart from "this" method or "that" method. On the contrary, I hope to free my followers from clinging to styles, patterns, or molds. Remember that Jeet Kune Do is merely a name used, a mirror in which to see "ourselves". . . Jeet Kune Do is not an organized institution that one can be a member of. Either you understand or you don't, and that is that. There is no mystery about my style. My movements are simple, direct and non-classical. The extraordinary part of it lies in its simplicity. Every movement in Jeet Kune-Do is being so of itself. There is nothing artificial about it. I always believe that the easy way is the right way. Jeet Kune-Do is simply the direct expression of one's feelings with the minimum of movements and energy. The closer to the true way of Kung Fu, the less wastage of expression there is. Finally, a Jeet Kune Do man who says Jeet Kune Do is exclusively Jeet Kune Do is simply not with it. He is still hung up on his self-closing resistance, in this case anchored down to reactionary pattern, and naturally is still bound by another modified pattern and can move within its limits. He has not digested the simple fact that truth exists outside all molds; pattern and awareness is never exclusive. Again let me remind you Jeet Kune Do is just a name used, a boat to get one across, and once across it is to be discarded and not to be carried on one's back.
Bruce Lee
JKD as it survives today - if one wants to view it "refined" as a product, not a process - is what was left at the time of Bruce Lee's death. It is the result of the life-long martial arts development process Lee went through. Bruce Lee stated that his concept is not an "adding to" of more and more things on top of each other to form a system, but rather, a winnowing out. The metaphor Lee borrowed from Chan Buddhism was of constantly filling a cup with water, and then emptying it, used for describing Lee's philosophy of "casting off what is useless". He also used the sculptor's mentality of beginning with a lump of clay and hacking away at the "unessentials"; the end result was what he considered to be the bare combat essentials, or JKD.
The core concepts of JKD are derived from Wing Chun. This includes such ideas as centerline control, vertical punching, trapping, and forward pressure). Through his personal research and readings, Lee also incorporated ideas from boxing and fencing. Later during the development of Jeet Kune Do, he would expand to include the art for personal development, not just to become a better fighter. To illustrate Lee's views, in a 1971 Black Belt Magazine article, Lee said "Let it be understood once and for all that I have NOT invented a new style, composite or modification. I have in no way set Jeet Kune Do within a distinct form governed by laws that distinguish it from 'this' style or 'that' method. On the contrary, I hope to free my comrades from bondage to styles, patterns and doctrines."
One of the theories of JKD is that a fighter should do whatever is necessary to defend himself, regardless of where the techniques come from. One of Lee's goals in Jeet Kune Do was to break down what he claimed were limiting factors in traditional martial arts training, and seek a fighting thesis which he believed could only be found within the reality of a fight. Jeet Kune Do is currently seen as the genesis of the modern state of hybrid martial arts.
Jeet Kune Do not only advocates the combination of aspects of different styles, it also can change many of those aspects that it adopts to suit the abilities of the practitioner. Additionally, JKD advocates that any practitioner be allowed to interpret techniques for themselves, and change them for their own purposes. For example, Lee almost always chose to put his power hand in the "lead," with his weaker hand back, within this stance he used elements of Boxing, Fencing and Wing Chun. Just like fencing, he labeled this position the "On Guard" position. Lee incorporated this position into his JKD as he felt it provided the best overall mobility. He felt that the dominant or strongest hand should be in the lead because it would perform a greater percentage of the work. Lee minimized the use of other stances except when circumstances warranted such actions. Although the On-Guard position is a good overall stance, it is by no means the only one. He acknowledged that there were times when other positions should be utilized.
Lee felt the dynamic property of JKD was what enabled its practitioners to adapt to the constant changes and fluctuations of live combat. He believed that these decisions should be done within the context of "real combat" and/or "all out sparring" and that it was only in this environment that a person could actually deem a technique worthy of adoption.
Bruce Lee did not stress the memorization of solo training forms or "Kata", as most traditional styles do in their beginning-level training. He often compared doing forms without an opponent to attempting to learn to swim on dry land. Lee believed that real combat was alive and dynamic. Circumstances in a fight change from millisecond to millisecond, and thus pre-arranged patterns and techniques are not adequate in dealing with such a changing situation. As an anecdote to this thinking, Lee once wrote an epitaph which read: 'In memory of a once fluid man, crammed and distorted by the classical mess.' The "classical mess" in this instance was what Lee thought of classical martial arts.
Bruce Lee's comments and methods were seen as controversial by many in his time, and still are today. Many teachers from traditional schools disagreed with his opinions on these issues.
The notion of cross-training in Jeet Kune Do is similar to the practice of Mixed Martial Arts (MMA) in modern times - Bruce Lee has been considered by UFC president Dana White as the "father of mixed martial arts". Many consider Jeet Kune Do to be the precursor of MMA because of its syncretic nature. This is particularly the case with respect to the JKD "Combat Ranges". A JKD student is expected to learn various combat systems within each combat range, and thus to be effective in all of them, just as in MMA.
The following are principles that Lee incorporated into Jeet Kune Do. He felt these were universal combat truths that were self evident and would lead to combat success if followed. The "4 Combat Ranges" in particular are what he felt were instrumental in becoming a "total" martial artist. This is also the principle most related to mixed martial arts.
JKD practitioners also subscribe to the notion that the best defense is a strong offense, hence the principle of "Intercepting". Lee believed that in order for an opponent to attack someone they had to move towards them. This provided an opportunity to "intercept" that attack or movement. The principle of interception covers more than just intercepting physical attacks. Lee believed that many non-verbals and telegraphs (subtle movements that an opponent is unaware of) could be perceived or "intercepted" and thus be used to one's advantage. The "5 Ways of Attack" are attacking categories that help Jeet Kune Do practitioners organize their fighting repertoire and comprise the offensive portion of JKD. The concepts of Stop hits & stop kicks and simultaneous parrying & punching were borrowed from European Fencing and Wing Chun's theory of simultaneous defending and attacking, and comprise the defensive portion of JKD. These concepts were modified for unarmed combat and implemented into the JKD framework by Lee. These concepts also complement the other principle of interception.
Lee believed that martial systems should be as flexible as possible. He often used water as an analogy for describing why flexibility is a desired trait in martial arts. Water is infinitely flexible. It can be seen through, and yet at other times it can obscure things from sight. It can split and go around things, rejoining on the other side, or it can crash through things. It can erode the hardest rocks by gently lapping away at them or it can flow past the tiniest pebble. Lee believed that a martial system should have these attributes. JKD students reject traditional systems of training, fighting styles and the Confucian pedagogy used in traditional kung fu schools because of this lack of flexibility. JKD is claimed to be a dynamic concept that is forever changing, thus being extremely flexible. "Absorb what is useful; Disregard that which is useless" is an often quoted Bruce Lee maxim. JKD students are encouraged to study every form of combat possible. This is believed to expand one's knowledge of other fighting systems; to both add to one's arsenal as well as to know how to defend against such tactics.
JKD students are told to waste no time or movement. When it comes to combat JKD practitioners believe the simplest things work best. Economy of motion is the principle by which JKD practitioners achieve "efficiency" describe in the three parts of JKD. Utilizing this principle conserves both energy and time. Energy and time are two crucial components in a physical confrontation that often leads to success if employed efficiently. In combat situations maximizing one's energy is beneficial in maintaining physical activity. Likewise minimizing the time to execute techniques because of traveling less distance is beneficial in that the opponent has less time to react.
This means intercepting an opponent's attack with an attack of your own instead of a simple block. JKD practitioners believe that this is the most difficult defensive skill to develop. This strategy is a feature of some traditional Chinese martial arts, as well as an essential component of European épée fencing (known in fencing terminology as the "counter-attack"). Stop hits & kicks utilizes the principle of economy of motion by combining attack and defense into one movement thus minimizing the "time" element.
When confronting an incoming attack, the attack is parried or deflected and a counter attack is delivered at the same time. Not as advanced as a stop hit but more effective than blocking and counter attacking in sequence. This is also practiced by some Chinese martial arts. Simultaneous parrying & punching utilizes the principle of economy of motion by combining attack and defense into two movements thus minimizing the "time" element and maximizing the "energy" element. Efficiency is gained by utilizing a parry rather than a block. By definition a "block" stops an attack whereas a parry merely re-directs an attack. Redirection has two advantages: It requires less energy to execute. It utilizes the opponents energy against them by creating an imbalance. Efficiency is also gained in that the opponent has less time to react to the nullification of their attack while having to worry about defending an incoming attack.
JKD practitioners believe they should target their kicks to their opponent's shins, knees, thighs, and mid section. These targets are the closest to the foot, provide more stability and are more difficult to defend against. However, as with all other JKD principles nothing is "written in stone". If a target of opportunity presents itself, even a target above the waist, one could take advantage of the situation without feeling hampered by this principle. Maintaining low kicks utilizes the principle of economy of motion by reducing the distance a kick must travel thus minimizing the "time" element. Low kicks are also more difficult to detect and thus guard against.
Jeet Kune Do students train in each of these ranges equally. According to Lee, this range of training serves to differentiate JKD from other martial arts. Lee stated that most but not all traditional martial systems specialize in training at one or two ranges. Bruce Lee's theories have been especially influential and substantiated in the field of Mixed Martial Arts, as the MMA Phases of Combat are essentially the same concept as the JKD combat ranges. As a historical note, the ranges in JKD have evolved over time. Initially the ranges were categorized as short or close, medium, and long range. These terms proved ambiguous and eventually evolved into their more descriptive forms although there may still be others who prefer the three categories.
JKD practitioners believe that techniques should contain the following properties:
The centerline refers to an imaginary line running down the center of one's body. The theory is to exploit, control and dominate your opponent's centerline. All attacks, defenses and footwork are designed to preserve your own centerline and open your opponent's. Lee incorporated this theory into JKD from Wing Chun. This notion is closely related to maintaining control of the center squares in the strategic game chess.
The three guidelines for centerline are:
One of the premises that Bruce Lee incorporated in Jeet Kune Do was "combat realism". He insisted that martial arts techniques should be incorporated based upon its effectiveness in real combat situations. This would differentiate JKD from other systems where there was an emphasis on "flowery technique" as Lee would put it. Lee claimed that flashy "flowery techniques" would arguably "look good" but were oftentimes not practical or prove ineffective in street survival and self-defense situations. This premise would also differentiate JKD from other "sport" oriented martial arts systems that were geared towards "tournament" or "point systems". Lee felt that these systems were "artificial" and fooled its practitioners into a false sense of true martial skill. Lee felt that because these systems favored a "sports" approach they incorporated too many rule sets that would ultimately handicap a practitioner in self defense situations. He also felt that this approach to martial arts became a "game of tag" which would lead to bad habits such as pulling punches and other attacks; this would again lead to disastrous consequences in real world situations. Because of this perspective Lee utilized safety gear from various other contact sports to allow him to spar with opponents "full out". This approach to training allowed practitioners to come as close as possible to real combat situations with a high degree of safety. Lee objected to these "sport" versions of martial arts because of this emphasis on combat realism.
"Absorbing what is useful" is perhaps the most confusing and least understood concept in Jeet Kune Do. This principle does not mean choosing, collecting, compiling, or assembling the best techniques from various diverse styles and slapping them together to form a new style. To do so is to miss the point of Jeet Kune Do. The concept of "absorbing what is useful" essentially means that a martial artist must find the proper skill set and traits that will be efficent for them. A technique or style that works for one person, will not necessarily be effective for another person.
Absorbing what is useful is about immersing oneself in style or system and learning and grasping its essence. It is only through a holistic approach that one learns techniques in their proper context. Styles provide more than just mere techniques; they offer training methods, theories, and mental attitudes to name a few. Learning all of these factors allows a student to experience a system in (what Lee would call) its "totality". It is only through its totality that one can "absorb what is useful". Applying what is learned in real combat training situations is what allows the student to figure what works or doesn't work for oneself. It is at this point that one can "discard that which is useless".
The most essential point of this concept is that the choice of what to keep is based on personal experimentation with various opponents and styles over time. It is not based on how a technique may look or feel or how well one can execute it. In the final analysis if the technique is not beneficial in combat it is discarded. Lee believed that only the individual could come to understand what worked for oneself based on critical self analysis and by "honestly expressing oneself; without lying to oneself". This concept is the foundation of Jeet Kune Do which is the basis for the modern day version, Mixed Martial Arts.
Many different systems of Eskrima exist and can trace their origins to a single tribe or region. Some of the most famous systems from and in the Philippines are Lightning Scientific Arnis International/Lema Scientific Kali-Arnis System (LSAI/LESKAS), Pekiti Tirsia Kali, San Miguel Eskrima, Doce Pares, Balintawak, Modern Arnis, Kalis Illustrisimo/Bakbakan, while in the United States the Inayan System of Eskrima, Sayoc Kali, Cabales Serrada Eskrima, Lameco Eskrima and Dog Brothers Martial Art are popular.
Practitioners of these arts are noted for their ability to fight with weapons or empty hands interchangeably. Most Eskrima systems include fighting with a variety of weapons, striking with hands and feet (suntukan, sikaran, tadyakan/tadiyakan), grappling and throwing (dumog), biting and whatever skills needed to complete a warrior's training in the old days of tribal warfare. Perhaps the only major fields that have not been given as much emphasis as in the past in modern eskrima training today are skills needed for fighting effectively in groups and hilot - a Filipino system of first aid, healing, massage, and herbal medicine traditionally taught alongside eskrima but that has now virtually disappeared.
In most systems, skills with weapons and with empty hands (unarmed) are developed concurrently using training methods designed to emphasize their common elements. The most common variations used are single stick (solo baston), double stick (double baston) and sword/stick and dagger (espada y daga). Some systems are known to specialise in other weapons such as the whip and staff.
An eskrimador, kalista or mangangali (as some modern practitioners called themselves) is a practitioner of Eskrima, while Arnisador is also used for the variant name Arnis.
The term Eskrima is the Filipino spelling which comes from the Spanish word esgrima, "fencing". Arnis is thought to derive from the phrase arnés de mano, Spanish for "harness of the hand". The origin of the name Kali is not certain, although some suggest it is related to the traditional weapon called a kris, keris, or kalis. Another explanation is that the word is a portmanteau of the Filipino words kamot, or kamay meaning hand or body, and lihok, meaning motion. This explanation may be a more recent innovation, retroactively fitting an acronym to the existing name. However, historically there was never a mother or parent art form known as Kali in the Philippines, including the Muslim populated Southern Mindanao. In fact, the term Kali did not exist until the 1960s when two well known eskrimadors in the United States popularized the word to distinguish what they taught from the teachings of other eskrimadors. [citation needed] Unfortunately, many came to believe that Kali represented a parent art form of escrima and arnis, and eventually the name, Kali, took on a life of its own. Today, the term Kali, although seldom used and mostly in few areas in the Southern Philippines, is gaining more acceptance and popularity throughout the country thanks in due part to the influence of visiting foreigners who more commonly use this term to describe the art. Several theories claim that the difference in the name either implied the region from which the art originated, the time period when the art was developed or the primary weapon of training, although in reality these claims are groundless. One will find the terms Eskrima and Arnis used interchangeably in the Philippines regardless of region, time period or weapon emphasis.
Filipino Martial Arts have seen an increase in prominence due to several Hollywood movies and the teachings of modern masters such as Dan Inosanto, Cacoy Canete, Elmer Ybanez, Tony Diego, Teofilo Velez, Richard Bustillo, Ryan Gialogo, Edgar Sulite, Leo Gaje, Armando P. Angeles, Leo Giron, Mike Inay, Ernesto Presas, Remy Presas, and Angel Cabales.
Rattan, a cheap wood from a type of vine in the Philippines, is the most common material for sticks and staves. Hard and durable, yet light weight, it can be fire hardened. It shreds under only the worst abuse and will not splinter like other woods do - thus making it a safe training tool. This aspect also makes it useful in defending against blades. Kamagong (Ironwood) is also sometimes used, but generally not for sparring, as it is dense enough to cause serious injury, although traditionally sparring does not include weapon to body contact; The participants are skilled enough to parry/counterstrike, showing respect in not intentionally hitting the training partner. Eskrima sticks are made in many sizes depending on the system and the respective ranges being trained. Common lengths range from 6" to 96", with the most common ranging from 24" to 36". Eskrima sticks are a reflection of the artist, their system and methodology.
As with most martial arts, the history of Eskrima is surrounded by legends, making it difficult to pin down facts. This is especially true for Eskrima since a significant amount of its history is anecdotal and oral. Being a martial art for the common folk, some of its practitioners lacked the scholarly education to create a written history. This confusion is further complicated by the fact that there are actually many different fighting systems with different histories that are called Eskrima (or Arnis de Mano). One explanation for the origin of Eskrima systems is that they were originally the fighting systems possessed by every tribe in the Philippines and used by them to fight and defend against each other. Another explanation is that it evolved from Indian martial arts, as well as other Malay martial arts such as Tjakalele and Silat, brought to the Philippines by people who travelled through the Malay archipelago.[1]
It is historically recorded, though, that when the Spanish conquistadors arrived, some tribes fought them, using native weapons and techniques. Magellan, portuguese, was killed in the battle of Mactan in 1521 by forces of the Mactan tribal chief Lapu-Lapu when Magellan landed in Cebu - albeit by an arrow, not a sword or stick as many eskrimadors promote, yet this information is still unknown as many Spaniards and Portuguese exaggerated their stories to impress their King. From this point sources differ on the history of Eskrima. Certainly by the time the Spanish reached the Philippines, they were extremely challenged by how the natives had fought, when the natives of the Philippines only had simple weapons such as swords, spears and bow and arrows plus a shield to protect themselves. The experienced conquistadors were able to invade Maharlika (now Philippines). The degree to which this affected the practice of the native fighting arts is a matter of debate, but it seems likely that the Filipinos kept what worked and discarded what didn't. Eskrima had to be hidden from the Spaniards -- they practiced it in their dancing, and pretended they were practicing the Spanish style of fencing to avoid being caught. For this reason, Eskrima has some strong Spanish influences.
Many believe these Philippine fighting systems have strong historical roots from Indonesian martial arts that are Chinese influenced like Kun Tao. Kun Tao (literally the way of the fist) of course finds its roots from Ch'uan Fa (which is a generic word for what westerners would call kung fu, it also literally means way of the fist). Other systems that have similar movements to many Filipino systems also find their roots from Ch'uan Fa. There are even counts of lost Ch'uan and Tai Chi double stick forms that many of the fleeing renegade monks would have trained for in that period. These Chinese-based influences to the martial arts are not as powerful as the direct links to the cultural and political ties found in the Philippines even today. Many even believe the systems are totally intact in the way profound Chinese arts once were before events like the Cultural Revolution.
Others believe that since FMA is weapons-based, this suggests its roots and development are independent and autonomous of most foreign "fist" systems. In fact, it can be said that the inevitable similarities are due to the weaponry components of both Filipino, Indonesian and Chinese martial arts. Any exercises or similar hand movements to that of the Indonesian and Chinese arts were introduced only in recent years to augment the newer Eskrima groups - something which is less apparent in the more traditional and established authentic systems. Filipinos had their own empty hand systems, such as: sikaran (kicking art), Dumog (submission), and all the fist strikes come from weapon fighting techniques, because the Guru's (instructors) believe the hand can strike the same manner with or without a weapon.
Although the turbulent and conflict-wrought history and environment of the Philippines enabled the FMA to develop into an efficient, albeit violent art, this changed recently in the sense that some systematization allowed easier and quicker teaching of the basics. Except for a few older and established systems, before this change it was more common to pass the art from generation to generation in an informal approach. Regardless of teaching methodology, these arts are considered so effective and easy to learn with sufficient practice that the U.S. military teaches it to some varying degree in all of its branches, particularly U.S. groups like the Navy SEALs, Army Special Forces and Delta Force. Many special operations groups were stationed in the Philippines for some period of time during WWII - the period when these arts first became apparent to the America mainstream.
For the last century, the most important practice of Eskrima has been in dueling without any form of protection, which was common in the Philippines and among Filipinos elsewhere (Hawaii pre-annexation). The founders of most of the currently popular Eskrima systems were famous duelists; legends circulate about how many people so-and-so has killed. Certainly duels did happen and deaths did result. However, to reduce legal problems that arose from injury or death, most duels would later often be fought with hardwood sticks instead of blades. Public dueling has been all but eliminated from the Filipino society and is even deemed illegal in the Philippines today. However, one can still find regular gathering of masters in major parks in the Philippines where at a drop of a hat one will not hesitate to prove his point through an unprotected "friendly match". Local folk in the Philippines are much more likely to carry knives than guns, and much more likely to use them when tempers rise, than people in North America or Europe. As a result, knife-fighting (and to a lesser extent, fighting with machetes) is still very much a living skill in the Philippines, particularly in rural areas and especially in areas where insurgents are based.
For a more precise history, one must distinguish between the different systems of Eskrima (see below).
Attempts to trace the lineage of a practitioner is often difficult. For example, Antonio Illustrisimo (duelist and grandmaster) seemed to have learned to fight while traveling around the Philippines (and the rest of the Pacific) as a sailor, while his nephew and student Floro Villabrille claimed to have been taught by a blind princess in the mountains - a claim later refuted by the older Illustrisimo. Both have since died.
Secrecy was also a large part of this art and teaching it outside of the Filipino community was considered taboo until the 1960s when Eskrima was first brought over to the U.S. by Grandmaster Angel Cabales. Still instructors of stick fighting classes in the 1960s and 1970s were reprimanded by Filipino elders for publicly teaching what had been traditionally kept secret, a practice which preserved a language and a culture, preventing watering down of the art.
In recent years, there has been an increased interest in martial arts from cultures all over the world, including Eskrima, Capoeira, Savate, Muay Thai and others. Arguably one of the best arts for learning to use or defend against knives, Eskrima has appealed to people not necessarily interested in its cultural aspects. As a consequence, most Eskrima systems have been modified (in varying degrees) to make them more marketable to a worldwide audience. Usually this involves increased emphasis on locking, controls and disarms, as well as focusing on its "self-defense" aspects, along with some influence from Asian martial arts (sometimes in name only). The art of eskrima is actually a defense through offense-based art (the best defense is a good offense) rather than just a defense-based art, as it is often depicted. Modern training methods tend to de-emphasize careful footwork and low stances, with more emphasis on learning techniques as opposed to more direct and effective tactics designed to instantly end an encounter (which is generally believed to have lethal results and are, therefore, discouraged).
Eskrima has also begun to be practiced as a sport, although there is as yet little standardization or uniformity. The rules, with their corresponding effect on technique, have yet to be decided upon, although several tournaments have been held with various sets of rules. The oldest and most common set is the WEKAF (World Eskrima Kali Arnis Federation) rules that work on a 10 point must system where participants spar with a body protector and helmet. This format has sometimes been criticized because it emphasizes training in offensive techniques at the expense of defensive "preserving" techniques, giving rise to the impression that combatants are merely bashing at each other in a disorganized way, trying to get in more hits than one's opponent. This is, to some, an anti-thesis to traditional training methods, where training in footwork and arm/weapon movements are intricate and precise as to become like dance (one popular tradition is that eskrima survived during the centuries of Spanish colonial rule because techniques were learned in secret as dance steps). As a consequence, WEKAF tournaments may be seen as not promoting the original art.
There are efforts amongst the Eskrima society to cross train in other tournament competitions where there is noted differences of the rules applied to the contest. For example there are competitions using padded sticks and no body armor. Judges are required to confirm a legitimate target has been struck. The bladed concept using the padded stick and consideration by the judges to the effectiveness of the attack and or defense is often visually seen by the spectator. This is a stop and go point system style.
One other variation of tournament combat is seen with again padded sticks and minimal body armor protection but the competition is continuous similar to the WEKAF 10 point method. One major difference seen in this method is an awareness of the importance of defending oneself, even after scoring a point.
Since it is not uncommon to see Eskrima and Chinese martial arts like Kenpo or Wing Chun practiced together, there is sometimes confusion between styles, systems and lineage. Some people will cross-train and do not give proper credit to the founding fathers or principles of their arts. Eskrima and Wing Chun cross-training dates back to Bruce Lee and Dan Inosanto. Kenpo cross-training dates back to Hawaii's territorial/pre-statehood days, and is rooted in the cross-training between Chinese and Filipino immigrants settling there. The proponents of such training say the arts are very similar in many aspects and complement each other well. It has also become marketable and fashionable to offer eskrima classes (some FMA proponents say that some of these are "stripped down" versions of real training methods) in other traditional Asian martial arts studios in America. FMA practitioners (usually Filipino eskrimadors) point to an observed tendency of other arts to borrow techniques from eskrima and calling it their own as proof of eskrima's increasing popularity and demand as a practical, effective yet beautiful martial art.
The most obvious feature of an Eskrima class is that it is mostly weapon-based. The student is first taught to work with weapons and only advances to empty-hand techniques once the stick techniques have been learned. Most other well known martial arts start by developing empty hands proficiency, often for years, before being introduced to the weapons component. This feature of Eskrima is justified by the argument that most systems have unified their teaching so that the empty-hand techniques are learned through the same exercises as the weapon techniques, making muscle memory an important aspect of the teaching. Since you may not have a weapon available, or might lose a weapon, the body becomes the weapon. Because the weapon is seen as simply an extension of the body, the same angles and footwork are used either with or without a weapon. This allows weapons to be taught before empty-hand, and by many FMA schools it is referred to as the concept of motion grouping.
The most common weapon used in training is a rattan stick about the length of the practitioner's arm, although the length may vary from about 45cm to 70cm. Some schools prefer sticks of a particular length, while others expect students to learn which techniques are appropriate for a variety of lengths. Most North American and European schools use hand and head protection when sparring with rattan sticks.
Other sticks used for training and for some duels are made of hardwood, such as bahi (heart of the palm), molave or kamagong (ebony), that is burned and hardened. They can also be made out of aluminum or other metals, or modern high-impact plastics. The sticks can also be padded for training purposes, though this practice is usually only used in schools in North America or Europe.
Many systems in fact begin training with two weapons, either a pair of sticks or a stick and a wooden knife (called espada y daga, Spanish for "sword and dagger"). This is sometimes justified by pointing out that warriors would not have gone into battle with an empty hand; another common explanation is that having two weapons forces the practitioner to use both hands, which is valuable even when working with one weapon: the extra hand is used to control the opponent's weapon and to strike when the range is sufficiently close. (Such uses are banned in modern sport fencing, so sport fencers generally hold the unused hand away from danger.) Historically, people all over the world, including Filipino warriors and Renaissance fencers often trained with a long weapon in one hand and a short weapon in the other.
The stick techniques used in Eskrima fall into two categories: the stick techniques that are training for sword fighting, and the sword techniques that are training for stick fighting. As usual, most systems are designed so that the practitioner can adapt their training to either weapon. Other weapons traditionally included in Eskrima training include spears, shields, whips and nunchaku.
Most systems recognize that the technical nature of combat changes drastically as the distance between opponents changes, and generally classify the ranges into at least three categories. Each range has its characteristic techniques and footwork. Of course, some systems place more emphasis on certain ranges than others, but almost all recognize that being able to work in and control any range is essential.
In order to control the range, and for numerous other purposes, good footwork is essential. Most Eskrima systems explain their footwork in terms of triangles: normally when moving in any direction two feet occupy two corners of the triangle and the step is to the third corner such that no leg crosses the other at any time. The shape and size of the triangle must of course be adapted to the particular situation. The style of footwork and the standing position vary greatly from school to school and from practitioner to practitioner. For a very traditional school, very conscious of battlefield necessities, stances will usually be very low, often with one knee on the ground, and footwork will be complex, involving many careful cross-steps to allow practitioners to cope with multiple opponents. The Villabrille and San Miguel systems are usually taught in this way. Systems that have been adapted to duels or sporting matches usually use simpler footwork, focusing on a single opponent. North American schools tend to use much more upright stances, as this is much easier for the legs. There are, of course, many exceptions.
Several classes of exercises, such as sumbrada, contrada, sinawali, hubud-lubud and sequidas initially presented to the public as a set of organized drills by the Inosanto system are expressly designed to allow partners to move quickly and experiment with variations while remaining safe. For example, in a sumbrada drill taken from the Villabrille system, one partner feeds an attack, which the other counters, flowing into a counterattack, which is then countered, flowing into a counterattack, and so on. The hubud-lubud (hubad-lubad is also accepted because, though hubad means naked in tagalog, it means the same as hubud and actually used more often in many Cebuano-derived dialects in the southern portion of the country) taken from the Doce Pares system is frequently used as a type of "generator" drill, where one is forced to act and think while fists are already flying. Initially, students learn a specific series of attacks, counters, and counterattacks. As they advance, they can add minor variations, change the footwork, or switch to completely different attacks; eventually the exercise becomes almost completely free-form. Disarms, take-downs, and other techniques usually break the flow of such a drill, but they are usually practiced beginning from such a sequence of movements in order to force the student to adapt to a variety of situations. A common practice is to begin a drill with each student armed with two weapons; once the drill is flowing, if a student sees an opportunity to disarm their opponent, they will, but the drill will continue until both students are empty-handed. Some drills for practicing disarms use only a single weapon per pair, and the partners take turns taking it from each other. Seguidas drills taken from San Miguel system, are sets of hitting and movement patterns usually involving stick and dagger.
Rhythm, while an essential part of Eskrima drills, is given more emphasis in the United States and Europe where a regular beat serves a guide for students to follow. To ensure the safety of the participants, most drills are done at a constant pace, which is of course increased as the students progress. The rhythm, together with the added effect of a southern Philippine Muslim attire of a vest and sashed pants, is commonly mistaken to be some sort of tradition when practicing eskrima in the Philippines - perhaps either incorrectly derived and linked to other traditional Filipino rhythm based dances or an attempt to gain some authenticity and ethnicity. Eskrima is usually practiced in the Philippines without a rhythm, off-beat or out of rhythm. Although the art existed long before the Spanish influence, the art is "tagged" with the Spanish name for Fencing (Eskrima). Typically, practitioners in the Philippines use their everyday clothes. The more affluent and modernized city practitioners and foreigners practice using their studio uniform, gi or 3/4 length pants, however there is no officially established standardized "uniform".
Many Filipino systems focus on defending against and/or reacting to angles of attack rather than particular strikes. The theory behind this is that virtually all types of hand-to-hand attacks (barehanded or with a weapon) will hit or reach a combatant via these angles of attack and it is reasoned that it is more efficient to learn to defend against angles of attack rather than particular styles, particular techniques or particular weapons. For instance, the technique for defending against an attack angle that comes overhead from the right is very similar whether the attacker uses barefists, a knife, a sword or a spear.
Older Filipino systems gave each angle a name, but more recent systems tend to simply number them. Many systems have twelve standard angles, though some have as few as 5, and others as many as 72. Although the exact angles, the order in which they are numbered "Numerado" and the manner in which they're executed vary from system to system, most are based upon Filipino cosmology. These standard angles are used to describe exercises; to aid memorization, a standard series of strikes from these angles called an abecedario (Spanish for "alphabet") is often practiced.
Some angles of attack and some strikes have characteristic names.
Perhaps because of its recent history as an art of duelists, Eskrima techniques are generally based on the assumption that both the student and their opponent are very highly trained and well prepared. For this reason, Eskrima technique tends to favor extreme caution, always considering the possibility of a failed technique or an unexpected knife. On the other hand, the practitioner is assumed to be able to strike very precisely and quickly. The general principle is that an opponent's ability to attack should be destroyed (rather than trying to hurt them to convince them to stop). Thus many strikes are to the hands and arms, hoping to break the hand holding the weapon or cut the nerves or tendons controlling it. Strikes to the eyes and legs are also important.
The common misconception that many new MMA Fighters and Athletes have is that just having the ability and endurance to run 5 miles a day will somehow translate in the MMA fighter's ability to shave the proper MMA conditioning they will need to fight in the ring.
In order for the MMA Fighter to perform at a high level, during the whole fight they are going to need to train in multiple "levels" of endurance training. These types or levels of endurance relate to the muscles and their ability to perform with and without oxygen. The types of endurance training an MMA fighter most focus on is...
Increasing your endurance really means increasinh the levels and capabilities of your...
To improve your threshold you need to be perform activities at a VERY high intensity for up to 2 minutes. When performing these activities, your body learns to cope with increase lactate levels. Common exerises for increasing your Anaerobic Thershold would be any type of high intensity sprinting (running or swimming), high intensity circuit weight training, bodyweight conditioning exercises, high intenstity grappling and sparring.
When training to improve your Vo2Max - longer periods of exercise at a lower intensity. Swimming is an excellent way to increase your Vo2Max.
Relaxtion plays a huge role in the ability for a MMA fighter to perform in the cage. The ability to relax comes from experience and mental preparation. Some key tips for increasing your ability to relax during fight time are...
The best way to condition yourself for a fight is to condition yourself according to the rounds and time of the fight. If you fight is 4 minute rounds with one minute rest, perform your exercises non-stop for 4 minutes, take 1 minute rest and repeat or go on the next stations.
When training for conditioning, it is best to setup stations.
Rest
Rest - Repeat 2 more times
You can see that you can mix in or up anything into these workouts. You can just do kicks on the bag one time, you can do all combinations on the bag, you could incorporate dumbbells, a sandbag, a parnter, etc. Get creative. As long as you keep moving at a high intensity pace, you will do well.
The Pit Workout is a dynamic, three-day per week MMA and fighter workout program designed to build speed, power and endurance. Each one-hour program includes full body conditioning while targeting specific muscle groups. Be ready to work hard, sweat and have fun while building endurance, flexibility, strength, speed and power. The Pit, John Hackleman and MMA Roots joined together in early 2004 in order to bring you one of the most talked about and physically demanding workouts of MMA today. Combine traditional martial arts with proven modern day MMA training techniques and your result is The Pit Workout. Take your MMA workout one step further by learning the top 27 fighting techniques in modern day mixed martial arts. These techniques are the most commonly utilized tested and proven pit skills. The Pit of today is the most well rounded Martial Arts & Fitness program anywhere.
The Pit seamless fused together traditional martial arts and MMA, to create an effective disciplined workout. The Pit Workout introduces “state of the art” training and incorporates a style of fitness that is tested and proven in modern MMA today. John “The Train” Hackleman has created the fitness and fighting system that is unequaled in the Martial Arts of the 21st Century. He also shares with us over 30 years of Pit History by boiling down and reducing old school systems into a simple philosophy, “use what works and discard what doesn’t.” Whether you are training for a martial arts competition or cross training for any other sport in the world, The Pit Workout will get you closer to your goals of ultimate fitness and conditioning. Simply combine a few of the basic Pit Techniques with one of the conditioning workouts and you will also be learning how to fight in competition or defend
yourself in the streets. Always, “Train for the Worst, and Hope for the Best”
A MMA fighters gym workout needs to be different then the typical bodybuilders workout. A MMA fighter's body needs to work as a whole and requires different types of strength from different groupings of muscle.
First, an MMA fighter needs to be able to explode and needs POWER. So a good portion of the exercises that the MMA fighter must perform needs to focus on raw explosive powerful strength. The best exercises for this are Push Presses, Deadlifts, Squats, Chest Presses, High Pulls, Cleans, Snatches and the variations of these exercises.Second, a fighter needs to have strength endurance. They need their muscles to be able to keep humming and working for them. A lot of these exercises can done in circuits in conjunction with grappling and MMA drills. You would incorporate more bodyweight exercises along with punching drills, sandbag exercises, high reps cleans and snatches, sprints, etc. The bodyweight training article has some good examples of some circuits you can do.
Lastly a fighter needs to know when to train and how often to train along with your regular MMA training. Typically most fighters train 5-6 days a week. Unless you are a pro-fighter and fighting all the time, most fighters still need to go to a job everyday so it becomes tough to fit in your grappling, boxing, and MMA training along with your strength training.
The best way to split your training and incorporate both aspects of MMA training, is work on your strength in the morning or mid-day, then do your MMA skills training at night. I would suggest strength training 2-3x a week, preferably 3. If you have a fight coming up, cut it back to 2. Many MMA schools also have a conditioning day 1-3x a week. Don't lift on those days. Lift on opposite days.
MONDAY
Power Clean - 3 sets of 3 reps warm up, then 3 t5 sets of 3 reps with a work weight, about 80% of a 1RM.
Bench Press - (medium to heavy day)- (if med)- 3 sets of 5 t6 reps warm up then 3 sets of 5 with a work weight. (if heavy)- work up over six sets of 5 t6 reps to limit set of 3 t5 reps on the last set. A rule of thumb puts a limit triple at about 90% of one's 1RM.
Squat - (light speed day)- one warm up set of 10 reps. Then 5 sets of 5 reps with no more than 65% and no more than 60 seconds rest between sets. Start with 60% . Apply 100% effort on every rep and do each rep as fast as possible.
WEDNESDAY
One Power Clean followed by 3 Military Presses followed by 2 Push Presses for 5 reps total per set - 3 warm up sets, then 3 sets of 5 reps with a work weight.
Deadlift - warm up- 10 reps, 6 reps, 4 reps, then the same work weight for 3 t4 sets of 3 t4 reps. The Romanian DL or Straight Back Clean Style DL's are recommended. (On clean DL's use about 80% of your 1RM your first workout.)(On RDL's weight is not as important as doing the exercise correctly with strict form.)
NOTE: Because squats and deadlifts overlap the working of a lot of the same muscles, squats are not recommended the same day as deadlifts.
FRIDAY
Bent Row - 3 sets of 5 t6 reps warm up, then 3 sets of 5 t6 reps with a work weight.
Squat - (medium to heavy day) same formula as BP on Monday.
Bench Press - (light speed day) same formula as Squat on Monday.
Bent rows x8
Upright rows x8
Military press x8
Good morning x8
Lunges x8 (each leg)
Squat push press x8
Deadlift x8
Sample Strength Training: 1 Hour Workout Duration
Leading up to a fight, these exercises need to be conducted with less weight, higher intensity that will also work on overall conditioning.
Day 1: Chest & Triceps
Day 2: Back & Biceps
Day 3: Shoulders
Day 4: Legs
Brock Lesnar MMA Muscular & Cardio Intense Endurance Training1st Round: Pushing Muscular Endurance - 1 Minute
2nd Round: Pulling Muscular Endurance - 1 Minute
3rd Round: Cardio Endurance Training - 1 Minute
4th Round: Hybrid Strength Training
5th Round: Most Intense Round - No Rest Periods
