Advice on Solo training and improvement?

Wes98

Hey Guys.
Well I`ve been home for summer for a month now and the thing is there is no MA halls around where I live(I`m training in Taekwondo in dublin and have done some boxing and kickboxing).Now I`ve plans for when I head back to Dublin, but thats not the question anyway!
Thing is I`ve been training solo now for a month(Personally I don`t think its as effective as going to classes). Ocassionaly I can get a friend to help me out with pads,etc...but I've no one to spar with,and usually end up training on the bag for awhile or doing some shadowboxing.(Which is really frustrating and just boring)Thing is I`m doing less now cause of this, motivation at a low.
So I was thinking would this be a good time to simply focus on strength training and flexability - kinda forget about pad work,etc for now?
Or should I just keep doing what I`m doing and do some weights every second day?
I would like to be in decent shape for any upcoming tournaments when I head back to the city.
Any advice would be appreciated?

Mola.mola

Do you have a heavy bag? Hit that

Gaillimhtaibhse

Apologies, but you probably already know all the following... (Maybe someone else in MA boards-land doesn't yet)...

Train fast muscle. Get wrist weights. Progressively add weight. (Don't do heavy, slow lifting on benches or with machines...this makes you slow). Picture a punch in mind. Move fast with power. Add different kinds of punches. Picture a fast, power block. Move fast with power. Add different blocks. Many fast reps. Then try combinations. Punches and blocks.

Get leg weights. Be certain to stretch before and after (You can pull something doing this! I did.). Start light, then progress by adding weight. Once again, train fast muscle. No slow movement or too heavy (Don't do squats with heavy weights or leg presses with machines...makes you stiff and slow). Start with one kick. Roundhouse. Build speed and power. Many fast reps. Picture kicking someone into the next time zone. Progress to more complex kicks. Side thrust, push, snap, axe, ark, spin, reverse spin, 360, 540. Practice speed and power in execution. Target from above belt to head shot. If you want to add SD, then go below the belt. Groin, thigh muscle, calf muscle, knee, behind knee, instep strikes and leg sweeps. Don't forget to stretch, stretch, stretch! Bags are helpful to strike, but you will probably destroy one as I did.

Steal chunks of combined movements from poomse. Don't do complete poomses. But do your chunks fast and powerful. Poomse was originally meant for solo practice. Developed over hundreds of years for this purpose. Competition ruined its reputation and purpose (now focuses on grace rather than sudden speed and power).

Practice quick, fast steps, forward, backward, to the sides, and diagonally. In combination with wrist and leg weight punching, kicking, blocking. Bounce, bounce, bounce, while you do this. Always picture your opponent in your head while doing this. This imagery is the "do" of taekwondo. Important!

Been doing this since last summer. Did not add hardly any bulk, but rather fast, powerful muscle. Hard as a rock under soft skin. I can now see myself punching and kicking through walls!:cool:

Millionaire

If you want to get good at MA...keep doing what your doing.

I am in the same boat...

Even though I train in a Thai camp. As I am not a fighter, I am way down the pecking order for getting coached.

I essentially, for by getting a few 5 mins hours on the pads, and some sparring on occassion, and clinch wrestling... 80% of my training is alone.

I warm up with a few rounds of shadow, and then I work the bag in 5 mins rounds for up to an hour. To be honest...most of the fighters 70% of time is alone too.

Remember... its practicing the basic s over and over and over is what will get you good. No one will hit the bag for you....you got to do it yourself.

Somedays I get bored too and motivation is low...but I know them thoughts are demons, so they must be over come, with training and discipline.

Stick it out mate...go for it.... do not give up!

and find a way to enjoy it...get your music on for exmaple.

Give yourself a goal... say 1 round kicks, one round boxing, 3 rounds mix it up. one round full on power, one round light and technical to work on techinque... play around with it!

loz

Hi Wes,

Are you living where your location says ( bogville ) as i found this...

http://www.rosactive.org/Clubs.asp?SportsID=1

theres a few clubs ( maybe driving distance from you though )

BrianD3

No slow movement or too heavy (Don't do squats with heavy weights.... makes you stiff and slow

Lifting heavy weights won't make him slow, quite the opposite in fact. And the squat is a great exercise.

Heavy weight training to develop limit strength and explosive power is useful for MA and many sports from rugby, sprinting, golf, baseball.

Musashi

Lifting heavy weights won't make him slow, quite the opposite in fact.

I'd qualify that statement by saying lifting weight slowly you are training your body to move slowly. Lifting a weight explosively (a heavy weight will still only move slowly) will train your body to respond with power and speed. Your body doesn't care how fast the weight is actually travelling, just that you are trying to move it quickly with explosive power. Dr. Hatfields research on Compensatory Accelerated Training is about this subject actually.

http://www.strengthcats.com/explosiverepsvariableresistance.htm

Or for some solo training drills, have a look at Rossboxing, some nice videos including one where he's slamming a small medicine ball off a large punchbag to develop his punching Have a look, well worth it!

Wes98

Thanks alot Guys, you been alot of help. Gave the ole Motivation a boost too.

Roper

Hey Wes,
I think overall, the key is imagination. Personally, I don't think theres much improvement to be made skill wise without a good training partner or two. I reckon your best bet is to work some bad ass conditioning and come back to training as an ANIMAL!!!!:D

By the way, what are the plans you're on about?

Wes98

Hehe, Come back to training as an animal....I like the sound of that Roper!:D
Well I plan to start practicing Kyuokuoshin(sp?)Karate and start going to all the tournaments I can.Unfortunately, since I can`t spar during the summer, I`l have to focus on it big time when I get back to training.

loz

Wes98 wrote:

Hehe, Come back to training as an animal....I like the sound of that Roper!:D
Well I plan to start practicing Kyuokuoshin(sp?)Karate and start going to all the tournaments I can.Unfortunately, since I can`t spar during the summer, I`l have to focus on it big time when I get back to training.

Cant you go to one of the many roscommon based clubs during the summer ?

kenpo_dave

Wes98 wrote:

Hehe, Come back to training as an animal....I like the sound of that Roper!:D
Well I plan to start practicing Kyuokuoshin(sp?)Karate and start going to all the tournaments I can.Unfortunately, since I can`t spar during the summer, I`l have to focus on it big time when I get back to training.

Hey Wes. Firstly the correct spelling is Kyokushin And secondly, I dont know if you've been chatting to Shane at all but you're more than welcome to come down and train with us when you get back to Dublin, provided of course that the location is convenient to you. If you haven't already done so, check out our websites - www.mmaireland.com forum.mmaireland.com and www.kyokushinbudokai.org.

OSU,

Dave.

Pro. F

Hey Wes,
ye training alone is tough. as roper says, working on your conditioning and coming back to your club training as an animal is a good way to go.
i have found in the past that the biggest problem with solo training is resolve to keep at it.

for me the solution is twofold: routine and inspiration.
routine makes everything easier. get a routine that's workable for you and stick to it.
inspiration can come in all sorts of forms. watching some fight vids, reading some books or maybe even watching some kung fu films - anything that gets ya excited about MA. also finding some goals that are achievable with the amount of training you do in your routine. aim at them and think of achieving those goals when the training is tough.

one last thing, if you can, break up the summer for yourself by signing up for a seminar that interests you (whatever MA) in the middle of your solo training period. then you will have a goal before the seminar (to be in reasonable shape when you go to it) and loads of inspiration when its finished.
Good luck

ps at Musashi's sig

Miles Long

I'm setting myself a series of goals at the moment. Bits of endurance running/cycling, repeatitions of different exercises and things. One of them is to be able to do the box splits before I go back to College (in late Sep) and have no idea if that is attainable or not. Is it?

A great inspiration for me is finding out new drills/streaches/anythings from others, anyone fom a MA to a rugby player or a dancer. It's kinda born out of the way you go and train under a new teacher and they already habitually do a certain streach or whatever and wen you try it it kills you cause you're just "starting" a direct workout on that area of your body. I then push myself to get comfortable with that exercise and add it to my conditioning/warm up repertoire.

Wes98

Once again, thanks guys!Your a real help.:)
Loz, I will try to get to some of them for the summer,unfortunaley there all a long drive from me, so getting to and back would be a prob.I`m seeing what I can do at the moment anyway.
Kenpo Dave, thanks very much, I was talikin to Shane, he`s the one who informed me about Kyokushin Karate,hopefully I`l be metting you when I get back to Dublin.

Mola.mola

take advice from rex-kwon-do and never fly solo.