Pavel Tsatsouline Kettlebell Strength Training Weight Lifting Workouts Exercise and Flexibility Questions & Answers.

What would you guess as an upper limit in this, Jared, if you were to train seriously for it? Do you plan on going to Vegas for the convention? If so, it might be nice to have a friendly little challenge with you when we're there. I think you can get 300, no problem. Pretty cool little test.  

If you combine intentional maximal isometric contraction of the inner legs (adductors) at the tail-end of your horse stance 'set' (last 30 sec or so), then drop immediately into side split upon exhale and release of contraction, there will be some very good carry-over. Steve

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Ahma, I do not know which specific posts you refer and which specific exercises. It sounds like you are referring to a version of an iron palm nei gong and an iron body nei gong. I will not try to answer for Garm, but will answer. 1) Blood flow is ancillary. Internal martial arts is concerned with chi flow. Here flow means focused direction. Chi is yang, blood is yin. Yang likes hot. 2)Always are side effects. Again, I do not know the particular gong you refer to. Some 'schools' are more attnetive to longevity than others. Some care only about conditioning the body as a weapon. The sophisticated styles, to my opinion, are able to accomplish not only increase striking power but develop positive side effects such as increases ability to heal with the hands. 3) Garm and I concur with respect to beating the head. There were some styles that emphasized head conditioning, but those schools are not prevalent anymore. Remember that many of the top IMA were also scholars and knew better than to repeatedly strike the head. These are interesting questions (but good ones) for a "strength and condtioning" forum! Do you practice any of these exercises you describe, or do you intend to? Steve

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Hi Gav, Thank you. You will really like volume 2, because I introduce fighting applications using the same ranges as the KB techniques presented. I am putting finishing touches on volume 2--art work, etc. It will be ready by the end of this month. Volume 3 will be out before springtime. Steve

http://www.fullkontact.com 

that WILL make you a muay thai fighter! There is a reason why MT is on the low end of longevity sports. The greatest Thai champion of all-time fought until the old age of 27 or 28. Most are out of the game by mid-20s. To do MT with any real intent, one must come to accept punishment and be willing to sacrifice optimal health. It's a real MA, no doubt. Have fun. 

Since you are thinking this through, I will answer your question with a question. Since the twisting action you describe deactivates the bicep, then it must simulataneously increase activation of the opposing muscles, right? In this case, the increased activation of the triceps assists with the pressing. Additionally, the spiraling quality of this press allows for a strong coordinate action throughout the body---from the ground, through the torso and into the hand. Pavel may have a different answer, and I look forward to hearing it. Steve 

Hi Makena, The bjj training is going great. I've been rolling almost every day--as much as my schedule allows. The more I train in the art the more I see similarities and not differences. As with all arts, and really all movement, it is all about the base. It's really nice to see it from a new (for me) angle. I love the art and it is a great art for training hard daily without injury, or at least, much easier to train at an intense level when not being punched and kicked in the head. This definitely satisfies the competitive bug for the time being. Thanks for asking--how is your training going? Steve 

WH, on the short clip that I watched, it did look to me that Ms. Resista was applying rooting to prevent being, 'uprooted'. Rooting is a concept associated most commonly with Tai Chi and is practiced through a combination of standing meditation, chi gong and push hands/free-hand sparring. Of course, rooting is not a proprietary skill, and any 'stylist' that understands leverage will have some degree of this same principle in action. The basic premise is to lower the center of mass. This is accomplished by a combination of extreme muscular relaxation and visualization. As Crust Bucket mentioned, probably visualizing roots growing into the ground. One analogy of how this can work would be to lift 2 random people of the same bodyweight and proportions. One is sober, the other is drunk. The drunk will be dead weight, and so very akward--like a big bag of fluid. The sober one will have surface rigidity and will be easy to leverage. A very simplified example, but the ability to make the body as if drunk, but still alert and supple, is a highly refiend skill of muscle control. Combined with certain simple techniques, it is also a very sophisticated MA skill. Even a small child, when taught to just fall to the ground, can be difficult to lift up. This heaviness combined with a very clear and powerful visual connection between the body and the ground would make someone very hard to budge. The term rooting, and why it is most associated with internal MA is described also by the difference between the oak and the willow. In a strong storm, the oak will be uprooted, because of its rigidity, while the willow will weather the storm by bending and yielidng to its force---supple is for the young and living, rigid is for the old and dead. 

upon closer inspection, it doesn't look entirely legit. There is no way to say without trying myself, but a few things draw suspicion: as Judobrian pointed out in the thread below, in the final lift it looks like she could be driving her heel/spike into his foot--cutting off the leverage (a great technique, but not rooting per se); and the lifter starts w/ his CofG high. also, while the lifters appear to use proper lifting form, the elbows are not really braced to the body for correct leverage finally, at one point she seems to shake her head as if inducing a trance state, which gives an element of being hokey to the performance. There's no doubt that the skill exists, but I can't say whether Resista is legit or not by watching the clip. 

There are some good fighters here. A few to mention: City Boxing--Dean Lister trains there, and some others. Lister is an Abu Dhabi champ. By all accounts, a bad man and master technician. Pacific Beach Fight Center-Rodrigo Medeiros--world champ and multiple Brazil champ in bjj. I started rolling with these guys and there are some excellent fighters that come there. Definitely the top spot if bjj is your thing. There is also some good Muay Thai in the Miramar area--Black Tiger. Ken Shamrock trains some fighters out here as well, in the Bonita area.  

following Petr's suggestion, apply a progressive resistance approach using ankle weights. Start with no more than 2lb on each leg. It may take several months to work up to 5 lb on each ankle. Or you may go with the Iron boots, such as the ones Atomic athletic carries. The keys are meticulous form (no leaning of the torso on your front kicks, etc) and to go very slow with the knee kept to maximal height on both extension and retraction of the kick. My kicks became exceptionally fast when I was doing that training regularly, such that I could drop folks with a lead leg hook kick in full contact training and competing. This rarely happens between two equally skilled fighters, as usually when a kick is thrown to the head of a good fighter, the kicker ends up on his head. I would set it up with a double leg takedown. If I got it, on the next engagment I would fake the double leg going deep, and then coming up over top with the lead heel.This will only work if it can be done from close range and quickly--a short hoook not a wide hook. That's what this style of kicking can build, assuming you also train against live targets). This style of training was a part of the tan tui method of gong fu which was famous for their kicking prowess--standing on one leg and using the lead leg to both defend and attack with punishing kicks. They also did an early form of weighted box jumps with up to 50lb per leg. Only instead of boxes, the student would dig a hole and jump out onto the ground. Every day another shovel would come out, and a bit more weight would be added. Like almost all gong fu styles, tan tui has essentially died out, or there are very few known proponents any longer. Steve

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