Improvement in MA from other sports

[Cthulhu]

Here's a question for all of ya:

What other sports do you think would benefit a martial artist?

For example, I think racquet/hand ball would be beneficial to the martial artist. It's a fast game, requiring the development of quick reflexes, good hand/eye coordination, and the ability to utilize openings as they occur. Also, it provides good physical conditioning (cardio and pulmonary) and helps you become quick and balanced on your feet. In my case, it also helped me take falls since I dove for a lot of balls, with painful results I once hit the wall so hard, I hurt my dang kidney. Owie.

Skateboarding (while maybe not technically an accepted sport) can develop balance and leg strength, as well as coordinating the hands with the feet.

Gymanistics provides flexibility, and all around phsyical development. Plus, even though some development quite a bit of muscle mass, none of it hinders their movements.

Any other ideas?

Cthulhu

 

[arnisador]

Originally posted by Cthulhu

What other sports do you think would benefit a martial artist?

I'll say this: Training with the bo in karate killed my ability to hit a baseball. I just don't swing like that anymore.

 

[Rob_Broad]

Golf helped my martial arts. It gave me %$*#@ patience.

 

[Wey]

I hope it isn't against the rules to bring back a "dead" topic, if so, please disregard.

From my personal experience, soccer has definitely helped my kicking power, as well as my footwork.

I'm interested as to what others say...

 

[FearlessFreep]

Swimming for overall body condition.
Running for cardio and leg strength

 

[tallgeese]

Just about any sport activity will, in some way, help your ma's. Each sport will bring it's own set of attributes that it builds to the table. Those improvements will, in turn, increase your physical capacities in the ma's.

It's just a matter of: a) finding another activity that you enjoy, and b) trying to select one that will build attributes that will help out your art.

Each art is so specific in it's requirements, that it's hard to say what's best to import. When in doubt however, running and resistance training of some sort are the "go to" for conditioning and what you gain from them seems to be pretty universal in application. Granted, they may not be "sport" but they are handy activities to be part of.

 

[Hawke]

Not exactly sports but I think the following would be helpful:

Ballet/Jazz/Hip Hop/Modern Dance.

Yoga.

 

[Stac3y]

Soccer. Though people look at you funny when you use a side kick on a waist-high ball, for some reason.

 

[Bruno@MT]

This thread has been dead for 8 years and now it's being bothered again. Let it rest in peace I say

 

[ATC]

Just about any sport activity will, in some way, help your ma's. Each sport will bring it's own set of attributes that it builds to the table. Those improvements will, in turn, increase your physical capacities in the ma's.

I agree with this. Any sport will only enhance every other sport. This is why cross training is so popular with most pro athletes. Many football players take up other sports to help enhance what it is they do on the football field. Many of them take up a martial art of some kind.

 

[still learning]

Hello, Read "Combat Conditioning by Matt Furey...good stuffs..

Tae Bo? ...dancing? ....beside sports...

Main thing is to do something...than read all the posts listed here?

like many of us....sitting and standing walking to the refrig and back and sitting...and so on....

Aloha, ...nice thing is we got powerful finger keys...

 

[Nomad]

I agree with this. Any sport will only enhance every other sport. This is why cross training is so popular with most pro athletes. Many football players take up other sports to help enhance what it is they do on the football field. Many of them take up a martial art of some kind.

Actually, I have to respectfully disagree on this one. I think that some sports can work to develop muscles or movements that are counter to what you're trying to develop in martial arts.

One example of this would be jogging. While it can be argued that jogging as cross-training will increase your endurance and help with your overall physical shape, several people have noted that it slowed them down during sparring, where they need to develop explosive power rather than long-term endurance. A better way to train for sparring endurance would be wind-sprints.

While any sport will help you get in better shape, there are specific sports which act as a natural complement to develop specific areas of your martial art, and others may cause you to lose ground on what you're attempting to develop.

Yes, most athletes cross-train. But most of them do so with a specific plan in mind, where their cross-training activity will help develop specific characteristics in their prime sport (eg. basketball could help with explosive movement, quick footwork, and jumping).

 

[Steve]

Actually, I have to respectfully disagree on this one. I think that some sports can work to develop muscles or movements that are counter to what you're trying to develop in martial arts.

One example of this would be jogging. While it can be argued that jogging as cross-training will increase your endurance and help with your overall physical shape, several people have noted that it slowed them down during sparring, where they need to develop explosive power rather than long-term endurance. A better way to train for sparring endurance would be wind-sprints.

While any sport will help you get in better shape, there are specific sports which act as a natural complement to develop specific areas of your martial art, and others may cause you to lose ground on what you're attempting to develop.

Yes, most athletes cross-train. But most of them do so with a specific plan in mind, where their cross-training activity will help develop specific characteristics in their prime sport (eg. basketball could help with explosive movement, quick footwork, and jumping).

There's value in both. A commonly used metaphor for cardio is the gas tank. Jogging and such encourages the body to use the gas more efficiently. Wind sprints and such will encourage the body to increase the size of the gas tank.

Anyways... regarding sports for MA, I've always thought that surfing/skiing, stuff like that... good for balance.

 

[ATC]

Actually, I have to respectfully disagree on this one. I think that some sports can work to develop muscles or movements that are counter to what you're trying to develop in martial arts.

One example of this would be jogging. While it can be argued that jogging as cross-training will increase your endurance and help with your overall physical shape, several people have noted that it slowed them down during sparring, where they need to develop explosive power rather than long-term endurance. A better way to train for sparring endurance would be wind-sprints.

While any sport will help you get in better shape, there are specific sports which act as a natural complement to develop specific areas of your martial art, and others may cause you to lose ground on what you're attempting to develop.

Yes, most athletes cross-train. But most of them do so with a specific plan in mind, where their cross-training activity will help develop specific characteristics in their prime sport (eg. basketball could help with explosive movement, quick footwork, and jumping).

Not sure why you would disagree and then qualify what I stated at the same time.

If anyone is just jogging and expects that to help them with their sparring but is doing nothing else other than the jogging then I would expect them to get worst at sparring. You need to use the other sport in conjunction with your specific training not in place of it.

There is no way jogging would hamper my sparring if I am still training for sparring as well. It can only help. However slight, it would still help. Yes wind sprints would be more specific to helping my explosiveness in sparring, but that would also be a specific drill that I would incorporate into my training for sparring anyway. However endurance is also needed as you are not only sparring for 10 seconds.

Also the wind sprint is a drill used to enhance your sport and not a specific sport at all. Even sprinter use wind sprints as a training drill.

If you do nothing for your MA training but another sport, then you are not cross training you are only performing that other sport or activity. What you state at the end of you comment makes more sense and is in alignment with what I stated.

You will only lose ground in your specific sport is you fail to train in the sport at all. Any other activity can only enhance what it is you do not hinder it.

Even the person that stated that his baseball swing got worse after practicing with the Bo would not have had this happen if he continued to practice his baseball swing also. The Bo training would have only enhanced his swing as his forearms would have become stronger giving him more power in his swing.

Again, only neglecting your own sport or activity will make or lead to degradation of said sport or activity.

 

[ATC]

There's value in both. A commonly used metaphor for cardio is the gas tank. Jogging and such encourages the body to use the gas more efficiently. Wind sprints and such will encourage the body to increase the size of the gas tank.

Anyways... regarding sports for MA, I've always thought that surfing/skiing, stuff like that... good for balance.

See, you get it.:asian:

 

[terryl965]

I tend to take my class to the ice skating rink once a month for some good old fashion fun. It helps them with balence and seeing them do there kick while on the ice is a blast.

 

[Nomad]

I was disagreeing with the statement that any sport will only enhance any other sport. I believe there are sports wherein the skills learned are effectively orthogonal to one another, and which may even act at cross-purposes. If you're wanting to be a faster runner, Olympic diving is unlikely to help. If you're wanting to be a better boxer, spending time perfecting your high-jump isn't likely to transfer. The skills just aren't particularly complementary.

For me, the goal of cross training is to improve your core sport (martial arts in my case). It would be an inefficient use of my time to do a sport that didn't have a direct effect on some aspect of my martial arts... after all, time doing the "cross-training" is time you're NOT spending on your core activity.

I am certain that most professional athletes choose their cross-training activities very carefully with an eye towards directly-transferable skills and improvements in their core sports, and as martial artists I think we'd be wise to do likewise.

That said, many sports do complement martial arts very well. A few that I'd highly recommend which have direct transferable skills are things like weight training, gymnastics, yoga, etc.

 

[Steve]

That said, many sports do complement martial arts very well. A few that I'd highly recommend which have direct transferable skills are things like weight training, gymnastics, yoga, etc.

On a tangent, should we define sport? I wouldn't think of either weight training or yoga as sports.

 

[ATC]

I was disagreeing with the statement that any sport will only enhance any other sport. I believe there are sports wherein the skills learned are effectively orthogonal to one another, and which may even act at cross-purposes. If you're wanting to be a faster runner, Olympic diving is unlikely to help. If you're wanting to be a better boxer, spending time perfecting your high-jump isn't likely to transfer. The skills just aren't particularly complementary.

For me, the goal of cross training is to improve your core sport (martial arts in my case). It would be an inefficient use of my time to do a sport that didn't have a direct effect on some aspect of my martial arts... after all, time doing the "cross-training" is time you're NOT spending on your core activity.

I am certain that most professional athletes choose their cross-training activities very carefully with an eye towards directly-transferable skills and improvements in their core sports, and as martial artists I think we'd be wise to do likewise.

That said, many sports do complement martial arts very well. A few that I'd highly recommend which have direct transferable skills are things like weight training, gymnastics, yoga, etc.

First, I do not think anyone is saying that any said sport is replacing any training for any other said sport. I think the topic is simply - does any other sports or activity help with MA training. I stated that yes any activity or sport can help with any other sport or activity, regardless of the purpose of doing either.

Now I will use your example as proof for my argument.

If Olympic diving is something that you happen to do or even train for exclusively it will help with your running faster. As an Olympic diver you need to have a strong core and legs. These same things are needed to be a faster or better runner. So many drills used and needed to be a good diver would also translate into running. Just the simple fact that you need to have strong legs to jump higher would directly translate into helping you run faster. If you took a person that did not running nor diving and timed said person in a run of choice and then trained in Olympic diving only, I would bet dimes to dollars that said persons run time after only training for Olympic diving would better, thus proving that one activity helped the other, regardless if it was intended or not.

A boxer that trained in the high jump would benefit greatly in explosive power as simple jumps and jumping is a drill that all boxers do to develop explosiveness. These drills are called Plyometrics and every sport can benefit from them. Jumping is one of the best exercises you can do to develop speed and power in all movements. If you were training to be a high jumper and were a boxer your boxing would benefit greatly.

There is no activity that you could think of if you did in conjunction with another that would hinder such other activity or sport. None!

Movement is movement and the better you can move in any direction regardless of the reason is only a benefit to all that you do, whether or not you intend for it or not.

Now what all that said, again no one is saying that if you are a boxer that you need to train as if a jumper or a runner. However if you happen to be a martial artist and you also play some other sport or enjoy another physical activity, that said activity would have some benefit to your MA training, regardless of why you do the other activity.

 

[Nomad]

On a tangent, should we define sport? I wouldn't think of either weight training or yoga as sports.

Well, if we're going to go there, then I'll use George Carlin's definitions... There are only 3 sports; baseball, basketball, and football. Everything else is either a game or an activity.

Swimming. Swimming isn't a sport. Swimming is a way to keep from drowning.

For the full read, click here

My apologies for using the terms interchangably in this thread.