Relaxation and Speed

[Jeff Harvey]

I'm a purple belt training for my blue, and I've been having some trouble building relaxation and speed; I realize these things come with time, but I was wondering if there are any useful exercises to help me along.

 

[thardey]

Speed is definitely something to keep in mind, and something you do have to train for -- that is, it's not something that just "happens" if you do the other exercises.

However, relaxation and speed are the results of many other things put together. Speed is more about efficiency of motion that anything else, so the more you focus on improving things that save energy, the faster you will be. At your level, you would probably be better off to focus on what's in your curriculum, keeping relaxation and efficiency in the back of your mind, and not worry so much about speed itself just yet.

It's good that you recognize the relationship between speed and relaxation: if you are tense, some muscles will be working against the direction you're trying to move. However, relaxation comes with confidence, and that can only really be built over time, especially when performing katas, or sparring.

Other things that will channel energy in the right direction are:

Balance! Not just for kicks, balance determines how much of your body weight gets behind your strikes. If your balance is on your heels, you won't be able to throw a forward punch quickly. It also is critical to being able to use all of your muscles in the proper order. If you're off-balance, you won't be able to efficiently get that coveted "hip snap" that drives pretty much all of karate.

Timing: Ever jumped ahead in the instructions of a particular project, then lost a lot of time having to go back and start over from the part you skipped? Throwing a punch is the same way. If you don't coordinate between your hand and body, you will be forced to do unnatural things to finish the punch, some of which work at odds with what you are trying to do. Any instructor worth his salt will be able to show you how to throw a punch with proper timing. It really can't be taught by text alone. (Or even videotape, I believe).

Footwork: Hand-in-hand with both balance and timing, you've gotta have a good foundation to back up what you're trying to accomplish. Not always a deep, strong stance, but an appropriate stance for what you're doing. Generally, in my dojo, the balls of your feet should be about as wide as the inside of your shoulders, when facing the mirror - in either front or back stance. Too narrow, and you'll find yourself getting twisted up, too wide, and you won't be able to generate power while moving. Remember, the lower the center of gravity, the stronger you are, the higher the center of gravity, that faster you'll be able to move. Don't step down hard, but be soft, any extra noise you make is a sign that there's wasted energy being sent down into the floor, not into your target.


Train slow, train right, train for efficiency. How does that saying go? Slow is smooth, smooth is fast. If you try to force yourself to be fast now, you'll be a little faster, but you'll never be very fast. If you learn the basics first, you'll become faster that you thought possible.

 

[Kacey]

Thardey has posted an extremely well-rounded response; the only thing I would add is that speed comes from relaxation, and relaxation comes from practice - the hardest thing to do is to relax on command in a stressful situation of any type - and the one thing that many people forget when they try to consciously relax is that they need to breathe.

One way to increase speed (once you've mastered relaxing) is to breathe faster; your timing will follow your breathing, so if you can control your breathing you will have better control over your timing. This, again, is a practice effect.

 

[KenpoDave]

Muscles can do one thing, contract. They do so for the purpose of pulling or protecting.

To extend your arm (punch) the triceps group is contracting. To punch with full speed and power, the triceps group must do so explosively.

During this movement, the biceps group must be able to "explosively relax" with the contraction of the triceps, otherwise, your movement fights itself.

Pavel Tsatsoulive at Dragon Door Publications has developed a group of exercises on his "Fast and Loose" program that are unparelleled in teaching your body how to do that.

There are some subtle lessons to be found in the more traditional karate katas (kipon and pinan series) that address this if you know what you are looking for. Think collapsing the forward knee to facilitate forward movement. There are also some great lessons to be found in Joe Lewis' material.

But there is nothing subtle in the "Fast and Loose" and just watching it once will help you understand the other lessons I mentioned.

 

[kidswarrior]

Some good responses here, and I won't state the obvious be merely rewording them. But I did just come across this quote this AM from Bill Burgar, which I'm sure he wouldn't mind us referring to given that it gives his work exposure : Heavy-handed striking can only be accomplished by proper relaxation of antagonistic muscle groups so that the full power of the active groups are transmitted to the target.

 

[KenpoDave]

Some good responses here, and I won't state the obvious be merely rewording them. But I did just come across this quote this AM from Bill Burgar, which I'm sure he wouldn't mind us referring to given that it gives his work exposure : Heavy-handed striking can only be accomplished by proper relaxation of antagonistic muscle groups so that the full power of the active groups are transmitted to the target.

I certainly agree with that.

 

[IWishToLearn]

My understanding is that "speed" is actually a misnomer. Speed is the result of properly executed fundamentals and is a natural development of correct application of principles and fundamentals. The hands can move faster than the feet, but will only be as effectively quick as the feet can move.

Also - there are times that energy directed into the floor will result in a significantly stronger application of force and increased speed. See Doc for explanation of the PAM concept - cause I'll butcher it.

 

[Kennedy_Shogen_Ryu]

All excellent and informed replies (as they always are) I find, especially with new students, that a lot of problems with relaxation come from improper breathing technique. The more in tune your breathing is with your technique the more relaxed your technique will be.

 

[KenpoDave]

My understanding is that "speed" is actually a misnomer. Speed is the result of properly executed fundamentals and is a natural development of correct application of principles and fundamentals. The hands can move faster than the feet, but will only be as effectively quick as the feet can move.

Also - there are times that energy directed into the floor will result in a significantly stronger application of force and increased speed. See Doc for explanation of the PAM concept - cause I'll butcher it.

"Quick" and "fast" are different.

 

[marlon]

focus on being relaxed and accurate, speed will come later. Ed. Parker jr. said something brilliant: "if you can't do it slow, then you can't do it" add in relaxed to that. if you need to slow down in order to be relaxed then do so. once you are relaxed and accurate and have your stances and transitions down, ( which are the things that will make your kenpo work,...speed is easy.

respectfully,
Marlon

 

[distalero]

Speed, a conscious perception (and as such is automatically a little constipated and less "speedy", than it could be), is SUPPORTED by relaxation. Relaxation itself can be perceived at the time of movement, so I would suggest that it's still not quite right. What about unconscious motion? Just fast enough, just accurate enough, and the most appropriate in the situation.

Do we train to think about a response, watch our response, even strategize our response? It's taught that way because you have to start somewhere, but I would suggest that the person who trains to imprint, so that the movement becomes light and relaxed (and is proper to human physiology, to give SL4 it's nod) still has one more door to go through.

 

[rabbit]

My Instructor (Almost a Master) says flexibility is important to speed. So does Sang H. Kim, he wrote a book called Ultimate Flexibility. He says the number one goal for static strech is to relax the muscle. I think many people think static streching (like being able to do the splits) will help them have a greater range of motion to kick high. Thats not the idea of static stretching. What you need for high kicks is functional flexibility. Which you get from doing the actual kick. This Improves a lot of aspects of the kick. (Speed, Muscle memory, technique, feel of movement) Relaxing helps you from being rigid. Which lets you work on technique correctly which lets your nervous system get more used to the technique.

If you didn't get anything out of what I wrote above just remember these few rules:

1.Do static stretching to learn how to relax
2.Work on technique to get a better feel for the technique.
3.Don't let your stress level get to high. Keep yourself mentally under control.

Hope that helps

 

[jmoree]

My first Art I trained in was a real 'hard hitter' type of martial art. Everything was supposed to be tense and hitting as hard as you can. That's fine for someone younger but when it comes to just muscle mass strength, an 80 y/o probably isn't going to be able to hit as hard as someone in say their 20's.

It wasn't until later I realized that relaxation is a huge contributor to speed and power.

Looks like all the responses are hitting the nail on the head quite nicely.

Two things I've done in my training and in teaching:
1) When working and finding someone or yourself tense, simply stop for a min and do a few lower breathing exercises.
2) If that doesn't work, use weights to moderately fatigue the arms/body by -for example- running kata or dills with the weights in hands SLOWLY. Then you do not have much choice but to relax once you/they are a bit fatigue.

But as it's been already said and like everything else practice, practice, practice and eventually it comes w/out thinking about it.

Cheers,
Josh

 

[Dr John M La Tourrette]

1. Honestly, I don't see how building muscle mass could make you faster or slower.

2. From my neck of the woods, speed in your strikes comes from relaxation of the weapon (arm, leg, whatever) in movement. If that is the case, how could muscle mass have any bearing on my speed? I mean, if my arm is relaxed upon firing it toward it's intended target, regardless of how much mass (muscular strength) I have, the mere fact I've relaxed the arm takes the muscle out of the equation, right? Who knows. I'm certainly not an expert on the matter. Just a victim of my own experiences.

Relaxation for Speed Enhancement!
For point 1, I do suggest you re-read the posts on this thread. One (actually several) gentleman gave great advice of the type of weight training that will enhance speed and skill performance.

The WRONG TYPE of weight training will slow you down. Re-read their instructions please. They are good instructions.

The tests have been done, and the evidence is in. There is even substantial evidence that proper weight training will enhance "fast-twitch" muscle fiber, which used to be thought of as not possible.

Now on to Point 2. Everyone says that about relaxation but normally do NOT have a clue to what they are really saying or not saying.

Now I will NOT be talking down to you but I will give some of the particulars, because they are important for you to really understand what is meant by relaxation.

Relaxation is commonly thought of as absence of all tension, a state of “letting go.”

But relaxation in action is a DIFFERENT phenomenon.

You want to be relaxed when you’re moving. Otherwise, your brakes are on, and you’re getting in your own way. But, in order to have a fluid motion, you have to have an amount of stability that enables you to move in a smooth way, uninterrupted by excessive muscular contractions, yet retaining your coordination. You can feel that everything is firmly drawn together, and yet relaxed at the same time.

When it comes to motion, being relaxed does NOT mean being sloppy.
Before training, when you tense one part of the body, the tension spreads through the entire body. But with practice, you learn to relax the tension where it isn’t needed.

And then there is response time.

The best assistance you can give yourself in cutting down your response time is learning to do Kenpo relaxed with the relaxation/contraction cycle. Dropping that inch or so from the ready position and moving toward the opponent can be done a good deal faster with relaxed muscles than it can be done with rigid ones.

It’s NOT the force of contractions that limits speed of movement; it’s the swiftness with which muscles can lengthen following the contractions. If the muscles are tense, they’ll lengthen slowly; if relaxed, swiftly.

The way I learned how to relax (I am NOT bragging but giving a reference for validity) and to never have tension was I took up meditation/self-hypnosis (Silva Method which uses as one of its mind bridging methods “progressive relaxation&#8221. And I took up the SM not for speed but to help someone that was ill. I did notice that I needed to learn how to relax mentally and physically before the method worked the way it was supposed to work.

Then my karate began to change. Instead of being uptight and tense when I competed I became more whole and open and when I moved no one could figure out how I did it.

Because of the daily meditation/self-hypnosis I had learned how to move from a static state of relaxation, a feeling of just-right and oneness with the universe (also called “being mentally centered&#8221 into a dynamic state of multiple hits in one second. And by putting that on video and writing a book about it I became known world wide as “The Speedman”. Which was/still is interesting, eight-teen years later.

I refined that Speed Hitting method and taught it to my clients. At its heart is the same method used in Eastern disciplines to release the state of tension in the neuro-muscular system. That method focuses the mind in such a way as to exclude antagonistic concerns.

Enough for this post.

©Dr. John M. La Tourrette

 

[ChadWarner]

I think training for speed is not a very good idea. Without timing, accuracy, power and (depending on circumstance) structural alignment, speed may not do much for you. I do reccomend using a speed bag though... because it works accuracy, timing and relaxation. You have to relax otherwise you will not last very long because the muscles tire from constant contraction as in holding your hands up, you have to learn how to let them "hang" while in the guard position.

It is much wiser to study pin point accuracy and angle of execution... also much more difficult and less fun unless your instructor is very good at it and knows how to challenge you in such a way to keep your interest. Optimum angles (attack and retraction) and exact targets lead to efficiency. You become fast because you are efficient. It is also easier to move fast when you are efficient because the effort expended is much less.

Power you can train for and enhance and adjust using alignment mechanisims, mush easier to see results and alter one way or another.

Relaxation: is a requirement to a happy life as well. Meditation comes in 2 forms. Static or mobile. Mobile is best exemplified by slow movement as in a form. It can also be done by throwing a reverse punch one thousand times slowly into a heavy bag or even the air. There is a breakthrough point and you will know when you hit it... it is obvious and will have an immediate effect on the way you do your martial material. Static is all inside your head- For me I seek the "bright light". It is a particular technique I learned a long time ago and can get it quickly. This may be important for someone in the discovery process of these elements... I do the bright light thing for maintenence and that is what I use static meditation for. I would not say one way or another which is better or to eliminate either, only that they exist and the smarter martial artist will utilize both in some way.

 

[Wanderer]

Thank you Doc LaTourrette, that’s going in my notebook!

Originally Posted by ChadWarner

I think training for speed is not a very good idea. Without timing, accuracy, power and (depending on circumstance) structural alignment, speed may not do much for you.

Actually, any one of those things won’t do much good without the others.

On the other hand, I found it neat that you recommended training several of the aspects of effective speed later in your post. The things that make you fast because you’re not ‘trying’ so hard to be ‘fast.’

Sincerely,
Anthony

 

[Dr John M La Tourrette]

... I do reccomend using a speed bag though... because it works accuracy, timing and relaxation. You have to relax otherwise you will not last very long because the muscles tire from constant contraction as in holding your hands up, you have to learn how to let them "hang" while in the guard position.

I did like this part of your post, but you did not mention one of the prime reasons to do speed bag work.

That is the "feel" of hitting something.

That is the "feel" of knowing the proper hand distance through experience.

That is the "feel" of knowing the proper target penetration through experience.

That is the set-up hitting combinations so you "feel" the "relaxation, contraction" cycle so you can do sets of 1,000 hits (or more) because you NEVER become tired because of the alternative switching hands on and off.

So you are setting up a kinesthetic field of "see/feel", so those components of "martial arts awareness" are hooked together by training.

A very wise thing for any martial artists to do.

Dr. John M. La Tourrette

 

[tellner]

If you are not relaxed you will either have antagonistic muscles working against each other which will fight both speed and power or you will have to take the time to relax one set which will work against speed. It might be best to relax everything that doesn't need to be tense and then relax it again as soon as the need has passed.

 

[LawDog]

Being relaxed is only part of the requirement needed to create explosive impacts. the others are,
A) acceleration into the desired point of impact,
B) being in all of the power curves upon impact.

Smooth, flowing Jujitsu / Judo techniques use these as well.
:supcool: