Advices in increasing cardio conditioning for sparring?

[sopraisso]

Hello everyone!
First I'd like to tell you that last Saturday was my 3rd to 2nd gup exam, that I believe I did well (I still don't have the results, but I don't think my KJN would allow me to do the exam if he didn't think I was ready). The point is... in a certain part of the exam I had to... spar.

It's been some months since I've had sparring sessions (I rarely do it) and... after 2min (when we were asked to finish, gracefully) I was totally exhausted. The exam was being quite tiring, but my partner wasn't that tired (anyway he is much younger, and that should've influenced). While it's not the main concern in my training, I still care about being able to spar, and it was so bad I realize couldn't stand very longer in my exam. So I've been thinking about trying to develop my conditioning so I could stand up longer. I've been thinking about going out for running, besides showing up regularly at the dojang, but I'm not sure if it's a usuful way to increase my cardio. I see sparing effort is some kind of explosive one, and maybe the constant effort of running wouldn't help me (by the way, I can even run half an hour without being nearly as tired as sparring 5min). I don't know if it's important to say, but I'm 28, so I'm relatively young, but I sometimes already feel the younger guys are having some advantage already. But I have great force of will!

So do you have any advice to help me get better physical conditioning for sparring sessions, like what kind of exercise I should to or even particular breathing tips?
Thanks in advance.

 

[puunui]

So do you have any advice to help me get better physical conditioning for sparring sessions, like what kind of exercise I should to or even particular breathing tips?

Go run. I would advise doing sprints instead of jogging, but jogging is good too if you are getting that winded.

 

[seasoned]

I'm sorry to point to the obvious but it has always worked for me and I advocate it. Sparring builds sparring endurance.
Also the above advice of sprints because of the slow and fast nature of sparring.

 

[oaktree]

I personally do cardio circuits. I will shadow box for about 2 minutes, sprint for 2 minutes and jump rope for 1 minute.
Next round will be 1 minute of leaps, 1 minute shuffling, 1 minute jump rope, 1 minute jump rope, 1 minute boxing, 1 minute sprint.
Repeat or mix up things. Sprinting or running your body gets use to it but constantly changing up your routine boosts your endurance.

Look at investing a jump rope, a step box and some good running shoes.

 

[Earl Weiss]

Run. Try IInterval training. Jog 200 yards and sprint 50 yards. Repeat.

Start your sessions with 1/4 mile 3 x a week. Increase distance 20% a week. In 4 weeks you will be at half a mile. 8 weeks a mile, 12 weeks 2 miles. 16 weeks 4.6 miles.

 

[Cyriacus]

Jogging/Running, and Shadow Sparring.
The Jogging will increase Cardiovascular Endurance one way or another, Shadow Sparring will get You used to keeping it up whilst Striking.

 

[Carol]

Agree with all the advice here. Personally though...I have seen better cardio gains from swimming than I have from any other kind of training. Understandably...this can mean an extra expense, and extra scheduling apart from martial arts...but if there is a way you can reasonably work it in, I bet you would be very happy with the results

 

[ralphmcpherson]

I am a big advocate of running. I run 40-50 klm a week every week and have no cardio problems at all during sparring. As others have said, interval training is also good. I hate interval training but love jogging so I just stick to that and it works a treat.

 

[andyjeffries]

One thing I'm surprised hasn't been mentioned in the replies is to ensure you're breathing correctly.

Too many people when doing Taekwondo hold their breath during the exertion portion (and during sparring that can be 2 or 3 kicks).

Your body needs a regular supply of oxygen to operate efficiently, even though sparring is fairly anaerobic, you will find yourself feeling a lot worse if you aren't breathing.

One thing I tell students who are having an issue with this is to switch to shouting on every kick for a while. Doing so forces them to exhale which in turn forces them to inhale.

Of course it may be that your cardio is just poor, in which case I agree with the others - sprints/jog/sprint/jog, etc.

However, even when jogging/running concentrate on your breathing. I used to find a four-four rhythm worked best for me (exhale over four steps, inhale over four steps), but either way it has to be a conscious thing in the beginning or you'll find yourself taking too shallow breaths and getting winded.

There are schools of thought that breathing in through the nose and out through the mouth is best (reasons differ between moistening the air on the way in to building up back pressure as it's harder to get air in), but just breathing will help ;-)

 

[ralphmcpherson]

One thing I'm surprised hasn't been mentioned in the replies is to ensure you're breathing correctly.

Too many people when doing Taekwondo hold their breath during the exertion portion (and during sparring that can be 2 or 3 kicks).

Your body needs a regular supply of oxygen to operate efficiently, even though sparring is fairly anaerobic, you will find yourself feeling a lot worse if you aren't breathing.

One thing I tell students who are having an issue with this is to switch to shouting on every kick for a while. Doing so forces them to exhale which in turn forces them to inhale.

Of course it may be that your cardio is just poor, in which case I agree with the others - sprints/jog/sprint/jog, etc.

However, even when jogging/running concentrate on your breathing. I used to find a four-four rhythm worked best for me (exhale over four steps, inhale over four steps), but either way it has to be a conscious thing in the beginning or you'll find yourself taking too shallow breaths and getting winded.

There are schools of thought that breathing in through the nose and out through the mouth is best (reasons differ between moistening the air on the way in to building up back pressure as it's harder to get air in), but just breathing will help ;-)

Very good point Andy. I suffered from not breathing whilst sparring years ago and I thought I needed some cardio fitness while all along the actual problem was lack of breathing during sparring.

 

[mastercole]

This is from the 1995 version of the Taekwondo Textbook by Kukkiwon. These four pages are a sampling from their section on general training for Shihap Kyorugi (sparring). Always consult your physician and other professionals as need before starting any type of training programs, especially this one!

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[RobinTKD]

Interval training ie sprint/jog/sprint/jog.
800m training is good as well, they don't call it the man killer for no reason.
Heavy resistance training, ie really heavy weights, low reps, lift explosively but with good technique.
Good shadow sparring, making sure that you use good strong technique.

I'd also say, don't ride a bike unless you have brilliant flexibility, it builds up the muscles on the inside of the leg which prevent good flexibility. The same can be said of running, so make sure you are stretching well before and after your runs.

 

[Gemini]

Sparring builds sparring endurance.

Great advise. Circuit sparring is great for endurance, which you can vary the intervals. I.e. for warm ups, we do a series of 20 second (go as fast as you can) rounds with 5 second rests. Most of the class involves 2 then 3 minute rounds with 1 minute rest.

One thing I'm surprised hasn't been mentioned in the replies is to ensure you're breathing correctly.

This is another key point. All the cardio in the world will not help you if you can't control your breathing. At the same time, even if your cardio is not where you want it, you can survive in deep water if your capable of exhibiting control.

Interval training ie sprint/jog/sprint/jog.
800m training is good as well, they don't call it the man killer for no reason.
Heavy resistance training, ie really heavy weights, low reps, lift explosively but with good technique.
Good shadow sparring, making sure that you use good strong technique.

I'd also say, don't ride a bike unless you have brilliant flexibility, it builds up the muscles on the inside of the leg which prevent good flexibility. The same can be said of running, so make sure you are stretching well before and after your runs.

Though I agree with most of this, I have to disagree about the biking. Being an avid cyclist, riding is my main source of cardio training, while I've never experienced an impact to flexibility. The reason being, I ensure I stay toned for both. I do agree that proper warm up/down & stretching is important for every activity.

 

[RobinTKD]

Though I agree with most of this, I have to disagree about the biking. Being an avid cyclist, riding is my main source of cardio training, while I've never experienced an impact to flexibility. The reason being, I ensure I stay toned for both. I do agree that proper warm up/down & stretching is important for every activity.

Did you already have good flexibility before you started cycling? I'm interested in your reply because I've neglected my bike for quite some time, and my I'm currently hammering the flexibility training at the minute.

 

[BoA36]

In addition to the other points here, whatever cardio training you choose, do it with your mouthguard! Breathing with that in your mouth is significantly different and you need to get used to it.

 

[Gemini]

Did you already have good flexibility before you started cycling? I'm interested in your reply because I've neglected my bike for quite some time, and my I'm currently hammering the flexibility training at the minute.

First, I would suggest not to "hammer" anything. Over stretching can cause your muscles to go into "protection mode" and make you less flexible than when you started. Incorporate appropriate flexibility exercises into your daily routine and be patient (lots of excellent threads on this). My point was, my flexibility has not diminished at all since I began cycling (which was years after I began MA). It's like telling a martial artist to stay out of the weight room because they'll bulk up and loose dexterity. To make that statement would be an over generalization. That would only be true if you allow it to be true, but it's easy to do both if you understand what exercises affect what muscles and how. Get back on your bike. You can do both as long as you train to do both.

 

[RobinTKD]

All I mean is that flexibility is where my focus is at the minute, I know how to do it without causing damage to myself

The weights analogy is a good one, as it's so common for people to believe it.

 

[Gemini]

All I mean is that flexibility is where my focus is at the minute, I know how to do it without causing damage to myself

Good to know. I thought that might be the case, but I have no idea who may read this in the future. It's a common problem for people that are out of shape and one day decide to "get fit" and over due it. Sorry if I sounded "preachy".

 

[mastercole]

Read this thread makes me think this advise quote;

"If I wanted to become a tramp, I would seek information and advice from the most successful tramp I could find. If I wanted to be a failure, I would seek advice from men who never succeeded. If I wanted to succeed in all things, I would look around me for those who are succeeding, and do as they do." --Joseph H. Wade

 

[puunui]

I'd also say, don't ride a bike unless you have brilliant flexibility, it builds up the muscles on the inside of the leg which prevent good flexibility. The same can be said of running, so make sure you are stretching well before and after your runs.

I don't know why it is, but for some reason those who have run or ridden a bike on a regular basis prior to beginning martial arts training invariably have the most issues with flexibility. I think that it has something to do with the limited range of motion that these activities put you through, plus bikers and runners for the most part do not concentrate nearly enough on maintaining their flexibility. Putting your foot up on a telephone pole for ten seconds before you run doesn't cut it.