Martial Arts for Athletic Conditioning

The aim of an athletic conditioning program is to develop muscular strength, heart-lung fitness, and flexibility. The Western approach is to treat these three major components of fitness as separate, with dedicated activities for each. In martial arts training, however, players train in the three components of fitness while performing a single integrated set of techniques. As players proceed in their chosen art, their overall fitness improves as a natural consequence of performing the techniques correctly. These not only develop strength, stamina, and flexibility but also the skills of balance, speed, and coordination. Unlike weight-training or running, students of the martial arts always have something new to learn. Even for the most dedicated of practitioners, a single lifetime is not enough to learn all the styles and skills the martial arts can teach. Using techniques from the arts of karate, shaolin lohan, t'ai chi, judo, aikido, and jujitsu, this book reveals the secrets of martial arts training for athletic conditioning.