martial-art-supplies | martial arts movie: We hope that this ending of our article on west-coast-martial-arts proves to be a beginning to your interest in west-coast-martial-arts! Now get down to learning more about west-coast-martial-arts!<BR>

Another Great west-coast-martial-arts Article
Flexibility And Strength In Martial Arts

Flexibility is the range of movement that you have in your joints. Some say that this definition should only apply if there is no exterior help to move the joint, but this is not correct. If your joints have a greater degree of movement when aided by an external force, then that degree of movement defines the flexibility.

Hence, if you strengthen you muscles, and these act as the external force, then the flexibility of your joints will allow a greater range of movement than were your muscles unable to exert that degree of force.

To put it simply, if you have a great degree of flexibility in your joints, then the stronger you are, the more you will be able to put that flexibility to use in the range of movement you have at your disposal. It goes without saying that the more flexibility you have in a martial art the better.

However, people do not have the same range of flexibility throughout their bodies. Even more specifically, flexibility in one range or direction of motion at a specific joint does not imply flexibility in another. Hence that fact that you have complete ability to complete perfect front splits does not infer that you have the same control over side splits, even though it is the same hip joint that is involved. The two are not connected. A suitable flexibility exercise program, therefore, should be designed to provide good flexibility in all joints in all directions of movement, relevant to the martial art studied.

Flexibility training should be carried out in conjunction with strength training in order that the range of flexibility achieved can be used to its full potential by the muscles that move the bones in the joints. There is no truth in the belief that you must trade flexibility and strength. Supreme strength simply means supreme use of the flexibility gained through training.

However there is more than this in a martial art. Tension and relaxation are of supreme importance. Tension is equated with power and strength while relaxation is equated with speed and flexibility. Russian Cossacks used to train with their sabres by standing waist deep in water and slicing into the water with their blades. As they became weary they would learn to relax on the downstroke and tense and use their power on at the moment of strike.

The results were incredible and awesome. A Cossack could slice a man from shoulder down to saddle with one strike with only a light sabre. All due to using relaxation and power at the correct times. This can be simulated by using a large rubber eraser. About three inches by an inch square is about right. Hold it in the fist and explosively compress it. Do this using your core power. Compress hard with maximum explosion, just as if you were punching. Then relax just as quickly. Repeat this during the day ? explosive compression and quick relaxation. Eventually you be able to carry out this rapid-fire tight-loose-tight sequence without thought.

This is a relaxation technique, but cannot replace the experience of the fight since fear of being hit cannot help tighten you up. However, if you do this for a few hours every day (easier than you think since the eraser can be carried in your pocket) you will find that you can relax your fist until the moment of the strike when you require maximum power.

Whether in boxing or karate, this will improve your performance and strength. Combine this with your flexibility training and you will be on the first rung of achieving greatness in karate or any other explosive martial art. Russian training methods help you to develop this total control over relaxation and explosive power in the use of your strength and flexibility.

About the Author:

Peter is an industrial chemist with an interest in strength training, and the interaction of strength and flexibility in martial arts. More information is available on his webpage Russian Power: Flexibility

Recommended west-coast-martial-arts Items
Legend of the Red Dragon

Legend of the Red Dragon
A distraught warrior (the charismatic Jet Li) forces his toddler son to choose between a sword and a wooden horse. If he chooses the sword, together they will fight the corrupt government that killed their family; if he chooses the horse, the warrior will send him to join his mother--in hell. Thus begins The New Legend of Shaolin, a wild Hong Kong fantasy. Though the opening sounds grim, the movie shifts ahead seven years and becomes increasingly comic as its plot unfolds. The story centers around a map tattooed on the backs of five boys; it leads to treasure from the Ming dynasty that a heroic sect hopes to use to reestablish the Shaolin temple, which the government destroyed. Meanwhile, Li is forced by poverty to become the bodyguard of a blowhard merchant, who doesn't realize that his bride-to-be is part of a mother-daughter team of notorious thieves. Meanwhile, a villain deformed by a poison that gives him invincible powers is hunting down the five boys, one of whom is the merchant's son... As is usually the case with Hong Kong cinema, the filmmakers have crammed in enough stuff to fill several ordinary movies. The exaggerated stoic conversations between Li and his 7-year-old son, both of them stone-faced and painfully serious, are extremely funny, as are the bizarre bits when the bride's mother masquerades as a ghost. And on top of all this are at least seven spectacular action sequences that are both comic and exciting. A prime example of the unique joys of Hong Kong pop culture. --Bret Fetzer

Mr. Nice Guy

Mr. Nice Guy
TV chef Jackie Chan is involuntarily involved in a gang war between stereotypical Italians and punkers right out of A Clockwork Orange. Most of the cast is in a coma, and the plot is stupid, stupid, stupid. The reason to watch this is for Chan's gravity-defying stunts as he is chased through the streets of Melbourne by Aussie thugs trying to relocate missing cocaine. Chan is so innovative with his tricks that it is a shame he doesn't work with more intelligent material. Still, his fans should enjoy this slight adventure, as Chan's carefully choreographed martial art moves are as awesome as ever. Watch for a stunt involving a horse-drawn carriage, as it almost compensates for the lackluster story line. --Rochelle O'Gorman

Energy Balance through the Tao: Exercises for Cultivating Yin Energy

An introduction to the ancient Taoist exercise system of Tao Yin

Includes 45 fully illustrated exercises that promote flexibility, strength, and balance in ones physical, mental, and spiritual energy

Addresses the health needs of the musculoskeletal system and the unique physical stresses of a modern urban lifestyle

In the Western world, exercise focuses mainly on physical fitness and developing muscular strength. In the East, exercise systems balance fitness practices for the body, mind, and spirit. This balance is strongly emphasized in the Taoist system of Tao Yin, one of the oldest and most diverse forms of exercise in China. Tao Yin focuses on creating balance between internal and external energies and revitalizing the body, mind, and spirit with a combination of strength, flexibility, and internal energy exercises. Its ultimate goal is for the practitioner to become pure, responsive, and full of energy, like a child.

In Energy Balance through the Tao, Master Mantak Chia introduces 45 fully illustrated Tao Yin exercises to Western readers. He explains the history behind the practice and its connections to other complementary Chinese exercise forms, such as tai chi. In this book Chia focuses on the lying and sitting positions of Tao Yin, which improve health and structural alignment and, once mastered, strengthen movements and postures in standing positions. The benefits of these remarkably simple exercises include harmonizing chi, developing strength and flexibility through tendon stretching, relaxing the abdominal muscles and the diaphragm, releasing toxins through the breath, and training the "second brain" in the lower abdomen to coordinate and direct these processes.

The Swimming Dragon: A Chinese Way to Fitness, Beautiful Skin, Weight Loss & High Energy

The Swimming Dragon: A Chinese Way to Fitness, Beautiful Skin, Weight Loss & High Energy
The simplest of ancient qi gong practices, the Swimming Dragon stimulates health, improves muscle tone, and creates beautiful skin while balancing energy and metabolism to control weight. With 15 minutes a day, it improves posture, relaxes the body, increases flexibility in joints and muscles, and calms the mind as it brings healing energy to the vital internal organs. It reaches muscles that are not close to the bones and that are not enriched by normal exercise.

Fighting Science: The Laws of Physics for Martial Artists

Fighting Science: The Laws of Physics for Martial Artists
Size and strength will take you only so far in martial arts. If you want to reach your maximum potential on the street or in the ring, you need to go beyond conditioning and focus on getting the most out of every technique. In Fighting Science, Martina Sprague teaches you everything you need to know to successfully apply the laws of physics for maximum power in every technique.

Start with ten fundamental fighting concepts to exploit your opponent's weaknesses and identify your strengths. Once you have a solid overview of these strategic concepts, move on to a detailed look at how things like momentum, rotational speed, friction, direction, impulse and conservation of energy can work for or against you. Not a science whiz? Don't worry about it. Martina breaks down each idea, giving you easy to understand examples and hundreds of practical applications for stances, striking, kicking, defenses, footwork, movement, throws, takedowns and grappling. This book is supplemented by hundreds of photos, detailed glossaries, summary and review sections and even quizzes to test yourself on what you've learned. Whether you'd like to gain a detailed understanding of the laws of physics for martial artists or just want a few hundred ways to get the edge on your next opponent, this is a must-have book.

Three Steps-BJJ Sweatshirt

Three Steps-BJJ Sweatshirt
Stop-Drop-and Roll for BJJ fighters