Today’s top tip – elevator punches.

Now, this isn’t some crazy new move I’ve stumbled across, but that’s how I’ve named it 🙂 Requirements are:

– An elevator at your workplace that is empty at the time of use
– Obsessed with training
– No shame (in case caught)

This one’s simple – at work (or your place of study – there were elevators when I was at Uni, but I wouldn’t do this in any of them as they all felt like they were going to break down whenever you used them) you may have the option of stairs or elevators. If you’re being healthy, you use the stairs; if you’re lazy, use the elevator. I generally go for the elevator – it’s a bit lazy, but it’s also better for my stump, so that’s the excuse I use.

Now, if you happen to have the elevator to yourself and your hands are free, try this – set yourself on a front stance of your choice (increase the intensity by getting into kiba-dachi if you like) and start throwing forward punches. To make it interesting, see how many you can do between floors. Oh, and unless you want to freak people out (not advised), only do this when you have the elevator to yourself.

Keep in mind that if you’re caught mid-punch or mid-stance upon the elevator doors opening, you will look like an idiot. Also be aware that if you flush in the face easily during short bursts of physical activity, you may also look like an idiot when the elevator doors open, and embarrassing rumours might start flying around the office about what activities you get up to inside the elevator. Both of these outcomes may see you ostracised from your workmates, or alternatively, it may greatly amuse them depending on their sense of humour and your ability at poking fun at yourself.

Oh, and if you have CCTV cameras in your elevator, unless you enjoy amusing security staff, you may want to avoid it.

… looking at all the caveats in the above, I’m not sure if it was actually worthwhile sharing this. Might have to create a new tag for this post along the lines of “Rubbish training tips” or something like that.

On a more serious note though, weight training last night went well, this time still following the principles I discussed in yesterday’s blog about emphasising maximum weight with minimal reps. I’m a bit sore again this morning, but so far I’m enthusiastic with how its going. I’m going to have to start doing kata practice between classes as well – I’ll be back at training next week and don’t want to look too clueless when working on it!!

Bloginated Wednesday, 15th April 2009 / General training
Tag-isms: Rubbish training tips

So, Easter’s over and I have eaten my fill of chocolate and hot cross buns. Over the last couple of days I’ve also started catching up on some blogs around the traps, and came across an excellent post on Jesse Crouch’s blog, The Martial Arts Explorer. To date, with my weight training between classes I’ve gone for mild intensity, emphasising reps ahead of pushing for heavier weight sets; this has seen the amount of muscle mass in my arms, back and shoulders increase over time (which is definitely a good thing!). However, I’m thinking of mixing things up a bit after reading one of Jesse’s recent posts, “Strength without bulk: Types of isometric training and what they can do for you”. While I’ve heard of these crazy terms before, I haven’t really looked into them all that much (will have to take a squiz at Wikipedia later on methinks!), but Jesse’s post introduced the concept of mixing up higher-reps training with short but super-intensive sessions to build up strength, but without the muscle mass behind it.

So, last night I gave it a go and really liked the change of pace. I’ve only been benching 40kg with an emphasis on the reps, and by the end of last night following a series of increases I managed to squeeze out a couple of reps at 50kg. This still puts me on the very low end of the scale in proportion to my body weight according to the chart on Jesse’s blog post, but at least it’s slowly getting me there 😛 My aim is to start mixing up this level of intensity with my regular reps-based exercises, maybe one week emphasising reps, one week emphasising intensity, something like that. Will keep everyone updated on how things go.

In addition to the new weight-training regime, I’m also adding a few other exercises to my between-training regime. Previously I’ve done 100 crunches and 50 leg lifts as a starter to work my toro/abs and get the blood flowing, before going into some light bag work for for 10-15 mins. I’ve now augmented that with progressive stretching on my legs to get myself back to being able to do full side splits (aka Chinese splits) again, with the aim of introducing more stretching exercises to improve my kicks.

I’ve also added Divebomber pushups to my start-up regime, inspired by Jesse’s posts on them here and here. I did 10 of these last night (2 x 5 reps), and they proved an excellent addition to what I’ve been working on. Mind, I don’t think I’m doing them anywhere near as gracefully in the YouTube vids posted in Jesse’s blog (I think the way I do it might look uncannily close to a self-indulgent dance move from a Rock Eisteddfod performance, though I say so in the spirit of the awesome Asher Treleaven, who wowed Fringe audiences a few years ago by channeling Space Invaders as if it were performed at the Rock Eisteddfod), but oh well, I figure since I can’t get any worse that I can only get better 😛

Since the foot’s not getting fixed up until Thursday, I’ll be trying to squeeze in extra training at home to make up for my absence in class, whilst still delaying the inevitable breaking of what’s left of my foot enclosure 😛 In lieu of training, I’ll try and add some random blogging madness, and perhaps write some more posts in response to other people’s blogs to continue facilitating discussion on all things martial arts or otherwise.

… and now that my car has finally been fixed with a new battery as of only a few minutes ago, I think I’ll post this and head off to work 😛

Bloginated Tuesday, 14th April 2009 / Weights
Tag-isms: Technique | weight training

Because I’m a very clever soul, I’ve managed to split the foot of my prosthesis:

That’s a shot showing where it’s breaking off. Generally, this is caused by too much impact work when it comes to my kicks – on the previous style of foot I had, it would typically break along the top of the fake toes, which generally wouldn’t bother me too much as I’d still be able to walk around. Given how this one’s split though, I’m inclined to lean on the side of caution as I’m keen to avoid breaking the ends off. Doing so would probably make walking around a bit awkward/dangerous with the whole falling down thing. On the other hand, it would also ensure hilarity as I randomly fell over. In my demented brain, such occasions would be accompanied by some kind of silly gag music, and possibly canned laughter. I often wonder about my sanity in reviewing the many numerous dangers that arises from the combination of my attitude and my condition 😛

Needless to say, I’m writing this blog instead of training. I feel like a bit of an idiot, but I want to be able to do the whole walking thing between now and next Thursday, which is when I go in to get it fixed, so there you go. Also, my thumb I mangled last week is still healing up and is swollen. With ice-burns because I keep insisting on putting ice on it each night to speed up the healing process. This is also a wussy complaint, but I thought I’d share anyhows 😛 It also means that I have an excuse to use one of my favourite tags, “stupid injuries” 🙂

For those interested, I’ve added a few pics to the ‘Leg Stuff’ gallery, so feel free to have a look – just various shots of the mangled foot. I still have the old College Park Tribute foot I severely mangled lying around the place – might throw some pictures up of that later on to add to the gallery.

I’m a bit behind on what’s been happening among some of the regular MA blogs I read up on at the moment, so expect some more insightful-ish blogs in due course once I’ve caught up. I find that if I have ideas floating around in my head on what I want to write about, reading other people’s blogs has a habit of giving me a kick up the arse to actually write down my thoughts!!

Bloginated Wednesday, 8th April 2009 / Prosthesis or amputee stuff
Tag-isms: prosthesis | prosthetic foot | stupid injuries

What I want to talk about today is how building my core strength through karate has helped me as an amputee.

Core strength is a term you’ll often hear dedicated martial artists talk about, but rarely one used when discussing life as an amputee. While I understood the value of the concept previously, it’s only in relatively recent years that I’ve taken the term on for what I used to think of as solely my abs, but there’s more to it than that. For those interested in a neat little definition, Wikipedia has a nice definition of what the core anatomy is (click here).

My first experience with the medical benefits of core strength built through karate was actually with my lower back – I have a family history of shonky backs, but my position is a little more accute due to the amount of abuse my lower back gets as an above-knee amputee. Where able-bodied people have the foot/ankle/knee to cushion their walking, amputees have to absorb extra pressure from walking into our lower backs. Think of it like jumping down from a few steps above the ground, and when you land on your foot, you have your legs dead straight instead of slightly bent to absorb the force from landing – that’s pretty much what we have to deal with as am amputee. Even more appropriately given the nature of a prosthesis, grab a broom, hold it vertically and slam the bare end (i.e. not the brush end :P) onto the floor – the vibrations you feel in your hand is akin to what we feel run up our stump(s) and back. There are certain variables that can alter the amount of force we receive – below-knees can absorb some extra force since they still have their knees, above-knee amputees will vary depending on the length of their stump, and there are mechanical devices (different prosthetic knees, feet and socket designs) that aim to reduce the amount of energy absorbed vertically through the stump and lower back, but for the most part, the principle remains pretty accurate.

While my prosthesis I currently have has a few technological tricks by way of the design and knee/foot equipped, remember that before I was 18 and these extra tools become available to me I was on a leg that wasn’t able to do much to soften the vertical blow dealt to my body through the simple act of walking.

So, with this in mind, its understandable that your lower back gets stressed as an amputee. Therefore you have two solutions to this – don’t walk/severely minimse your physical activity, or strengthen your body to withstand the extra abuse you deal to your body. I don’t think you can guess which path I decided to take 😉

My first experience of the medicinal benefits karate was having on my body as an amputee was when I went to the physio a number of years ago when my then-girlfriend (and now wife) had started living together – I finally went and saw someone about my back, and while my posture was generally very good, I was told that one way to improve the lower back muscles was to get into the habit of using your abs to support your back. This seemed strange to me at the time, but I was told that the muscles are complementary, and strong abs will help support your back. She encouraged me to get into the habit of tensing my abs so that I always have extra support for my back, so I decided to give it a a go. Admittedly, it didn’t help that I was also a bit vain about it and saw it as an opportunity to make my belly flatter by doing the extra exercises, but I found that it started to have positive effect on the overall strength of my lower back.

This now lends itself to how I’ve learned the importance of core strength in karate. Martial artists often talk of the importance of strengthening your core muscles, and how a strong core will lend itself to better power, technique and control. As time’s gone on, I’m a firm believer in the concept. When you punch, to extract maximum efficiency of your technique, you don’t just move your arm – you transfer the energy from the ground, up into your torso and use your core muscles to whip your shoulder, arm and fist into your target, squeeze the muscles at the last moment to gain that extra bit of dynamic power, and then use the core muscles to bring your arm back and maintain a strong center-line throughout your technique. Same for kicking – use your core to support your body and back, utilise your hips, whip the leg out, bring it back. Grappling and throwing are nothing without a strong core – without it, you’ll ruin your back. All techniques in martial arts benefit from a strong core, and the sooner you learn this, the better you’ll be for it.

So what’s the catch with this as an amputee? Well, I’ve found myself utilising my core muscles all the time to support and strengthen my body. When I get out of bed in the morning, I squeeze my abs and use these muscles and my arms to sit up to avoid placing pressure on my back. When I hop around without my leg on, my abs clench every time I hit the ground the prevent a jolt to my lower back. Every time I lift something, I contract my muscles to absorb the extra strength I need to draw from my back since I can’t use two legs (well, knees :P) to assist in lifting a weighted object. When I twist and turn my body when I’m on crutches, I use my core muscles to control my extension and insulate my back. And of course, in class I use my core extensively to improve my balance, control, power, technique and assist my back at all times, whether it be holding a stance or having take-downs or counters performed on me. In fact, I’ve found that even the motions of good form in practicing your stances does a terrific job of stretching your back, loosening the muscles and then building up their strength in supporting your weight.

So, core strength is obviously a very important part of maintaining and strong and healthy back for all people, but for amputees, there is an incredible amount of good it can do for you. At the very least, good core strength will help protect your lower back from the jarring pain you get from walking, but there is so much broader application for using your core muscles in everyday life, and everything you do physically can benefit from it.

While martial arts isn’t alone in being an activity that can radically strengthen your core, I find that the varied techniques and exercises you learn in a good system can be used to develop your core, and the different ways you learn to increase the mastery of your physical behaviour is a huge benefit not only to amputees in extracting maximum potential from their situation, but to all people.

… and now that I’ve written it and looked over it twise, I hope it made sense and wasn’t too jumbled 😛

Bloginated Friday, 3rd April 2009 / Prosthesis or amputee stuff
Tag-isms: amputation | Core strength | prosthesis | stump | stupid injuries | tips

Alright, let’s recap on this week’s two stupid injuries – mangled my right thumb training on Monday night due to poor form, and whilst changing a tire on Wednesday night straight after work (because that’s really what you want to be doing after a long, unproductive day in the carpark near your workplace :P), I gave my left thumb a good mangling when the spare I was taking out the boot bounced back into my fully-extended thumb and caused my hand to swell up like a balloon 😛

Weirdly enough, it’s Friday, and everything is pretty much healed up.

I iced the thumb on Monday night straight after the injury, woke up Tuesday and it was practically all better, and was back to normal by Wednesday. I should have iced up my left hand on Wednesday night before going to bed, but despite this, I iced it up before and after work yesterday and again before I went to work this morning, and it’s almost back to normal.

Freaky.

I normally take longer to heal up from stuff like this. Hell, even my knee’s been better of late. Not that I’m complaining or anything. Hopefully its a sign I won’t mangle myself as much in the future, or if I do, I’ll bounce back reasonably quickly. I’m like Wolverine, if he suffered from some wussy bruising on his thumbs and stuff, and was a ranga. Hahaha, Wolverine as a ranga – that’s crazy talk.

It was actually Jyastin-kun who coined the Wolverine-healing concept – one time he seriously mangled his hand at work, and he healed up miraculously fast. His doctor, with his broken English, said he was Wolverine. Y’know, because of how fast he healed. I thought that was awesome, so I thought I’d steal the phrase and apply it to me. Because Wolverine is awesome, and the new movie is looking like it might be tip-top. At least it couldn’t be worse than Spider-man 2 or a Schumacher-directed Batman movie.

So yeah, I’ll leave my rant here 😛 Might add something worthwhile to this blog shortly!!

Bloginated Friday, 3rd April 2009 / Injuries
Tag-isms: stupid injuries