Solo Training Methods

[TKD Boxer]

I was wondering if anyone could suggest any training methods to make you a better fighter that can be done solo. Especially ones that require minimal equipment. Thanks.

"Wrestlers need a lesson in submission, I'm the one to teach them." - Frank Shamrock

[Deadpan Scientist]

Hehe, no equipment, no parters.... people on here aren't going to like it, but I'd say forms(aka kata) are the best way.



Edited by - brandeissansoo on November 27 2002 01:24:57

[Michael]

shadow boxing

[TKD Boxer]

Minimal equipment, I'm 14 and I can get ahold of a heavy bag at my cousins 3 days a week.

What is shadow boxing and what does it do for you?

"Wrestlers need a lesson in submission, I'm the one to teach them." - Frank Shamrock

[Mercurius]

Conditioning. Run, do pushups, squats, multiple repetitions of kicks & punches... Last boxing match I saw, one fighter threw 800+ punches over 10 rounds.

If you wanna seriously be a fighter, you have to have that kind of endurance; not just being able to dance for the entire fight, but to throw serious punches & kicks at the same time without gassing.

Technique and tactics... You're not gonna get ALOT better without a partner, but shadow boxing and drills (with a bag) can help.

"God is dead." -Nietzsche
"Nietzsche is dead." -God

[Varkin]

I have a heavy bag in my basement. Beating the hell out of one of those for awhile really works. Wrist and ancle weights work wonders if your doing the heavy bag. I also have these steel round beams in my basement too, so I condition my arms on them. Nothing, and I mean nothing, hardens up for forearms like a solid piece of steel! (Get some sweet Bruises too!)

[Greese]

In high school? Join the wrestling team. Nothing is better conditioning for a fight.

[9chambers]

A good way to do repetitions of kicks and punch combinations is by counting your paces instead of doing laps across a room or something.

In other words count how many times you do the kick instead of how many times you go across the room.

Do some of your paces on a bag or target. Do some in the air and follow through.

Shadow boxing is .. something Muhamed Ali, Bruce Lee and even Dan Gable used to do. Dan (an Olympic legend) was a wrestler and he'd stay after practice doing techniques on an imaginary opponant to drill himself. Muhamed Ali practiced punching combonations this way and so did Bruce Lee did drills like that all the time.

Another way to do it is to think of it as choreographing a fight for a movie. Do your moves and then switch places. Think to yourself what your response would be to what you just did.. like a chess match. When I was a kid I did this sometimes using tomatoe cages from my Mom's garden for targets. I would Throw a punch and think .. where am I vulnerable now. What would I do if the other guy was standing like this.. it can help you learn what your options are and what to defend against. This can be done with a partner too. You are limited to your own ideas if you do it by yourself. That's not all bad if you are creative but still, you've got to test what you come up with in sparring.

[purefighter]

I agree with mikey. Shadow boxing is awesome. Training your mind is probably the best thing to do and that is what shadow boxing does for me. It can prepare you mentally by actually getting into a fight in your head. Visualize anything that you think could possibly happen.

[Freddy]

I would also agree that shadow boxing is very useful. Also you could use a wooden dummy like some of those kung fu systems. You could even make your own wooden dummy. You just have to create your own pattern for the dummy.

PEACE!

[gong sau]

I agree with Freddy. A wooden dummy is really easy to make out of PVC tubing, and is relatively cheap. I can upload plans for one if you want, or just do a search,; there's loads out there.






First, I'm gonna hit ya...then your gonna fall

[purefighter]

The problem with using a wooden dummy is that it is not really meant to practice techniques on. well, it sorta is but the real key to using a wooden dummy is to learn to fight off of different angles, body structure (so the dummy must be sturdy enough to absorb punishment), and your own personal fighting range: where you feel comfortable fighting.

[xantidote]

I'd definitely say shadow your moves. It might not help to much as far as making you actually better at the technique while using it on a real human being, but it will help to make the maneuvers second nature to you. I find it helps a lot with things like boxing and wrestling takedowns. If you want to do ground work, you can make a dummy out of a pair of overalls.

[Freddy]

I guess the dummy would also help you do blocks as well. You get the feeling of hitting something solid with your arms and what not. Which shadow boxing doesnt have. At the same time with shadow boxing you get to do things that the dummy cant do. Of course a punching bag is always good to practice on as well.

PEACE!

[Zheng]

Hi everyone,

Personally, I've found that repetition of the basics is the best thing for improvement. For example, if you practice 1000 punches (whatever the "basic punch" is for your style), and 500 reps of every other useful attack that you know, and then 500 reps of every useful block you know, and you do that every day, it's a pretty good workout. At that rate I throw about 8000 techniques every night (depending on how many of the blocks I do, since I can be pretty lazy). Then I'll practice every form of "movement"(footwork) I have, about 500 of each type of "step", just moving up and down an invisible line along the floor. It's also good to keep your hands alive while your moving, nothing intense like shadow boxing, but just to make sure you don't train a bad habit (I like switching leads, throwing blocks and attacks, etc.). After all the footwork practice it's good to just randomize your footwork and move around within a large cirle for a while, so you get used to keeping your foorwork alive too. Then I throw about 200 front kicks then 200 side kicks (crescent kicks?) at waist level, because my legs aren't that strong. I'm trying to work up to 1000 kicks every night, but it's tough for me, personally. By the way, the only reason I don't practice my hand techniques and my movement techniques simultaneously is because I'm developing my root while I practice my hand techniques. So I'm killing two birds with one stone, but I still have to go and kill a third bird afterward (namely, footwork). So if you don't worry too much about developing your center/root (or you don't believe it can be developed simply by standing still), you can practice your hand techniques and footwork at the same time. Then I'll practice my forms. If I'm lazy I'll practice them three or four times each. But I also find it a good thing to just practice one part of a form, maybe repeat it 30 to 50 times, then move onto the next section of the form.
The important thing to remember while doing all of this is to try your best to make every technique as "perfect" as you can, think of what you would be blocking with it, why it works, etc. Don't just try to do it fast and get it over with, it won't be nearly as helpful when practiced that way.
Although I also practice with a wooden dummy (since one of the forms I know is customarily practiced on a wooden dummy), it doesn't really fit your "minimal equipment" requirement, since the least you'll probably buy a pre-made dummy for is about $700. And making your own or having one made is no picnic, either.
Anyway, the beauty of this workout is it reminds you of the importance of the basics (it has been my experiece, like many other people's, that simplicity is the best policy), and you'll get a pretty good workout from it. I don't really know how other people work out, so maybe this is more (probably less) of a workout than most people would recommend.
I know basic exercises like pushups, crunches, etc. are also good, I just don't do them. I could never "put my mind on the muscle" and push myself enough to improve that way, so it's my loss there. At least when I do lots of reps of techniques I'm thinking more about the "practice", and less about the "exercise".
Anyway, that's how I do it. I hope at least one of these suggestions helps you out in some way.

[jeff_lindqvist]

Hi Zheng,

I find your approach to solo training quite similar to mine, only that I don't do 500 reps of each technique...:) I practice Wing Chun, and put a fair amount of punches in the training. Then other stuff, kicks, blocks, footwork, certain "drills", applications, and forms at the end of the session. What style do you practice?