Alright. Strap in, kids because this is gonna be a bumpy one.
There is a huge problem that affects many people training in martial arts today that needs to be addressed because it is severely inhibiting their progress and skill. It applies to fitness training as well, so if you don’t train martial art read this with whatever type of training you do in mind. Continue reading
Masaaki Hatsumi, Grandmaster of the Bujinkan Dojo, once stated, “endurance is of primary importance for the ninja.” One definition of endurance is the ability to resist fatigue. Looking at the kanji (Chinese character) for Nin, there is the ideogram for “sword” over the ideogram for “heart” giving Nin a meaning of, “even though you hold a sword over my heart, I will endure.” 
How many of us training in the Bujinkan, or any other martial art, can truthfully claim that ability? How long can you train? How far can you push yourself? In martial art, endurance, or the ability to “keep going” is defined in years, not minutes, hours, or days. How can we create an effective training program that will instill in us the ability to continue, to endure?
Let’s begin by examining the concept of physical endurance. There are 3 basic types of physical endurance:
We discussed the body’s 3 energy systems and how using the Tabata Protocol can effectively improve both the aerobic and anaerobic systems here. Strength endurance is defined as the ability to effectively maintain muscular functioning under work conditions of long duration. There are two basic ways to increase the ability of your body to do more physical work. One is the continuous adding of weights, sets, reps, and time to push the body to create an adaptation to allow it to perform more work for a longer duration. As we discussed previously in the article on GPP, the body’s capacity is expanded. Progress is incremental and continuous for as long as one is able to keep increasing driving forces in the body. The next one, however, is often overlooked in our “just add more volume” culture. More is always better, right? If one vitamin is good for you, take 4, that’s even better (please don’t!). But, there is another way to allow the body to continue training in addition (no pun intended) to adding more work. By removing restrictions in your body, like unnecessary tension or extra body weight or lack of flexibility/mobility in a particular area, you then free up resources in your body that were spent holding that tension that you weren’t even aware of on a conscious level. These restrictions, once removed, allow even greater leaps in performance than simply adding more work. When the 2 are combined, it’s a powerful combination!
By programming our workouts so that we effectively build in both the removal of restrictive forces, while also increasing driving forces, we can maximize our progress. This idea is present in traditional methods of Hatha Yoga in the form of balancing strength and surrender. Contrary to popular opinion, yogi’s do not simply work to become more flexible. They actively work to increase both strength and flexibility as complimentary opposites in order to achieve a state of balance. Now, I’m not asking you to become a yogi here, merely pointing out that this is not a new concept at all, but has been used by traditional arts for thousands of years. Our program for developing ninja-like endurance will utilize both joint mobility exercises and yoga asana (poses), as well as breathing exercises, to aid in the removal of restrictive forces binding your training and slowing your progress. Next week I will be putting out an article on breathing exercises that can be used for relaxation, stress management, removing residual tension, and also for increasing energy – keep your eyes out!
For an example of some easy yoga postures that can start helping you right now, head over to my good friend Josh Sager’s excellent blog, Fretterverse, and check out my article on Yoga for Guitarists. A free sample joint mobility training program can be obtained simply by signing up for the Warrior Fitness Mailing List at the top right of the page. Sign up now and begin working on removing restrictive forces today!
And, don’t forget to check out Warrior Fitness: Conditioning for Martial Artists for more exercises, options, explanations, and program design!
Stay tuned for a sampleStrength Endurance Workout coming soon!
As a 25 year veteran of Bujinkan martial arts training, as well as being the creator of Warrior Fitness Training Systems, one of the things I pride myself on is my ability to access the fitness needs of my fellow martial artists, particularly those who train in the Bujinkan.
A common misconception that you’ll hear bandied about from dojo to dojo all across the world is that strength, and by association overall, general fitness, is not required.
I think this has to do with a fundamental misunderstanding of how we train. In class, when practicing techniques, it is imperative to be as efficient in one’s movement as possible, and thus avoid using excess, unnecessary power (read – strength).
In order to isolate the study of distance, timing, angling, and space management, one must put strength on the back burner in the dojo to avoid powering through the movements and missing all the wonderful subtleties that taijutsu has to offer.
However, in an actual conflict, you can and in fact, you must, use all your power, including strength, to survive. As Jack Hoban said in his interview here, “real fights are very physical – tiring and punishing”. Anyone who thinks physical fitness isn’t required in the traditional martial arts is really just kidding themselves.
Why do Bujinkan practitioners need fitness training?
“Optimal physical conditioning provides the platform from which the skills can be used.”
– Fred Hatfield, aka Dr. Squat
Meaning that the specific physical skills of taijutsu MUST be built upon a solid foundation of basics, like sanshin no kata and kihon happo, and even more fundamental, a strong budo-body. Without this platform in place your martial art skills are like a house built on sand.
From my book, Warrior Fitness: Conditioning for Martial Arts:
“Since combat occurs in a volatile and unpredictable atmosphere, training must prepare the warrior to adapt. Remember that the goal of all the exercises in this manual is to develop the ability to control the degree of tension in our body and be able to utilize just the right amount of force at the appropriate moment. This way we may be able to sustain activity for longer and longer periods of time without exhausting ourselves.”
The first step in ensuring you are building skill on top of a solid foundation is General Physical Preparedness (GPP). The goal of GPP is enhanced work capacity. This is the ability to run faster, jump higher, and hit harder.
When work capacity increases, it allows the budding warrior to adapt more easily to increases in both mental and physical demands. In other words, it increases your capacity and level of readiness to absorb higher levels of specificity. In a martial art as seemingly limitless as Budo Taijutsu, one must possess the endurance to “keep going!”
In Part 2 of this series on fitness for Bujinkan practioners, we’ll look at some examples of GPP type exercises and how to incorporate them into an overall training program.
