Excercises...

[-Zephyr-]

I hope this is the right section.

I want to work out and be fairly strong: strong enough to incur severe pain from a kick or hand technique. I've been doing pushups and the plank.

When you punch, you're using the biceps, right? If so, how would I work that out without any weights? Also, for a front kick. What muscle am I using for that?


I only have 25's at home, but I'm fourteen and rather weak since I'm more of a computer geek than anything, but I can jump really high (I'm 5'11" and I can touch the rim of a 10' hoop). So anyways, I don't really have weights to use since 25 is a bit out of my comfort zone.

~Zephyr~

[thauma]

working out, pushups and weights won't immunise you against pain if that's what you mean by 'incur severe pain'.

If on the other hand you mean 'inflict' real pain, then maybe martial arts are the wrong place for you.:bang:

[Fish Of Doom]

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Muscle

http://www.exrx.net/Lists/Directory.html

read up

[Knight_Errant]

When you punch, you're using the biceps, right?
No. You're not. A whole range of muscles are used, mainly in the torso.
My advice would be to adopt a balanced regime that strengthens your whole body. If you're not using weights, check this out:
http://www.trainforstrength.com
or even http://www.bodyweightculture.com has loads of exercises.
Getting a weights set is so worth it, though.

[Llamageddon]

Just to wade in quickly, when you punch the muscles in the arm being used are the triceps. Biceps are the muscles that bend your arm, while triceps are the ones that straighten your arm.

I've always found the humble push up to work well for triceps. However you must keep your elbows tucked in close to your body, otherwise you'll be letting your shoulders and chest do most of the work.

[simon s]

If you are 14 forget the weights, just for now at least. Work your all round fitness, have fun and be a kid. Go outside, get dirty, fall out of trees, crash your bike and so on.

Absolutely forget about inflicting pain. If that is all you want, hit someone with a cricket bat. If however you are interested in learning then find a proper school. That school will teach you correct body mechanics, how to hit correctly, and also how to defend yourself. No good hitting hard if you cannot learn how to deal with it when it comes your way, which it will.

My son is 15, tall and thin. He can now hit quite hard for his age and spars lightly against adults. Never once has he lifted a weight. Timing, distance, footwork , training twice a week and building everything up slowly is what has done the trick.

I am not against lifting weights, quite the reverse, but wait until you are a couple of years older.

[-Zephyr-]

working out, pushups and weights won't immunise you against pain if that's what you mean by 'incur severe pain'.

If on the other hand you mean 'inflict' real pain, then maybe martial arts are the wrong place for you.:bang:

1. Lol I thought incur meant the same as inflict. Whoops.

2. I'm not getting into fights, it's just in case someone attacks me w/o a gun. I'm not going to want to kick the person and have them laughing at me cause it just tickled.

If you are 14 forget the weights, just for now at least. Work your all round fitness, have fun and be a kid. Go outside, get dirty, fall out of trees, crash your bike and so on.

Absolutely forget about inflicting pain. If that is all you want, hit someone with a cricket bat. If however you are interested in learning then find a proper school. That school will teach you correct body mechanics, how to hit correctly, and also how to defend yourself. No good hitting hard if you cannot learn how to deal with it when it comes your way, which it will.

My son is 15, tall and thin. He can now hit quite hard for his age and spars lightly against adults. Never once has he lifted a weight. Timing, distance, footwork , training twice a week and building everything up slowly is what has done the trick.

I am not against lifting weights, quite the reverse, but wait until you are a couple of years older.

I know how to block and dodge. I'm also quite pain tolerant. I just want to hit hard enough to give the attacker the message that messing with me is not the smartest thing he/she has ever done.

[Fish Of Doom]

you do realize that hitting someone who has a gun is an extremely stupid idea, right?

[Kurtka Jerker]

w/o means with out.

Also, you'll get waay more benefit from just learning to punch and kick properly than you will from getting man-strong.

[Fish Of Doom]

oh, crap, misread horribly there. sorry, dude, thought you were talking about taking on armed attackers. my apologies :)

FWIW, punching, as well as kicking, are full body actions. strengthening one muscle won't do jack squat unless that particular muscle is deficient and the others are balanced.

[-Zephyr-]

you do realize that hitting someone who has a gun is an extremely stupid idea, right?

I said w/o = without lol. As the poster under said. I would never hit someone with a gun, of course that's stupid.

And I know how to kick properly: not to boast but I have the best kicks (besides of course black belts) in my class. That's why I want to get strong to compliment it.

[Fish Of Doom]

boo, timing, should have posted my apology faster :p

i wash my hands and blame south american internet :evil:

also, you ARE boasting. how do we know you have the best kicks in your class, why do you say you have the best kicks in your class, how good are the others in your class at kicking? do you kick the heavy bag and spar with at least a decent amount of contact, that you can say you have good kicks?

[Metal_Kitty]

Why do you need to be strong to inflict pain? There places you can hit, like the groin, floating ribs, eyes, nose, throat, bladder, that really don't need much strength to cause pain and temporary disability.

I'm questioning if I even should've told you that, cos I certainly don't want you going around punching people in the throat.

Anyway, how hard you hit depends just as much on technique as it does on strength. If you practice your technique, you can probably hit way harder than someone who's just purely strong. Either way, you're 14...just chill out and enjoy your training.

[-Zephyr-]

boo, timing, should have posted my apology faster :p

i wash my hands and blame south american internet :evil:

also, you ARE boasting. how do we know you have the best kicks in your class, why do you say you have the best kicks in your class, how good are the others in your class at kicking? do you kick the heavy bag and spar with at least a decent amount of contact, that you can say you have good kicks?

Lol don't you hate when you post too slowly :D

Second, the teacher told me and all the students are afraid of my kicks.

As for the class: this is YMCA, so it's not that great. The teachers know their stuff but the work out and really the whole class is at a lower level than TKD schools where the grandmaster is some pro that won a bunch of medals. I don't know what your standards are, but I would say my kicks are pretty good.

Third, I hope this discussion isn't turning us into enemies. Tell me if I need to chill out.

Why do you need to be strong to inflict pain? There places you can hit, like the groin, floating ribs, eyes, nose, throat, bladder, that really don't need much strength to cause pain and temporary disability.

I'm questioning if I even should've told you that, cos I certainly don't want you going around punching people in the throat.


1. Well, I know I can inflict pain because accidental glances off my sparring partner really hurts him/her. Yes, I could aim for a certain spot, but you really think I would be able to keep a good aim when some person is trying to kill/hurt me?

2.
a. I already know those spots, because I've been hit there :D
b. I haven't had a physical fight with someone in my whole life. What I mean is: I haven't started a fight or had to defend myself from an attack that is meant to actually hurt. Only playful things with my family members or sparring in TKD class.

^ I probably haven't been attacked since I'm homeschooled so I lose a lot of the risk of being the target of malice. I don't try to hurt someone because I'm Christian and that's just not what I do.

Summary:

I'm learning TKD mostly for the fun and excercise, but it will come in handy if someone attacks me. I want to build up my strength for more than just Taekwondo or self defense. Trust me, I'm not going to go around hurting people just because I can.

[Metal_Kitty]

Yes, I could aim for a certain spot, but you really think I would be able to keep a good aim when some person is trying to kill/hurt me?

Yes....absolutely! That is the difference between someone who is trained and someone who just swings wild punches. Also, you'll be surprised how little "aim" you actually need to hit one of those sweet spots.


I'm learning TKD mostly for the fun and excercise, but it will come in handy if someone attacks me. I want to build up my strength for more than just Taekwondo or self defense.

Strength isn't everything. There's always going to be someone stronger than you, particularly at your age. But what you can do improve is your technique. I've seen women succesfully defend themselves from much bigger men because of technique, and I've seen smaller guys totally rip through bigger guys in fights because of technique. Hopefully that's a hint at what you should be focusing on.

Bare in mind, I have nothing against strength training...I do it myself. I just think it's absurd for a 14 year old to muscle his way through a self-defense situation.

[-Zephyr-]

Yes....absolutely! That is the difference between someone who is trained and someone who just swings wild punches. Also, you'll be surprised how little "aim" you actually need to hit one of those sweet spots.



Strength isn't everything. There's always going to be someone stronger than you, particularly at your age. But what you can do improve is your technique. I've seen women succesfully defend themselves from much bigger men because of technique, and I've seen smaller guys totally rip through bigger guys in fights because of technique. Hopefully that's a hint at what you should be focusing on.

Bare in mind, I have nothing against strength training...I do it myself. I just think it's absurd for a 14 year old to muscle his way through a self-defense situation.
Again, I'm not JUST putting strength. I'm doing both. I am very dedicated to getting techniques right. Sadly, only a couple other people in my class are as "psyched". I'm constantly improving and asking questions to further my technique. I'm aware that doing so is as important or more important than muscle. But I want muscle as well. That's obviously going to give me an upper hand in a fight.

[Metal_Kitty]

Ok....well you know what you want, so I won't try to discourage you. I'll just say that it's not healthy for someone your age to be pumping weights. Just up your general exercise levels i.e. take up a physically demanding sport like football, and you should see your overall physical performance improving...including strength.

[-Zephyr-]

Ok....well you know what you want, so I won't try to discourage you. I'll just say that it's not healthy for someone your age to be pumping weights. Just up your general exercise levels i.e. take up a physically demanding sport like football, and you should see your overall physical performance improving...including strength.

That's the problem. I'm not into that kind of stuff, and even if I was I couldn't do it. (Complicated situation which I won't talk about)

It's not like I'm going to be pumping a bunch of weights. I do like 60 pushups a day, but throughout the day, not at one time. I need more exercises like pushups, situps, or the plank that do not require weights and that I can do anywhere a couple of times.

I'm not thinking of going into a serious workout, just something I can do to up my strength a bit. I find it ridiculous how I'm so weak at my age. I know several twelve year olds who will beat me in an arm wrestle, and they're just average. The option of going outside and doing stuff is out the window, too.

[Fish Of Doom]

check the links knight errant posted. all you need right there.

[Frodocious]

Have a look at the following site (particularly the Forum) for some excellent information about how to get strong without using weights:

http://www.gymnasticbodies.com/