FINAL THOUGHTS ON MODERN WUSHU TRAINING METHODS

PART III

From what I’ve said so far, one might think that I’m against hard training in general... or Chinese Wushu training methods in particular. Nothing could be further from the truth. I love Wushu. I’ve dedicated a large chunk of my life to Chinese martial arts (almost 25 years so far, to be exact).http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=x0MaPZ_7-as

Still one of my all-time favorite Wushu clips... luv it!I’m not against hard training. Wushu is a demanding sport, and you have to break an egg to make an omelet. I’m against  unintelligent and unprofitable training. In this regard, I’m a pragmatist. Life is short... and I don’t want to waste precious time with bullshit.

LESSONS TO BE LEARNED

To make this absolutely clear: I’m not talking about the technical content of Wushu here. There is not the slightest doubt that the Chinese are (and always will be) the best in the world when it comes to that.

I’m talking conditioning exercises, endurance & core training, scientific stretching, injury prevention, workout structure... this kind of thing.

But enough of this banter. Let’s get down to the nitty gritty. There are numerous exercises & workout concepts in Wushu that belong in the dustbin of martial arts history. A blog entry like this one can’t possibly cover everything, so let’s just focus on the bête noire of Wushu training here  -- stretching. I’ll give you a concise list of the worst mistakes (all backed up by valid scientific studies):

1. Performing static stretches (splits) before dynamic exercises (kicks & jumps)

This is still done in almost any and every Wushu training class on earth, although it has been proven that a fast, dynamic movement immediately after a static stretch significantly increases the chance of injuring the stretched muscles... the more strenuous the stretch the more likely the injury (Fowles & Shrier 2000). And yet, most Wushu coaches make their students hold the various split positions for as long as ten minutes during the warm-up part (!) of the workout and right before the jumping & kicking exercises. Jeeez!

2. Stretching with a partner

Like it or not, the popular practice of using partners in stretching is outdated & dangerous. The helper does not feel what you feel. If you feel pain and let your partner know about it, by the time he or she reacts, it can be too late. A partner in stretching can cause an injury. If you need someone's help in doing any stretches, you’re not ready for them. Period. If you apt for some kind of a training aid, it is much better to use a stretching rope (which leaves you in control) & go slowly and steadily.

3. Stretching ligaments

If a ligament is stretched more than six percent of its normal length, it tears. Stretching ligaments can be effectively applied only with children. In adults, an age-related rigidity of collagen fibers makes any attempts at elongating ligaments hazardous. When children stretch, their muscles do not contract as strongly as an adult's, and their softer ligaments can be stretched (Raczek 1991). By the way, there’s no need to stretch ligaments to perform even the most spectacular gymnastic or Wushu techniques. The normal range of motion is sufficient. Stretching ligaments leads to loose-jointedness – picture a worn rubber band -- and may cause osteoarthritis (Beighton 1983). One can have tight ligaments and good muscle flexibility or loose ligaments and poor muscle flexibility (Krivickas & Feinberg 1996). So, if you need to stretch anything, then it’s muscle tissue. Leave your poor tendons alone.

4. Doing ballistic stretches

Sadly, ballistic stretches are still part and parcel of the average Wushu class. With repeated bobbing, bouncing, or jerky movements, the momentum of a fast-moving body or a limb is used here to forcibly increase the range of motion. Obviously, ballistic movement cannot be adjusted or corrected once started. Ballistic stretches tend to result in “minute injury to soft tissue involved in the stretching”, which following exercises may aggravate “to the point of serious muscle damage” (Logan & Egstrom 1961).

SO, HOW THE HELL AM I SUPPOSED TO STRETCH, THEN?

Easy peasy lemon squeezy. Rule of thumb: dynamic stretches (e.g. leg raises in all directions) after a basic warm-up and before the main part of the workout, static stretches (e.g. front-, side splits) at the end of the workout. No bobbing. No partner. Savvy? And please, keep in mind:

You cannot train an adult the same way you train a kid!

Example: I received an e-mail the other day from a young woman I know. She’s been a versatile athlete, successful equestrian & Wushu/Taiji practitioner for many years. She’s flexible enough, too (no problem with the splits and all), and she’s 29. So far, so good. In her e-mail she complained about a familiar problem: a little while ago, she joined the class of a Wushu instructor who happens to be pretty well-known around here. During the training sessions that coach had constantly & forcibly been trying to make her forehead touch her toes (a common exercise done by Wushu & Chinese opera kids in China).

Coaches -- however vast their technical knowledge of Wushu may be -- who do this kind of thing to adults haven’t got the faintest idea of human anatomy, not to mention the science of modern sports training.

The actual usefulness of this particular exercise aside, to accomplish such a feat, not only age, but also the torso-leg ratio plays a vital role. The shorter your legs in relation to your upper body, the easier  this exercise. Many world-class ballet dancers, for instance, have short upper bodies and long legs. Those guys are limber mothers, bro... but most of them couldn’t put their toes against their noses or their chins, if their lives depended on it. Their legs are simply TOO LONG! The assumption that with a hard enough training regimen and enough bouncing and jerking ANYBODY (i.e. ANY BODY) ought to be able to pull off this little stunt at some point is just plain silly.

Genetics, remember?

Long-legged girls with short torsos...

Needless to say, that the young woman left the Wushu class after 2 months.... in pain, frustrated, and almost at the point of giving martial arts up entirely. Good job, Coach!

Luckily, that girl was smart enough to realize that her instructor had asked for the impossible.

Impossible is nothing? I’m afraid quite a few things are just that...

Bottom line: By using a proper stretching technique, you can easily achieve the same results (within your genetic limits) as with the so-called “traditional” methods... minus the injuries.

Relax, I’m not going to elaborate on these techniques in detail here. I’d just like to offer some food for thought, that’s all. There are lots of great websites & books on this topic around. Feel free to drop me a line, if you’re looking for a list of recommendations.

A WORD ON FATIGUE

Fatigue is the flossy term for overtraining. It is another problem still widely ignored by professional Wushu coaches. Let’s make no mistake about it: OVERTRAINING IS THE ENEMY! Why?

Most training injuries are induced or directly caused by overtraining/fatigue.   That’s why.

Strangely enough, there are a few die-hards that insist that there is no such thing as overtraining and, indeed, you don’t seem to have this problem with kids at all (different metaboslim). Some exercise gurus go as far as to say that there is no overtraining, only undereating. Ha! This is ludicrous, and the data tell a whole different story. But they still could be on to something. The actual problem may not be too much training, but too little recovery.

The unpleasant result, however, remains the same.

Once you’ve blown out 25 candles on your birthday cake, recovery becomes of growing importance. The older we get, the more carefully we need to plan our training sessions.... and the rest periods between them.

WHAT MAKES YOU DO THE THINGS YOU DO?

I’ve heard from students: “Wow, this Chinese dude had me do this murderous 8-hour workout. I could hardly walk for a week. Fuckin’ A, man...”

Well, big deal. ANYONE can concoct a crazy training program that’s going to make you sore for days. That’s easy! I could just let you perform 100 squats with a barbell twice your body weight, followed by 5 sets of 100 jumping front kicks and have you do the chicken dance 10 times after that.

Will you be sore the following day? You bet. Will your jumping technique improve in the long run? You wish.

Wushu success comes with hard, regular, and consistent training (talent & dedication provided). That’s all there is to it.

Martial artists tend to be full of macho shit (I’m no exception to this rule, I’m ashamed to admit), so we seem to have a penchant for the old “what doesn’t kill us makes us stronger” baloney. Maybe that’s because Wushu guys are confused. Trapped somewhere between tradition and modernity... athletes playing warriors. Dude, we want to be cool so bad.

Unfortunately, it seems that prudence isn’t widely looked upon as cool.

Well... and then again, stupidity isn’t, either.

Train smart.