How to Meditate – Energy Meditation for Beginners
Hey Guys,
For those new to meditation, Qigong energy work is a useful tool in accumulating, increasing, and controlling one’s internal energy. Once developed, this energy can be used for health maintenance, internal healing, healing others, or to enhance martial arts techniques in a variety of ways, including increasing one’s speed and power, hardening the body and numbing pain, elevating states of consciousness and enhancing mental perception.
Essential Qigong Energy Work Principles:
- Erectness of the spine
- Crown point of the head upright as if suspended by a string
- Toungue pressed against the roof of the mouth just behind the palate
- Deep abdominal breathing, concentrating on drawing breath to the seat of energy just below the navel.
- Breathe in through the nose, slowly
Even though the lungs don’t actually extend to the lower abdomen, visualizing the breath travel to those depths is a helpful aid. With every breath comes energy, and though air itself will not travel to the seat of energy, the energy within will. Energy will accumulate there as directed by your will.
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The Truth About Getting Abs – How to Get Rid of Belly Fat
Hey Guys,
There is still a great deal of misinformation out there about how to get ripped six pack abs, most of it propagated by men and women’s health magazines which make their money off of Read more
Post-Workout Static Stretching (Wall Stretching)
Hey guys,
There’s quite a bit of confusion about what kind of stretching ought to be done when. Generally speaking, performing static stretching only lightly prior to kicking followed by dynamic stretching will loosen you up without risk of pulling a muscle. Hard static stretching should be saved for your post-workout cool down stretch. Stretching while standing in the same position as the kicks you are practicing serves to develop functional flexibility. You can focus on proper body alignment, foot position, and allow your body weight to pull you into increasing deep stretches.
The keys to static wall stretching:
- Focus on the two primary body alignments, the front and side kick positions. These are really all you need to improve all around flexibility as relates to kicking (and just about everything else)
- Maintain a straight spine. In martial arts, this is a fundamental principle of not only power and speed, but also of mental and physical health. Don’t push the stretch to the point you need to compensate by arching your back.
- Stretch within your limits. This type of stretching can be uncomfortable at first. Don’t force a stretch. Stretch to moderate discomfort, hold, relax, and breathe into the muscle with long deep breaths until it lengthens, and then push a little farther.
Front Kick Stretch:
- On the frontal stretch, keep both legs straight, and the base foot as forward facing as possible (though in the beginning, it may help to turn the toes out a bit).
- On the frontal stretch, bend from the waist, don’t try to pull the shoulders and head down.
Side Kick Stretch:
- On the side kick stretch, maintain a 180 degree pivot on your base foot.
- Make sure your shoulders/chest are in side alignment with the kicking leg.
- Have the foot of the kicking leg flat, or turned down slightly, not turned up. This will ensure the groin is properly stretched, and will pave the way for a true side kick.
- The primary stretch here occurs in the standing leg, so make sure that it is straight, with the body kept as upright as possible.
- Don’t bend your kicking leg to gain height on the stretch. This is not a true stretch.
You’ll notice at the end of each of these static stretches I add about 10 seconds of tension, taking my leg off the wall and holding it at its peak. This provides strength and balance at your fullest range of motion. And it makes for viscous kicks.
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The Glorious Hook Kick…and Axe Kick
Ok, well, I’d be lying if I said these kicks were necessary for fitness kicking, but to leave them out would be a real disservice to those who want to kick kick kick. These are two of my favorite techniques, and they require more flexibility and strength than any of the other fundamental kicking techniques we’ve looked at so far. But they are beautiful and a hell of a lot of fun.
What makes these kicks both difficult and unique is that force is applied in the opposite direction of your preparatory setup. In the hook kick, your body turns in and away like a side kick, but rather than merely drive side ways in a linear fashion, your glutes and hamstrings engage at the last second to hook your leg all the way behind you. In the case of the ax kick, the upward momentum is only a precursor to the actual kick, which enhances muscular stretch and forces the hamstring to work harder in dragging the kick down at full force. In both of these kicks, the preparation to the kick is the key to generating full speed and power, but for most beginners, if done too quickly, will jeapordize proper form.
Keys to the hook kick:
- The hook kick combines the extension of a side kick with the contraction of a roundhouse kick. Learn those kicks well to perform this kick well.
- Pivot your base foot 180 degrees, just as in the side kick.
- Open the hips fully to improve reach and power in your follow-through.
- Keep your lead shoulder upright, don’t turn it downward to add reach and countertorque.
- Stay relaxed! This kick will go nowhere if the body is tense.
- Enjoy! I love this kick.
Keys to the ax kick:
- Practice your dynamic stretching/rising kicks, as the setup for this kick is identical to a front rising kick.
- Hold your body upright until you’ve reached peak height before leaning away and opening the hips. This increases tension and speed in the kick.
- Don’t forget that the ax kick is a downward kick, so be mindful of the downward pulling action that needs to take place after the rising action.
- Stay relaxed and exhale as you kick!
More Kicking Tutorials.
Crescent Kicking 101
Hey Guys,
In this video we’re breaking down the crescent kick (s). Fortunately its a kick that doesn’t require much breaking down, because its basically swinging the leg up and around. Most people can perform this technique to some degree with very little training, which is what makes it such a great technique to use for fitness kicking.
This technique will focus largely on the hip flexors, but if performed slowly will also strengthen the quadriceps and abdominals. We’re looking at two versions of the kick, the in-to-out crescent kick and the out-to-in crescent kick, which are close to the opposite of one another. In both of these kicks, the bent leg versions are faster and more effective fighting techniques. The straight leg versions require more effort and offer the greatest fitness benefits. Here are a few key pointers for each technique.
In-to-out crescent kick:
- Begin by first closing off the shoulders and hips, this spring loads the kicking leg.
- Before bringing the leg up, whip the shoulders and hips open. This is the driving force.
- Allow the hips to open fully and bring the kick all the way back behind yourself.
- Stay relaxed and breathe through the technique. Tension will kill this kick.
Out-to-in crescent kick:
- Lead the technique with the shoulders, but not the hips or knee.
- The knee should remain above the foot prior to full extension, rather than leading in front of it as is done in a roundhouse kick.
- The base foot should pivot out to allow the hips to open and greater follow through. Don’t lock the base foot, as it can endanger your base knee.
More Kicking Tutorials.
Side Kick and Back Kick – Fitness Kicking Basic Techniques Part 2
Hey Guys,
This is the followup to the previous video on the front and roundhouse kicks. These four kicks comprise the basis of fitness kicking, that is, they provide a total core and lower body fitness solution. The front and roundhouse kick discussed in the last video focus on the muscles lining the front of the body, namely the abdominals, obliques, hip flexors, and quadriceps.
On to perhaps the greatest of all kicks, the side kick. I’ve always believed that the defining mark of an expert martial artist is the quality of her side kick. It’s one of those kicks you just can’t fake or pull off by virtue of being a well rounded athlete. Nothing prepares one for the side kick but doing side kicks. What makes this techniques so important for fitness, is that it isolates a muscle that is very difficult to develop without functional training, the gluteus medius. The is a muscle on the side of the hip, and helps form the region known as the glutes.
Chambering the side kick with a high knee position engages the obliques immediately, and pivoting 180 degrees ensures that the glutes are engaged, rather than relying on the hip flexor. A pivot of 180 degrees means that the toes of the foot you’re standing on point in the complete opposite direction from where the kick is aimed. This is a detail that is essential to a good sidekick, and one worth hammering down over and over until effortless.
The back kick is similar in many ways to the side kick, so to accentuate their differences, you ought to have a low knee chamber (knee pointed at the ground) prior to kicking. And as the kick extends, try as much as possible not to open the hips completely, which would result in the ending position looking quite like a side kick. Starting with a low knee chamber, keeping the hips closed, and forcing the toes to point downward upon full extension will make this technique a truly indispensible fitness tool.
A proper back kick, as just described, will strengthen and tone the glutes, hamstrings, and lower back. In other words, it’ll tone and tighten everything on the back side of you. Throw this kick 30 times and you’ll see exactly how well it targets that region. In many ways it is much easier to learn and practice than a proper side kick, and it probably provides better fitness results, as most of us want a nice ass…or so I hear.
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Front and RoundHouse Kicks – Fitness Kicking Basic Techniques Part 1
Hey Guys,
In this video we’ll look at two fundamental kicking techniques, the front kick and the roundhouse kick. Most people need little explanation of them, though there are several key pointers that enhance the fitness benefits of them. When done properly, the front kick will develop the abdominals, the hip flexors, and the quadriceps, regardless of which version you’re practicing. The ball of the foot front kick however will give a stronger quadricep contraction, while the front push kick will emphasize hip flexor strength.
The roundhouse kick on the other hand is great for tightening the midsection and toning the obliques and outer thigh. When practicing any of these techniques, a basic guideline to follow is that performing the techniques slowly under full control will improve strength and tone, while performing them quickly will provide better cardiovascular benefits.
More Kicking Tutorials.
Fitness Kicking Pre-Workout Dynamic Stretching
Hey Guys,
Dynamic (ballistic) stretching is one of the most neglected elements of a kicking workout, and this neglect is the reason many people sustain injuries when kicking. Dynamic stretching gradually warms and stretches the antagonist muscle through a full range of motion. For example, as the hip flexor and quadriceps pull your leg higher, your hamstrings are responsible for relaxing and stretching, and eventually stopping the kick.
Our bodies have a natural stretch reflex that forces muscular contraction when the speed and length of the stretch approaches previous limits. This can be extremely dangerous as it can lead to muscle pulls and tears very easily. Dynamic stretching is the best way to recondition your body to overcome the stretch reflex, and if this is done in some manner before every workout, it can allow you to maintain your functional flexibility forever.
Dynamic Stretching Pointers:
- Always keep the kicking leg straight. This prevents harsh snapping which can overstress the muscle before it’s sufficiently warm
- Maintain good posture, spine as straight as possible.
- Start slow and low, and gradually increase height and speed with later sets.
- Lightly warm the body up even before dynamic stretching (with time you may not need this).
- On front rising and crescent dynamic stretches, kicking your opposite hand will 1) keep your hips and shoulders square, allowing for a focused hamstring stretch, and 2) stop the momentum of the stretch without entirely relying on the strength of the antagonist muscle to contract.
More Stretching Videos.