Tips and Advice for Martial Arts

Due to the ever increasing popularity of martial arts, and the official adoption of taekwondo as an Olympic sport in 2000, countless numbers of kids and adults alike have taken up the ancient art of defense either as a competitive sport, self defense technique, or simply for exercise and to decrease stress. While there are many different styles, such as taekwondo, hapkido, and karate, there is still potential for injury. In 2003, the Consumer Product Safety Commission reported more than 70,000 injuries related to martial arts were treated in hospitals, doctors’ offices, clinics, ambulatory surgery centers and emergency rooms.

Though some styles of martial arts may be considered as much of a contact sport as football, for example, the training is very different. Unlike other sports where weightlifting to build muscle mass and strength is very important, success in martial arts is built on strategy, technique, mental discipline, endurance and flexibility.

"Training with your own body weight used as resistance or working with light weights are preferred methods of preparation," says Tri Ho, MD, orthopaedic surgeon and associate professor of surgery, Section of Orthopaedics at the University of Chicago. "Exercises that serve to develop strength, balance and flexibility are integral to martial arts training and help prevent injury," Dr. Ho added. Sprains, strains and contusions or bruising are some of the more common injuries associated with practicing martial arts. Strains can occur in both muscles and tendons and are caused by a sudden and extreme force that is greater than that area’s ability to handle. Bruising is another common injury seen in martial arts, occurring both in soft tissue areas, and also to bones.

When someone is struck on a bony surface, there may not be any discoloration, or swelling, but the impact may cause small fractures in the outer layers of the bone, which may take weeks to heal completely.

The American Academy of Orthopaedic Surgeons offers these tips for martial arts participants to train and compete safely:

Consult with a physician before beginning your conditioning to establish your readiness
Train under the direction of a martial arts instructor who focuses on form and technique, rather than competitive strategy
Wear the appropriate protective gear for your type of activity; for example, taekwondo, as a full contact sport, requires a head guard, a body protector, forearm and shin guards, and a groin guard
Exercise to strengthen the stabilizer muscles: rotator cuff muscles and hip adductors (inner thigh muscles or groins) and abductors (muscles on the outermost part of the hip), which help to support the back and hips-critical to this activity
Maintain proper breathing techniques when practicing martial arts to avoid injury--breathing out during the contraction portion of any stretching movement, and breathing in during the extension portion of any stretching movement
There must always be an adversary present in spirit; at no time take your eyes off him, show your teeth or laugh.
The spirit must draw together the body and the instincts.
When the mind is dissipated, the physical and mental force which is in you loses its co ordination.
Painful exercises improve the concentration, and enable you to discover the truth about yourself.
In every attack there is a problem of reaction, the force recoils on the attacker and he loses if his posture is defective (buttocks stuck out, shoulder moved back, heel raised or an incomplete Hikite), this also explains the unity of the direction of force. Execute everything in one solid, unified action, instantaneously.
Mental concentration can lead to an apparent increase in weight, as well as efficacy.
The eyes must attack first of all, followed by the foot then the fist, but all must reach the target at the same time.
In blocking, it is necessary to increase your own stability while making your adversary lose his. If he is better balanced or stronger than you are, you must unbalance him as you block.
In every action, you must be aware of your own weak points (so as to defend them) and those of your opponent (so as to counter).
It is necessary to rediscover childlike purity and add to it the strength and speed of a man.
Nobody has a Mastery of Karate, for it is the total mastery of body and spirit which is the aim of Karate. It is necessary then to pursue your training in order to approach the maximum.
Before passing on to other types of counter-attack, master the Gyaku-tsuki shudan (middle level). But keep the others in mind.
Put the finishing touches to your blocks, postures and attacks. The majority of 2nd and 3rd Dan black belts go back again to the beginner's Karate simply because it is quicker and stronger. The ultimate object is different. If not, you will be unable to extend your technique to cover the whole field of Karate.
All the postures other than Zen-Kutsu, Ko-Kutsu or Kiba-Dachi are variations of these. The three basic postures should, ideally, have the same distance between feet and the same narrow spaces between the arms and the body, with differing distributions of weight.
Everything which causes the shoulders to move forward is weak.
Everything which is on the axis of your body (which is also the line on which is found the three or four vital points) is strong.
Connected with the respiration, the body traverses successive periods of weakness and strength.
The sides under your arms are very weak, to protect them always will also strengthen them.
Perform Tsuki with your lower abdomen and your buttocks.
Your force should go right through your opponent, not stop at his body.
Do not curl up your toes and put strength into the ankles.
One cannot attack in Kokutsu without a period of "dead" time.
It is the forward knee which "pulls" the body.
Never put force in your shoulders, but under them.
In attack and defence, think of the rotation of the wrist, for a small force can turn aside a great one.
It is necessary to be always ready to block in all directions, to envelop yourself in a sensation of defence.
In combat, your breathing should not be visible to your adversary.
Karate can not be understood just by looking at it, but by work from the inside. It is not an intellectual game.
Always keep the lips low, at the same level.
The thumb must envelope the other clenched fingers, the little finger, being the weakest, should be folded first.
Between block and counter-attack, the fist should remain firm, with gradations of the concentration of force invisible to the adversary.
That which is essential is not the quantity or the beauty but the quality.
It is necessary that those whom you meet to train you are not merely pleased to see you, but have respect for your efforts and intentions.
It is the body and not the head which should remember the order and the development of a Kata.
One should not stop breathing during a Kata, a Kumite or an attack, neither at the impact nor even afterwards.
Try to find which is the strongest Oi-Tsuki or Gyaku-Tsuki.
The power of the Hikite (withdrawing the arm to the side) should be greater than the attack or the block. Should the forearm be horizontal, downwards or upwards?
The Kiai, an element of respiration, is just a consequence of the union of moral, psychical and physical force at its culminating point.
An effective action is always apparently simple, without particular force. A due amount of force should be employed in Kime.
In each Kata, each Kihon and each Kumite, it is necessary to try and discover something and to have the impression that one has found more than in the last training