Martial Arts Training | Power and Technique
Martial arts training involves the honing of power and technique. Power refers to your capacity to use your strength quickly and efficiently against your opponent. Strength is a quality while power is more of a technique, similar to a reverse punch.
Many martial arts students focus on practicing what they consider technique. The truth is there is no point in acquiring that perfect roundhouse kick unless it is backed with power. You need to feel power in its true sense. You cannot see it. It is not necessary for a powerful punch or kick to look powerful. Neither does the person delivering the knockout punch or kick necessarily conform to our concept of ‘strong’. Many a time you may have seen a boxer knock out his opponent with what looks like just a jab. You may have also witnessed a martial arts master demonstrating the power of his punch which seems to look like a minor flick of the arm. None of the people in these examples are overly strong. You may not regard them as people who could lift very heavy weights. On the other hand, you may have seen beefy looking fighters going down easily when punched by opponents who are much smaller built and less muscular than them.
All that is common to the boxer and the martial arts master is the technique known as ‘power’. You can use power to your advantage only after you have trained to be able to harness each and every muscle and ligament in your body. This technique focuses on training your muscles to act in coordination with one another. This is why it does not matter whether or not you fit the conventional definition of ‘strong’.
Power can be applied to just about any technique. Take for example a right hook. Once you master a right hook, that’s all it will ever be. However, you can use power to execute the right hook and create maximum impact. Similarly an technique you focus on improving can be perfected in order to deal the force that you are looking for without necessarily using your brute strength or trying to throw your bulk against your opponent. This is why it is worth your while to spend time and effort to learn all about power and how it can be applied to enhance your martial arts training. If you learn to use it accurately, you will see it come through with any technique that you select.
And here’s why it’s worth your while to learn about power: it can be applied to any so-called technique out there. If you master a right hook, that’s all it can ever be – a right hook. Sure, you can change the angles or the timing, but you’re still dealing with a right hook. But if you learn how to use power, it will come through with any technique you choose.
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