silat weight training

[rshively]

I am curious. Is there some form of weight training in kuntao silat similar to that used in other asian martial arts?Okinawans use a method of weight training known as hojo undo, which is the use of differing weights to improve overall strength and power. Some chinese use iron shirt as well as golden bell training to improve overall body conditioning and strength.In talking to a traditional okinawan karate stylist, he told me of his use of arm/wrist weights (similar to the weighted brass rings in chinese martial arts) when he trains in his forms/kata.Would the djurus be a good source for light weight training due to the extensive/individualized arm movements?In the past, I had known of some people who used light weights to strengthen the knife wielding hand(s). They said it improved their overall grip as well as use of the knife in slashing and thrusting. Or even to aid in the use of the baton/short stick.

[Kuntaoer]

Back in the day, my training partner and all around training genius Vince Brown introduced me to kettlebells and eventually clubbells. With Pak Steve’s blessing we integrated these *safer* tools over the big monkey wrenches/tool boxes/heavy found objects Pak Gartin was trained with.

Even if you closely follow just the training (and safety) methods available for free on Youtube, you can significantly improve your practice in a way that is very synergistic, just like KTS.

There are some unique exercises as well, evolved from Pak Steve’s teaching. We’ll try to shoot some of these as instructional clips by summertime for inclusion in the DLP section. (I may be talking out of school here, as I am not involved in the DLP, but I’ll shoot the vids and if Pak Steve is okay with them, I’m sure they’ll be made available.)

The simple rule to remember is that strength development needs to be functional, not isolated. KTS is a natural movement system. This means it works the way your body works, using complex/compound motions to perform tasks where the different parts of the body sync in unison. Isolated training, like you see in weight machines or in body building is often counter productive for developing the kind of refined strength you need to develop in KTS.

That said, both Kettlebells and Clubbells provide excellent tools for development that can improve your cardio, core and grip strength as well as improve leg flexibility and strength. I’ve found that they also become essential when training older students as they make rapid gains in stance flexibility and strength possible, shortening the time it takes to master basic skills.

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