RKC News - December 2013

Boxing, wrestling, karate, judo, Thai boxing, MMA... what do almost all martial arts have in common? Their fundamental movement! A strong, explosive forward movement. Therefore, martial artists of all kinds need a training system that enhances this fundamental movement. Of course, it goes without saying that a martial artist must also be well-trained in other areas! However, I want to focus on the "fundamental movement" in this article. Why? It's quite simple! Every movement of our entire body in space, every punch, kick, throw, every takedown of the opponent, etc., utilizes this movement as a power generator.

Let's take a closer look at this. By forward movement, I do not mean walking, running, or jumping in general. I specifically mean the phase of movement in which our body accelerates its limbs and/or pushes or pushes off against a resistance (e.g., the ground).

So where does this power come from? And how does our body build it up? Imagine our body as an X.

The lines that spring from the center are our limbs. The intersection is our body center, also called the core. In this center, which extends roughly from the sternum/diaphragm area to the pelvis/glute area, the power we need for the mentioned movement and, of course, beyond for all our movements and exertions is generated! Our hip area plays a key role here.

Our muscle chains converge in this area and are activated most strongly here! The glute muscles do the majority of the work and are one of the muscle groups that have the greatest influence on our overall body strength!

Muscle tension is the key word. The more muscle fibers and, above all, the faster the muscle fibers can be activated, the more power output! It can be concluded that martial artists need an integrative full-body training that particularly emphasizes the core area and this forward movement.

My answer to that is the Hardstyle SWING.

This exercise offers you everything you need!!! Collaboration of the largest muscle chains, explosive hip movement FORWARD, rhythmic alternation between total tension and relative relaxation, development of outstanding explosive and maximal strength, improvement of striking power and grip strength, and a heart of steel. That’s why I believe the SWING is the best tool in the Hardstyle kettlebell toolbox that we have available for martial artists!

... that proper training with the kettlebell results in a consistently low heart rate and corresponding blood pressure? This was already proven by a Siberian scientist in the 1990s. Moreover, not only was the pulse low during resting phases of her subjects, but also during and immediately after high physical exertion. The recovery time that the heart needed to return to a normal pulse level also decreased! (Source: ETKB)