Combat Fitness

The fitness you need to fight.

The Problem

Fitness is a generic term. Just like when people tell me they want to be "in-shape." I tell them, "great you are already in a shape, but you must want a different shape?"

Most people think about exercise and they break it down into strength, cardio and stretching. Nothing specifically wrong with these qualities but the means by which they set to achieve them may be better suited for a bodybuilder than a combat athlete.

Another problem is that strength training, cardio and flexibility are only 3 pieces of a HUGE jigsaw puzzle.

There are other areas to consider...

The Solution

For combat athletes we need to clearly define fitness... here are my definitions and why they are important for martial artists:

1) Appearance

Now for the record, I don't think appearance is the most important attribute for a martial artist, but most types of fitness programs are aimed at appearance so I figured I would start here.

Appearance comes via building muscle and burning fat... period. So a good fitness program will do just that. Now most professional and Olympic athletes do not train for appearance, they actually look good as a consequence of the muscle building and fat burning that comes with their athletic training and strict nutritional program.

I'm going to make appearance training really simple... ready?

Lift heavy stuff and you will build muscle, move a lot and you will burn fat.

Good now that that is out of the way we can focus on building strength, speed and other important attributes and understand that appearance will happen as a side-effect rather than the goal of our training.

2) Strength

When most people think strength they think muscle strength, and indeed I also mean that. But in addition to muscle strength I also mean bone strength, tendon strength, ligament and joint capsule strength.

Muscles can be strong but it is usually joints that get injured, so we need tough strong joints as combat athletes. We accomplish this via Z-Health dynamic joint mobility training done at sports speed.

We get the strong bones via lifting heavy weights. Kettlebells, barbells, bodyweight, etc.

If you have read about neural inhibition in my Z-Health page then you understand that dynamic joint mobility has a HUGE role in how strong you are.

So my typical strength training programs I use with my private clients, phone and internet clients and group fitness classes consist of kettlebells, barbells, bodyweight training, sub-maximal plyometrics and dynamic joint mobility.

3) Flexibility or MOBILITY

I don't like the term flexibility because it is too associated with endless hours of grueling stretching. I don't stretch and i can kick over my head easy. Passive stretching is often just a waste of time and believe it or not can lead to injuries. Numerous studies have shown that stretching increases the odds of injury and makes you weaker and less powerful.

So how do we become more flexible?

Well there are a number of cool ways but with my clients I use active mobility drills as the main tool. These are pain-free, work very quickly compared to passive stretching and come with the side benefit of developing coordination and strength at the same time!

4) Cardio or STAMINA

Cardio is what bodybuilders do, stamina training is what combat athletes do. In a fight if you are going for the burn, trying to elevate your heart rate or keep your VO2max at a certain level then you aren't trying to fight.

I strongly believe we should train how we intend to fight... so that is how I train stamina.

Traditional cardio is long, drawn out and boring. A typical street fight lasts from about 2 to 90 seconds... and that is only if the fighters don't know how to end the fight and are wrestling around on the ground.

So when I train my fighters it is intense high output cardio such as sprints, kettlebells swings/snatches, etc. or burpees or similar exercise. I have special intervals that have been demonstrated to be ideal for fighters by hard research.

I also emphasize developing stamina slowly and easily. I see way too many people with grimaces on their faces, struggling, fighting and beating the crap out of themselves while training cardio/stamina.

Well remember, under stress you revert to training... so I teach my fighters to stay calm, cool and collected while gradually increasing their cardio output and stamina.

That way cardio/stamina training for martial artists never has to be a puke bucket type of event, it can actually be rather pleasant.

5) Visual Skills & Vestibular Training

This may seem like an odd one... Isn't vision genetic? Isn't the only thing you can do is to wear contacts or glasses...?

"EEEHH" (buzzer sound)

Vision is a skill and can be improved just like playing a piano, throwing a punch or lifting weights.

Vision is a coordinated effort of the brain and nervous system to control the 6 eye muscles, the cornea's size and speed of contracting and opening, reshaping of the lens, interpreting information and figuring out what to do with it, etc.

See Clearer and Faster, React Sooner, Hit First!

In fact here are just a few of the visual skills you need as a martial artist:

• Near/Far - the ability to shift your vision from a close object to a near object and vice versa
• Saccade - shifting the eyes' focus from left to right and back very quickly
• Visual Tracking - keeping focus on fixation on a rapidly moving object, like a punch!
• Peripheral Vision - while it is true we lose a deal of peripheral vision in a fight, we can maintain some of it and dramatically improve our reaction time by training it
• Coordination - another term for this is an OODA loop. Basically once you see something a signal goes to your brain via the optic nerve. The brain determines if what it sees is dangerous or not, then places it into context and then determines an action that needs to be taken. Then those action signals go to the muscles of the body via nerves in order to parry that punch, disarm that gun or avoid being hit by a driver who is veering into your lane! I will train this response to happen faster in you!
• there are many others, in fact I have over a dozen visual skill tests and exercises to make you bad-ass!

Your Vestibular system lies inside your inner ear and is responsible for telling your brain which way is up while your head is in motion. People who get sea sickness or vertigo have a poorly trained vestibular system. The cool thing is we can train it and make it better!

As a martial artist, imagine someone grabs you in a Thai clench or other clench and starts to throw you around. Now your head is moving, twisting, tilting, etc. You get disoriented and fall down and now have someone on top of you slamming fists down on you. With good vestibular skills you would have not fallen but would have reacted properly to the movement and maintained your balance.

6) Athletic Movement Mechanics

Have you ever been amazed by someone who just naturally hits hard, runs fast, moves well, etc?

How about Mike Tyson's incredible power? Or Bruce Lee's ability to hit like a heavyweight at only 135 lbs? We say of someone like that that they have really great movement mechanics.

Movement mechanics are the ability to feel what angles you need to create in your body in order to have maximum leverage. Movement mechanics are limited by your skill, level of mobility in your joints (one more reason to practice Z-Health dynamic joint mobility!) and balance.

I teach my students several movement mechanics drills to make them quicker, faster, smoother, better balanced, and more explosive.

7) Skill

Skill may sound simple, just practice your techniques. Well it is far more complex and then ultimately simple again once you understand skill. Every single thing you do is skill... let me repeat that, EVERY SINGLE THING YOU DO IS SKILL!

When you think of a top level athlete what athletic qualities do they have?

Michael Jordan, arguably the best basketball player ever, or at least in his time, was NOT the strongest guy on the team. He did not have the highest vertical jump. He wasn't the fastest. He wasn't the tallest or shortest. He wasn't the biggest, he really wasn't the anything-ist of the qualities that most people think of.

What he was... was the guy who did just the right thing, at just the right time, with just the right amount of effort.

How does one become "like Mike?"

Vision skills, efficient movement through movement mechanics, learning to relax so as to not overly use energy and tire one's self out. Timing is all about vision and experience.

So to build skill, don't just practice, pick an area to get better at and train to become better.

If there are any athletic qualities you feel are missing, just realize that they are part of the overall package and are built-in to the training qualities listed above, even if I didn't fully list them out.

Where Can You Train Like an ATHLETE, and NOT a Hamster?

I'm glad you asked. At Copeland's Core Fitness studio... conveniently located at the same exact place where my Progressive Combat Systems studio is. I am the owner of both and teach both.

I have 2 passions in life, fitness and fighting, they are a natural pair so why not become an expert in both?

I have spent the better part of my life researching, testing and applying fitness and fighting and continue to do so all of the time.

I have kettlebell/Z-Health fitness classes right after the Jeet Kune Do classes so that you can come train martial arts and then stay and train fitness.

If that sounds exhausting realize that my martial arts classes will probably not exhaust you. We aren't knocking each other around for 90 minutes, we are training with precision, sometimes even slowly.

90 minutes of Jeet Kune Do + 60 minutes of kettlebells and Z-Health = a life of feeling great, looking great, performing great and being bad-ass!

What more could you ask for?

A 6-demon bag? c'mon Egg Chen!

Reading about how to feel better won't cut it, you actually have to do it... Yeah, crazy huh?

Your Next Step

Ok, if you are finally convinced that a combination of kettlebell training, Z-Health and the rest of Brian's bag of skills is what you need then here is what you do...

You need to contact Brian for the best option for you from the following list:

Private Training - 1-on-1 personalized to your needs.
- This is the best option for someone experiencing pain, tightness or range of motion issues.

Semi-Private Training - You and your family, friends or coworkers can experience personalized attention. This is appropriate for 2-3 people with minor to moderate issues who want to get rid of aches, improve posture and range of motion and then begin fitness training.

Group Classes - Small cozy groups of like minded people, just like the Jeet Kune Do classes! Classes are always kept safe, fun and are catered to each individual's skill and fitness level.
- These classes are open to the public and are for all skill levels but you must contact me before joining one.
- Classes are not just for my martial artists, in fact most of them are regular folks not into martial arts but many of my fighters are also there too.
- Not appropriate for someone with pain or severe range of motion issues; get a private Z-Health session first.
- Get a discount for combining the Jeet Kune Do classes with the Kettlebell / Z-Health classes

Workshops or Seminars - Need government, corporate or sports team training? Contact me with the details.

Contact me to find out which option is best

Not in Colorado? Ask me about my phone and internet based training options or one of my products.

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