Jeet Kune Do Training Tips, Part 2: Strength Training

Strength training for Jeet Kune Do performance can be very beneficial. One thing to keep in mind is that the most important muscles to train are the muscles used in each type of martial arts movement. It is easy to get caught up in the body building routine. It has been said by some that weight training is not good for martial artists. They believe that your muscles will get too large and tend to slow you down. I do not buy into that way of thinking. If you are to practice your martial arts and use weight lifting as a supplement, you should have no problems at all. If your workouts were to consist of primarily weights with little work on speed and flexibility, then you may have a problem.

Building Strength For Punches

There are many different muscle groups involved in a punch. Starting with the forearms, the biceps and triceps, the deltoids, traps, pectorals, lats, and to some degree, the abdominals.

Surgical Tubing (resistance training)

A drill that will help increase all the muscle groups in a punch is to purchase a piece of surgical tubing from a medical supply store. (Or, I guess now days you can get it just about anywhere). Tie on end to something stationary and make a loop in the other end. Put your hand inside the loop and make a fist around it. Stand so that your back is to where you tied the other end. Throw a punch feeling the resistance of the tubing. Repeat this as fast as you can until you feel the muscles burn. Do this in three or four sets on each arm. This will not give you great gains in physical strength, it will not improve your bench press or squatting ability but it will help the muscle endurance in all the muscles that count. A variation of this drill that will more substantially impact your strength, (if you have access to a machine with cables) is to put a handle on the lower cable and throw punches with progressively more weight.

..use exercises that will isolate the muscles involved in a punch..

The best course of action is to use exercises that will isolate the muscles involved in a punch. They are too numerous to name but there are many books and magazines on weight lifting that will help.

Strength Training for Kicks and Footwork

Leg strength is crucial in all aspects of JKD. Strong calves and quads help produce a quick and powerful push off. Strong hamstring muscles ensure better flexibility and more forceful kicks.

Frog leaps

..you will notice a remarkable difference in your explosiveness…

Frog Leaps are a tool to develop the quads as well as increasing anaerobic endurance. They are a plyometric type exercise, using a person’s own body weight as resistance. To perform a Frog Leap, squat down with your feet about shoulder width. Using all your strength, leap upwards as high as you can. When you land, try to do so without any excess noise. Start off with three sets of twenty or so. With some work, you should be able to achieve three sets of fifty or more. If you’ve never done them before, expect to be sore the next couple of days. After a couple of months you will notice a remarkable difference in your explosiveness as well as your muscle endurance.

Footwork

The most important exercise for your legs is to practice footwork alone. Begin with repetitions of individual steps. For example, you may try five sets of fifty push offs. Just practice pushing forward over and over. Each time you can measure the distance you cover in order to measure progress.

Footwork is probably the most important attribute for JKD performance

Next, try tying a few steps together in combination. For instance, you might try a step forward, then to the right, ending with a right pivot. After a couple of weeks, when these three steps feel fluid and quick, change to another combination. This should be an on-going process since clean footwork is probably the most important attribute for JKD performance.

Jumping Rope

Jumping Rope is perfect all around exercise. If done frequently, it can build endurance, coordination, and lighter footwork. To keep from getting bored, add some fancy moves to your rope routine. Crossovers, double jumps, and alternating feet can provide a formidable challenge. When jumping, I happen to be very into music, so, while I jump, I turn up my favorite CD of the moment and just go.  Music works well to train with because it provides a rhythm and gives you something else to focus on rather than the fact that you are bored from just jumping in one place.  When you start, try to make it through one song and gradually build up so that you can go through the entire album. If you can jump rope for twenty minutes or more without stopping, you can consider yourself in pretty good shape. My students and I used to have contests to see who could jump the longest.  We got past one and a half hours and figured that might be too long.

Tagged as: Drills