Archive for the ‘Strength Training for Sports and Martial Arts’ Category
Resistance and Technique
To make myself stronger, I use resistance between the minimum that forces the correct technique and the maximal training resistance (MTR)—the greatest resistance that can be overcome without a strong effort of will and emotional stress. Exceeding the MTR, except for a well-justified test, is about vanity, showing off—it doesn’t perfect technique (it leads to […]
Filed under: Sports Technique, Strength Training for Sports and Martial Arts | 5 Comments
Tags: correct technique, maximal training resistance, optimal training resistance, Science of Sports Training, strength training, Thomas Kurz, Tom Kurz
A few people have asked me, “What is the difference between the Flexibility Express and Secrets of Stretching DVDs?” Here is my answer: I made Secrets of Stretching when I was 35. I made Flexibility Express at 55, so the main difference between those two DVDs is 20 years of research and experience. The other […]
Filed under: Flexibility and Stretching, Strength Training for Sports and Martial Arts | 10 Comments
Tags: Bodhi Chenevey, fighters, Flexibility, Flexibility Express, martial artists, resistance exercises, Secrets of Stretching, strength, stretches, Thomas Kurz
It has been a long while since I produced any instructional material on training for sports and martial arts. The reason is a severe shoulder injury I had a few years ago. I totally dislocated and nearly destroyed my shoulder. (Full info on the injury is at http://atomic-temporary-4752433.wpcomstaging.com/2010/06/30/back-bridge-twist-seminar-excerpt and http://atomic-temporary-4752433.wpcomstaging.com/2009/10/22/no-sweat-workout/#comment-133.) Of course, I was not […]
Filed under: Flexibility and Stretching, Strength Training for Sports and Martial Arts | 19 Comments
Tags: back bridge, exercises, Flexibility, Flexibility Express, martial arts, shoulder injury, shoulder rehab, shoulder surgery, splits, sports, strength, stretching, Thomas Kurz, Tom Kurz
Someone has asked me what I think about using resistance bands in kick training, specifically Myosource Kinetic Bands. (You can see a martial arts class using these bands in the video below.) Here is my answer: With good technique, they could help. The TKD master in the video is an abysmally poor instructor, so for […]
Filed under: Sports Technique, Strength Training for Sports and Martial Arts, Teaching Movement Skills for Sports and Martial Arts | 6 Comments
Tags: American Taekwondo Association, ATA, athlete, Chief Master Steve Westbrook, Children and Sports Training, comedy, elastic resistance, instructor, kick, kicking, martial arts, martial arts class, Myosource Kinetic Bands, resistance bands, Songahm Taekwondo Federations, sports training, STU, taekwondo, technique, Thomas Kurz, TKD master, World Traditional Taekwondo Union, WTTU
In this post I will use two quotes from a recent blog post by James Steele II. Here is the first quote: “Unless you allow recovery to happen supercompensation will never occur and eventually the body will decompensate.” And my comment on it: It is worse than that—muscles frequently not allowed to recover between workouts […]
Filed under: Strength Training for Sports and Martial Arts | 6 Comments
Tags: fast twitch muscle fiber, High-Intensity Training, HIT, Insufficient Recovery, slow twitch muscle fiber, Thomas Kurz, Tom Kurz
Not All CrossFits Are Equal
I got the following questions from a reader of Stretching Scientifically. > I received your book, Stretching Scientifically, and have been very excitedly > attempting to develop side and front splits. I’ve recently begun taekwondo, > but I come from a background of CrossFit, where I’ve been doing deep squats and > other movements with […]
Filed under: Flexibility and Stretching, Strength Training for Sports and Martial Arts | 10 Comments
Tags: crossfit, deep squat, front splits, horse-riding stance, side splits, taekwondo, Thomas Kurz, Tom Kurz
A couple of days ago I answered these questions from a young fighter. I get similar questions from time to time, so I decided to share my answer with my readers. Questions: I am preparing for amateur matches in Muay Thai and boxing. I work out twice a day. In the morning I begin with […]
Filed under: Exercises and Workouts, Flexibility and Stretching, Strength Training for Sports and Martial Arts, Teaching Movement Skills for Sports and Martial Arts | 3 Comments
Tags: boxing, Control of the Training Process, Flexibility, isometric stretches, Muay Thai, optimal frequency of workouts, relaxed stretches, Science of Sports Training, Secrets of Stretching, sport-specific exercises, static stretches, strength, technical workout, Thomas Kurz, Tom Kurz, warm-up, workout
First, Fix Faults
My observations tell me that the key to a great and lasting performance improvement is not in trying harder but in removing obstacles. In other words, fixing faults pays more than overcoming them. Therefore, when asked to advise people how to improve their performance, my guiding principle is “Usun usterki,” or in English, “First, fix […]
Filed under: Sports Injuries, Sports Technique, Strength Training for Sports and Martial Arts | 10 Comments
Tags: active release, injuries, lower crossed syndrome, martial arts, muscle activation, performance, posture, taekwondo, Thomas Kurz, upper crossed syndrome
On May 11th I did an audio interview with Mark Knapp of PhysiDex.com. The interview was done over Skype, so the recording is not studio-quality, but it may still be worth your while to listen to. Here are Mark’s main questions: What are some of the biggest myths or misconceptions that you see regarding stretching and […]
Filed under: Flexibility and Stretching, Strength Training for Sports and Martial Arts | 8 Comments
Tags: sports, stretching and flexibility
Three weeks ago I returned from a business trip to Poland. In my time free from business meetings, I gave two seminars on combining strength and flexibility training. Those seminars were organized by Dariusz Nowicki, member of the Technical Committee of the World Taekwondo Federation (WTF), trainer of the best Taekwondo club in Poland, sports […]
Filed under: Flexibility and Stretching, Strength Training for Sports and Martial Arts | 8 Comments
Tags: exercises, Flexibility, jet lag, Piotr Drabik, seminar, strength, Thomas Kurz
