Martial art: how & why avoid repetitive exercise

Master Kongling All, Conditioning, Exercises, Mind / body control, Training, Training sessions, Training tools constant change, functional training, training organization 2

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The benefits of constant change conditioning

After the explanation of what we mean by “constant change” in our Kung Fu (read Same exercises, different execution) we want now to share a few practical ideas on how to make our training:

More focused
More realistic
More interesting
More effective
Less time-consuming
Less passive
More in a multitasking direction (read Multitasking: how to develop it and why)
…

Note – This article has been asked by one of our Core Course practitioners on Patreon (see how to attend our home study classes here Learn Kung Fu online: a beginner-to-expert course).

The reasons

A note by Master Kongling – If in the past, the idea of endlessly repeating the same movements was imposed (at any cost) by the external discipline of the master, today it is rarely possible and even counterproductive (read Discipline is the key to freedom): it is for this reason that our school elaborated the idea of “constant change”.

The problem is that for those who approach for the first time a real martial practice (in the meaning of daily training, read Daily training: the right psychophysical effort): the hardest aspect to accept is the idea of always repeating the same moves (for days, weeks, months and years).

A note by Master Kongling – The reason for this frustration is a too acerb understanding of martial arts moved by passion instead of self-discipline (read Motivation: from passion to self-discipline). The mind of the new students (especially the younger and especially today) is constantly overstimulated and therefore totally unable to remain focused on the same task (the only one that really matters): improving, improving and improving again.

Being 6 Dragons Kung Fu a modern martial art (read 6 Dragons Kung Fu: what does it teach?) and being precisely designed for our century, it has developed a way to make the practice (at the same time):

Less boring / monotonous
More effective in terms of realism
More functional for muscle memory education (read The right way to develop muscle memory)

And all of this without contravening the ancient Kung Fu principle of repetition aimed at improvement: but now let’s stop talking and let’s see how to do it in the practice of our training sessions.

Training: examples of constant changes

How to make the same exercises always different?

Let’s see some practical examples of alteration of the same exercise:

Placing obstacles (on the ground, hanging, on the body, etc.)
Including other exercises (eg. throwing harmless darts during a sparring session)
Inserting distractions of senses or mind (hearing, smell, sight, logic, etc.)
Inserting advantage or disadvantage situations (eg. during sparring opponent wielding a stick)
Blocking of one or more limbs (eg. fighting with our hands tied behind our back, with one foot tied to the opponent, etc.)
Excluding of one or more senses (eg. combat in the dark, blindfolded, etc.)
Addition of body weights (a stones basket, a weighted vest, etc.)
Control of breathing (apnea, limiting the inflow of oxygen, etc.)
Scenario control (eg. to fight and remember the position of the surrounding objects)
Multitasking (eg. listening during an exercise to technical explanations)
Changing the speed of execution (at command faster, slower, variable, etc.)
Change the time available to achieve a goal (eg. the same repetitions in half time)
Replacing the training tools (harder, more flexible, more distant, more high, etc.)
Replacing the training weapons (heavier, lighter, longer, improvised, etc.)
Changing the training environment (under the weather, in narrow spaces, etc.)
…

A note by Master Kongling – 6 Dragons Kung Fu is not a passive teaching. In the initial phases of the martial workout, it is the master who decides the variations for the student but at a more advanced level (reached a certain preparation), it is the practitioner who must begin to formulate personal and reasoned choices (calibrated to his / her capabilities or development needs).

Final notes

A few tips and considerations:

These are only a few general examples that fit with most training practice but each exercise has specific variations (that we try to describe exercise per exercise)
It is useless to say that each decision about changing an exercise has to be taken with the idea of practicing safely and especially to reach better performance (eg. it is not intelligent to try to increase a weight that we cannot move)
It is important to understand that not all the variations are the same and if one damages the quality of the practice (or of our conditioning) it is obvious that it must be removed or postponed to a time when we will be able to manage it (there is no rush, the only thing to focus on is what is described here The first martial skill to be acquired)
Even if the variations are very useful, it is essential to also run exercise sessions in their basic version (let’s not waste hours thinking about the most bizarre variations); the perfect moment in which it is fundamental to introduce an alteration to the practice is when it becomes too simple, mechanical or uninteresting (how to notice it? Simple, if our mind is able to think of something else, it means that we are training below our capabilities)
If we are beginners or we are facing an exercise for the first time, it is better not to add too many variations (let’s focus on the original version, which, for us, is already inevitably new); if we really have to, we opt for alterations that do not imply an increase in difficulty or danger
In general, in all those cases where we need 100% of our focus to reach our training goals (eg. acquiring a complex skill, movement, etc.) it is better to not add too many collateral distractions (it would be counterproductive)
Last but not least, it is important to stress that a variation is not necessarily something more complex or difficult, it may even be something simpler or even neutral (eg. simply focused on another dynamic)
…

In-depth video courses

How to build strong self-discipline – A step-by-step path to that kind of self-control that brings results (in life, martial arts, work, etc.)
Mind self-control hacks – How to improve our mental capabilities (focus, planning, quick reasoning, etc.)
Basic 6 Dragons Kung Fu exercises – An effective conditioning routine that helps to build correct habits with a lower mental effort

In-depth articles

The constant training in everyday life – What does it mean and how to manage a serious daily martial workout
Constant attention: what is and how it works – A concept useful for the multitasking development

Questions

Reply in the comments and share your experience:

What variations are you likely to experiment with?

Author: Master Kongling

Founder of 6 Dragons Kung Fu.

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