How To Never Give Up On Your Martial Arts Ever Again

When I was in China, a friend of mine called to say that he was unwell. I asked him to come and visit me so I could teach him Qigong, he told me he didn't have time, I said to him, but when you are sick you will have time to go to hospital because you have no choice. The next day he came and studied with me for seven days. 

It has been my experience that one of the best ways to stay healthy and fit both internally and externally is through the practice of Shaolin Qigong and Kung Fu; it includes all we need for mind body health in one fully integrated unit.

The way to avoid never giving up on our martial arts is to start with a plan. My friend wanted to get better and feel strong again, the best way forward for him was to focus on internal training and not do any external training until he had regained his health. 

What do you want? If you are a beginner, it depends on your goal and your age as to what DVD you should start with. If you want to get fit and lose weight quickly then it's best to start with the Bootcamp DVDs or the Circuit Training DVDs. In these DVDs, we don't put so much emphasis on form but on fitness. If you want to be a martial artist then you start with Shaolin Workout and move through all three DVDs before you move onto Bootcamp and Circuit because you are working with your form and perfecting your movements. 

For the internal training, it's best for most people to start with "The Way Of Qigong Volume 1" but if you are under forty, impatient, training to be a fighter, or you want to quickly strengthen both internal and external then it's best to start with Qigong For Upper Body and Lower Body. Why? Because it means you will stay on target as you see and feel results  rapidly. 

Regardless of what you want, it's best to train 5 - 6 days a week. If you want rapid change then do kung fu in the morning and Qigong in the evening. Remember, you don't need to do all of the Qigong DVD, take a section, just fifteen minutes of Qigong is enough for you to feel the benefit. Alternate between Qigong For Upper Body and Qigong For Lower Body to balance your body. 

It's the same with the circuit training and bootcamp, unlike the Shaolin workouts, you don't need to learn them before moving onto the next DVD, keep surprising your body by changing your workout. Don't worry that your movements aren't 100% correct, as you keep working out, you will slowly slowly begin to perfect the kicks, punches and forms and at the same time you will gain exceptional stamina. 

Having a clear plan gives you a clear workout and keeps you on the path of The Shaolin Warrior.  

For more information on Shifu Yan Lei and his DVDs, please visit: www.shifuyanlei.com

High Intensity Training And The Martial Artist

There's been a lot of excitement recently about the latest research on High Intensity Training and how effective it is in losing weight, helping to balance sugar levels and increase fitness levels.  But what does this mean for the martial artist,  and should we change how we train on a daily basis?

Assuming you have a good fitness level already and you're not a total beginner then the first thing you have to decide is what your goal is. Most of us practice our chosen martial art because it's not a sport or another form of exercise but a path which challenges us, offering mind body wellness, giving us a deeper understanding about life, and, as is the case with Shaolin,  a pathway to Zen.

If our goal was simply to lose weight or increase aerobic endurance then our workout should mainly be High Intensity but as martial artists, we need different types of stamina.  My philosophy is to train like a fighter.

This means we begin our training with a run, minimum 5k. Once we're back in our training space, our body is warmed up and we start our martial art's training.

I believe it's best to do High Intensity Training after the run. The workouts in my circuit training DVDs are the workouts I do on a daily basis, rotate them with Bootcamp and this will challenge your body.  This coupled with bag training and Qigong is what sculpts my body and keeps me fighting fit. The number of reps you do will increase as you get fitter, at first you won't be able to keep up with my DVDs but as your fitness progresses - and it progresses quickly with High Intensity Training - then you'll increase your reps.

Research is showing that we don't need weights or lots of equipment in order to get fit, high intensity training is very effective with body weight, and challenging the large muscles in the upper and lower body order is one of the keys.

Alongside High Intensity Training, martial artists also need a longer stamina for the forms that we practice. When my muscles were tested by scientists for Shaolin Steel Jacket, they were also tested for these different levels of activity, and interestingly my muscles rated highly in high intensity and long endurance, this is because martial artists need both of these.

The important thing to take from this research is if you aren't training in High Intensity then you need to do this to up your fitness levels and if you're already training in High Intensity then don't forget what your goal is as a martial artist.

Training like a skilled fighter means we are always at the peak of our fitness and flexibility. Ask yourself, if I had to fight next week and the only contest was stamina and not skill? Would I win or lose on stamina alone? Stamina is one of the hardest things to train alone because it's always about being uncomfortable and out of your comfort zone but it's the best way to train.

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