Overview
The aim of an athletic conditioning program is to develop muscular strength, heart-lung fitness, and flexibility. The Western approach is to treat these three major components of fitness as separate, with dedicated activities for each. In martial arts training, however, players train in the three components of fitness while performing a single integrated set of techniques. As players proceed in their chosen art, their overall fitness improves as a natural consequence of performing the techniques correctly. These not only develop strength, stamina, and flexibility but also the skills of balance, speed, and coordination. Unlike weight-training or running, students of the martial arts always have something new to learn. Even for the most dedicated of practitioners, a single lifetime is not enough to learn all the styles and skills the martial arts can teach. Using techniques from the arts of karate, shaolin lohan, t'ai chi, judo, aikido, and jujitsu, this book reveals the secrets of martial arts training for athletic conditioning.Synopsis
The aim of an athletic conditioning program is to develop muscular strength, heart-lung fitness, and flexibility. The Western approach is to treat these three major components of fitness as separate, with dedicated activities for each. In martial arts training, however, players train in the three components of fitness while performing a single integrated set of techniques. As players proceed in their chosen art, their overall fitness improves as a natural consequence of performing the techniques correctly. These not only develop strength, stamina, and flexibility but also the skills of balance, speed, and coordination. Unlike weight-training or running, students of the martial arts always have something new to learn. Even for the most dedicated of practitioners, a single lifetime is not enough to learn all the styles and skills the martial arts can teach. Using techniques from the arts of karate, shaolin lohan, t'ai chi, judo, aikido, and jujitsu, this book reveals the secrets of martial arts training for athletic conditioning.
School Library Journal
Gr 4-7-Two mediocre presentations. Athletic Conditioning focuses on Eastern training methods, warm-ups, chi, muscular endurance, strength and stamina, preventing injury, and mental training. Although specific muscles are mentioned for stretching, techniques are not related to muscle groups. Children gives an overview of styles, stretching, philosophy, and falling techniques. Both books have captioned, full-color photographs but the various techniques are illustrated with rough single-color sketches. While neither of these titles is going to capture new converts to the sports, libraries with heavy demand for martial-arts materials may want to consider them as additional purchases.-Michael Giller, South Carolina Governor's School for the Arts and Humanities, Greenville Copyright 2003 Reed Business Information.