On the battlefield, there are no options for submitting and ending a fight. Losing a fight in a war-zone means the warrior loses their life. As such, martial arts have evolved to be devastating and fully realized systems for doing the maximum amount of damage in the shortest amount of time. Jiu Jitsu, developed in feudal Japan under the guidance of the Samurai, is one such martial art. Jiu Jitsu (or JuJitsu) techniques revolve around breaking limbs, smashing faces into the ground and using painful pressure points to defeat opponents.
Despite its dangers, Jiu Jitsu is a popular martial art. Many people, from many different backgrounds find this Japanese system of self-defense to be interesting and worthy of their time and effort. The question then becomes how to train without doing too much damage to those being trained with.
General Fitness for Jiu Jitsu
As with any Martial Art, a higher level of general fitness will be a great asset. Most Jiu Jitsu classes are taught quite intensively. Practice periods are often expected to be undertaken at high speeds so without a base level of fitness, a participant may find themselves quite tired quite quickly!
- Aerobic exercise is a great way to prepare the lungs and heart for martial arts. As a beginner, simply getting into the habit of a daily run will help with performance. As a more advanced student, running weekly is a good choice, swimming, biking or anything else that will get the heart rate up.
- As Jiu Jitsu and many other martial arts will put the trainee through intense but short periods of activity, the anaerobic system is also important. A few exercises to train this bodily system are sprinting exercises, dynamic warm-ups and sports such as Squash or Tennis.
Joint and Muscle Health in Martial Arts
Occasionally, participants in the Martial Arts can become too enthusiastic about the training they are going through. This means that sometimes locks or moves will be put on too quickly or with too much force. A wise practioner will want to avoid injury at all costs, so undertaking some additional joint and muscle training will help a great deal.
- Jiu Jitsu focuses on the wrists, elbows and shoulders in its locking techniques. It is challenging to strengthen these areas of your body as there are no muscles within the joints themselves. However, it is possible to stengthen the muscles around them. As an example, forearm strength training will help to build endurance in the wrists. Bicep and tricep strength will provide help to the elbow and shoulder training through push-presses will also help.
- Strength is important but just as important is flexibility. The major muscle groups that should be focused on for martial arts flexibility are the hamstrings and calf muscles, as well as the shoulders and upper back. As most techniques originate in and target these areas of the body, flexibility is paramount to training effectively.
If one is just starting out on their martial arts journey, a full schedule of exercise may not be necessary. In fact, just attending class may be enough to start the body's journey toward fitness. However, as one's ability and interest in Jiu Jitsu increases, there will undoubtably be a desire for improved performance and safety. By following some of the guidelines in this article, a practioner will be able to train their bodies for the rigors of the ancient Japanese form of self-defense.
