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Old 08-11-2009, 08:57 AM   #22
Jon Haas
Location: South Jersey
Join Date: Nov 2008
Posts: 27
United_States
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Re: Solo Aiki Conditioning and Other Exercise

Mark,

Thank you for such an excellent reply.

Since Dan's seminar last weekend, I have been diligently working every day on all the solo conditioning exercises we learned. The only other work I have incorporated is joint mobility beforehand to loosen up. Other than that, all my previous exercise routines have been suspended indefinitely. My goal is to burn this stuff in and *then* be able to build my fighting style back in on top of it. The reason I asked the question was simply that I did not know and wanted to hear the opinions of people farther along the path than I. This is good information and helps to reinforce that I made the correct decision!

Jon

Quote:
Mark Murray wrote: View Post
Most of what I've seen for exercises using kettlebell snatch, turkish get-up, etc are not building what I'd call internal strength. Or even whole body strength.

There's always some weight involved when using kettlebells. Think about the seminar and how much, or how little, it took to destabilize your structure when working on those exercises. Think about how the weight of a kettlebell will overload your system and cause you to kick in muscle to compensate.

It's just my opinion, but when first starting out, I think any kind of working with weights are not good.

One, if you're working exercises that you've done for years, you're just going to slip into those old habits which aren't building the internal strength we do.

Second, when you're initially identifying pathways, building those pathways, and strengthening them; weights are going to engage localized muscle groups and invalidate the internal strength work.

Third, these exercises are working to rewire and rebuild your body. They are very different than most and you have to get used to them, used to what they are working internally, before integrating them with other exercises. Otherwise, it's too easy to lose sight of what you're really trying to build for internal strength.

For instance, when you lift the kettlebell, is your whole upper body tightening up? Your bicep can be somewhat relaxed, but that doesn't mean other parts of your body aren't tightening. Your body will automatically rely upon old habits, without you even noticing. The internal strength exercises are there to undo all that and rewire your body to use a different kind of strength.

I always say everyone is different, so you might be able to adjust and work within those exercises. My opinion, though, is to keep to the exercises for at least 6 months before deviating from them at all. Then, check your progress and go from there.

Can you use "kettlebell snatch, c&j, or turkish get-up," etc? Sure. The more important question would be, Is it wise to use them at this stage in your training?
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